Chinese automaker FAW striving to get stronger
Over 50-odd year's development, a research and development pattern that supports independent development in full course ranging from product scheme, product design and preparation for production to production, quality guarantee, procurement, marketing and service, and takes technical center as the main body associating with other departments' participation has shaped up in FAW.
A research and development network has shaped up in Changchun, Tianjin, Wuxi and Qingdao for mutual complement; and a scientific and technical framework focusing on product, development, basic and manufacture technologies has been established.
Currently, FAW has 475 patent technologies on autos, ranking No. 1 of the industry. It has mastered 27 out of 47 key technologies for sedans, 32 out of 45 key technologies for commercial autos, having the capability of independently developing the full commercial autos.
And FAW has established two independent research and development platforms on economic and mid-grade sedans. FAW's range on independent research and development covers basic research, application research, auto electron, complete autos, key assembly and components and parts.
The depth of research and development involves pre-research on technologies, the development of platforms and upgrade products as well as adaptive products, and a product development pattern of "manufacture a generation, develop a generation and prepare for a generation" has initially formed.
During the period of "the 10th five-year plan", FAW has basically finished the adjustment on the structure of light and mini auto products and enterprises' distribution.
In 2002, after reorganizing Tianjin Automobile Industrial (group) Co. Ltd, FAW owned three independent bases for trucks, economic sedans and light and mini autos. In order to win the future competition, in July 2003, FAW launched the construction of new bases for Jiefang trucks and sedans in Changchun.
These two bases are provided with world-class manufacture technique, and their establishment and usage has made FAW's manufacture level and management mode on the independently-developed products realize another leap and own the technical advantages requested for participating in the future competition.
In recent two years, encircling the expansion of independently-developed products' market scale in future, many FAW's base projects have successively finished foundation stone laying and been put into construction: in January 2008, the project of constructing Tianjin Faw's new Xiali & Huali plant initiated.
The plant would have the capability of manufacturing 150,000 sets of complete autos after the project was finished; in August 2008, FAW implemented an expansion project on the auto type of independently-developed sedans.
This new project will be finished and put into action this year, and it is estimated that by 2012, FAW Car Co., Ltd's output on independent-developed cars will reach 200,000 sets; in December 2008, the project of establishing FAW's base for new energy passenger cars initiated.
The new production base is planned to be established and put into use in July 2010, and before 2013, such a production scale of manufacturing 3,000 sets of passenger cars annually will be realized. And the output of new energy passenger cars will occupy 50 percent of the total output.
In May 2009, the project of manufacturing 100,000 sets of light trucks by FAW's Harbin Light Automobile Co. Ltd initiated. Such a project will be completed by the end of this year.
The planned scale is 200,000 sets, and 100,000 sets for the first phase project. The completion and put-into-production of these projects will make FAW's capability of manufacturing independently-developed products improved greatly, and open a larger space for independent development.
