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Carmakers used to market to China. Now they depend on its tech
The balance of power has shifted and it is China that now supplies the software, skills and expertise to the rest of the auto industry.
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A Nissan NX8 at the Beijing Auto Show. Japan's Nissan plans to produce about one million vehicles a year from its China operations by 2030.
PHOTO: AFP
Mark Greeven
For some four decades, Chinese companies have absorbed carmaking know-how through joint ventures with foreign groups like Germany’s Volkswagen and Japan’s Toyota. That model has now been inverted. Foreign carmakers no longer bring technology into China; they extract it from there.
Japanese and European firms are designing and developing vehicles in China using local technology and talent, and are beginning to export them to other markets, including South-east Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
