CCTV News: On January 1 this year, the new version of the negative list for foreign investment access was implemented. In the field of automobile manufacturing, compared with the 2020 version of the document, the new list clearly states that the restriction on foreign ownership in passenger car manufacturing and the restriction that the same foreign company can establish two or fewer joint ventures in China to produce similar vehicle products will be abolished. What does this mean for foreign car companies and China's automotive industry?
In 2018, the foreign ownership restrictions on special vehicles and new energy vehicles will be abolished; in 2020, the foreign ownership restrictions on commercial vehicles will be abolished; in 2022, the foreign ownership restrictions on passenger cars will be abolished, and the restriction on no more than two joint ventures will be abolished. After a four-year transition period, China's automotive industry has achieved full opening up to foreign investment.
In 1994, China issued the "Automobile Industry Policy" set an "upper limit of 50% of the shareholding ratio of foreign-funded enterprises", and from January 1 this year, this industrial policy red line will withdraw from the historical stage.
Experts said that the major policy of relaxing the restrictions on foreign ownership in the automotive industry, superimposed on relevant auto industry policies, etc., will have a profound impact on the development of China's automotive industry.