On the Digital Transformation of the Automobile Manufacturing Industry in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle: Mechanism of Action and Feasible Paths

With a long industrial chain and a powerful ability to drive other industries, the automobile manufacturing industry has a prominent strategic position in the national economy. In recent years, many countries have put on their agenda the digitalization of the automobile manufacturing industry, leading to an connected, autonomous, shared, and electric(also known as CASE)(1) development trend in the industry. As one of the six major automobile industry clusters in China, the ChengduChongqing economic circle has achieved initial results in the digital transformation of the automobile manufacturing industry. However, the region is still faced with some constraints, such as insufficient digital infrastructure, relatively slow development of new automobile products, insufficient innovation ability of the automobile industry, and complex digital transformation of small and medium-sized automobile enterprises(automobile SMEs). This paper intends to construct a framework for the mechanism of action of the digital transformation in the automobile manufacturing industry, analyze the effects of the digital transformation of the automobile manufacturing industry in the ChengduChongqing economic circle, and propose feasible paths for the digital transformation of the automobile manufacturing industry in the region by drawing on domestic and international experience in this regard. The specific paths include:(a) Smoothing the “dual-core” data chain to facilitate the digital transformation of the automobile manufacturing industry;(b) Developing the new energy vehicle(NEV) industry to upgrade the quality of automobile products;(c) Achieving corner overtaking in the digital transformation of the automobile manufacturing industry with digital technology;(d) Jointly building the automobile industrial park to promote the digital transformation of the industry;(e) Addressing problems facing automobile SMEs in digital transformation via targeted policy tools.