Speed is everything! Major car manufacturers are "learning from China."

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A race centered around “speed” is unfolding intensely in the global automotive industry. Western automotive giants, from Ford to Volkswagen, are now drawing unprecedented inspiration from their Chinese counterparts’ rapid, low-cost vehicle development models.

The latest updates show that Ford has chosen Renault as its partner to jointly produce small electric cars in Europe, and Renault has successfully shortened its new model development cycle to less than two years. German automaker Volkswagen has also managed to shorten the development time for its new electric cars produced in China by 30% from the traditional cycle of over four years. Nissan, together with its Chinese partner Dongfeng, developed the N7 electric sedan, which took about two years and was released in China this year and is set to start exports next year.

Behind this series of moves is a consensus among global auto executives: In an era of fast technological iteration, fast-changing consumer tastes, and supply chain disruptions triggered by geopolitics, speed has become a matter of survival. Faster development cycles allow automakers not only to keep up with market rhythm but also to significantly lower costs by shortening engineering time, thereby enhancing price competitiveness.

“China Speed”: From Four Years to Two

Traditional automakers often take four years or even longer to develop a new model, but in China, this cycle averages only 18 to 20 months. Now, Western carmakers are striving to catch up with this speed.

Renault is a pioneer in this regard. Its new Twingo electric car, set to launch in 2026, will have a development cycle of just 21 months. The new Dacia Hipster microcar, based on the same platform, will see its development time cut to a remarkable 16 months. Laurence Noël, Global Head of Automotive at consulting firm Capgemini, bluntly stated: “If you spend five years developing a car, by the time it hits the market, you’re already out. So you have to be fast.”

Nissan chief financial officer Jérémie Papin also believes that faster development is “absolutely critical,” especially for companies that lack scale. He said, “This is also the way to build an extremely cost-competitive car, because you spend less time on engineering, which reduces costs.”

Secret: Cultural Transformation More Crucial Than Technology

To achieve a leap in speed, Western automakers have not only adopted digital tools like virtual design and testing, but more importantly, they are undergoing a profound cultural transformation, learning agility and flexibility from their Chinese peers.

Jim Baumbick, Head of Ford Europe, noted that Chinese automakers such as BYD improve speed by using more common components, while focusing innovation mainly on software and digital technologies. Renault’s experience is even more representative; it set up a “China Advanced Development Center” in Shanghai with about 150 local engineers. Vittorio d’Arienzo, an executive in Renault's Ampere EV division, said that compared with the supplier communication process in Europe that takes one to three months, “in China, suppliers are used to making parts on the spot, which cuts the time in half.”

About 45% of the parts for this Twingo originate from China. Engineers and designers handled different components in parallel, and the factory simultaneously started preparing production lines in Slovenia. When the team was dissatisfied with a design for an interior door handle, they swiftly communicated modifications across countries via WhatsApp, avoiding traditional multi-level reporting processes. Renault CEO François Provost summed it up: “We need strong momentum to be as competitive as our Chinese rivals in Europe.”

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