Schwab, founder of davos forum: China's electric vehicle industry is the world's leading

How would Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, view the development of the mobility industry under the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the pandemic? How will you evaluate China's electric vehicle industry?

On December 21, the World Economic Forum China Future of Automobiles and Transportation Conference was held in Guangzhou. The forum focused on the transformation of intelligent networking to empower industry, the coordinated development of automotive energy and transportation across sectors, and look forward to the future of the autonomous driving industry. Klaus Schwab expressed his views in a video message.

He noted the rapid development of Guangzhou in recent years, especially in the fields of information technology, biomedicine, automobiles and transportation. He believes that Guangzhou has provided cities around the world with experience worth learning.

Schwab video message.

"Two Challenges in the Mobility Industry: Digital Transformation and Decarbonization"

"At the moment, we are facing many difficulties." Klaus Schwab said, "We will continue to face the important challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, while socio-economic changes have taken place and the Fourth Industrial Revolution continues to have a profound and disruptive impact on production and lifestyle. We are moving towards a sustainable future. ”

In his view, the mobility industry is currently facing two major challenges: digital transformation and decarbonization, and in order to successfully meet the challenges, the industry needs to work closely with all stakeholders.

Klaus Schwab analyzes: "The driving force of digital transformation is the fourth industrial revolution, which will reshape multiple industries including manufacturing, lead the industry to reposition, spawn emerging enterprises and start-ups, and bring profound structural and systemic transformation to the industry." ”

He also noted that in the past two years, the epidemic has accelerated the development of new digital technology progress and achieved many positive results. For example, China's self-driving cars have expanded their scale during the epidemic and are being used in multiple scenarios, such as supporting the delivery of medical devices.

"This is just the beginning, and in the future autonomous driving and smart cars will become the new normal." The application of autonomous driving shows the bright prospects of the sharing economy. Klaus Schwab believes that autonomous driving has great potential to enhance social inclusion and serve rural populations and minorities.

At present, the World Economic Forum is carrying out some cooperation in autonomous driving, including cooperation with Guangzhou, and the forum held by this cooperation is one of the cooperation, and it is also the first cooperation between the World Economic Forum and local governments.

On the other hand are the challenges that come from the goal of "decarbonization". The world is undergoing an energy transition, and the recent Glasgow climate conference demonstrated the urgency of accelerating the shift to a carbon-neutral economy.

"The future of the automobile is not just a tool for transporting people and goods, but also a solution for green mobility systems." Klaus Schwab said, "It's not just about making an electric car, it's about making sure that the production of the entire industry chain, and the energy used to drive the car, is carbon neutral." This requires a lot of innovation and a continuous transformation over many years to achieve. ”

"Solutions for carbon-neutral transportation systems define the car as a supplier. This goal is interlinked with the creation of smart cities and smart workplaces. It defines the future industry as a system that requires the industry to work closely with other industries and stakeholders from all walks of life, which also requires cooperation between enterprises. He said.

"China is a leader in the global electric vehicle industry"

In Klaus Schwab's observation, China is the world's largest automotive market and has shown a long-term view from the beginning. "As early as 2010, China's auto industry began to transform, driven by policy guidance, value chain reform and strong incentives, China is in a leading position in the global electric vehicle industry."

"We urgently need to increase our efforts to cooperate around the world, and fortunately China is not alone." He mentioned that this year the European Commission proposed a climate plan of "Carbon Reduction 55", which includes legislative areas to achieve green agreements, and also sets a new target for the automotive industry, that is, to reduce vehicle emissions by 55% by 2030 and carbon neutral emissions from new vehicles by 2035. "The automotive industry is a key sector in the global economy, and the EU's Carbon Reduction 55 action plan also points us to a clear and firm path."

Finally, he said that the World Economic Forum is committed to promoting global cooperation between the public and private sectors as a way to promote sustainable development. "We will continue to work closely with key stakeholders in China and around the world to promote the development of the automotive industry in a sustainable and healthy direction, and only by working together can we meet the challenges of the times, and as long as we work together, we will be able to successfully promote digital transformation and green transformation."

[Southern Daily, Southern + reporter] Zheng Huizi

【Photo】 Liang Jucong

【Author】 Zheng Huizi; Liang Jucong

【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client