Impressive sight: Buildings soar into the sky in WEDZ. [Photo/whkfq.gov.cn]
Rising to the challenges presented by global automotive industry opportunities, Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ) is transforming its industrial strengths.
With the establishment of the Wuhan Intelligent Vehicle Software Park and the Wuhan Neusoft Software Park, WEDZ is advancing the development of the software industry.
As the city's industrial economy hub, WEDZ is transitioning from manufacturing to service-oriented manufacturing. Two years ago, the zone reorganized its industrial parks, renaming the Business City as the Modern Service Industry Park.
The 41-square-kilometer area now focuses on modern services and the development of the digital economy, building a 1-square-kilometer intelligent vehicle software park and a 3 sq km intelligent vehicle software innovation town.
A view of the Intelligent Vehicle Software Innovation Town in WEDZ. [Photo/whkfq.gov.cn]
Key achievements include Xingchi Technology's development of China's first automotive-grade 7 nm intelligent cockpit chip the "Longying No 1" – with over 200,000 units shipped – and the start of mass production of ECARX's smart driving computing platform.
Valeo's China Tech R&D Center in Wuhan expanded last year, aligning its automotive sector investments with local growth.
WEDZ recently introduced measures to promote intelligent connected vehicle innovation, offering grants of up to 500 million yuan ($68.76 million). Policies like the zone's "33 Auto Valley Tech Innovations" measures are said to be fully supporting software companies.
To date, WEDZ has nurtured over 200 SMEs and several "Little Giant" enterprises – an elite group of specialized, cutting-edge and high potential companies – forming a robust software industry system focused on intelligent vehicles software and the industrial internet.
The Intelligent Vehicle Software Innovation Town recently ranked first in the city's characteristic town assessment, highlighting WEDZ's leading position in smart auto software innovation.
