Chinese automakers are changing the rules of the game, raising the speed of development of new electric vehicles (EVs) to levels that Western companies can hardly reach. Now even auto giants such as General Motors (GM) openly admit that to survive in the electric car race, they must adopt the Chinese pace.
Mark Royce, president of General Motors, said in an interview with InsideEVs that the company needs to learn from its competitors in China, especially in terms of development speed. While Chinese companies manage to go from concept to mass production in a record short time – just 22 to 28 months, – Western companies, including GM, take 32 to 48 months.
“We can learn a lot from their speed. I don't think copying each other or chasing the lowest price is the right strategy. But speed is something we need to catch up with“, commented Royce.
The secret of speed and its weaknesses
According to Royce, the secret behind the lightning speed of Chinese brands lies in their shared supplier base and their ability to quickly switch to innovation. This allows for an almost immediate transition from prototype to production line.
However, the GM president also acknowledges the weaknesses of this system, which are mainly related to sustainability and profits: “Many of them find it difficult to make money if they don't produce batteries. They release new models at lightning speed, copy each other's ideas – and disappear just as quickly.“
The West is waking up
GM is not the only concern trying to catch up. European premium brands are also being forced to speed up their processes.
Audi has already announced that it is developing the next generation of the TT model at “Chinese speed“, planning to complete the project just 30 months after its approval.
BMW has gone even further: as part of its Neue Klasse strategy, the Bavarian manufacturer plans to launch 40 new or updated models in just two years.
Analysts agree that this “China effect“ is one of the most serious challenges for traditional automakers in decades. China is not just producing in large volumes - it is doing it faster. This factor is proving to be the key to its potential dominance of the global electric vehicle market. For the Western giants, reaction time is critical if they want to maintain their positions.