China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has delivered its clearest policy signal yet that connected and autonomous capabilities will define the next phase of new energy vehicle leadership, with MIIT’s equipment department chief explicitly framing intelligent vehicle development as a strategic priority equal to electrification itself. The statement moves beyond general industrial support to outline a coordinated push across standards, infrastructure, and cross-sector data integration — effectively telling domestic automakers and global competitors that the software layer of mobility is now a core national competitiveness issue.
This marks a deliberate escalation from China’s first-wave EV strategy, which secured battery supply chains and manufacturing scale. Having captured over 60% of global EV sales, Beijing is now targeting the intelligence stack — vehicle-to-everything communication, high-definition mapping, and autonomous driving algorithms — where Western incumbents still hold perceptual advantages. The MIIT directive specifically calls for unified technical standards and “vehicle-road-cloud” integration, a phrase that signals state-backed deployment of smart infrastructure rather than leaving connectivity to private fleet operators.
For legacy automakers in Europe, Japan, and North America, the implication is uncomfortable: China is no longer just the world’s EV factory but is actively writing the rulebook for what a “smart vehicle” must do. Companies that treated autonomy as a premium feature or long-term research project now face a market where the largest single jurisdiction mandates it as baseline functionality. This also reshapes the semiconductor and sensor supply chain, as domestic Chinese suppliers gain preferred access to a standard-setting domestic market.
The signal also reflects a shift in how Chinese policymakers view data sovereignty and urban management. Connected vehicle networks generate real-time traffic, energy, and behavioral data that feed directly into smart city and grid-balancing objectives. By anchoring NEV intelligence to national infrastructure plans, MIIT is ensuring that the data architecture remains domestically controlled — a consideration that will complicate foreign participation in China’s connected vehicle ecosystem even as Chinese brands expand globally with those same capabilities baked in.
Read the full report at CleanTechnica.