Cars

Automakers in pledge to raise standards, quality

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-17 11:21

CHANGCHUN - China's auto-makers at their first ever summit Friday united behind a declaration to support and raise innovation in technology and management.

Meeting at the seventh China Automobile Fair in northeast China's Jilin province, industry chiefs issued a joint pledge to improve product quality and support domestic parts manufacturers.

The Declaration of China Automotive Technical Innovation -- also known as the Changchun Consensus after the provincial capital -- was agreed by representatives of 13 domestic car companies, including FAW, Dongfeng Motor, SAIC Motor and Geely.

Participants in the first China Automotive Technology Summit agreed to set up a pan-industry platform to discuss standards, cooperation, technology, quality and sustainable development, said Fu Yuwu, secretary general of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China.

However, no details on the organization and management of the platform were available.

They also agreed they would strive to develop new-energy technologies.

Fu said technological innovation was critical for comprehensive upgrading of the industry.

"Chinese car companies need to expand investment in technological innovation to improve product quality," Fu said, quoting the declaration.

"China should also support the development of a range of auto parts suppliers to increase competence," said Fu.

The Consensus encouraged management innovation, training, and broad cooperation with other industries such as machinery, steel, and electronics manufacturing.

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China became the world's largest auto market, with more than 13 million vehicles sold last year, but the massive growth was increasing pressure on energy, environment and traffic safety, Fu said.

Li Jun, vice chief engineer of China FAW Group, said about 23 percent of the world's cars were produced in China, but high-quality sedans were mostly made by foreign companies.

"China needs to use technological innovation to become an auto powerhouse," said Li.

Professor Zhong Zhihua, of Hunan University, warned, "Innovation should be based on social demand, as is the case, for example, with energy efficiency and emissions reductions."

The organizers of the summit -- the Jilin provincial government, Changchun municipal government, the Society of Automotive Engineers of China and China FAW Group Corp -- also invited representives from major international companies to speak on the theme of "Cars and Renewable Energies".

Christoph Huss, BMW senior vice president for science and traffic policy, said the BMW fleet fuel consumption in 2008 was more than 25 percent down from the 1995 level with no reduction in performance.

The China Automobile Fair opened on Thursday and runs to July 22.