(Yicai Global) June 20 -- Shenzhen ranked first among Chinese cities in terms of new energy, according to the second edition of the Hurun China New Energy Cities.

Shanghai ranked second, followed by Suzhou, Beijing, and Changzhou, according to the list released yesterday. Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Tianjin, and Hefei ranked seventh to 10th, respectively.

This year's edition of the Hurun China New Energy Cities assessed and ranked all 50 provincial-level, sub-provincial, and prefecture-level cities in China.

Shenzhen and Shanghai have a clear advantage, as the first is home to BYD and the second to Tesla's gigafactory, said Hu Run, chairman and chief research officer at Hurun Report. As a system-level product, new energy vehicles can support firms across the upstream and downstream reaches of supply chains, so industry giants like Tesla and BYD contribute more than just with car capacity to cities, he added.

Half of the cities on the list are in eastern China. Jiangsu province is the most represented with 10 cities.

Changzhou in Jiangsu province climbed one spot to rank fourth. It was the only second-tier city to make the top 10. Changzhou had higher marks than any other city in terms of concentration ratios of premium firms, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and new energy investment popularity.

Changzhou's NEV industry scale and output this year will significantly increase, according to Chen Jinhu, head of the city's party committee. The NEV industry will be worth more than CNY650 billion (USD90.6 billion) this year, versus CNY510 billion last year, and the NEV output will more than double to over 700,000 units, Chen noted.

Region adjustments to China's auto industry have begun, said Zhang Yongwei, vice chairman and secretary general of think tank China Electric Vehicle Association. "Non-leading areas may take advantage in the NEV sector to catch up with leaders and even surpass them," Zhang added.

Last year's list only included one city from Jiangxi province and none from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. But this year, three cities from Jiangxi and two from Inner Mongolia made the list. "Recently, the two provincial-level regions have notably paid more attention to and enhanced inputs on new energy," Hu said.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione