Future mobility forum to be held in Hangzhou

A high-level forum dedicated to future mobility will be held later this year in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, to explore the development of smart, connected and electric vehicles in China.

The 2017 Global Future Mobility Top Forum, scheduled for Nov 10 to 12, is expected to offer an opportunity for participants from different industries to share their ideas on new trends.

Industry insiders are calling for a holistic approach to new mobility trends as they are evolving rapidly and involve know-how of not only the automotive sector but also IT, artificial intelligence and communication.

"We cannot take, say electric cars, as something isolated. Instead, we must position them in future mobility and chart their path of development," said Chen Qingtai, director of China EV100, a non-profit organization promoting new energy vehicles.

The organization is also an organizer of the event. Together with the forum, a future mobility-themed exhibition will also feature the latest technologies and products of new energy vehicles, smart cars and smart transportation.

New energy vehicles and smart, internet-connected cars are to feature China's moves to build a globally competitive automotive industry within 10 years.

According to a guideline released in April, China expects sales of new energy vehicles in the country to reach 2 million by 2020, and such cars are to account for 20 percent of all auto sales by 2025.

Half of new cars in China will feature some driving assistance and low-level autonomous driving functions by 2020, and the number is expected to rise to 80 percent by 2025.

"Cars will not be cars without smart functions in the future," said Zhu Huarong, president of Changan Automobile Co Ltd. He said its cars using high-level autonomous driving functions will hit the market in 2020.