On March 2, South Korea's "North Korea" published an article saying that Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker, began producing the T**Ascan electric SUV sold in Europe in China this year. For the first time, Volkswagen has only sold vehicles made in China, breaking this principle. Volkswagen's reasoning is that "by obtaining parts from Chinese companies and manufacturing vehicles in China, the development time will be shortened by 30% and the cost will be reduced by 20%-40%." The decision comes at a time when the European Union has stepped up restrictions, including an investigation into subsidies for electric vehicles in China. Considering the advantages of abundant labor, parts procurement, and human resource reserves, it is believed that it is better to increase the manufacturing of electric vehicles in China.
Although there are policies to exclude Chinese electric vehicle and battery companies, especially in the United States and Europe, there are more and more companies in the market that want to join forces with China. It is more advantageous to transfer China's leading manufacturing capabilities and technologies in the field of electric vehicles to our company. In fact, not only Volkswagen, but also Toyota and Nissan of Japan, Hyundai Motor and KG Mobility of South Korea have also chosen to sign technical cooperation agreements with Chinese companies or increase the recruitment of Chinese workers. Wall Street** reported: "Many manufacturers are turning their attention to China for clues to manufacturing innovation." ”
Japanese companies are no exception. Toyota, the world's No. 1 company, created an organization called "BEV Factory" last year to take charge of the electric vehicle business and appointed Takero Kato as the CTO (chief technology officer) of a joint venture with China's BYD as the head of this organization. Takero Kato is a typical China expert within Toyota. He said in an interview that "BYD is a company that produces cars, and its equipment and technology are unprecedented in Japan" and "China's manufacturing technology should be transplanted to Toyota". According to Nikkei, "Kato's experience from BYD will be at the heart of Toyota's development of next-generation electric vehicles." ”
Toyota has also brought back Chinese engineers working at its joint venture with China to its headquarters. Toyota maintains a 40% domestic car manufacturing ratio and is a company that takes pride in being a "Japanese-made car". Toyota opened its doors to a large number of Chinese engineers. Takero Kato said, "Whether it is Japanese or Chinese, whether it is from BYD or Toyota, they should work equally." ”
Nissan is also applying the technology it learned from its joint venture with China's Dongfeng Motor to its own vehicles. They are committed to learning the process of reducing the time taken to develop a new vehicle. The current development method, which takes about 4 years, is no longer suitable for the rapid change trend, and needs to be shortened by 1 to 2 years.
South Korean companies are also joining forces with China. KG Mobility is jointly developing next-generation hybrid vehicle systems with BYD. This development is in the hands of BYD, the world's second-largest battery company in terms of market share, with the assistance of kg mobility. KG Mobility plans to install the system on new vehicles in 2025. Hyundai Mobis has also signed a battery assembly technology agreement with China's CATL. CATL has devised an assembly method that allows more batteries to be installed in vehicles, and plans to apply them to Hyundai Motors, among other things.
Demand for electric vehicles is expected to slow down in the next two to three years, and car price reductions are a hot topic, which also contributes to this atmosphere. In order to reduce **, production must be increased and inefficiencies must be reduced, and China's manufacturing sector is closest to this level. Tesla, for example, simply set up a team with members of its Shanghai factory in China as the core. They were responsible for porting the workflows that worked for the Shanghai plant to the U.S., Germany, and other places.
In pursuit of Chinese technology, more and more companies are acquiring or taking stakes in Chinese companies. Volkswagen has taken a stake in Chinese battery maker Gotion Hi-Tech, as well as Horizon Robotics, which produces automotive software, and Thundertech, which produces intelligent cockpit operating systems. Stellantis has acquired a 20% stake in Chinese electric vehicle company Leapmotor. "This trend of cooperation is here to continue for some time, as keeping in touch with China helps with marketing and sales in the Chinese market." ”