During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's internal combustion engine industry faced the external environment of insufficient global economic growth momentum, geopolitical conflicts, and increased international trade uncertainty, as well as internal challenges of electrification transformation and industry upgrading. Driven by market demand and technological innovation, it delivered a satisfactory answer.

Experts from the China Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association highly praised the industry's development achievements over the past five years at the recent 2025 Internal Combustion Engine Industry Development Conference. This industry affirmation is intuitively confirmed in the industry sales data for November 2025. According to the latest data from the association,In November 2025, the total sales volume of internal combustion engines in the industry was 4.8525 million units, a month on month increase of 7.06% and a year-on-year increase of 4.81%. The cumulative sales volume from January to November 2025 reached 49.0877 million units, a year-on-year increase of 14.10%.The performance in terms of power is also impressive,By November 2025, 313.5292 million kilowatts will be completed, a year-on-year increase of 7.68%, and the cumulative power will reach 2901.2141 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 10.50%To draw a satisfactory conclusion to the 14th Five Year Plan.

The structural growth of segmented markets further demonstrates the resilience and vitality of industrial development.In a complex market environment, the coordinated growth of different fuel types and application fields has achieved precise adaptation of industry supply structure and terminal demand. In terms of fuel types, diesel engines and gasoline engines have achieved comprehensive growth. In November 2025, diesel engine sales reached 444100 units, a year-on-year increase of 10.53%, while gasoline engine sales reached 4.3986 million units, a year-on-year increase of 4.08%. The cumulative growth in the first 11 months of 2025 was 6.35% and 14.90%, respectively.

From the perspective of market usage, internal combustion engines for commercial vehicles will increase by 24.17% year-on-year in November 2025, while those for motorcycles will increase by 20.19% and those for general use will increase by 33.30%. These three major areas will become the core driving force for growth. Passenger car usage has maintained a steady growth of 1.16%, with a cumulative growth of 10.17% from January to November 2025, demonstrating stable market demand.

It is worth noting that the industry concentration continues to increase, with the top ten companies in the multi cylinder diesel engine market, such as Weichai, Yuchai, and Yunnei, accounting for 78.33% of the market share.Among them, Weichai leads with a market share of 19.27%, and ranks first with a market share of 22.73% in the field of multi cylinder diesel engines for commercial vehicles. The leading role of leading enterprises has laid a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the industry.

Behind industrial growth is the continuous empowerment of technological innovation. Wang Zhijian, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shandong Heavy Industry GroupRecently, it was announced that Weichai has invested over 30 billion yuan in engine research and development in the past decade, accounting for over 8% of the total investment. Weichai has broken the world record for diesel engine thermal efficiency four times in four years, and is the world's best-selling heavy-duty engine. By 2025, Weichai's engine market share will remain the highest in the domestic industry, with sales of high value-added M-series large bore engines exceeding 10000 units and sales revenue increasing by 80% year-on-year; The global sales of power generation products have exceeded 100000 units, ranking among the top three in the world. The backup power supply for data centers has launched the world's first 5-megawatt high-speed diesel generator set 20M61, which has increased its power output to the world's top. These specific achievements not only reflect the technological strength of the enterprise, but also confirm the steady improvement of the development quality, efficiency, and comprehensive competitiveness of the internal combustion engine industry during the 14th Five Year Plan period, laying a solid technological and industrial foundation for the transformation of the 15th Five Year Plan.

The 15th Five Year Plan is a crucial period for the country to achieve basic socialist modernization by 2035, as well as for China's industrial transformation and upgrading. Achieving new industrialization is a key taskMa Changhai, President of China Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association and Chairman of Weichai Power Co., LtdClarified the future development goals of the industry. He stated that during the 15th Five Year Plan period, the internal combustion engine industry will continue to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, cultivate and develop new quality productive forces, promote industrial transformation and upgrading for healthy and sustainable development, and accelerate the transformation towards low-carbon, intelligent, and green development. This direction resonates with the national strategic deployment on the same frequency.

From the perspective of the practical needs of ecological environment governance, the urgency of industrial green transformation is particularly prominent, and higher requirements have been put forward for policy guidance and support.Lian Aiping, Deputy Director of the Mobile Source Division of the Atmospheric Environment Department of the Ministry of Ecology and EnvironmentIt is stated that mobile sources still face many pressures in terms of their contribution to pollutant emissions and need to be addressed through multidimensional measures and collaborative solutions. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, focus on top-level design, promote technological progress from the perspective of standards first behavior, ensure orderly competition with strengthened supervision as the foothold, accelerate green transformation with structural adjustment as the key point, and provide new driving force for the green development of the internal combustion engine industry.

At the same time, industrial transformation cannot be separated from the coordinated efforts of upstream and downstream, and the upgrading and optimization of the fuel side has become a key breakthrough.Ling Yiqun, Vice President of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry FederationHe also put forward targeted suggestions on the direction of environmental protection in the industry. He pointed out that the continuous iteration of emission regulations has put forward higher requirements for fuel products. Only by comprehensively optimizing the types, standards, quality, environmental indicators and other dimensions can we promote the innovative development of green fuels, and provide solid industrial guarantees for the low-carbon transformation of the internal combustion engine industry, forming a transformation synergy of "policy guidance+industry synergy".

In addition to national policy guidance and industry collaboration, the full support of local governments and the strategic layout of enterprises have jointly laid a practical foundation for the implementation of the transformation goals of the 15th Five Year Plan.Weifang Municipal Party Secretary Liu YunWeifang is committed to surpassing the trillion yuan GDP target and striving to build a national advanced intelligent manufacturing city. As a leading local enterprise, Weichai will make remarkable achievements in multiple sectors such as domestic and international markets, technological innovation, open cooperation, and emerging tracks by 2025, becoming the core engine for local industrial upgrading. He emphasized that Weifang will provide excellent services, comprehensive support, and full guarantee for enterprise investment and development. He hopes that all partners will take various industry events as opportunities to enhance friendship and expand cooperation space. The practical measures of the local government, in conjunction with national policies, have formed a strong synergy and created a favorable development environment for the transformation of the internal combustion engine industry.

Image source: Weichai official website

As a leading enterprise in the industry, Weichai has already anchored its "15th Five Year Plan" goals and formulated clear new plans, setting a practical benchmark for industry transformation. Wang Zhijian stated that Weichai will embark on a new development cycle. Driven by factors such as high-end power upgrades and explosive growth in data center energy and power, traditional power still has broad application scenarios; After years of continuous research and industrial investment, new energy power has now entered a period of rapid growth. Based on this industry trend, Weichai will work together with global partners to focus on building its four core competencies of technology, quality, cost, and service. It will further expand its incremental space in new energy, high-end hydraulics, overseas markets, and build a strategic community of shared future that shares risks, benefits, and mutual empowerment. Through enterprise practice, Weichai will lead the industry's transformation to become deeper and more practical

In addition to policy and corporate consensus, experts from macroeconomic, market trends, foreign trade situations, and other fields have also analyzed and judged the development path of the internal combustion engine industry during the 15th Five Year Plan period.Xu Changming, former Deputy Director of the National Information CenterIn recent years, hybrid and extended range vehicles have rapidly developed and become new power engines for automobile growth. The core driving force is the coordinated development of internal combustion engines and electric motors. At the same time, with the continuous innovation of internal combustion engine technology and market demand, internal combustion engines will still be the dominant power source for a considerable period of time in the future.

Yu Dongke, Director of the Machinery Industry Department of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electrical ProductsIt is believed that "with the support of the national policy to stabilize foreign trade, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products have grown steadily, making important contributions to industry growth. Enterprises need to accurately grasp changes in the international environment and trade policies, and expand overseas marketsDr. Holger Lochmann, President of the European Internal Combustion Engine Industry AssociationIt is also believed that it is feasible to move away from fossil fuels in the future, but the efficiency comparison between batteries and fuel power needs to be analyzed in conjunction with application scenarios, which provides useful reference for the internationalization of Chinese enterprises.

Clear policy direction and expert analysis of trends ultimately need to be transformed into industrial development momentum through technological innovation and enterprise practice. The exploration from the front line of scientific research also provides important support for enterprise technology research and development.

Li Zhijie, Assistant General Manager of Weichai Power and Vice President of the Central Research InstituteIntroduction: Faced with the transformation pressure of road power systems, Weichai actively lays out research on low-carbon and zero carbon fuel internal combustion engines, and has achieved significant breakthroughs in fields such as hydrogen fuel internal combustion engines and methanol internal combustion engines. At the same time, it has broken through the bottleneck of high-power system integration technology for solid oxide fuel cells, and the highest power generation efficiency of its new generation products exceeds 65%. Relying on technological advantages, Weichai engines have achieved sales growth of over 50% in strategic markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Power battery sales are expected to increase by 170% year-on-year in 2025, becoming an emerging business growth point for the enterprise.

Image source: Yuchai official website

Lin Tiejian, Chief Engineer of Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co., LtdThe IE-POWER system, the world's first hybrid electric drive continuously variable transmission powertrain developed by Yuchai, breaks the foreign technology blockade and solves the key 'bottleneck' technology of tractors. ”He introduced that tractors equipped with this system have increased operating efficiency by more than 15%, with fuel savings of up to 35%. They have cooperated with 26 tractor companies, and "Yuchai has achieved significant research results in non road alternative fuel internal combustion engines, with a market share of over 75% in large-scale agricultural machinery products and the ability to produce 5000 units per year in bulk", providing a mature solution for green upgrading in the non road field.

Deng Wei, General Manager of Platform and Module Development Department of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., LtdChangan Automobile focuses on the research and development of efficient and clean internal combustion engines and integrated powertrain systems, continuously improving the ultimate efficiency of the powertrain system through the independent design and system integration of high-performance electric drive assemblies. Changan Automobile has entered the forefront of the industry with outstanding technological strength, providing high-quality solutions for the transformation of passenger car power towards high efficiency, electrification, and intelligence.

Looking ahead to the development of the new year, Ma Changhai believes that,Next, the industry needs to find the strategic pivot for industrial transformation amidst challenges and opportunities. In the future, it will focus on the four key words of "green, intelligent, collaborative, and innovative" to jointly write a new chapter in the high-quality development of the internal combustion engine industryOn the new journey, the China Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association will continue to play a good role as a bridge and link, consolidate industry consensus, maintain industry order, and create a better environment for enterprise innovation and development. With green as the clear direction, intelligence as the core support, collaboration as an important guarantee, and innovation as the fundamental driving force, the industry will jointly forge a higher quality, more sustainable, and more competitive Chinese internal combustion engine industry, making greater contributions to supporting the construction of the country's modern industrial system and achieving the "dual carbon" strategic goals of this generation of internal combustion engine personnel.

Source: China Industry News