On the assembly line at Geely's manufacturing base in Xiangtan, Hunan province, it's the robots that are in charge. In a bustling scene, intelligent logistics robots in the final assembly workshop accurately locate parts for different models, delivering them in an orderly flow to the production line. This system enables the seamless mixed-production of multiple vehicle types, including both electric vehicles and gasoline vehicles, with a new finished car rolling off the line every 55 seconds.

This is the new face of auto manufacturing in China, and it's rising at a fast pace on the banks of the Xiangjiang River. By 2024, the Geely Yuan Cheng New Energy Commercial Vehicle base in Xiangtan had begun mass production, contributing to an annual total output of 320,000 vehicles of various types from the area.

The fast speed of development marks a dramatic transformation for this once-barren land in the Xiangtan Economic and Technological Development Zone. When Geely first set up shop there in 2005, a modern factory was erected in just nine months, with the first Geely Jingang sedan successfully driving off the line.

The base has since been the production home for two models that each has achieved millions in sales. One of them, the Binyue, has rapidly gained popularity after its launch and is now exported to dozens of countries and regions worldwide.

This momentum has surged into the electric era. In 2024, the new all-electric sedan, the Geely Xingyuan model, saw a very fast delivery speed, with 50,000 units delivered within just 80 days of its launch.

This success is not occurring in isolation. Under the strategic integration of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city cluster, Xiangtan is co-building a "New Energy Vehicle City" with its neighbors, according to the Hunan provincial government. This collaboration allows for the sharing of crucial supply chain resources, such as automotive steel plates from Hunan Valin Xiangtan Iron and Steel Co and other automotive parts from Zhuzhou.

The Xiangtan Economic and Technological Development Zone said it is accelerating the construction of integrated zones for vehicle production, parts supply, a central living community, and cultural tourism, aiming to boost its total annual vehicle production to over 500,000 units by the end of 2025, solidifying its role as a vital engine for economic growth.

The evolution of Xiangtan exemplifies China's broader automotive industry transformation, characterized by green development, intelligent manufacturing, and intensive, clustered production.

Wang Wei'an, head of the Industry and Information Technology Department of Hunan province, said: "Over the past five years, Hunan province has accelerated the high-end, intelligent and green development of its manufacturing sector."

The output of new energy vehicles in Hunan skyrocketed from 52,000 units in 2020 to 771,000 units in 2024, an increase of nearly 14 times. In the first half of 2025 alone, production reached 479,100 units, a year-on-year surge of 167.7 percent in vehicle manufacturing.

More importantly, Hunan has forged a complete industrial chain, spanning from power batteries and battery materials to vehicle chips and vehicle manufacturing. The province is now home to 13 vehicle manufacturers, including BYD in Changsha, BAIC in Zhuzhou, and Geely in Xiangtan.

"In the fierce competition of the world economy and industrial landscape, this represents a development opportunity for Hunan," said Jiang Yan, head of the China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. She noted that Hunan can leverage its foundational advantages to precisely strengthen, supplement and extend key industrial chains.

Qian Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said Hunan is uniquely positioned. "With upstream trillion-yuan raw material industries and downstream trillion-yuan equipment manufacturing and new energy industries, Hunan can build a national advanced manufacturing highland by making breakthroughs in new materials," he said.