Veteran of lithium batteries Wang Mingwang: Xinhongda's original intention is to "carefully make every battery well"

Ask AI · How does Wang Mingwang transform experience in consumer batteries into advantages in power batteries?

Preface: In the era of the global energy transition surging forward, China’s power battery industry has achieved a leap from following to running alongside, and then to leading, becoming a shining emblem of Chinese manufacturing going global. Xiwanda has been deeply engaged in lithium batteries for nearly thirty years, growing from a leader in consumer batteries to a core force in the global power and energy storage industries, writing a vivid chapter of innovation and rise for Chinese new energy enterprises.

Recently, the “China Power Battery Industry Innovation Leap Research Tour” visited Xiwanda. Xie Rongbin, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman, Editor-in-Chief of China Energy Automobile Communication Group, President of China Automotive News, and Editor-in-Chief of China Energy News, engaged in an in-depth high-level dialogue with Wang Mingwang, founder of Xiwanda Group, decoding the company’s long-term development logic, exploring the core secrets of high-quality development and globalization competition in China’s power batteries, and listening to a veteran industry expert’s profound insights and strategic plans for the industry’s future.

Interview Guest: Wang Mingwang, Founder of Xiwanda Group (left)

Interview Host: Xie Rongbin, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman, Editor-in-Chief of China Energy Automobile Communication Group, President of China Automotive News, and Editor-in-Chief of China Energy News (right)

“Xiwanda’s rise is not accidental, but the result of accumulated strength and sudden breakthroughs.”

Xie Rongbin: By 2025, the scale of China’s power battery industry will maintain rapid, high-quality growth, with vehicle installation volumes reaching a new high. As a vibrant and innovative player in China’s domestic power battery field, how has Xiwanda been developing overall this year, and what are its core gains?

Wang Mingwang: 2025 is a year for Xiwanda to consolidate its foundation and make comprehensive efforts. Amid the rapid industry development, we have achieved both scale and quality improvements, and gained profound insights into the market’s essence.

From the industry perspective, China’s power battery installation volume, technological level, and overseas expansion have all reached new heights. From our own company, firstly, the “volume” steadily grows, and “quality” continues to break through; secondly, shipments of HEV hybrid batteries exceeded 2 million units, establishing a global leading brand, and fast-charging batteries gained widespread market recognition; thirdly, overseas bases in Hungary, Morocco, and other locations are steadily advancing, and our global layout support capabilities are continuously strengthening.

Our three most core gains in 2025 are: first, consumer attention has significantly increased; second, our commitment to high-quality positioning has extended our brand value from ToB to ToC; third, the belief of “doing every battery with care” has transformed into a core competitiveness facing the market. Overall, this year has not only been a harvest year for our business but also a key year for deepening the “achieve customers” philosophy and reconstructing the boundaries of our core capabilities.

谢戎彬: We notice that in 2025, the power battery market pattern shows a diversified trend. What do you think is the reason behind this? How will the industry pattern evolve in the future? As a leader among second-tier players, what is the core reliance of Xiwanda’s rise?

Wang Mingwang: The diversification of the market pattern results from the combined effects of diversified demand and a mature industrial chain. In the future, the industry landscape will become more “colorful,” and Xiwanda’s rise can be summarized as “accumulated strength leading to breakthroughs.”

Specifically, the diversification behind the market pattern is driven by two main reasons: one is further segmentation of the market, where different scenarios such as hybrid, pure electric, and commercial vehicles generate differentiated battery demands; the second is that China’s entire power battery industry chain has become mature, providing a foundation for more companies to participate in high-level competition.

I believe that future industry competition will become more intense, and the ultimate winners will be those with core technologies, excellent quality, and stable delivery capabilities. The industry will form a new pattern of “multiple leading players coexisting, with segment leaders emerging,” moving toward a “layered competition and diversified rise” mature stage.

Xiwanda’s rise is not accidental. We were among the earliest to achieve global leadership in consumer electronics batteries, accumulating systems capabilities in quality control, intelligent manufacturing, and serving large clients. After entering the power battery field, these capabilities have been migrated and upgraded. Meanwhile, continuous technological innovation is the foundation of our existence; long-term accumulation is focused and released on the right track, which has led to today’s development.

“Turning the belief of ‘doing every battery with care’ into reality depends on a ‘meticulous’ attitude and ‘endurance’ in the long run.”

谢戎彬: Looking back at nearly 30 years of development of Xiwanda, what key milestones have shaped today’s enterprise?

Wang Mingwang: Overall, there are five landmark nodes that have shaped Xiwanda’s “achieve customers” gene and core competitiveness.

First is the 2003 “Internationalization Campaign,” where we urgently took on large international client orders, supplying 60k sets of batteries in a week, verifying our ability to match global clients.

Second is the 2012 “Automation Breakthrough,” where to meet top-tier customer demands, we withstood pressure to develop fully automated production lines, laying a foundation for quality and delivery capabilities.

Third is the 2014 “Decision to Transform into Power Batteries,” where, amid a favorable trend in consumer batteries, we decisively entered the power battery field, seizing the opportunities of new energy vehicle development.

Fourth is the 2018 “Overcoming the Hard Bone of HEV Batteries,” where we met the stringent requirements of top international automakers, won orders, gained a “quality passport” in the global market, and laid the technical foundation for high-rate batteries.

Fifth is the 2019 “Betting on Fast-Charging Technology,” with firm investment in fast-charging batteries. Today, our Flash Charging Battery 4.0 can be fully charged in 5 minutes and reach 95% SOC in 9 minutes, leading the industry’s fast-charging wave.

These five key nodes correspond to our understanding of core capabilities, mastery of manufacturing, strategic opportunity grasp, pursuit of ultimate quality, and foresight into future technologies, collectively connecting Xiwanda’s path of innovative leap.

谢戎彬: Over nearly 30 years in the lithium battery industry, innovation has been the driving force supporting Xiwanda’s continuous progress. As a comprehensive new energy technology enterprise integrating cells, modules, BMS, and PACK manufacturing, what kind of scenario-based power and energy storage solutions does Xiwanda aim to provide for global users through continuous innovation? Turning “doing every battery with care” from a belief into reality, what is the most critical factor?

Wang Mingwang: Our goal has always been customer-centric, providing “safe, efficient, reliable” intelligent energy solutions, and striving to become a “respected world-class new energy enterprise.”

“Doing every battery with care” is our belief, and turning it into reality depends on the pursuit of excellence throughout the R&D and manufacturing process and strategic determination for the future. The most critical points are two: first, a “meticulous” attitude—breaking down “care” into every process parameter, inspection standard, and code, making the concept executable and verifiable. Our investment in fully automated production lines in 2012 exemplifies this meticulousness; second, endurance in the long run—facing major strategic investments like the 2014 transformation into power batteries, we must stay patient and adhere to long-termism.

谢戎彬: To ensure continuous innovation, how does Xiwanda support organizational structure and talent development?

Wang Mingwang: Innovation is not an island; it is supported by a comprehensive “organizational guarantee + talent engine” system that resonates with over 60,000 employees. We promote “entrepreneurial” R&D, through an integrated system of “training, production, competitions, research, and application,” to build a solid foundation for ongoing innovation.

In organizational structure, we have established seven major R&D platforms, including the headquarters R&D center, Advanced Technology Research Institute, Automotive Electronics Research Institute, Intelligent Manufacturing Research Institute, Engineering Technology Innovation Center, Postdoctoral Research Station, and Power Battery Testing Center. We also set up independent product line divisions for different markets to fully stimulate team vitality.

Talent is the core support for industry upgrading. We implement a “recruitment equals employment, entering schools equals entering companies” dual cultivation model, attracting top talents through Xiwanda Academy and our global R&D network. Internally, we have “Morning Star Class” and “Horizon Class” mentorship programs. We also collaborate with universities on industry-university-research partnerships, complemented by partner systems and Amoeba assessments, with multiple incentives to share achievements with our employees.

“True globalization is not just product export, but the export of compliance management and capabilities, integration of ecosystems, and extension of core values.”

谢戎彬: As a core supplier, besides insisting on independent innovation, Xiwanda has also engaged in in-depth cooperation with domestic and foreign automakers. What gains and experiences has Xiwanda gained from these collaborations, and what are its unique, irreplaceable advantages?

Wang Mingwang: From day one, Xiwanda has prioritized “achieving customers,” evolving from serving top global consumer electronics clients to deeply engaging with automakers. Our relationship with clients is not just a simple supply-demand, but a strategic symbiosis.

Our differentiated advantages are reflected in three aspects: one, full-stack self-research and end-to-end collaborative innovation, enabling deep early-stage joint development with automakers; two, a mature gene for serving global clients, adept at long-term win-win and value co-creation; three, a service spirit of “thinking one step ahead” for clients. For example, our established comprehensive overseas compliance and battery passport systems can directly support partners’ globalization strategies.

谢戎彬: Xiwanda has set up manufacturing bases in Hungary, Morocco, Thailand, and other locations. As a Chinese domestic enterprise, what is your most profound experience in global deployment?

Wang Mingwang: My deepest feeling is that true globalization is not just product export, but the export of compliance management and capabilities, ecosystem integration, and core value extension.

When we build factories overseas, it’s not just capacity expansion. Under compliant management mechanisms, we export the entire system of intelligent manufacturing, quality control, and technological R&D, integrating with local industrial ecosystems. Wherever there is customer demand, we establish capacity there—this is the global practice of “achieving customers.” At the same time, we see that Chinese companies like Xiwanda are moving beyond product exports to exporting technology, standards, and services. The “Chinese energy solution” is profoundly influencing global energy transformation, representing a collective advancement of Chinese enterprises.

“No matter how technology and markets change, Xiwanda’s original intention to ‘do every battery with care’ remains unchanged.”

谢戎彬: After many years of entrepreneurship, what is your deepest insight? What do you persist in and change in during good times and bad?

Wang Mingwang: My deepest insight is that running a business is about being a person; products reflect character. Treat products with care, and customers and markets will perceive it. Doing simple things to perfection creates value.

In good times and bad, we always uphold our love for the industry, reverence for quality, customer-centricity, and the spirit of innovation and craftsmanship. We also continuously build learning organizations, respond quickly to customer needs, strengthen compliance and standardization, and stay in sync with the times and industry.

谢戎彬: What is your outlook on the future of China’s power battery industry? What are your expectations for Xiwanda’s future?

Wang Mingwang: I am confident in the long-term prospects of China’s power battery industry. The industry will enter a new stage of comprehensive capability competition. The three underlying logics—global energy transition, China’s complete industrial chain advantage, and Chinese enterprise spirit—remain unchanged. In the future, world-class leading companies will emerge.

For Xiwanda, regardless of how technologies iterate or markets change, the original aspiration of “doing every battery with care” remains unchanged. We will continue to innovate and cooperate openly, steadily advancing toward the vision of “becoming a respected world-class new energy enterprise.” I hope that in the future, when global users need high-quality energy solutions, Xiwanda will be one of their first choices.

Compiled by: Zhang Dongmei Editing/Layout: Liu Xiaoye Photography: China Urban Reporter Quan Yajun