A laidback coastal area nestled somewhere in the Zhejiang Province of Eastern China has seen tremendous growth in the automotive industry during the past years.
Considered as a very important manufacturing area for different types of industries, the Ningbo Hangzhou Bay New Zone has become home to carmakers that have churned out more than 100 billion yuan (around $14.5 billion) in sales since 2018, up 13 percent year-on-year, the hub's administrative body disclosed.
Over several years of development, the automotive business has become a major driving force for the economic growth and smart technology transformation of this Chinese region, with an industrial cluster comprising five assembly lines and more than 100 manufacturers of automotive parts.
Automotive firms are stepping up efforts to expand their footprint in the new zone while contributing to robust growth. The most recent case in point is China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and German carmaker Mercedes-Benz, who announced the creation of a joint venture in the area for the Smart Brand.
Meanwhile, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group -- Geely Auto Group -- has recently decided to relocate its headquarters to the area.
Yang Xueliang attributed such activities; vice president of the Geely Auto Group, to the potential and capability of the area to accommodate advanced manufacturing companies, especially automotive parts companies with global competitiveness.
According to Yang, the new zone has unveiled a development masterplan for the automotive industry, which aims to promote the settlement of firms with more technical innovation-oriented automotive parts and provides a solid base for the region's growth.
Based the program's mission statement, the new zone is committed to assemble more than 40 of the world's top 100 automotive parts companies and raise the automotive industry's gross output to around half a trillion yuan by 2025.
Opimistic about the technological innovation and intelligent manufacturing capacity of the Ningbo Hangzhou Bay New Zone, SAIC VW has built a factory there with an Industry 4.0-based production network, while Geely has established a research and development center as an essential part of its global R&D Network.
The new zone also continues to develop its business environment to provide hospitality and incentives to local and international automotive firms.
Yang noted that the Ningbo Municipal Government as well as the Hangzhou Bay New Zone has created a good investment environment with "high administrative efficiency and excellent services." He also stressed that such an environment is a key reason for Geely's dedication to expand its business interest in the area.
