This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and is a crucial year for achieving the goals and tasks of the 14th Five Year Plan. When a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation forms a historic intersection with China's accelerated transformation of its economic development mode, developing new quality productive forces has become an important measure to consolidate the material and technological foundation of building a socialist modernized country comprehensively, and it is also an inevitable trend.
Those who observe the trend are wise, those who analyze the trend are wise, and those who follow the trend are successful. Based in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and entering key cities covered by major regional strategies, we are looking for shining highlights of China's scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation. We have launched the third season of deep research on digitalization of enterprises in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. From May to August this year, Yangcheng Evening News worked with multiple media outlets across the country to carry out a national tour of new quality productivity. Through in-depth research and reporting, we presented readers with a picture of the "rejuvenation" of new quality productivity, characterized by the surging tide of scientific and technological innovation, the rise of industrial iteration, and the surging momentum of digitization.
In the Qianwan New Area of Ningbo, ten vehicle brands including Volkswagen, Skoda, Geely, Lynk&Co, Smart, Jike, Audi, and Volvo have been introduced locally. Last year, 120000 new energy vehicles were produced, accounting for 60% of the total production in Ningbo, achieving a new energy vehicle industry output value of 53 billion yuan and a growth of 51.4%. Recently, Yangcheng Evening News and Ningbo Evening News jointly went to Jike Smart Factory, one of the world's advanced new energy vehicle manufacturing bases, to explore its "secret recipe" for building new quality productivity.
In 2020, Zhejiang took the lead in proposing the "Future Factory" and exploring its construction. According to data, as of March this year, Zhejiang Province has created a total of 72 future factories and 794 smart factories (digital workshops). From the initial machines entering the factory to work, to the subsequent intelligent transformation of the workshop, and now to the advanced version of the 'Future Factory'. Where does the word 'future factory' reflect in the future?
The automotive industry has been developing for over a hundred years, and traditional production scenarios usually provide users with configuration options on the order of one hundred to one thousand. Today, society has become increasingly diverse, and users have vastly different understandings of vehicles. Everyone has their own ideas. Our factory has created flexible production from the beginning, and users can not only choose the interior and exterior colors of the vehicle, but also freely choose configurations such as calipers, suspensions, and wheels, "said Zhao Chunlin, Vice President of Jike Intelligent Technology.
Zhao Chunlin used the Jike 001 model as an example to further explain that due to the customized and open customer free selection, this model has millions of differentiation points. How to cope with the ever-changing production demands of vehicle configurations? In order to achieve this, factories not only need to implement some closed loops within the factory, but also need to fully digitize the sales and research and development processes. The user's selection list on the APP is only a car model description, and it needs systematic engineering support to become a car that can be manufactured
The key to answering questions lies in the 'digital brain'. Entering the Jike Smart Factory, with the help of technologies such as 5G, AI, and industrial big data, digital twins connect the entire production and manufacturing process, as well as the factory itself, with the real physical world through digital models. With the help of digital analysis models, real-time operation data of equipment, product manufacturing process information, etc. have been continuously optimized for product solutions, achieving comprehensive improvement of product quality while also reducing factory energy consumption.
The 'digital brain' of the factory covers engineering data, process data, production line operation, quality, logistics, supply chain, software configuration, etc., which can be directly managed on the factory platform. In Zhao Chunlin's view, Jike's automobile manufacturing, from sales, manufacturing, research and development, supply chain to after-sales, cannot do without digital empowerment. 'Without a' data brain ', all these links cannot be carried out.'.
Against the backdrop of "real gold and silver" investment in research and development, the factory has also established the world's first large-scale integrated die-casting L4 intelligent production line for structural components, equipped with a giant die-casting machine with a production capacity of 7200 tons. Data shows that the automation rate of the production line has reached 100%, and the comprehensive efficiency has increased by more than 30%, which can significantly improve the level of vehicle lightweighting, while reducing costs and increasing efficiency, and also shortening the supply chain.
The assistance of the local government is also an important support for Jike to build a "future factory". At that time, Zhejiang Province mentioned the need to improve the production of the manufacturing industry, and Ningbo City provided us with a lot of guidance and assistance during this process. For example, it facilitated our technical cooperation with China Unicom in 5G applications, and the application of new technologies such as integrated die-casting was actively coordinated and planned by Ningbo Municipal Government departments, "said Zhao Chunlin.
The 'power' behind the new forces in car manufacturing
Why was Jike born in Ningbo? According to public information, in March 2021, Geely Holding Group announced the establishment of its new intelligent pure electric brand "Jike"; Three months later, Geely Holding Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the People's Government of Ningbo City, announcing the establishment of Jike's global headquarters in Ningbo; On May 10, 2024, Ningbo's local new energy vehicle company Jike was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the code "ZK". From birth to launch in just 37 months, Jike has also set a new record for the fastest sprint to launch by a new force in car manufacturing.
The automotive industry is not something that a single enterprise can accomplish independently. When we build our own factories or develop our business, we actually need a lot of peripheral support. For example, we have invested a lot of energy in component research and development for our products, which requires supporting component manufacturers to work together with us, not to be limited to the original product, and to have more functions on the original product. "Zhao Chunlin said that more than 90% of Jike's component suppliers are located in the Yangtze River Delta region.
What is the strength of the enterprise parts industry in Ningbo? According to data, in 2023, there will be 2662 large-scale automotive parts enterprises in Zhejiang, accounting for over 15% of the national total. Among them, Ningbo component enterprises account for more than 30%, and the corresponding output scale accounts for more than 60% of the entire province of Zhejiang. Zhao Chunlin emphasized that as the main enterprise in the Ningbo automobile industry chain, Jike is also promoting the establishment of an industrial ecosystem through the development of industrial clusters.
The reporter noticed that in the context of China's new energy vehicles accelerating to various parts of the world, "Ningbo made" new energy vehicles naturally press the "acceleration button" for going global. In the first half of 2024, Ningbo Port exported over 120000 vehicles, with an export value of 11.74 billion yuan, an increase of 61.1% and 33.2% year-on-year, respectively. Zhao Chunlin told reporters that Jike is also accelerating its pace of "going global", and as of now, it has entered more than 30 countries and regions.
Our products should have already entered major mainstream automotive markets around the world for sales, such as the Nordic region, the Middle East, and Central Asia, all of which are sold locally, "Zhao Chunlin said. At the beginning, Jike paid great attention to the global user's understanding of cars." We have made some special designs, and the cars sold to Europe are different from those in China, mainly reflected in the interior, power, chassis, etc., to adapt to the preferences of users in these countries.
In the global market, we have also received high attention from some friends or competitors, such as those in Germany and Japan who conduct disassembly and analysis. Zhao Chunlin said that this year, Jike has also strengthened its layout in Southeast Asia and South America markets. Recently, the all-new Jike 009 was officially released in Hong Kong, China and will also enter markets such as Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia. The product itself has been fully prepared.