SIAC races ahead with ambitious plan for R&D center
By Lu Xiaofeng and Fei Lai |
May 28, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH surging labor costs, scarce land resources and intensifying competition among automobile manufacturers in recent years, Shanghai International Automobile City is gradually losing its advantage in auto manufacturing, as well as its profit in spare parts manufacturing.
To tackle this challenge, a new research and development center is being built in Shanghai International Automobile City. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 9.
The R&D center will cover an area of 12.4 hectares with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan (US$237.3 million). It will feature 120 detached buildings with areas ranging from 300 to 2,000 square meters each. When completed 18 months later, it can accommodate around 150 automobile R&D and design enterprises. Thus far, 17 R&D companies have signed up to locate their offices at the center.
It will be the nation's first R&D center specializing in the automobile industry. In the past two years, the center's blueprint has been altered several times to ensure the project at world-class level.
"We tried our best to avoid a monotonous design," said Rong Wenwei, general manager of SIAC (Group) Co Ltd. "A diversified design can bring inspiration."
The center will feature Jiangnan (regions in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) style gardens, old lanes and village-style compounds. There will also be restaurants, bars and gyms.
Rong said the space of each building is flexible so that it can be divided into different sizes to meet the various demand of companies.
Meanwhile, a series of preferential policies will be introduced including financial support and rental subsidies in the first six years.
Marcus Huang, chief representative of ESG Automotive China, said such R&D center had already appeared in Germany, but it doesn't compare favorably to the one in Jiading in terms of the elaborate layout.
In 2011, the total output value of SIAC ranked first among the five major automobile manufacturing bases in China.
Compared to its domestic counterparts, SIAC has the most mature condition in building such a high-end auto R&D center, and making the auto R&D an independent industry.
Pininfarina Italy, which has signed agreement with the R&D center,is confident about the promising future of the project.
To tackle this challenge, a new research and development center is being built in Shanghai International Automobile City. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 9.
The R&D center will cover an area of 12.4 hectares with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan (US$237.3 million). It will feature 120 detached buildings with areas ranging from 300 to 2,000 square meters each. When completed 18 months later, it can accommodate around 150 automobile R&D and design enterprises. Thus far, 17 R&D companies have signed up to locate their offices at the center.
It will be the nation's first R&D center specializing in the automobile industry. In the past two years, the center's blueprint has been altered several times to ensure the project at world-class level.
"We tried our best to avoid a monotonous design," said Rong Wenwei, general manager of SIAC (Group) Co Ltd. "A diversified design can bring inspiration."
The center will feature Jiangnan (regions in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) style gardens, old lanes and village-style compounds. There will also be restaurants, bars and gyms.
Rong said the space of each building is flexible so that it can be divided into different sizes to meet the various demand of companies.
Meanwhile, a series of preferential policies will be introduced including financial support and rental subsidies in the first six years.
Marcus Huang, chief representative of ESG Automotive China, said such R&D center had already appeared in Germany, but it doesn't compare favorably to the one in Jiading in terms of the elaborate layout.
In 2011, the total output value of SIAC ranked first among the five major automobile manufacturing bases in China.
Compared to its domestic counterparts, SIAC has the most mature condition in building such a high-end auto R&D center, and making the auto R&D an independent industry.
Pininfarina Italy, which has signed agreement with the R&D center,is confident about the promising future of the project.
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