During the closing plenary session of the 2026 China Automotive Chongqing Forum, NIO Inc. founder, Chairman, and CEO Li Bin delivered a speech addressing the current state of the automotive industry.
He stated that the industry has entered the most intense and brutal phase of final competition, with a particularly challenging market environment this year, especially in the domestic retail sector. Data indicates that from January to May, the domestic retail market experienced a year-on-year decline of 19.5%. Regarding prospects for the second half of the year, he expressed a pessimistic outlook, suggesting the industry should brace for a full-year domestic retail sales drop of 15% to 20%. With the national passenger vehicle parc reaching 370 million units and many households owning more than one car, the automotive industry is transitioning into an era of market saturation.
Furthermore, he expressed his belief that this year marks the beginning of an accelerated inflection point for battery electric vehicle adoption. Data shows that in May, new energy vehicle penetration reached 62.9%, with battery electric vehicles accounting for 67.1% of that segment. This translates to a battery electric vehicle penetration rate of 42.2% across the entire automotive market. In fact, in May, battery electric vehicles became the leading powertrain type for the first time, surpassing petrol vehicles. He anticipates this trend will further accelerate. Using Norway as an example, where new energy vehicle penetration has reached 98% and battery electric vehicles constitute approximately 96% of that, he concluded that this shift is irreversible and will only gain momentum.
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