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Chinese carmakers 'learning fast'

By Hao Yan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-30 17:50

A plethora of all kinds of different Chinese-made cars are impressing foreign car design analysts at the 2010 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2010).

Jeffrey Hands, BMW's design analyst, taking a photo of a First Auto Work's car at Auto China 2010 in Beijing on April 23, 2010. Hands, an American working in Munich Germany, is on his first visit to Beijing for competitor research. [Hao Yan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Jeffrey Hands, BMW's design analyst, found the Chinese cars very impressive, and noted that they are quickly becoming advanced. In his first round in the exhibition hall, he found that Chinese carmakers look at what other companies do and learn their own way to do it.

Let us pray that Hands never pops open the hood of a single Chinese car, as most Chinese cars would show their international hearts - engines produced by Japanese or Korean manufacturers. When a car with a foreign engine was sold, the carmaker will pay the foreign engine manufacturers, which is the major cost of the car.

Years ago, a Zhonghua car launched as the first entirely Chinese car, with Chinese-designed engineering powered by aerospace technology. The hi-tech, Chinese-made engine appeared only once at the launching ceremony, and Mitsubishi engines replaced in massive products sold on the market.

It is faster and easier to learn the exterior design from advanced cars, and it is more financially efficient, but does a copycat carmaker last for long?

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China has witnessed numerous manufacturers in south China go bankrupt in the past two years. They massively produced similar products, leaving them to compete with each other only over who had the lowest price. When the favorable market environment was gone, they had no way of maintaining the company with such low profits, brought by low-price copycat products.

Several Chinese carmakers have realized their development is not in imitation but in creation. Now, several Chinese car makers start with creative exterior designs and invite foreign engineering offices to design the engines. Though the designers still have nothing to do with China, at least they possess the intellectual property and avoid paying the engines bill.

Hands believes that Chinese carmakers could rise to the same level as global carmakers in five years. At that time, the Chinese auto market might see some advanced carmakers earning higher profits with self-engineered cars. Those copycat carmakers might still have some last breaths, but are waiting for buyouts.

A Smart the Year of The Tiger limited edition displayed at Auto China 2010. [Hao Yan/chinadaily.com.cn]

A Shuanghuan car displayed at Auto China 2010. [Hao Yan/chinadaily.com.cn]