Chinese automakers’ ambitions to shave even more time off their breakneck development speeds are facing a reality check as regulators ramp up scrutiny of the industry’s safety and testing.
AI means time savings can be won across dozens of processes including reviewing digital design mockups to assess a vehicle’s structure and functionality before moving to constructing a model – a task that when performed by engineers, requires manually checking tens of thousands of components.
That includes developing a new automotive platform and vehicles in tandem rather than consecutively, according to a documentary released by Japanese broadcaster NHK in July. That’s down from the current pace of around two years and compares with roughly three to five years for legacy foreign competitors. An official recall went out about a month after the issue started. If a car is developed quickly and has completed all required testing then it’s just a demonstration of efficiency, Lu Fang, chairman of Dongfeng Motor Corp.’s luxury Voyah brand, has argued. Meeting the stricter standards also risks splitting the industry further given the higher cost of compliance. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp. is trying to speed up a cycle that usually takes three to five years for model changes.
Because they’re not authorized to speak publicly, chinese carmakers have been pushing the limits of the time it takes to develop vehicles that comply with safety rules, according to two people familiar with testing and validation processes in China, who asked not to be identified. Because they’re not authorized to speak publicly, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is paying close attention to customer complaints online, according to two executives at a Chinese automaker, who asked not to be identified. Because of their greater embrace of new technologies like AI, according to Xuan Qiwu, chief executive officer of IAT, still, Chinese carmakers will be able to maintain a lead over foreign rivals.
As competition grows and margins get squeezed, the use of artificial intelligence could set a new industry standard of just 18 months for bringing a brand new model to market, according to an estimate from car designer IAT Automobile Technology and China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
After some of the manufacturer’s models garnered complaints over a defect, the regulator contacted the company to query what it was doing to fix it before it had managed to arrange replacement parts and coordinate with dealers and repair shops, the people said. Even with scrutiny from regulators and customers intensifying, a speedy development pipeline on its own isn’t necessarily a problem, according to some in the industry. Smaller companies that have relied heavily on speed and aggressive rollouts of features may find it harder to keep pace with larger, better-capitalized manufacturers with mature management systems, according to Automobility’s Russo.
