Wuhan Jingkai District Automotive Industry Enters "Creation Times"

Near the Spring Festival, Dongfeng Honda's R&D center construction project will be stepped up. According to statistics from Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, as of the 27th, there are more than 20 R&D centers for automobile and parts companies in the region, and most of them have the background of multinational companies. The R&D center scale and independent innovation capability rank among the top three in the domestic “Automobile City”.

Among more than 20 R&D institutions, there are many industry “national team” players. Electric vehicle research and industrialization scale application of the country's leading. Dongfeng Motor Research Institute camped in Wuhan and designed its own Dongfeng brand. At the end of last year, Dongfeng Electric Vehicle Company took the lead into the era of commodities in China: the development and sale of hybrid buses that were independently developed; the demonstration of hybrid cars will be realized on the Dongfeng proprietary brand car platform. The person in charge of the Ministry of Science and Technology pointed out that the research and development of electric vehicles in Wuhan can compete with the world's experts.

The world’s automotive giant Lampeo Group will deploy its Asian R&D center in Wuhan and build “Chinese laboratories” to compete with nine R&D centers in Europe, Japan and the United States. At present, 70% of the works in the R&D center in Han are sold well in overseas markets.

At the end of 2004, Dongfeng signed a cooperation agreement with Cummins Inc., a Fortune 500 company, to build a research and development center for diesel engines and independently develop the “heart” to achieve the transformation from “Made in China” to “Developed in China.” According to reports, this is the first research and development point established by the multinational companies in the diesel engine industry in China. It will study and solve the problems of fuel economy of Chinese users in five years, and reduce the cost of the engines and vehicles that are independently produced in China.

The other R&D departments of the auto industry of the Development Zone all have “unique skills” and raise the “Wuhan Created” banner with the “world-class players” mentioned above. The door lock system developed by Zhongsheng Electric Company and the electronic control system for vehicles developed by Chengsheng Electronics Co., Ltd. are all independently created and have entered the supply chain of well-known auto OEMs at home and abroad.

The person in charge of the Development Zone Management Committee commented that numerous R&D centers have enhanced industrial creativity and saved the Wuhan automobile industry a strong potential for sustainable development.