Bosch Executive Discusses Challenges and Opportunities in China's Automotive Industry

At the recent 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, Wu Yongqiao, president of Bosch Intelligent Driving Control in China, cited data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicating that despite a 7% year-on-year revenue growth in China's automotive industry from January to May this year, and a 14% increase in passenger vehicle sales, the overall industry profit has significantly dropped by 11.9%. Wu analyzed that the competition within the Chinese automotive parts industry is exceptionally fierce. Aside from Huawei and CATL, which can maintain a certain level of bargaining power and premium pricing in front of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), most suppliers, including Bosch, are deeply entrenched in brutal price competition. Wu believes that Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) paid model serves as a good example for China's assisted driving industry. He emphasized that when intelligent driving technology truly achieves peak performance and outstanding experience, providing users with a high sense of safety and comfort, users will naturally be willing to pay for it, even at a premium. Based on this, Wu stated that advanced driver assistance features should not be offered for free across all models. Chinese OEMs and intelligent driving parts companies must learn from the successful experiences of Tesla and Huawei to implement charges for advanced intelligent driving services, guiding users to pay for high-tech value. In Wu's view, the engineering realization and mass production of high-level intelligent driving technology represent the most complex system engineering in automotive history. Many enterprises and suppliers face challenges during project delivery and large-scale production, which can even lead to project failures. Regarding the technological evolution of the industry, Wu predicted that with the convergence of technology and the standardization process, intelligent driving will eventually become a standard feature, akin to seat belts and airbags. Especially under strong regulatory backgrounds, OEMs may abandon the costly full-stack self-research route in four to five years, as the significant investment is unlikely to convert into a differentiated competitive advantage in sales.