On May 21, 2026, the 6th International Forum on Automotive Powertrain Systems, hosted by Horse Powertrain, convened on schedule. As one of the most professional and authoritative platforms in the powertrain field, this year's forum, themed "Diversified Drive · Innovation Leadership," brought together experts and leaders from domestic and international governments, enterprises, academia, and research institutions for in-depth exchanges on markets, technologies, policies, global market demands, and strategic development.
This year, a noteworthy shift is that the fierce debates over "whether to transform or not" seen five years ago have completely disappeared from the forum. Instead, repeatedly confirmed consensus has been formed: powertrains are moving towards diversification, and hybrid technology is currently one of the most core technological carriers; going global has become a mandatory choice for Chinese automakers, and how to achieve steady and long-term success in the global market has become the core issue of concern for all enterprises.
Under the Consensus of Powertrain Diversification, Efficient Hybrids Become the Mainstream
During the keynote report session, Wang Ruiping, Senior Vice President of Geely Auto, presented the following set of data: global automobile sales in 2025 reached 96.5 million units, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%; China's sales reached 34.4 million units, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%. From the perspective of powertrains, various markets have their own focuses on technological options such as HEV, PHEV, and BEV, showing an overall trend of diversification.
A careful breakdown reveals that the 2025 global sales data also sends another clear signal: sales of hybrid vehicles (including HEV, PHEV, and Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV)) have surpassed those of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This indicates that hybrid technology, once universally regarded by the industry as a "transitional technology," has now become the mainstream market choice. This is not an isolated case in a specific region, but a global trend.
Looking first at the Chinese market, the share of hybrid vehicles reached 21.7% in 2025. Combined with BEVs at 35%, the penetration rate of new energy vehicle (NEV) models has reached 57%.
"China has completed the transition from policy-driven growth to customer-driven demand," said Zhao Fucheng, CTO of Horse Powertrain and CEO of Aurobay, in his report.
His analysis pointed out that in the mid-to-large SUV market, PHEVs are rapidly replacing REEVs. In 2024, REEVs took the lead in breaking through the D/E-class luxury market, with their peak share surging to 62%. However, as Geely, Chery, and others launched highly competitive PHEV products, the market landscape was rewritten. By 2025, the share of PHEVs in the mid-to-large SUV market increased significantly, while REEVs began to decline. "The market is returning to the essence of technology—efficient hybrid technology is the key to long-term competitiveness."
Globally, although powertrain technology routes show obvious differences across regions, hybrid technology is accelerating its penetration in almost all major markets.
Data shows that the electrification penetration rate in the European market reached 28% in 2025, with BEVs growing the fastest and HEVs & PHEVs also seeing steady growth. The overall electrification penetration rate in this market is expected to exceed 50% by 2030, with the proportion of HEVs & PHEVs estimated to approach 17%.
North America has the most distinct characteristics, with an electrification rate reaching 21% in 2025 and expected to approach 50% by 2030. However, the fastest growth is not in BEVs, but in hybrid vehicles. By 2030, the hybrid penetration rate in North America is expected to reach 26%, significantly higher than the expected growth rate of BEVs.
Southeast Asia is one of the regions with the most drastic changes in the past three years. Electrification started late but has grown rapidly, with a penetration rate of 15% in 2025 and an expected 36% by 2030. Hybrid development in Southeast Asia follows two tracks: BEVs growing from 8% to 16%, and HEVs from 6% to 15%. The proportion of PHEVs is relatively low, which is directly related to Japanese automakers' deep cultivation of HEVs in this region.
Electrification in South America has just begun, with a penetration rate of only 2% in 2025, expected to reach 16% by 2030. Due to inadequate charging infrastructure, hybrid vehicles have become the main direction of growth—within the 16% electrification rate in 2030, BEVs will account for only 3%, PHEVs for 8%, and HEVs for 5%.
Meanwhile, the electrification strategies of mainstream global automakers are also undergoing substantial adjustments. Zhao Fucheng cited a set of comparative data showing that from 2024 to 2026, European automakers such as Volvo, Audi, and Porsche significantly lowered their BEV production expectations and increased the proportion of hybrids; U.S. automakers reduced their BEV expectations by over 50%; and Japanese automakers continue to focus on the HEV route. It can be seen that the global market is shifting from a "single BEV route" to a "diversified hybrid route."
There are multiple reasons behind this shift. On the consumer side, BEVs perform excellently in urban commuting, but range anxiety persists for long-distance travel, in cold regions, and in areas with inadequate charging infrastructure. Hybrids do not change driving habits but can significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions. On the automaker side, BEV development and production costs are high, and many are still operating at a loss. Hybrids are based on traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) platforms, with lower marginal costs and better profit margins. On the policy side, some EU member states have proposed amendments to the ban on internal combustion engines timeline, giving hybrids a longer window of opportunity.
Addressing the industry's anxiety over solid-state batteries, Zhao Fucheng also responded. Based on long-term research and tracking results, he judged that constrained by cost and engineering bottlenecks, the penetration rate of all-solid-state batteries is expected to be only about 1% in 2030 and will not exceed 5% before 2035. "Solid-state batteries are still at a stage where science and engineering intersect, and the hybrid route remains one of the core development directions for the future passenger vehicle market."
Going Global: From a Strategic Option to a Survival Necessity
If going global was merely "icing on the cake" a few years ago, the 2025 data has completely changed this logic.
Goldman Sachs data shows that the domestic profit margin of Chinese automakers was only 2.1% in 2025, and is expected to further decline to about 0.5% in 2026 due to rising raw material prices. Meanwhile, the profit margin for overseas exports is over 40% higher than the domestic level, which has become the main source of profit for automakers.
Therefore, Zhao Fucheng emphasized at the forum: "Overseas expansion is a necessary condition for the survival of Chinese automakers, not an optional one."
In 2025, China's automobile exports reached 7.1 million units, a year-on-year increase of 20%, ranking first globally for the third consecutive year. Among them, BEVs grew by 60%, and PHEVs grew by 200%, making new energy vehicles the core driving force for going global. Based on the trend in the first four months of 2026 (a cumulative 3.28 million units, a year-on-year increase of 52%), participating experts generally believe that annual exports are expected to exceed 10 million units. In terms of global brand market share, Chinese brands reached 27.9%, close to Europe's 28.3% and surpassing Japan's 24.3%.
It should be pointed out that behind the leap in scale, there are numerous challenges.
Wang Ruiping pointed out: Compliance is the first hurdle. First, the carbon emission regulations in Europe and the U.S. for 2030 require fuel consumption equivalent to 2 liters per 100 kilometers, while China and Japan require 3 liters. The EU will implement Euro 7 in November 2026, and the U.S. will implement the new Tier 4 regulations in early 2027. China's new regulations plan to pilot China VII in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta regions in early 2028, with full implementation in 2029. Euro 7 has higher requirements for cold start emissions, particulate matter numbers, and durability. The U.S. Tier 4 Bin 30 is considered one of the most challenging emission standards currently.
Second, ESG compliance has become a hard threshold overseas. The EU has CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), and CSDDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive); the U.S. has SEC climate disclosure rules and the Forced Labor Prevention Act; regulatory systems vary by country.
Differences at the application level are easily overlooked. Europe has clear requirements for towing capacity; the output torque must be high enough to tow trailers weighing over two tons, which directly affects the torque characteristic design of engines and transmissions. Fuel quality differences are equally critical; not all markets use 92-octane gasoline, some regions use 89-octane, and the sulfur and olefin content varies. Power infrastructure in Southeast Asia and Latin America is inadequate, leading to voltage fluctuation issues. High-temperature and high-humidity environments also impose higher requirements on the reliability of electronic systems.
Localization is another major challenge. Wang Ruiping reminded not to focus solely on tariffs. Various regions have localized taxes under different names such as consumption tax and luxury tax, with comprehensive tax rates reaching 45% to 75%. The North American region also requires components to be sourced from local suppliers. Therefore, regionalization plus localization is the inevitable direction for the future.
At the technical level, Europe, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have decades of accumulation in globalization, and their understanding of overseas regulations and standards is far more profound than that of Chinese enterprises. "In these emerging technology fields, how we maintain continuous innovation leadership actually requires more effort."
Globalization: Not Simple Export, but Systematic Capability Output
With the challenges clear, how to break through has become the key. Participating experts generally believe that the essence of going global is not export, but global operations. This requires systematic capabilities covering compliance, R&D, supply chain, and services.
The emergence of Horse Powertrain precisely meets this demand. This joint venture between Geely, Renault, and Saudi Aramco brings together the former Geely Aurobay and Renault’s powertrain engineering assets. Headquartered in the UK, it has 5 R&D centers and 18 production bases, with annual sales of 8 million powertrain units, revenues of approximately 15 billion euros, and coverage in 130 countries globally.
As a third-party powertrain company, the value of Horse Powertrain lies not in launching a single product, but in providing a full-chain capability covering compliance, development, and delivery.
According to Zhao Fucheng, ESG is not a mandatory option in China, but in the global market, each region has different regulatory requirements, making ESG compliance a mandatory question, or even a tie-breaker. Horse Powertrain has a long-standing accumulation in this area. As early as 2022, Geely began requiring Aurobay to build an ESG system according to global standards. By 2026, Geely ranked fifth in the global automotive manufacturing industry in the S&P Global Sustainability Assessment. This capability is highly aligned with Horse Powertrain's global strategy.
In response to the currently most challenging U.S. Tier 4 Bin 30 standard, Horse Powertrain has developed CSC cold start catalyst technology, which outperforms electric heating solutions and is ready for mass production at any time. In addition, the company has achieved industry leadership in low-cost emission solutions, with precious metal content control at the industry's lowest level. Facing the lean-burn aftertreatment needs of future high-thermal-efficiency engines, Horse Powertrain has reserved NOx control technology that does not require additional urea, ready for industrialization at any time.
Global resource integration is the underlying support. Horse Powertrain has R&D centers in Sweden, Spain, Brazil, Romania, China, and other places. Global testing standards have been unified, achieving the capability of "develop once, adapt globally." All requirements for localization and territorialization have been incorporated into its core technical indicators.
Furthermore, supply chain management is also a systematic project. Trade barriers, geopolitical risks, and local procurement ratio requirements cannot be solved simply by taking suppliers overseas. Based on its R&D and manufacturing bases distributed in 9 countries, Horse Powertrain has built a system with multi-center layout, localized production, and full-chain collaboration, possessing the capability to output optimal supply solutions.
Centered on the global trend of powertrain diversification, Horse Powertrain has deployed various technologies and products including internal combustion engines, hybrids, and range extenders. It can provide a full set of capabilities from components to assemblies, from battery BMS to intake and exhaust systems, and even directly converting complete vehicles into x-HEVs.
In terms of engines, displacement covers a full range from 1.0L to 3.0L. Small-displacement models target the Southeast Asian, Indian, and South American markets, with the 1.5L engine planned to be introduced to India in the future. Regarding thermal efficiency, Horse Powertrain's mass-produced dedicated hybrid engines have reached the industry's leading level. Zhao Fucheng pointed out that 50% thermal efficiency is a research direction, but the key lies in how to achieve it without significantly increasing costs; otherwise, it will lose its economic viability.
Hybrid transmissions provide a complete sequence from one to four gears, and motor power covers 75kW to over 300kW, meeting the needs of over 80% of OEMs globally. The latest 900V high-voltage system (145kW P1 motor, 290kW P3 motor) has been deployed in the Zeekr 9X. The 2.0T engine direct-drive solution can achieve a 16% fuel saving during high-speed cruising, with consistent acceleration performance whether fully charged or depleted.
Regarding future trends, Horse Powertrain focuses on integration, high voltage, miniaturization, and lightweighting. The new ultra-hybrid platform DHTS-X has a generalization rate of over 80%, meeting different customer needs through modular design (with options for OD, silicon carbide, etc.).
Conclusion
This ancient proverb, quoted by Fu Yuwu, Honorary Chairman of the China Society of Automotive Engineers in his speech, resonates strongly in today’s industry landscape: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
The automotive industry is a highly globalized industry. Especially as going global has become a mandatory choice for Chinese enterprises, China's powertrain industry is also undergoing an essential leap from "technological self-reliance" to "global empowerment." Whether it is the alignment of technical standards, compliance with regulations, or the global layout of the supply chain, the strength of a single enterprise is insufficient to cover it all. The emergence of third-party platforms like Horse Powertrain is, to some extent, a response to this need for collaboration.
Although this forum did not provide a "master key" for the global expansion of powertrains, it at least clarified a basic fact: the difficulty of going global has been underestimated by many, and only those enterprises willing to make long-term investments in compliance, technology, and localization will have the chance to survive in this global competition.