Han Media: [60th Anniversary China Innovation Report] One Million Won Can Buy an Electric Vehicle: The Four Secrets of the "Ultimate Cost-Effectiveness" in Mainland China

Nowadays, when people talk about autonomous driving cars in China, no matter how surprising their achievements are, they are no longer rare – for example, the autonomous driving car of Yuanrong Qixing (Yuanrong Qixing) in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It skillfully overtakes the car in front and turns on the turn signal to let the car behind pass first, with smooth and natural lane-changing actions. But what really surprised the reporter was its price.

"The L4-level (autonomous driving without driver intervention) autonomous driving solution from Yuanrong Qixing is priced at 2,000 US dollars (approximately 286 million won). Even including software, it will not exceed 3,000 US dollars. This is one-tenth of the price of similar products from American companies such as Waymo and Mobileye," said Hu Jian, the marketing manager who received the reporter. He added, "We provide solutions for Great Wall Motor, and we have sold about 200,000 units this year."

Low price means poor quality? Not at all. In the 2025 auxiliary driving technology evaluation report released by the global ICT market research institution IDC, Yuanrong Qixing received the highest score in projects such as urban navigation and highway lane centering control. Especially in the field of chain thinking reasoning close to human beings, it is considered to have achieved innovative breakthroughs.

There are many cases of "high-tech and high cost-effectiveness" in China. The electric vehicle "Hai'ou" launched by BYD in April this year is known for its price of approximately 10 million won (starting at 56,800 RMB, approximately 1.147 million won), which is only about one-third of the price of the entry-level electric vehicle Bolt from General Motors in the United States. Morgan Stanley also issued a report stating that "humanoid robots in China are about 75% cheaper than similar products in the United States." The cost of DeepSeek, which shocked the global artificial intelligence community at the beginning of the year, is also about one-tenth of ChatGPT4.

When high-tech products reach China, they become cheap. Why is that?

"In a competitive China, survival itself is innovation."

Firstly, the cost of labor. Every year, 5 million STEM professionals enter the market in China. With sufficient supply, prices naturally fall. For example, an engineer with a master's degree and three years of experience in the United States earns an annual salary of about 220,000 to 300,000 US dollars (approximately 3.2 billion to 4.3 billion won) at Tesla. However, in Shenzhen's autonomous driving industry, you can hire an engineer with an annual salary of 400,000 to 650,000 RMB (approximately 800 million to 1.3 billion won), which is only a quarter of the former's amount.

Secondly, the ecosystem. Shenzhen, where Yuanrong Qixing is located, is currently forming a large ICT ecosystem. Taking Longgang District, where BYD is located, as an example, 90% of the parts required to manufacture electric vehicles can be purchased within one hour's drive. Jin Lei, CFO of Yuanrong Qixing, said, "We can purchase the best LiDAR components at low prices through image equipment-related companies around us. We co-develop parts with them and also cooperate with surrounding整车 manufacturers (vehicle manufacturers)."

Thirdly, economies of scale. China is the world's largest auto production and consumption country. Last year, about 70% (about 7.72 million units) of global pure electric vehicle sales were in China. These all became potential customers for Yuanrong Qixing.

At the same time, the automobile market is a field with extremely fierce competition. To survive in this competition, it is necessary to lower prices and cut costs.

Jin Myeong-sun (音), director of the Shenzhen Trade Office of the Korea Trade Promotion Institute, analyzed, "Due to the extremely intense market competition, surviving in the Chinese market itself is a process of innovation. Market pressure lowers the price of high-tech products, while also enhancing its external competitiveness."

Fourthly, support from the government. China has been continuously and comprehensively supporting high-tech industries. Enterprises receive direct support such as government fund investments, as well as indirect support through administrative approvals. The government also plays the role of a major buyer of products in the initial stage. All these factors have become factors that reduce costs.

The "price" of China's high-tech products is also a challenge for us. Yan Yunxue (音), president of EeRobot Company, who visited the Hangzhou robot company "Unitech" along with the reporting team, attributed the competitiveness of China's robot industry to "commercialization."

He said, "The quadrupedal robot M20 of Unitech is similar in performance to ANYmal developed by the Robot Systems Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, but its price is only one-tenth of that." High-cost-effective Chinese high-tech products are rapidly penetrating the market, generating on-site data, and continuously developing towards the high end.

Source: JoongAng Daily

Original: toutiao.com/article/1850922463106059/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.