China's auto sector to fully open up to foreign inv't in 2022
2021年1月26日，在国新办发布会上，工信部新闻发言人、运行监测协调局局长黄利斌称：我们于2018年取消了专用车、新能源汽车外资股比限制，2020年取消了商用车外资股比限制，2022年将取消乘用车外资股比限制和合资企业不超过2家的限制，届时汽车外资投资将全面开放。
BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- China will remove limits for passenger vehicle companies on foreign shareholding and the quantity of no more than two joint ventures in 2022, said Huang Libin, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and director-general of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination with MIIT, at a press conference held Tuesday.
In 2018, China pledged to gradually remove limits on foreign investment in the country's car manufacturing joint ventures while also phasing out all equity caps in the automotive industry within five years. Officials say opening-up can invigorate the market, force companies to innovate and integrate Chinese resources with international resources.
The 50 percent cap, put in place in 1994, was removed for international manufacturers of new energy vehicles and commercial vehicles in 2018 and 2020, respectively. The limits will be scrapped for gasoline passenger car producers starting in 2022.
Huang added that by then China's auto sector will be fully open to foreign investment as it has already lifted the foreign shareholding restrictions on special vehicles and new energy vehicles in 2018 and commercial vehicles in 2020.
This will lead to more intense market competition and may quicken the mergers and reorganization of related enterprises, he said.
According to him, MIIT will actively cooperate with related countries in fields including development and design, trade and investment and standard regulations to jointly maintain a stable and smooth auto supply chain, and guide industry enterprises to improve innovation capabilities.
United States electric carmaker Tesla was the first to benefit from the cap removal and kicked off the construction of its wholly-owned plant in Shanghai in January 2019. The first vehicle rolled off the assembly line in the same year.
German premium carmaker BMW inked deals in October 2018 with its Chinese partner Brilliance Auto, raising its stake from 50 to 75 percent in its passenger car joint venture BMW Brilliance in 2022. With the move, BMW would became the first foreign automobile manufacturer with a majority stake in a gasoline car making joint venture.
BMW said the joint venture has been extended from 2018 to 2040, and BMW will invest 3 billion euros ($3.68 billion) to raise its annual capacity to 650,000 vehicles starting in the early 2020s. The investment is expected to create 5,000 more new jobs.
Last year, German auto giant Volkswagen AG increased its stake in its electric car partnership with JAC Motors from 50 to 75 percent, making Volkswagen the first foreign carmaker to have a controlling stake in a Chinese joint venture.
Volkswagen said it will introduce products under its mainstream brands into the partnership and expand its production capacity to 350,000 to 400,000 units a year by 2029.Volkswagen AG plans to sell 1.5 million new energy vehicles in China a year by 2025. Besides JAC, it also has partnerships with FAW Group and SAIC Motor.
Industry experts said removing the cap will result in stiff competition, but will ultimately benefit the market. Furthermore, the investments show the potential of the country's car market and China's growing openness to the outside world.
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