“Over the past year, the number of automatic driving test cars in Anting has increased significantly, and basically, we can see the automatic driving vehicle with sensors on it.” Gu Kang, an expert of an automatic driving company in Jiading, told the first financial reporter.
After entering the automotive College of Tongji University in 2008, Gu Kang’s life has been firmly bound with Jiading. From study in Tongji to employment in SAIC Volkswagen, and then from the vehicle factory to the automatic driving company, Jiading witnessed Gu Kang grow from a fledgling college student to an expert in the automotive industry. Gu Kang also experienced the great changes in the automotive industry in Jiading in recent ten years.
“It is said that the automobile industry is experiencing great changes that have not been seen in a century. As employees in the automobile industry, I have deep experience.” Gu Kang said.
new energy becomes the main theme
In 2017, Gu Kang, who was also a development engineer of SAIC Volkswagen, didn’t expect the wave of new energy vehicles to come so fast. “At that time, we just knew that Volkswagen would begin to introduce products of MEB pure electric platform, and then our engineers would also be required to pass the examination of high-voltage electric operation, but fuel vehicles are still the focus of our work.”
In October 2020, just three years later, SAIC Volkswagen MEB factory was completed in Jiading. This is the first newly built factory of Volkswagen Group for the production of MEB pure electric vehicle platform models in the world. It is also one of the largest and most efficient pure electric vehicle factories in China.
In this new factory, SAIC Volkswagen has applied many of the world’s first technologies and standards: the paint workshop is the world’s first 120jph paint workshop with new environmental protection technology of Volkswagen Group; The stamping workshop adopts APS advanced scheduling technology for the first time in Volkswagen Group to realize the automatic layout of stamping plan, optimize stamping production inventory and improve production efficiency; In the body shop, the online absolute measurement system scheme is applied for the first time in the world to monitor the size and quality of the body in white in real time and efficiently; In the final assembly workshop, through the use of high-precision vision system, the full-automatic installation scheme of high flexible instrument panel and head seal strip is realized for the first time.
In order to build this advanced new energy vehicle factory, SAIC Volkswagen invested 17 billion yuan. In December 2020, the new factory was recognized as the first batch of 20 smart factories in Shanghai by Shanghai Economic and Information Technology Commission. Today, SAIC Volkswagen id.4x, id.6x and other models produced from this smart factory have appeared in the streets of Shanghai.
Five kilometers away from SAIC Volkswagen MEB factory, there is an enterprise recognized by the industry as a “little giant” – jiehydrogen technology. In 2021, Saic Motor Corporation Limited(600104) announced that the company planned to spin off its subsidiary hydrogen fuel cell enterprise Shanghai jiehydrogen Technology Co., Ltd. to be listed on the science and Innovation Board of Shanghai Stock Exchange.
“The degree of autonomy and localization rate of hydrogen ignition m4h fuel cell stack have reached 100%. The core technical indicators of hydrogen ignition series fuel cell system equipped with m4h stack will be compared with the world’s top level represented by Toyota.” Saic Motor Corporation Limited(600104) means.
“If MEB factory represents the technical route of pure electric, then hydrogen port represents Jiading’s investment in fuel cells.” Gu Kang told reporters that there was a hydrogen charging station in Jiading 6-7 years ago, which is an area where China began to layout the hydrogen fuel cell industry earlier. Statistics show that in February 2018, Shanghai’s first hydrogen energy and fuel cell Industrial Park was settled in Anting, Jiading, becoming the prototype of Jiading hydrogen energy port. In June 2019, Jiading hydrogen energy port was officially established. At present, the hydrogen energy port has gathered more than 20 leading enterprises in the industry, such as Great Wall Motor Company Limited(601633) , jiehydrogen technology, Faurecia, horika instruments, ChuChu intelligence, national hydrogen energy and fuel cell testing base and so on. At present, Jiading hydrogen energy port has initially possessed relatively complete supporting elements of the whole ecological industry.
In addition to pure electricity, Jiading is also further accelerating its layout in the field of fuel cells. On December 29, 2021, the press conference of Jiading District automobile “new four modernizations” industrial policy and action plan for the development of hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry was successfully held. At the press conference, several policies of Jiading District on continuously promoting the development of automobile “new four modernizations” industry and action plan for accelerating the development of hydrogen energy and fuel cell automobile industry in Jiading District (2021-2025) were officially released, It reflects Jiading’s determination and confidence to further build a world-class automobile industry cluster and strive to build a highland for the development of China’s hydrogen energy and fuel cell automobile industry.
turn to smart highland
“In the past, many of our colleagues would work in Volkswagen for a lifetime. In my work, I knew several ‘old mages’ who had been here since the establishment of SAIC Volkswagen. They worked here for 30 years and finally retired from SAIC Volkswagen. But now the mobility of personnel has increased significantly.” Gu Kang did not have the same “one-day Volkswagen, lifelong Volkswagen” as his predecessors. In 2021, he chose to leave the vehicle factory and join an automatic driving company.
Three kilometers away from the hydrogen energy port characterized by hydrogen fuel cells, Jiading automobile innovation port has gathered more and more “new four modernizations” related enterprises, and smart automobile related enterprises such as Weilai automobile, ideal automobile, Zhiji automobile, R automobile and horizon have successively settled in the automobile innovation port. Baidu Apollo, Xiaoma Zhixing, Hesai optoelectronics, Yushi technology and other head automatic driving related enterprises are also settling in Jiading.
As of September 2021, there are 253 open test roads for automatic driving in Shanghai, including 162 in Jiading; The total mileage of automatic driving development and test roads is 567.23 kilometers, of which Jiading District accounts for 315 kilometers. In 2021, users in Jiading will be able to call the social operation oriented enjoy robotaxi with one click through the enjoy road travel app.
Gu Kang told reporters that for a long time in the past, Jiading has gathered a deep industrial foundation, but in the view of many people, these vehicle factories and parts supporting enterprises are dominated by “machinery”, but in the past two years, software and intelligence have gradually become the new mainstream.
It is understood that at present, Jiading District has gathered more than 340 automobile “new four modernizations” related enterprises such as Weilai automobile, ideal automobile, Xiaoma Zhixing, horizon and reshaping technology, including 88 Enterprises above designated size.
The reporter found that in the field of traditional auto parts, relevant enterprises are also responding to changes. Huayu vision technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is a leading supplier of automotive lighting equipment in China. Its DLP (digital projection headlamp) and ISC (interactive system control) intelligent lighting system are unique in the industry; Anbofu Electrical System Co., Ltd., from the United States and deeply cultivated in Jiading for nearly 27 years, also began to launch the electrical architecture of intelligent vehicles to cope with the new era.
“Even Yonghui Superstores Co.Ltd(601933) in the community began to use unmanned delivery vehicles.” Gu Kang said that the changes of the new four modernizations of automobile not only appear in the industry, but also go deep into the people’s lives.
According to the data, from January to November 2021, Jiading automobile’s “new four modernizations” achieved a total output of 111.7 billion yuan, with complete industrial supporting facilities in the area, which has China’s leading advantages, including the establishment of China’s only international demonstration area of electric vehicles, China’s first intelligent networked vehicle demonstration area approved by the Ministry of industry and information technology, China’s first fixed hydrogenation station with the longest continuous safe operation time Shanghai’s first characteristic industrial park with the theme of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is “Jiading hydrogen energy port”.
