Global car makers have been accelerating their localization efforts by partnering with Chinese suppliers and tailoring their designs to better cater to Chinese consumers.
At the ongoing 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, executives from leading international car brands shared insights on adapting their models to align with China's technological advancements and customer preferences.
Stephen Ma, chairperson of the management committee of Nissan China, said that Chinese tech firms and the demand of Chinese consumers have driven the mobility innovation in his company.
"China's tech companies and suppliers are arguably at the front of leading the technology change globally. And as I said earlier, the Chinese consumers' appetite and demand for new technology is driving that transformation change in China. So the suppliers are now able to meet the customer need, and therefore, we also need their products and services, and we're going to put them all in our cars," said Ma.
"So as you can see in our cars right now, we partner with many, many suppliers to develop all of the technology in our car. You can see that we have autonomous drive. We have the intelligent AI seats, zero-gravity seats. We have intelligent cabin, [we have] many, many things, of course with a strong support and collaboration with our suppliers," Ma added.
Volkswagen Anhui is accelerating localization by working closely with its Chinese team to fuse German engineering with China's market expertise, according to Stefan Timmermann, CEO of Volkswagen (Anhui) Digital Sales and Services Company.
The move can speed up the launch of new cars into the market, said Timmermann.
"So I think the good thing is that we took this decision -- 'in China for China'. But what does it mean? First, also during the press conference, it was mentioned that the time-to-market has been shortened by now a year. I know the ambition of our engineers to further shorten it, maybe directionally towards two years, yeah. But this is a very ambitious goal. But we are constantly working on it. And the good thing is we do it hand in hand. So we have all the resources here. We have the research and development in Anhui and we have our designers in Wolfsburg in close collaboration with us. So we have every-month meetings to talk about the design, whenever we do a new project. We commonly take a decision," said Timmermann.
The 10-day auto show, which opened on Wednesday, has attracted nearly 1,000 automakers and industry suppliers from 26 countries and regions, making it the largest edition in the prestigious event's history.
Global automakers accelerate localization to meet Chinese market
The Iranian government is focusing on public concerns and maintaining stable supplies of essential goods amid recent protests, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview on Sunday.
In the city of Karaj, northwest of the capital Tehran, daily life has largely continued as normal. A video filmed by a local resident on Sunday shows food stores open and grocery shelves fully stocked.
"This is the block near my home, and there are some food stores here. Daily life continues here. Last night we did not see many protests in Karaj. Right now the city is very safe. This is a grocery store close to my home. All the food is available; nothing is in shortage. Here are noodles and different types of beans. Here are dairy products, cheese, and yogurt. I also checked other grocery stores and didn't see any shortages. Everything is available," said local resident Ali Reza.
Iranian officials have described recent disturbances as acts orchestrated by the "enemy," including some carried out by well-trained and armed "terrorists." The incidents have caused casualties among security personnel and civilians, as well as property damage.
The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has directed authorities to severely punish the "terrorists."
Meanwhile, Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said on Sunday that the police had raised alert levels and arrested several leaders of the troublemakers during the operations on Saturday.
President Pezeshkian noted in the interview that the normal demands of the Iranian people are reasonable and justified, but they must realize that triggering riots and carrying out terrorist acts are the enemy's attempts to undermine the country. He urged the public to remain vigilant.
Also on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that Tehran would regard U.S. and Israeli bases and facilities in the Middle East as "legitimate targets" if Washington takes military action against Iran. His remarks followed media reports saying U.S. President Donald Trump is "seriously considering authorizing a strike" against Iran.
Iranian state media reported that at least 109 members of Iran's security forces have been killed in clashes since the protests began 14 days ago. Meanwhile, human rights groups based outside the country said the number of protesters killed has exceeded 200, though the figure could not be independently verified.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and sanctions imposed by the United States.
Iranian president says government focusing on ensuring supplies amid protests
