A Belgian vlogger's exploration into New Energy Vehicle (NEV) manufacturing in east China's economic powerhouse the Yangtze River Delta has unveiled the key factors driving the rise of the country's NEV sector around the world. Upon arriving in the city of Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, Lucas Deckers, the vlogger, visited the factory of Jianhu Yaoning New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., a battery cell manufacturing company of Chinese autometer Geely's Aegis Dagger battery.
Su Zhijie, director of the production operations department under the battery maker, introduced major processes of the battery production, including coating and electrode making, to Deckers. He also told Deckers that the factory was strategically positioned in close proximity to automobile assembly plants to enhance the competitiveness of their products.
"Being close to our customers, we can handle their needs at any time, and our transportation costs will be relatively low, which is very advantageous for (improving) the competitiveness of our products," explained Su.
Leaving that factory and heading south, Deckers then reached China's business hub Shanghai, with the intention of exploring the realm of electric vehicle design.
As one of the country's automobile manufacturing bases, Shanghai has become an emerging global art and fashion center, with many international car companies, including Ford, Tesla, Nissan and General Motors, setting up design centers in the city.
While exploring Geely's design studio, the vlogger learned that the design team there develops and executes new ideas, solutions and world-class designs with carving out full-scale design models in malleable clay.
Chen Zheng, Vice President of Geely Auto Group, said that these clay models are created to facilitate the design of their cars in their earliest stages. This is literally the first time a designer's idea appears as a physical object. These sculptures of ideas, will be continuously modified by hand until the design team is satisfied, creating a tangible three-dimensional vision of how the production of cars will eventually look.
"The rapid growth of our new energy industry has led to significant enhancements in aesthetics and design. With technological empowerment and overall environmental improvements, the design quality will get better and better," said Chen when asked to comment on the car models' appearances.
In addition to high-quality battery plus attention grabbing designs, stable performance is another important factor influencing car purchase. Therefore, Deckers continued southward to Zhejiang Province and arrived in Ningbo City, the home of research and development centers and supporting factories of many NEV brands.
During his tour of Geely Power Research Institute, an NEV model was undergoing low-temperature testing.
"We will test the performance of the battery at low temperatures to see how its reliability and battery life are. We can also do high temperature testing. For example, this device can simulate sunlight. We can raise the overall temperature of the environment to 60 degrees Celsius and simulate strong winds as well," explained Xue Penglou, a test engineer at the research institute.
Meanwhile, advanced technologies like 5G and artificial intelligence (AI), have been applied by the smart factory of Zeekr, a new electric mobility technology and solutions brand owned by Geely Automobile Holdings, in order to enhance capacity.
Zhang Yu, senior manager of its assembly workshop, said that 60 vehicles can be assembled in one hour.
"We use 5G and AI imaging technology to compare the orders we produce with the physical objects we load onto vehicles to ensure that 1.5 million combinations can be assembled into the correct parts and delivered to our customers. Currently, this is absolutely leading in the world," said Zhang.
According to these industrial insiders, a well-coordinated division of labor exists within the industrial chain of China's NEV manufacturing. Jiangsu focuses on supplying batteries and conducting road tests, while Shanghai is dedicated to providing design services. Concurrently, Zhejiang specializes in component making and performance tests.
"Taking our current location as an example, I may only need two to three hours to swiftly get components like batteries, motors, and the stamping of vehicle bodies involved in new energy vehicle manufacturing. We often say that the automobile industry is a standard to measure the industrial level of a country. Therefore, when evaluating the performance of China's new energy vehicles today, I, from an engineering standpoint, prefer to take it as an improvement in the level of an entire industry," said Liu Bin, senior manager of technology promotion department at Geely Power Research Institute.
Belgian vlogger uncovers fast development of China's NEV industry
