The pace at which the Chinese car industry is churning out new electric and hybrid models has reached levels unknown in the history of the industry. What takes Western giants between four and five years, manufacturers from the Celestial Empire are realizing in three times less time. However, the lightning-fast market offensive has sparked serious discussions in the public space and social networks. Criticism has accumulated from users and analysts about software bugs, unfinished interfaces and assembly problems in the first series of some new cars. In response to the escalating tension, the leaders of the largest Chinese concerns have come out with a unified and firm position – the high speed of development is the result of innovation, not a lack of control.
BYD founder and CEO Wang Juanfu emphasized that lightning-fast development is not at the expense of reliability, but is due to full vertical integration. The concern independently produces almost all vital components - from traction batteries and control chips to electric motors. According to him, it is this independence from external suppliers that reduces the time for engineering coordination. Juanfu also revealed that each new model of the brand undergoes mandatory over 1.5 million kilometers of test trials in the harshest climate zones before receiving the green light for mass production.
A similar position was expressed by Geely's senior management. In view of their global ambitions and the planned expanded offensive on European markets, the brand relies on the strictest global standards. The chairman of the automotive division, An Congwei, was categorical that the company is accelerating on a stable basis, not rushing blindly. Each new Geely project travels over 2 million kilometers of extreme loads - from sub-zero temperatures on the Scandinavian Peninsula, through the heat of the Gobi Desert, to high-altitude tests in Tibet. No less firm in his statement was the head of Great Wall Motors (GWM) Wei Jianjong, who stated that in almost four decades of history his company has never compromised on quality.
An interesting point of view on the topic of remote defect removal was given by representatives of the startup Nio. They emphasized that the possibility of software correction of details after the sale via wireless updates (OTA) is a natural part of the modern digital automotive ecosystem, and not a crime against quality.
For their part, XPeng cited their new large SUV G9L as an example. It took only three years to fully develop it from scratch, but the car has clocked an astonishing 6.74 million test kilometers in 26 different countries and regions. Chery has defended the opposite philosophy. According to Vice President Li Xueong, the development of their latest Fulwin T7 crossover took a full five years - a time that, in his opinion, guarantees absolute product maturity and is the only classically correct approach to building long-term trust.