(By Observer Net, Zhang Jiadong, Editor: Gao Xin)

Recently, Reuters, after surveying multiple Chinese car manufacturers, stated that although Europe and the United States are trying to restrict the rapid development of Chinese cars by imposing tariffs on imported Chinese vehicles, the significantly shortened research and development time and cycle is the most important factor for Chinese cars to dominate the market.

Reuters

AlixPartners, a consulting firm, said that the average age of electric or plug-in hybrid models sold by Chinese brands in the domestic market is 1.6 years, while that of foreign brands is 5.4 years. Most executives and industry experts say that shortening the car R&D cycle can save money, reduce prices, and ensure that Chinese companies have the latest models during the technological revolution.

Not Dependent on Subsidies

Elon Musk said last year that Chinese car manufacturers might "destroy" their competitors.

Data from the consulting firm Automobility shows that from 2020 to 2024, the total passenger vehicle sales of the top five foreign automakers in the Chinese market dropped from 9.4 million per year to 6.4 million, while the sales of the top five Chinese automakers increased by more than double, reaching 9.5 million.

Reuters

For years, CEOs and other executives from global automakers such as Ford, Volkswagen, Stellantis, General Motors, and Renault have publicly acknowledged that Chinese competitors pose a significant threat and often mentioned the fast R&D speed of Chinese competitors as something worth learning.

At the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year, Ralf Brandstaetter, President of Volkswagen China, stated that Volkswagen's goal was to be "fast and competitive like Chinese startups"; Ma Zhixin, Chairman of Nissan China Management Committee, also emphasized that Nissan would give the Chinese R&D team control and follow the Chinese pace.

Therefore, many automakers have chosen to collaborate with fast-developing Chinese automakers. Partnerships such as Volkswagen with XPeng and Stellantis with Leap Motor reflect the desire of foreign automakers to learn from their Chinese counterparts' operational methods.

Professor Allen Han from Tongji University's School of Automotive Studies said that after imitating foreign cars, the Chinese auto industry began to carefully study their competitors' engineering processes and design different, faster product release paths.

Of course, this high-speed iteration competition has brought a more brutal market landscape. According to data from JATO Dynamics, among the existing 169 car manufacturers in China, 93 have a market share below 0.1%.

However, Gu Hongdi, President of XPeng Motors, previously stated that although it is a very harsh and competitive process, the survivors will be very strong.

Unique Chinese Speed

In the eyes of foreign media, the market performance brought by Chinese speed is particularly obvious. According to JATO data, since Tesla launched the Model Y in 2020, BYD has launched more than 40 new models and 139 updated or upgraded models.

This launch speed is first attributed to the flat internal structure. Mark Blundell, the UK market manager of BYD, said, "We have few layers between us and the chairman, which allows us to make decisions quickly, making us flexible and fast."

Peter Matkin, Chief International Brand Engineer at Chery, said that Chinese car manufacturers' employees usually work six days a week, 12 hours a day. "Other global car manufacturers have no idea what they are facing," he said.

BYD self-developed 8-in-1 electric drive - BYD official website

Additionally, replacing procurement from suppliers with self-research and development is also an advantage for BYD to accelerate. According to A.T. Kearney analysis, the internal component ratio of the Seagull is 75%, while that of the Tesla Model 3 and the Volkswagen ID.3 is 46% and 35%, respectively.

Compared to foreign competitors, Chinese car manufacturers' engineers are more willing to change designs and components during the later stages of model development, while foreign automakers tend to stick to strict schedules and review processes.

Industry executives and experts said that unlike the multi-layer quality screening in global industry standards, Chinese automakers can quickly produce high-quality cars. They rely more on simulation testing and AI rather than real-world safety and durability tests. The launch of new models is more like the beginning of R&D, not the end, and frequent upgrades are added based on consumer feedback later, similar to tech startups in Silicon Valley.

Toyota employees said that when the four-year development process begins, Toyota determines the specifications of a model, and rarely makes major changes later. In this process, Toyota produces six prototypes and verifies their reliability through tens of thousands of kilometers of test drives. This is one of the important reasons why traditional automakers have not yet reached the speed of Chinese automakers.

Compared to simulation data, the long actual product verification process of traditional automakers leads them to work in a linear way: departments need to wait for their turn to handle parts or systems.

Zhike 009 factory - Reuters

Chinese automakers that rely more on digital R&D can deploy global R&D teams in parallel. For example, at Zhihu, after engineers finish work each day, they hand over tasks to colleagues at the Gothenburg Design Center in Sweden. Due to the time difference, development can continue for 20 hours without interruption. Xu Yun, Vice President of Zhihu, estimated that the "Chinese process" could shorten the development time by one or three times.

Importantly, this approach does not affect the quality of Chinese cars. Although the review process for Chinese brand models is short, they still manage to achieve a five-star safety rating in the rigorous E-NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme). Matthew Avery, Strategic Development Director of E-NCAP, said, "Drop the prejudice that 'Chinese cars mean lower quality or safety performance.' Contemporary Chinese brand cars' quality is 'far better than other brands'."

At the same time, Chinese automakers also save time and money by using standardized car platforms and components across models. For example, Zhihu has a database containing 20 years of Geely manufacturing experience, which is analyzed by artificial intelligence to tell engineers which parts are most effective and cost-effective.

Chery Jaecoo 7 - Reuters

Chery, which has a rich product matrix, also does so. Every time it develops a model, the company proposes 5 to 10 digital design options. If any model fails, it can be quickly replaced with another. When talking about the plug-in hybrid model Jaecoo 7 for overseas sales, engineer Matkin said, "If everyone says 'we hate it' today, within two years, it will be reborn. It may still be called Jaecoo 7, but it will look completely different."

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524533305262342666/

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