Imitation hinders the improvement of the level of auto parts in China

At present, what is the innovation capability of China's auto and parts industry? The answer to this question is relatively simple - "Overall, at present, China's self-owned brand cars are still following the imitation stage." This is the deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Dong Jianping, at the 2011 China Auto Parts Industry Conference held in Chengdu in recent days. The opinions expressed. From the discussion of participants, pure imitation and talent shortage are one of the important factors restricting the development of China's spare parts.

Imitation is an obstacle to the level of China's auto parts

One of the biggest problems

There is ample reason for Dong Jianping's argument. From the current independent brands and even the so-called “joint autonomy” models, it can be found that the independent R&D components are not even many, but the overall R&D of the vehicle platform is to imitate foreign mature models. Mainly. Dong Jianping commented: “Because the design of the vehicle's products is mostly reversed, the parts and components that they support can only be imitated; in addition, most parts and components in China’s export market and aftermarket are also processed by imitation or drawings, and there is no technology. The need and requirements for innovation."

A set of data provided by Weichai Power indicates that due to lack of innovation, it is currently used in some key products of auto parts in China, such as 100% automotive EFI systems and engine management systems, 98% of automatic transmission products, and 91% of ABS systems. 69% of airbags are controlled by the technology of foreign companies. At the same time, a total of more than 80% of local self-owned branded parts and components companies, sales accounted for only 20% of the market, of which 90% of the products concentrated in the low-end. Weichai Power believes that most parts and components companies in China do not have product development capabilities, and product development mainly relies on the host plant, which is difficult to adapt to the requirements of the entire vehicle replacement.

Asian-Pacific Mechanical & Electrical Co., Ltd., a privately-owned parts and components company from China, also believes that most of the auto parts companies still stay at the processing and sample mapping stage. In the face of the high demand for new models, new varieties and new technologies, the auto manufacturers have a lot of fast-paced demand. The auto parts companies can only be tired of coping with research and development tasks, and they have no time to consider upgrading their basic R&D and supporting capabilities.

At present, the development of automotive electronics has become an important aspect of automotive technology. However, the current core technology of automotive electronic products is almost exclusively in the hands of several multinational companies. It is extremely difficult for Chinese companies to break the monopoly that has already formed. Dong Jianping also sent a sentiment: "The automotive electronics technology has become the biggest and most serious challenge for China's automotive components, including China's electronics industry. If we can't make breakthroughs in automotive electronics technology, we will not be able to upgrade key component technologies. The autonomy of the auto industry in China will also be greatly reduced.

Obviously, imitation has become a major impediment to the improvement of the level of auto parts in China. According to Dong Jianping, it takes a long process from the start of imitation to the formation of independent innovation capabilities, and few companies have such patience. Due to the strong demand in China's auto market and the low imitation investment and quick results, many companies take imitating as their main means and enjoy it. They also mistakenly believe that the product's core technology can be mastered through imitation. Therefore, only the introduction, upgrading and upgrading of manufacturing equipment are emphasized. Do not pay attention to R & D investment, so there is a general phenomenon of high-end equipment to produce cheap low-end products.

Of course, from another perspective, in the face of the monopoly of high-end technologies of multinational companies and the highly open environment for foreign investment in the domestic auto market, imitation seems to be helpless. However, Dong Jianping pointed out that “imitation and over-reliance on introduction are the greatest manifestations of ignoring the accumulation of knowledge and the lack of respect for knowledge. It has not adapted to the future development of the automobile industry, but has also made it increasingly possible for China’s spare parts enterprises to obtain advanced foreign technologies. narrow."

More high-end equipment is not as good as training high-end talent

At present, the main production lines and key equipment of domestic self-owned brand automakers or parts and components factories are almost guaranteed to be imported high-end equipment, and at least in the oldness of the equipment is not at all lost to other auto-producing countries.

So, do we mean that we should produce high-quality, market-selling products? The answer is negative or uncertain. Here, the most critical factor affecting the competitiveness of a company is not high-end equipment, it is precisely those who design products and operate and manage these high-end equipment. The shortage of talented people, especially international high-end talent, has become one of the major factors contributing to the development of the domestic auto industry. In response, Dong Jianping said: "The current shortage of scientific and technological personnel is extremely limited, and the training system is not perfect. The loss of technical talents for parts and components companies is severe. Most highly qualified personnel in the industry are foreign-funded enterprises."

The reporter noted that at the annual meeting of the Chinese auto parts industry, a representative of the Zhejiang Yuhuan Auto Parts Industry Association mentioned in his speech that Yuhuan, an island county located in the southeast coast of Zhejiang, had more than 1,700 cars. Component manufacturing company. In the face of the parts and components industry, which has long been able to rely mainly on imitation, one of the main methods used by Yuhuan to improve and support the parts and components industry is the introduction of talents.

It is understood that in order to attract and retain talents in various auto parts industry, Yuhuan organizes various forms of talent recruitment activities every year to attract colleges and universities institutes to gather Yuhuan. At the same time, each year during the graduation of college students, leaders led the team to colleges and universities to hold on-site job fairs to attract various talents to work in Yuhuan. During the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” period, more than 1,200 professors from 145 universities and colleges visited Yuhuan to negotiate projects and introduced more than 7,300 professionals in the auto parts industry.

At present, the concept of talented people as "strategic resources" has been deeply rooted in Yuhuan. In 2004, it was awarded by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on the island of China Auto Parts Industry Base. Yuhuan’s talent department has begun to establish a long-term mechanism, and has formulated the Yuhuan talent development plan. Through various innovative measures such as housing security, medical insurance, employment of spouses, children's entry to school, academic exchanges, evaluation and recognition, and other innovative measures such as flexible mobility of talents, incentives for property rights, and participation in income distribution, Yuhuan Auto Parts Industry has not only Staying alive can make people stay more comfortable and the industry's talent structure has been optimized and expanded.

The core elements of high-speed development of Weichai, a leading domestic parts and components company, are also inseparable from the talents, especially the introduction of international high-end talents. According to the information of Weichai, under the general framework of “paying people, keeping people in love, and keeping people in business”, in recent years, the company has introduced more than 1,900 talents of various types at home and abroad to the world, established postdoctoral workstations, and set up specialized The product development, process engineering, machinery development and technical management teams have become the backbone of the company's innovation and development.

In addition, the combination of land and ocean adopted by Weichai enables local traditional talents and introduced talents to achieve the coordination of interests, complementary advantages, and cultural integration. It also provides a platform for each high-end talented person to establish a good position for entrepreneurs and display their talents. The stability and benign growth of the technical team.