The China Patent Award is the highest government award in the patent field in China and is regarded as an important reference for measuring the quality of independent innovation in various industries. Here’s a systematic review and statistical analysis of automotive industry award-winning patents from the 22nd to the 26th China Patent Awards, objectively presenting the innovation characteristics and development trends of the automotive field within the patent award system.

The automotive industry's share has continued to rise against the backdrop of a declining total number of award-winning patents.

A clear difference is observed among gold award-winning patent categories, with invention/utility model gold awards accounting for a relatively low share, while industrial design gold awards accounting for higher share prominently.

The technical fields of automotive industry award-winning patents are highly concentrated, with new energy, industrial design, and intelligent connected vehicles ranking as the top 3.

- The top 5 technical fields for awarded invention/utility model patents in the automotive industry show diverging trends, with new energy and intelligent connected vehicles on the rise, while traditional fields see a decline.

- Award-winning designs in the automotive industry are dominated by complete vehicle exteriors, supplemented by component designs.

- Overall vehicle exterior designs, if categorized by vehicle type, are led by SUVs in terms of share, followed by sedans.

- Among vehicle manufacturing groups with awarded invention/utility model patents, China Changan Automobile ranks first.

- Among vehicle manufacturing groups with awarded industrial design patents, Dongfeng Motor Corporation ranks first.

According to the automotive industry award data from the past 5 China Patent Award sessions, 3 main trends can be generalized:

1. Innovation structure has been continuing to shift toward new energy and intelligent connected vehicles: The number of awards in traditional fields has reduced, while new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles have become the primary directions of innovation.

2. Industrial design has played a prominent role, with complete vehicle styling as the core: Industrial design has become the main track for gold medal wins in the automotive industry, with complete vehicle exteriors taking the lead.

3. The corporate landscape shows a coexistence of established and emerging players: Traditional vehicle manufacturing groups such as Dongfeng and Changan compete alongside new-generation automakers, and divergences in technological capabilities and innovation positioning are reshaping the industry.

Overall, China's automotive industry is witnessing a shift from scale expansion to innovation- led growth. As a concentrated reflection of innovation outcomes, the China Patent Award data not only reflects the current award landscape but also provides a reference for the direction of future technological efforts in the next phase of the industry's development.

From AutoIP

July 6th, 2026