Geely, SAIC, Dongfeng, BYD, Li Auto and Over 30 Other Companies Team Up to Tackle Automotive “Bottleneck” Materials

On April 12, at the 2026 High-Level Forum on Intelligent and Electric Vehicle Development, the CheBai Innovation Center, together with nearly 30 automakers, parts suppliers, and materials companies, jointly launchedStrategic New Materials Innovation and Application PlatformThe "Strategic Platform" is officially launched.

The following leaders and representatives from initiating organizations jointly stepped on stage to unveil the platform: Zhang Yongwei, Chairman of the Chexiaohui Research Institute; Wei Zhiling, Vice President of Geely Holding Group; Zu Sijie, Vice President of SAIC Motor Corporation; Song Hanming, Deputy Director of the Strategic Planning Department of Dongfeng Motor Corporation; Zhang Xiaorui, Assistant to the Chairman of BYD New Materials Co., Ltd.; Yang Min, Director of Product Planning Department of Jianghuai Automobile Group; Liu Jundong, Senior Expert of Li Auto; Ji Xuewen, Chief Technology Officer of ZhiZao WeiLai; Alisha Bellezza, Senior Vice President of PPG Global Automotive Coatings; Guo Junhui, President of Lichung Group; Ding Chao, Executive Deputy General Manager of the Technology Center of Kingfa Science & Technology; Wang Tiejun, Deputy Director of the Central Research Institute of FiberHome Technologies; Cong Maojie, Technical Vice President of Xinliangdong; and leaders from initiating organizations including KraussMaffei China, China Salt Lake Group, Magna, Novec, Friesland, Covestro, Hubei Hangte, Dow Chemical, Kyocera, Zhongwei Chemical Fiber, Teknor Apex, and others.

According to reports, new materials are one of the eight strategic emerging industries in the 15th Five-Year Plan.The development of strategic foundational materials is an important initiative in response to the national strategy.To make strategic breakthrough materials better serve various industries and generate a "waterfall effect", the Strategic New Materials Innovation and Application Platform has been established.

IT Home learned from the announcement that the Strategic New Materials Innovation and Application Platform focuses on the deep integration of new materials and the automotive industry. It aims to build a full-chain collaborative innovation system of "vehicles + components + materials + technology + standards + supply chain," driving the quality and upgrade of the automotive industry through strategic material science and technology innovation, and seizing the global technological high ground.

The platform is dedicated to uncovering industrial innovation needs, promoting breakthroughs in original technologies, and accelerating the widespread application of new materials, with a focus on precisely matching application scenarios, overcoming technological bottlenecks, and speeding up the transformation of research outcomes. The platform will concentrate on four key tasks: industrial research, industry exchange, collaborative innovation, and innovation in policies and standards, to build an integrated innovation ecosystem that brings together industry, academia, research, and application.

Next, the Strategic New Materials Innovation and Application Platform will continue to integrate resources across the industrial chain—upstream and downstream—and among industry, academia, and research institutions, focusing on core areas such as automotive lightweighting, next-generation power batteries, and next-generation automotive technologies.Integrate the entire innovation chain: “fundamental material R&D — pilot-scale validation — mass production — application scenarios.”Empowering the high-quality development of China's automotive industry through materials innovation and injecting strong momentum into the growth of China's strategic emerging industries.