Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., supplier of half of China's auto steel, and automakers Geely, FAW Group Corp., Chery Automobile Co., Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. will invest up to 500 million yuan ($75 million) in the weight cutting project supposed to reduce weight by 10 percent. At this time, cars built in China are 5 to 10 percent as compared to imported models, Wang Li, head of auto sheet research and development at Shanghai-based Baoshan Steel, told Automotive News.
“We aim to cut their car weight to match overseas rivals by 2013,” Wang said. “Our work is to make automotive steel thinner and stronger. We're trying to take the leadership in technology development among our global peers.”
This isn't the first time when Chinese companies are trying to face the increasing popularity of imported models using a single and more powerful entity. Back in August, 16 carmakers, including big names like Dongfeng Motors, Chang'an Automobile and FAW have decided to set up a joint group.
Their goal is to work together on the development of electric vehicles and inject up to $15 billion in the next 10 years to design more efficient solutions. The alliance made by the 16 companies bears the name The Association of the Electric Vehicle Industry. It is governed by the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. It includes, alongside manufacturers, the State Grid Corporation and the China National Petroleum Corporation.
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