The development history of my country's automobile industry can be divided into three stages: exploration, development and maturity.

Explore:

In 1958, the first self-made car in mainland China was born.

As soon as New China was founded, it decided to develop its own automobile industry. In 1950, during Chairman Mao's visit to the Soviet Union, China and the Soviet Union agreed that the Soviet Union would assist China in building its first truck factory. In 1953, the First Automobile Manufacturing Plant broke ground in Changchun. This was the first time in China's history to build its own automobile factory. On July 13, 1956, the first batch of 12 cars named "Jiefang" brand by Chairman Mao were successfully trial-produced at Changchun No. 1 Automobile Manufacturing Plant. The rollout of these 12 Jiefang brand cars ended China's history of being unable to mass-produce cars.

On May 5, 1958, China's first self-manufactured car, "Dongfeng", was born at FAW, thus opening a new chapter in my country's national car industry. In June, the accessories factory of Beijing First Automobile Factory successfully trial-produced Jinggangshan brand sedan. In August, FAW successfully designed and trial-produced the first Hongqi brand luxury sedan. In September, Shanghai Auto Parts Factory successfully trial-produced the first Phoenix brand sedan. The cars manufactured by New China through self-reliance have filled the gaps in China's industry.

Development:

In 1985, the first joint venture factory appeared in the mainland.

In 1985, Shanghai Volkswagen, the first car joint venture in the Mainland, was established, marking the beginning of China's modern car industry. At that time, it was stipulated that the investment ratios of China and Germany were respectively: 50% of Shanghai Automotive Group Co., Ltd., 40% of Germany's Volkswagen Group, and 10% of Volkswagen Investment Co., Ltd.

Subsequently, Guangzhou Peugeot Automobile Company was established. In addition, my country has also introduced Xiali, Audi and other models. In the mid-to-early 1990s, Sino-foreign cooperation and technology introduction further deepened. The two newly established joint ventures, FAW-Volkswagen and Shenlong Fukang, both had relatively high starting points. Fukang introduced models from the 1990s, and FAW introduced advanced 20-valve models. Engine manufacturing technology and export of such engine components to Germany. The localization rate of the country's main imported models has reached more than 80%, and the quality has also improved significantly. The price has dropped significantly, and cars have begun to quickly enter people's homes. In 1998, my country's sedan production reached 430,000 units, accounting for approximately 40% of the total automobile production. The automobile industry structure has undergone fundamental changes.

Maturity:

In 2009, China’s automobile sales ranked first in the world. Since 1998, passenger car sales have begun to exceed commercial vehicle sales. The automobile industry has also undergone major changes from trucks to cars. In addition, my country's automobile industry, based on Sino-foreign cooperation and technology introduction, has reached a new level. Guangzhou Honda, Shanghai General Motors and Volkswagen have introduced the latest high-end models Accord, Buick and Audi A6 respectively. The production of these models marks that China's car products and production technology have caught up with the development pace of the world.

Around 1998, independent brands such as Chery and Geely also began to be established. Independent brands began to explore the road of independent car manufacturing and rapidly developed and expanded.

After China's accession to the WTO at the end of 2001, China's automobile industry entered a market scale and its production scale expanded rapidly; it fully integrated into the world's automobile industry and moved towards becoming a major automobile production and sales country. In 2009, my country's annual automobile production and sales surpassed the United States for the first time, ranking first in the world.