The 76-second car: how China rewrote the rules of car making
Honda's chief executive toured a supplier's factory in China this year and confessed his company had ‘no chance against this’. Here is the secret sauce behind those astonishing Chinese cars.
In February, Honda's CEO visited a Chinese auto parts factory that operated entirely automated, with no humans on the production floor. The CEO reportedly commented, "We have no chance against this." The author, familiar with China's robotics industry, observed similar automation in Shenzhen, where robots and driverless carts worked around the clock with minimal human presence.
The question remains: how did Chinese cars become so advanced so quickly? The answer lies in BYD's four-pronged approach. First, BYD treats car development like a smartphone, with software integrated from the start and quick refreshes based on market demands. Second, BYD manufactures its own batteries, motors, and semiconductors, reducing EV costs by up to 25% compared to Western rivals.
Third, BYD employs an unprecedented level of automation in its factories, with robots handling over 90% of tasks in body and paint shops. Fourth, the Chinese government subsidized the EV industry heavily but allowed fierce competition to eliminate weaker players, leaving only the most resilient companies. The author notes that Malaysia is benefiting from this revolution through Geely's stake in Proton and its new EV plant, which brings Chinese manufacturing techniques to local production.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- The 76-second car: how China rewrote the rules of car making freemalaysiatoday.com
