Inframe News – Construction has officially begun on the West Zone of the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone’s Intelligent Connected and Electric Vehicle Industrial Park. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 25 in Makou Town, Hanchuan City, Hubei province. The project is being developed jointly by Wuhan ETDZ and Hanchuan City.
The new West Zone is planned across 1.84 square kilometers and will be developed in several stages. The initial development area covers 365 mu, followed by a medium-term area of 2,753 mu and a long-term plan reaching 10,000 mu. The first phase is expected to receive around 1.5 billion yuan in total investment.
Construction of the first phase will be split into two stages. The site will include production plants, research and development offices, and supporting facilities for companies operating in the park. Site preparation and infrastructure work are already moving forward, with the first companies expected to enter the park by June next year.
The park will focus heavily on components used in new energy and intelligent connected vehicles. Five core areas have been identified, including smart cockpit functional materials, automotive interior and exterior components, electrical system parts, lightweight body materials, and chassis structural components. These areas are designed to connect component manufacturing with the wider automotive supply chain.
The development also goes beyond traditional automotive parts. The West Zone will include advanced materials, automotive semiconductors, industrial robotics components, new energy storage equipment, and smart home technology. These industries are being grouped into an “Auto+” ecosystem alongside vehicle and parts manufacturing.
Four automotive parts companies have already signed agreements to locate operations in the West Zone. Among them are Zhenyi Electronics and Foyi Technology, which were included in the first group of companies announced during the groundbreaking event. More suppliers are expected to be brought into the park as construction progresses.
The project also includes a broader group of financial, industrial, and technology partners. Agreements were signed with Dongfeng Motor’s industry collaboration office, Changjiang Securities, Minsheng Financial Leasing, and the Agricultural Bank of China’s Xiaogan branch. Wuhan ETDZ Investment Group and the Wuhan ETDZ Future Technology Innovation Research Institute are also involved.
A joint command center and Hubei Chegu Jinma Investment have been established to manage the project. Their responsibilities cover planning, investment attraction, company services, and other parts of the park’s development process. The joint venture structure brings Wuhan ETDZ and Hanchuan City together under one industrial development framework.
The West Zone is part of a larger automotive industrial expansion around Wuhan. The Wuhan ETDZ Smart Auto Park is positioned as the core of the Chegu Industrial Innovation Corridor, while the West Zone extends that automotive supply chain into Hanchuan. A North Zone also began construction on July 31, creating a three-zone development structure.
The wider Wuhan intelligent connected and electric vehicle industrial park already has more than 800 companies across its ecosystem. Its existing industrial base covers new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, components, new materials, and intelligent manufacturing. The new West Zone adds another production and research location to that growing automotive network.
