A grand opening ceremony for the 2023 China New Energy Vehicle Ordos Challenge is held on June 27. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2023 China New Energy Vehicle Ordos Challenge officially kicked off in the city of Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on June 27.

The event is jointly sponsored by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and the Ordos municipal government.

Nearly 10,000 people attended the opening ceremony, including government officials, representatives of Chinese new energy vehicle brands, and those from the upstream and downstream industries of the new energy vehicle sector.

"This event is more complete in preparation, more innovative in the race schedule and format, and, in particular, the new energy commercial vehicle challenge race has been established on the basis of the original new energy passenger car endurance race, which is a comprehensive demonstration of the achievements of China's new energy vehicle development," said Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

As an important part of the 2023 World New Energy and New Materials Conference, the competition is held under the theme of "New Energy, New Track, New Challenge". It runs from June 27 to 29.

It has attracted mainstream passenger car companies such as FAW Bestune, Chery Automobile, SAIC Volkswagen, Beijing Automotive, as well as numerous commercial vehicle companies such as China National Heavy Duty Truck Group, SAIC Hongyan, and Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle.

During the event, new energy vehicle enterprises from all over China will compete in the new energy vehicle challenge race, new energy vehicle endurance race, and new energy commercial vehicle challenge race, demonstrating the technical level and comprehensive strength of China's new energy vehicles.

Additionally, a series of supporting activities such as a "New Energy Vehicle Carnival" and an "Intelligent Networked Automotive Application Scene Experience" are being held to accelerate the popularization of new energy vehicle applications among residents and the public, helping more people to understand, purchase and use new energy vehicles.