German and Chinese car-makers can enhance the quality of new-energy vehicles (NEV) through collaboration, as China makes "magnificent" progress in the development of green transportation vehicles, a senior German expert said at an industry forum held in Southwest China's Chongqing city on Wednesday.
Erman Tekkaya, fellow of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering, told Global Times on the sideline of the 32nd China-SAE Congress &Exhibition that as Germany's car industry players enjoys high prestige in the world, "young Chinese car manufacturers are making substantial investment in the design and manufacturing of the NEVs, especially fully electrical vehicles."
"Now NEVs account for nearly 50 percent of the total car production and sales in China, which is magnificent," said Tekkaya, who is also a professor at the Technical University Dortmund in Germany.
China's NEV production and sales made a new record in September, with 1.62 million units produced and 1.60 million units sold, according to data released on Monday by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
For the first nine months, NEV production reached 11.24 million units, surging by 35.2 percent. NEV sales rose by 34.9 percent to 11.23 million units, accounting for 46.1 percent of total new car sales, according to CAAM.
Emphasizing the importance of international standards harmonization in autonomous driving, electrification and infrastructure for NEV cars, the professor expressed his belief that it is a fact that Chinese and German car-makers can embark on many joint undertakings, which will result in a significant lift in technology and will be beneficial for the broad consumers.
Areas of cooperation could include battery weight reduction - without which electric vehicles won't have a future - to cooperation on the design of the new manufacturing processes. It may also include the research and development (R&D) of high strength materials by exploring the many combinations of different materials and the further development of existing materials, according to the German expert.
The professor said his institute of forming technology and lightweight construction has been working with Chinese steel maker Baowu Group to work on ultra-high strength steel that could be used on new-generation of vehicles.
"I drive today with the car from the hotel to the exhibition building. I am surprised about the inner instruments and artificial intelligence technology which is used in the car. The sensors... the cameras... that's an area where the Chinese car industry holds absolute superiority," Tekkaya said.
His comments came at a time when Chinese and European automakers are currently engaging in a deeper level of cooperation in both markets through investment and R&D, despite the imposition of tariffs on Chinese NEV imports by the European Commission.
Southwest China's Chongqing is a key car manufacturing place in China, the city also stood at a logistics hub for shipping cars to Europe and Southeast Asia. Held in Chongqing from Tuesday through Friday, the 32nd China-SAE Congress &Exhibition attracted 10,000 representatives from over 30 countries and regions, according to the events' organizer.
China's automobile exports grew by 21 percent year-on-year to reach 652,000 units in September, with NEV exports maintaining rapid growth to reach 222,000 units, according to the CAAM on Tuesday.
(Source: Global Times)