Chang'an leads overseas journey of self-owned brands
With rapid development of the Chinese auto industry, the self-owned auto brands in China have also made a great progress for the last 10 years. From no more than 10 auto types earlier to more than 100 now and from being purchased by only a few people in the market to occupying a market share of nearly 1/3, the self-owned brands experience untiring effort by several generations of auto people. With a history of 150 years, Chang'an Auto, as a state-owned enterprise converted from military-oriented to a civilian company is one of them.
For the last 10 years, with implementation of the state's opening and independent development strategy and active practice of the guiding concept of "science and technology constituting the primary productive force", Chang'an Auto, sticking to the goal of mastering core technologies and fostering core competitiveness and the principle of "introduction, digestion, absorption and innovation", marches into a way of self innovation featured by self-centering and independent developing.
Fostering constantly leading R&D capability
Xu Liuping, chairman of Chang'an Auto says to the reporter, "Auto enterprises with self-owned brands must handle properly the relation between technologies, quality and brand and should be fully aware of that technologies are the key foundation for the self-owned brands and without strong technological foundation, self-owned brand and innovation means nothing!" He believes that the auto industry integrates the most advanced technologies of that time. It drives the technological innovation constantly on the basis of demand change. The scope, amount, period and scale in which technologies are involved in the auto industry can not be match by other industries. Based on such a concept, Chang'an Auto takes R&D as the lead and fosters the Chinese strongest and constantly leading R&D capability.
The proportion of R&D investment in sales income is one standard to measure innovation effort all the time. Chang'an Auto's proportion of R&D investment in sales income accounts for 5 percent annually, much higher than the domestic average level. During the early time of independent R&D, such a proportion was even up to 20 percent. Chang'an Auto has spent over RMB 35 billion yuan for the last 10 years in establishing laboratories in 14 fields such as intensity test, vibration noise, collision safety, etc.
After years of untiring efforts, Chang'an Auto makes a series of achievements and improves the key core R&D capability. Among 286 core technical fields acknowledged in the auto industry, Chang'an Auto has mastered 262 and owned all test and verification capabilities except wind tunnel test.
In order to make full use of the global advantageous resources and follow the auto development trend in the world, Chang'an Auto has established R&D centers in Turin of Italy, Yokohama of Japan, Nottingham of the UK, Detroit of the US, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin and Jingdezhen and formed a 24-hour uninterrupted R&D pattern of "nine places in five countries with their own focuses". Benefiting from R&D capability in "nine places in five countries", the product R&D period of Chang'an Auto is shortened from original 42 months to 32 months with the R&D cost falling by 20 to 30 percent on average.
Setting up a high land of innovative talent
There is a sentence in the preface of Chang'an Auto leading cultural manual, "if Chang'an Auto wants to a world leading auto enterprise, first it should create a world leading team," said Xu Liuping, "Chang'an's talent strategy is to introduce, retain and make full use".
How to "introduce"? Relying on the global huge R&D system, Chang'an Auto sets up a high-end and complete R&D talent pool to attract diversified talents. Presently, there are about 6000 R&D persons in Chang'an with 10 of them selected into China's "Thousand Talents Program".
How to "retain"? Chang'an went to Detroit of the US to recruit talents in 2007. With rising development opportunity in Chinese auto industry and Chang'an Auto's determination on developing self-owned brand, Xu Liuping successfully attracted Pang Jian, a leading expert in the field of NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). Now, Doctor Pang Jiang, rooting deeply in Chang'an, leading a team of 200 people and owning 11 NVH laboratories, does a lot of works in aspects like product engineering, advanced technologies and basic research. The goal of the team is to become a world class team in 2015. Doctor Zhao Hui, as an expert in "Thousand Talents Program", also chooses to join Chang'an Auto. Under his lead, Chang'an Auto has established the world-class collision laboratory and owned a team of 97 special talents.
Creating an atmosphere of innovation by all staff
"Activity for reasonable suggestions", a public technical innovation activity, has been conducted for consecutive 11 years in Chang'an Auto. In order to encourage all staff to participate, Chang'an sets up a special award of over RMB 2 million yuan for reasonable suggestions every year.
Chang'an Auto has received 618,331 reasonable suggestions accumulatively from the staff in the past 10 years, adopted and implemented 412,493 suggestions, saved and created value account for RMB 1.9 billion yuan accumulatively and awarded 72 cars and premium valued at RMB 20 million yuan.
Planning in advance and looking forward into the future
China Automotive Technology & Research Centre released the C-NCAP (China-New Car Assessment Program) assessment results for new batch of car types of 2012 on September 2, 2012. Chang'an Eado obtained 5 stars for safety collision and became the only self-owned-brand car obtained 5-star safety assessment of C-NCAP among 6 car types to participate the assessment this time. It stands for another great progress of the Chinese self-owned-brand cars.
Chang'an Auto launched 5 new car types one after another in the market in 2012 including Raeton, Eado, CS35, Honor and Alsvin V5. They reflect the strength of independent innovation and profound accumulation of Chang'an Auto over the years and stand for upgrading achievement of the self-owned-brand products of Chang'an.
Presently, the Chinese auto industry is standing in the gate of transformation. Wang Ruixiang, chairman of China Machinery Industry Federation believed, "the Chinese self-owned auto brands must transform the development concept, make innovations in development mode, choose the way of depending on innovation and enhancing growth capability, and make much efforts in technical innovation and R&D, and in quality, safety, stability and comfort." Xu Liuping said, "if it fails to pass through the gate of independent innovation, it can never become an independent enterprise and can never set up a real self-owned brand."
Fostering constantly leading R&D capability
Xu Liuping, chairman of Chang'an Auto says to the reporter, "Auto enterprises with self-owned brands must handle properly the relation between technologies, quality and brand and should be fully aware of that technologies are the key foundation for the self-owned brands and without strong technological foundation, self-owned brand and innovation means nothing!" He believes that the auto industry integrates the most advanced technologies of that time. It drives the technological innovation constantly on the basis of demand change. The scope, amount, period and scale in which technologies are involved in the auto industry can not be match by other industries. Based on such a concept, Chang'an Auto takes R&D as the lead and fosters the Chinese strongest and constantly leading R&D capability.
The proportion of R&D investment in sales income is one standard to measure innovation effort all the time. Chang'an Auto's proportion of R&D investment in sales income accounts for 5 percent annually, much higher than the domestic average level. During the early time of independent R&D, such a proportion was even up to 20 percent. Chang'an Auto has spent over RMB 35 billion yuan for the last 10 years in establishing laboratories in 14 fields such as intensity test, vibration noise, collision safety, etc.
After years of untiring efforts, Chang'an Auto makes a series of achievements and improves the key core R&D capability. Among 286 core technical fields acknowledged in the auto industry, Chang'an Auto has mastered 262 and owned all test and verification capabilities except wind tunnel test.
In order to make full use of the global advantageous resources and follow the auto development trend in the world, Chang'an Auto has established R&D centers in Turin of Italy, Yokohama of Japan, Nottingham of the UK, Detroit of the US, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin and Jingdezhen and formed a 24-hour uninterrupted R&D pattern of "nine places in five countries with their own focuses". Benefiting from R&D capability in "nine places in five countries", the product R&D period of Chang'an Auto is shortened from original 42 months to 32 months with the R&D cost falling by 20 to 30 percent on average.
Setting up a high land of innovative talent
There is a sentence in the preface of Chang'an Auto leading cultural manual, "if Chang'an Auto wants to a world leading auto enterprise, first it should create a world leading team," said Xu Liuping, "Chang'an's talent strategy is to introduce, retain and make full use".
How to "introduce"? Relying on the global huge R&D system, Chang'an Auto sets up a high-end and complete R&D talent pool to attract diversified talents. Presently, there are about 6000 R&D persons in Chang'an with 10 of them selected into China's "Thousand Talents Program".
How to "retain"? Chang'an went to Detroit of the US to recruit talents in 2007. With rising development opportunity in Chinese auto industry and Chang'an Auto's determination on developing self-owned brand, Xu Liuping successfully attracted Pang Jian, a leading expert in the field of NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). Now, Doctor Pang Jiang, rooting deeply in Chang'an, leading a team of 200 people and owning 11 NVH laboratories, does a lot of works in aspects like product engineering, advanced technologies and basic research. The goal of the team is to become a world class team in 2015. Doctor Zhao Hui, as an expert in "Thousand Talents Program", also chooses to join Chang'an Auto. Under his lead, Chang'an Auto has established the world-class collision laboratory and owned a team of 97 special talents.
Creating an atmosphere of innovation by all staff
"Activity for reasonable suggestions", a public technical innovation activity, has been conducted for consecutive 11 years in Chang'an Auto. In order to encourage all staff to participate, Chang'an sets up a special award of over RMB 2 million yuan for reasonable suggestions every year.
Chang'an Auto has received 618,331 reasonable suggestions accumulatively from the staff in the past 10 years, adopted and implemented 412,493 suggestions, saved and created value account for RMB 1.9 billion yuan accumulatively and awarded 72 cars and premium valued at RMB 20 million yuan.
Planning in advance and looking forward into the future
China Automotive Technology & Research Centre released the C-NCAP (China-New Car Assessment Program) assessment results for new batch of car types of 2012 on September 2, 2012. Chang'an Eado obtained 5 stars for safety collision and became the only self-owned-brand car obtained 5-star safety assessment of C-NCAP among 6 car types to participate the assessment this time. It stands for another great progress of the Chinese self-owned-brand cars.
Chang'an Auto launched 5 new car types one after another in the market in 2012 including Raeton, Eado, CS35, Honor and Alsvin V5. They reflect the strength of independent innovation and profound accumulation of Chang'an Auto over the years and stand for upgrading achievement of the self-owned-brand products of Chang'an.
Presently, the Chinese auto industry is standing in the gate of transformation. Wang Ruixiang, chairman of China Machinery Industry Federation believed, "the Chinese self-owned auto brands must transform the development concept, make innovations in development mode, choose the way of depending on innovation and enhancing growth capability, and make much efforts in technical innovation and R&D, and in quality, safety, stability and comfort." Xu Liuping said, "if it fails to pass through the gate of independent innovation, it can never become an independent enterprise and can never set up a real self-owned brand."
