China's NEV Output Hits 16.626 Million in 2025, Xiaomi Opens European R&D Center

2026 marks the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, and the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry has reached a new threshold. According to data, NEV output surged from 1.4 million units in 2020 to 16.626 million units in 2025, reflecting a leap in overall industry scale. Meanwhile, the sector faces a complex situation of domestic demand adjustments and overseas market pressures, and the definition and competitive logic of automobiles are undergoing profound changes. Intelligent connected new energy vehicles are explicitly defined as a combination of 'vehicle, electric, and intelligence.' Cars are evolving from traditional transportation tools into intelligent terminals, and further toward mobile living spaces and embodied intelligent robots. Non-driving scenarios such as parking are drawing high industry attention, and automotive products are gradually expanding into new living space carriers. This industry plays a key role in intelligent manufacturing applications and building a manufacturing power, integrating technological breakthroughs in intelligent assisted driving, intelligent cockpits, three-electric systems (battery, motor, electronic control), and materials such as ultra-high-strength steel and carbon fiber, while also serving as a convergence point for multiple sectors including chips, semiconductors, AI software, and material manufacturing. Currently, China's low- and mid-end automotive markets boast high product maturity and intense competition, while the mid-to-high-end market suffers from insufficient supply. The luxury car market faces restructuring, with a significant annual sales decline. High-end development is seen as a definitive direction for industrial upgrade, helping to carry new technologies and promote consumption upgrading. However, existing export products are mostly designed based on Chinese user needs, leaving room for improvement in product definition and R&D capabilities targeting global users. Looking back at the industry's development history, China's automotive sector accumulated capabilities in low- and mid-end components and vehicle manufacturing through a 'market-for-technology' approach. It is now advancing domestic substitution in areas such as in-vehicle chips, in-vehicle operating systems, and mid-to-high-end chassis components. High-end components like carbon-ceramic brake discs have entered the popularization stage. The electrification transformation, supported by policies such as purchase tax exemptions, carbon trading mechanisms, and charging infrastructure deployment, has formed a complete ecological industrial chain, with three-electric system technologies at a world-leading level. The chip, operating system, artificial intelligence, and software capabilities of IT, ICT, and internet companies provide strong support for the R&D of intelligent connected new energy vehicles. Looking ahead, the industry will adhere to the high-end route and the direction of opening up. International brands still hold technological accumulations in areas such as high-end chassis components and raw materials, and Chinese companies need to strengthen global technological cooperation. In early 2025, Xiaomi established a European R&D center in Munich, Germany, bringing in international experts with decades of experience to participate in R&D. The performance of the SU7 Ultra at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany verified that China's intelligent connected new energy vehicles possess world-class levels in mechanical and digital chassis quality.