The symbol of Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone – Chunsun [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]
Automobile manufacturing is one of the pillar industries of Central China's Hubei province, and Wuhan – Hubei's capital – is one of the six cities in the nation that is most famous for automobile industrial cluster development.
In 2003, Dongfeng Honda set up a workshop in Wuhan, after which China's auto giant Dongfeng decided to establish its headquarters in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ). Since then, the industry has thrived in the city, with SAIC, BYD, Geely, and other automakers transferring their operations to Wuhan.
The urbanization process has brought about the rapid growth of vehicle consumption. From 2020 to 2022, the number of registered cars in Wuhan has surged from three million to four million.
Last year, Wuhan's annual automobile output neared 1.4 million, with its total value exceeding 330 billion yuan ($46.07 billion), while the output of new energy vehicles (NEVs) was 100,000. Since April 2021, WEDZ has signed four NEV project agreements with total investments exceeding 40 billion yuan. These projects are expected to increase Wuhan's annual NEV output by 700,000.
Incentive policies at the municipal level have been put in place to encourage NEV-related producers and consumers. In 2017, the city issued subsidies to enterprises devoted to the construction of NEV infrastructure, and this year, local NEV purchasers are also granted subsidies ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 yuan.
