China Automotive Manufacturing Shenzhen: The new center of the global automotive industry

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In the Chinese city of Shenzhen, more cars are manufactured than anywhere else in China. Other Chinese cities are falling behind.

Shenzhen is the Detroit of modern times. The city can now officially call itself "China's number one car city", writes the specialist portal Gasgoo with reference to the figures for 2024. Nowhere else in the People's Republic are as many e-cars and hybrids, or cars in general, built as in Shenzhen.

During the glorious days of the Ford Model T in Detroit, there was no other place on Earth with such concentrated mass production of combustion-engine vehicles. Similarly, today there is no place in the world where more electric cars and hybrids are produced than in Shenzhen.

 During a visit a few weeks ago, it was clear that a significant leap in mobility transformation had taken place in the southern Chinese city: electric cars and hybrids increasingly dominate traffic, and there seemed to be more charging stations than gas stations.

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Almost Three Million Vehicles Produced

What seemed like a superficial impression during the visit, at best an observation, has been substantiated with official statistics at the turn of the year. Since 2024, Shenzhen has led the nation not only in the registration and use of "New Energy Vehicles" (NEVs)—including pure electric cars, hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles—but also in their production.

 The Shenzhen city government announced that preliminary statistics indicate more than 2.8 million cars were built there in 2024. This was one million more than in 2023. Even then, Shenzhen had held the title of "China's NEV City Number 1" for the second year in a row. Following last year's massive growth, the city has also become the national leader in overall vehicle production, whether combustion engine vehicles or NEVs.

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Symbol of Modern Economic Power

Much like Detroit once was, Shenzhen is becoming a symbol of an entire country's modern economic power in the era of e-mobility. And similar to Ford in the past, it is now BYD—headquartered in Shenzhen—that has outpaced all other manufacturers worldwide with modern production processes and affordable cars for the mass market.

 In November, BYD rolled its ten-millionth NEV off the assembly line. The world's largest producer of electric and hybrid vehicles also operates at other locations across China, including Changsha, Xi'an, Hefei, Fuzhou, Jinan, Zhengzhou, and Xiangyang. However, Shenzhen is now home to the so-called "Super Factory," the largest production line, which has been primarily responsible for the sharp increase in car production in Shenzhen last year. Around one-fifth of all BYD vehicles are manufactured in the city.

Shenzhen Has Attracted Suppliers

Shenzhen has also actively promoted the establishment of an entire supply chain comprising 2,400 companies. These firms are involved in the research, development, and production of connected and automated electric vehicles and hybrids, as well as many of their key components.

 The electronics giant Huawei manufactures its "Harmony Cockpit" in Shenzhen. Companies such as DeepRoute AI, Robosense, ZYT, Inovance Technology, and many other new suppliers are also based here. In fact, the city of Shenzhen has essentially transformed into a single "Science and Technology Cluster" for e-mobility and connected driving.

More Charging Stations Than Gas Stations

The city administration continues to do everything possible to promote the growth of this cluster. It is also actively paving the way for the NEV market locally. In fact, recent statistics show that since 2024, Shenzhen has had more charging stations than gas stations for the first time. Over 400,000 charging points are available in the city, more than anywhere else in China.

 Since 2017, all buses in Shenzhen have been electric, and since 2018, all taxis as well. The sale of electric and hybrid vehicles to private customers is supported, among other things, by the easier availability of license plates.

 However, artificial incentives are becoming less necessary. Thanks to the central government in Beijing ensuring low electricity prices nationwide, electric driving in China is significantly cheaper than using fossil fuels. For instance, someone in Shenzhen who commutes 30 kilometers (approx. 19 miles) daily to work with an electric car pays about ten euros per month for it.

Three Out of Four Cars in Shenzhen Are NEVs 

As a result, more and more people in Shenzhen are switching to electric or hybrid vehicles. In the first ten months of the past year, the market penetration of NEVs in new car sales in the city reached 75 percent.

 The star of China's former major "car cities," such as Changchun with FAW-Volkswagen or Shanghai with SAIC-Volkswagen, is slowly but surely fading. These cities are trying, albeit belatedly, to catch up with the trends. In contrast, Shenzhen has already emerged as the Detroit of the modern era and is currently working to expand its lead.

*Henrik Bork is General Manager and Founder of AsiaWaypoint, Beijing, P.R. China