KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- China’s automotive industry has continued to strengthen its global standing after years of sustained development. In 2025, vehicle exports reached 7.098 million units, up 21.1 per cent year on year, keeping China as the world’s largest auto exporter for a third consecutive year.
In the first half of this year, exports surged by 65.3 per cent to 5.096 million units, including 2.355 million new energy vehicles (NEVs), with NEV exports rising by 120 per cent. Full-year exports for 2026 are now expected to exceed 10 million units.
Global expansion has become a strategic priority for China’s automotive industry, both as a driver of high-quality growth and as a critical source of new momentum amid intense competition at home.
The 2026 Industrial Chain Supply-Demand Matchmaking GAC Session was recently held at GAC Group, jointly organised by the Equipment Industry Engineering Research Institute of Industry and Information Technology (Beijing) Co Ltd (MIIT-EIDC), Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd (GAC Group) and Automechanika Shanghai.
Centred on GAC’s global expansion and technological needs, the event connected domestic and international procurement teams with suppliers, creating a focused platform for targeted matchmaking and deeper collaboration.
The event brought together senior representatives from GAC Group, including Jinsong Guo, Head of Procurement; Gensheng Gui from the Regulatory Certification Centre at GAC’s Vehicle Development Research Institute; and Chubin Zheng, Head of Procurement Project Management. Fiona Chiew, General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, also attended, alongside nearly 30 automotive suppliers.
Building an OEM-supplier matching platform for global expansion
As Chinese OEMs accelerate their expansion across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, their globalisation strategies are evolving from simply exporting vehicles to building fully integrated overseas operations. For suppliers, understanding OEM priorities, identifying the right entry points and securing a place in global supply chains have become essential to international growth.
“High-quality growth in the automotive industry depends on collaboration across the entire value chain,” said Guo Jinsong, Head of Procurement at GAC Group. As electrification and intelligent mobility gather pace, competition is no longer defined by individual vehicle products but by the strength of the entire industrial ecosystem. Building stronger, more resilient and more integrated supply chains has therefore become a core priority.
GAC has long been committed to fostering mutually beneficial partnerships. While continuing to strengthen its local supplier ecosystem, the Group is also steadily building a global network and working closely with leading component suppliers on collaborative technological innovations at the earliest stages of development.
GAC will further leverage its internally developed platforms, vehicle-level application opportunities and large-scale production capabilities to support industry partners, promote complementary strengths and enable greater cooperation and resource sharing across the value chain.
Fiona Chiew, General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, noted that Automechanika Shanghai continues to expand its targeted supply chain matchmaking programmes in response to China’s accelerating transition towards electrification, intelligent mobility and globalisation. Leveraging the Automechanika network and its international business platforms, the initiative aims to connect companies with global resources and new overseas opportunities.
“Participants at the supply chain matchmaking were offered a range of opportunities, from established suppliers with overseas manufacturing, cross-regional delivery and global programme capabilities to specialists in NEV components, intelligent driving, automotive semiconductors and in-vehicle AI,” Chiew said.
“Through direct engagement, we hope to support the integration of high-value technologies and products into GAC’s supply chain and create mutual prospects for growth.”
Building an open, fair and trusted supply chain ecosystem
Chubin Zheng, Head of Procurement Project Management at GAC Group, said the team’s core objective is to support the Group’s three-year strategy by building an open and highly competitive global supply chain.
“GAC’s procurement function will deepen collaboration across the supply chain to build an open and trusted global ecosystem with strong cost competitiveness, providing solid support for the implementation of the Three-Year Panyu Action Plan.”
According to GAC representatives, the event moved beyond a conventional one-way forum format by allowing more time for substantive, targeted discussions. Participating suppliers demonstrated strong alignment with GAC’s three procurement priorities under the themes of electrification, intelligent mobility and globalisation, while offering broad technical capabilities and international realisation.
Creating more effective settings for OEM-supplier engagement
During the afternoon matchmaking session, suppliers were first able to showcase their products, giving GAC procurement teams a first-hand view of their technologies and capabilities. Thematic zones covering intelligent connectivity, electric drive systems, body systems, interior and exterior components and chassis technologies enabled focused technical and business exchanges.
One supplier taking part in the event to connect with GAC was Miami-headquartered REACH Cooling Group, which specialises in automotive thermal management components. Pengfei Wang, General Manager of Global Manufacturing, said the Group currently operates four manufacturing sites, including two in China (Shanghai and Yancheng), as well as sites in Mexico and Thailand.
It plans to add two to three plants in Brazil and Europe over the next two to three years, with a longer-term target of six to seven manufacturing bases worldwide.
“The event gave us direct access to the relevant procurement and engineering teams at GAC and enabled meaningful discussions around potential areas of cooperation,” Wang said.
“We will continue these discussions by inviting project teams to visit our facilities, particularly if both companies have a manufacturing presence in markets such as Brazil, Europe, Mexico and Thailand.”
Jiayu Lin, Sales Director at BICV, said the company operates across three core areas, including hardware and software solutions for intelligent cockpits; navigation and communication systems such as in-vehicle navigation, satellite-aided inertial navigation and low-altitude mobility applications; and comprehensive connected-vehicle services. In addition to its domestic operations, BICV has established overseas factories in markets such as Thailand.
Lin noted that the combination of keynote sessions in the morning, followed by afternoon roundtables and OEM-supplier discussions, created a well-balanced programme with ample time for meaningful interactions, adding that the format was more effective than conventional industry forums.
Carlinx Technology Limited (Carlinx) provides automotive data intelligence services built around vehicle-cloud integration, AI agent services and intelligent mobility platforms, covering data applications throughout the vehicle lifecycle. A company representative said the event allowed direct engagement with GAC’s senior management, enabling Carlinx to gain a clearer understanding of the OEM’s actual requirements for potential collaboration.
The discussions also provided deeper insights into GAC’s emerging needs in the areas of intelligent cockpits and connected-vehicle data services.
Shandong Goldencell Electronics Technology Co Ltd (Shandong Goldencell) is a high-tech player in new energy, specialising in lithium-ion cells and energy storage systems. The company exports more than 70 per cent of its products, with a strong presence in Australia, Europe and North America.
The team taking part in the event also agreed that it enabled direct and productive engagement with key decision-makers, removing critical barriers to cooperation and laying the groundwork for specific projects to move forward.
After more than 50 years of development, Automechanika now operates 16 branded trade fairs worldwide, covering both mature and emerging markets. It has become a leading business platform connecting the entire automotive supply chain.
With over two decades of development, Automechanika Shanghai has evolved into a comprehensive international service platform for the automotive market. In line with the latest global and domestic automotive trends, the show supports marketing, trade, information exchange and education.
It comprehensively highlights three core themes: technological innovation, product evolution and service enhancement. By integrating the extensive exhibition platform with a highly impactful conference programme, Automechanika Shanghai 2026 offers a variety of resources for the automotive industry and its ever-growing ecosystem.
To meet ongoing market needs, MIIT-EIDC and Automechanika Shanghai are extending collaboration beyond traditional trade fair matching. Through the Industry Chain Supply-Demand Matchmaking and OEM Visit Series, the partners are developing an end-to-end support framework spanning policy guidance, OEM-supplier matchmaking, supplier qualification and certification support, overseas compliance and international channel development.
-- BERNAMA