Shock study for BMW, Daimler and Co .: Chinese carmakers catching up on innovations

05/17/2018

Shock study for BMW, Daimler and Co. Chinese carmakers are catching up fast on innovations

Tom Grünweg

Small car from BAIC

Autoworkers in the West have long been ridiculing the competition in China – but it is becoming apparent that manufacturers from the People’s Republic could become real challengers. Because the Chinese automakers are catching up rapidly in the development of technical innovations, as a study of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach has revealed.

Plagiarism was yesterday – Baic, BYD, Byton and Co. are closing ever faster to the German manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler or Volkswagen, which are traditionally leaders in innovation. According to this, 32 percent of the key introductions of new products or technologies in the global automotive industry came from Daimler, BMW or the Volkswagen Group last year.

But already 18 percent came from China. In 2015, it was still 9 percent. “As a result, Chinese car manufacturers are increasingly becoming drivers of innovation, building key competencies, especially in the future fields such as e-mobility and networking,” explained CAM director Stefan Bratzel. Behind China comes Japan with a share of 17 percent, followed by the US with 11 percent. Both thus lost 3 to 4 percentage points compared to 2016.

Overall, the study examined the innovations of 35 automotive companies worldwide. This resulted in 1223 relevant vehicle technical innovations, a decrease of 12 percent compared to the previous year. Among the rated innovations were almost 150 world novelties. Examples include the increased range of the electrically powered Tesla Model S, a “stowage pilot” from Audi and a new parking assistance system from BMW.

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New “founder era” in vehicle construction

In doing so, Bratzel observes a shift in development away from driving performance towards greater comfort and safety. It also shows a specialization of manufacturers. Tesla and Renault would have their strengths in electric cars available in series. VW, Daimler and BMW are leaders in hybrids and in serial assistance systems available. In turn, Chinese manufacturers are innovative in almost every area.

The car expert Felix Kuhnert of the consulting firm PwC cooperated in the study with the CAM. He noticed the high number of Chinese manufacturers only a few years old, who stir up the industry with their developments. In the past, German manufacturers complained of plagiarism in China. “Now, however, Chinese corporations are no longer just emulating Western manufacturers, but openly challenging them with their own innovations.”

An example of this is the manufacturer NextEV, which contributed nearly 50 innovations in 2017 and will shortly be launching its first production vehicle on the market. This will be one of 84 different electric vehicles produced in China by 2020. In Germany it will be only 29, according to PwC.

The breakthrough of the electric motor and autonomous driving could, according to Kuhnert, usher in a new “founding era” in vehicle construction. “Examples like Tesla or the emerging Chinese auto startups are increasingly pointing this out.”

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