On September 7, 2026, Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), publicly criticized some new energy vehicle makers for compressing vehicle development cycles to 18 months or less, lowering standards and cutting back testing and validation to bring products to market faster.
Zeng's remarks, widely circulated in industry media, argued that such "rush-to-market, fix-the-bugs-later" approaches are now being corrected by regulators. He said the industry's competitive logic is shifting from "running fast" to "running stably."
The comments come against the backdrop of a busy recall season. On August 21, the State Administration for Market Regulation published nine recall notices in a single day, with cumulative auto-vehicle vehicles affected, prompting four government departments to launch a one-year production-consistency special action.
Analysts said Zeng's statement signals a broader industry consensus that the era of "subsidy-fueled" growth is over, and automakers must now compete on real product strength.
Source: CATL / 10 Billion Business Review
