Facing an aggressive push by Chinese automakers to launch new models at short intervals and rapidly seize market share, major automakers in Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea are confronting a new trade-off between R&D speed and quality control. Renault Group CEO Francois Provost said the French automaker will not blindly follow suit at the expense of quality and will not bring a new model to market if its development cycle is under two years.
Supply-chain players say the biggest difference between newer automakers—including Tesla and fast-rising Chinese new energy vehicle makers—and mainstream carmakers lies in real-world operating experience, which the latter have accumulated over more than a century. As a result, a "learn by doing" approach is more visible among newer entrants.
Of course, China's auto market has long been supported by government policy, giving Chinese automakers a vast proving ground. Most have also drawn on extensive expertise accumulated in smartphones, PCs, and home appliances, quickly transferring it into automotive electrical/electronic architecture (E/E) and software-defined vehicles (SDVs).
In recent years, China's new energy vehicle sector has matured. In terms of market share, Chinese automakers have effectively regained leadership in their home market and are pushing harder into overseas markets, prompting Beijing to intervene more forcefully and demand automotive-grade quality. Beyond reshaping the supply chain, this round of adjustment is also an important threshold for securing the industry's long-term development.
Reuters reported that Renault has already made shorter development times a core part of its futuREady strategic plan, aiming to keep the period from concept freeze to industrial launch within two years. Provost stressed, however, that two years is the minimum needed to assure quality.
Provost said a two-year development period is the minimum time required to fix software bugs and ensure quality and must include millions of kilometers of real-world road testing in extreme cold and heat, rather than relying on digital simulation alone.
In fact, Renault has already been shortening its product cycles. The Renault 5 E-Tech electric took three years to develop; the all-electric Twingo, meanwhile, was brought to market in 21 months.
Compared with the roughly three- to five-year new model development cycles traditionally used by Western automakers, Chinese players are moving toward development cycles of about 18 months. But that extreme compression has recently drawn internal warnings from Geely Auto Group, Great Wall Motor (GWM), and Chery Auto, which said customers are effectively becoming test subjects for vehicle durability and safety. To prevent hidden risks, Chinese authorities have launched quality and safety inspections of automakers.
Article edited by Ysi Chen
