WEDZ's automotive industry drives future

Chunsun – WEDZ's new landmark in Junshan New City. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]

The construction of the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone (WEDZ) began in 1991 and it was approved by the State Council as a national-level economic and technological development zone in 1993.

Occupying an area of less than 500 square kilometers on the left bank of the Yangtze River, WEDZ is now home to nine automotive enterprises, 13 vehicle manufacturing factories, and over 500 well-known auto component enterprises, which produce nearly one million vehicles per year, earning the zone its reputation as the "Auto Valley of China".

The zone's VOYAH digital factory boasts highly digitalized production methods. In the spacious and tidy welding workshop, over 400 robots are operating simultaneously, applying technologies such as the internet of things, big data, and artificial intelligence. A vehicle rolls off the production line every 180 seconds.

In recent years, in response to profound changes in the global automotive industry, WEDZ has focused on new energy and intelligent connected vehicles. This includes attracting and nurturing new energy vehicle (NEV) developers and manufacturers, developing batteries and hydrogen energy, improving supporting industries for new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, and promoting the commercialization of autonomous driving.

In 2022, the zone produced more than 150,000 NEV vehicles, and the industrial output value of the new energy and intelligent connected vehicle sector reached 346.22 billion yuan ($48.09 billion), an increase of 6.8 percent year-on-year.