The Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ) is accelerating the innovation and reform of its systems and development mechanisms. It aims to reach production capacity of 2 million conventional cars as soon as possible. The zone is also planning its layout around the theme “intelligentize, networking, electrification, weight reduction” – in order to seize the lead in the "next generation” automobile industry.
The aim is to be more than ready for the next generation of automobiles, the age of new energy vehicles, which is coming.
In mid-October 2017, Wuhan Zhongyu Fuel Cell R & D and Production Base -- with an investment of 200 million yuan -- was started in Wuhan Economic Development Zone (Hannan District).
At the end of October, Nanjing Jinlong (Wuhan) New Energy Industrial Park Phase I Project officially went into operation in the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone (Hannan District).
On Dec 21, Hubei Center Power Technology Co,. Ltd invested 11.5 billion yuan to build the first hydrogen fuel cell Industrial Park in China and settled in Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone.
On Dec 28, Dongfeng Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. delivered 650 pure electric taxies and 1,500 Dongfeng E70 network cars to its two operating companies.
On Dec 29, the “Kaiwo Tiger” hydrogen bus -- jointly developed by Wuhan Kaiwo New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd and Wuhan Tiger Fuel Cell Co. Ltd -- was unveiled in Wuhan.
the zone is aiming for the next generation of auto industry -- and actively meeting the next wave of the industrial revolution. It has built 800,000 square meters of pioneer parks including South Taizi Lake Innovation Valley Phase II, Jingkai Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park. Additionally, it has attracted incubation companies and platforms -- among them, Valeo China Technology R & D Center, CITIC Private Equity Factory, Datang Siemens Intelligent Manufacturing R & D Center and Public Service Platform and PNP Incubator from the United States.
South Taizi Lake Innovation Valley has a planning area of 2 square kilometers, a construction area of 1.2 sq km and a total planned construction area of about 1 million square meters. It has adopted the mode of one-time planning and phased construction. To date, it has attracted 22 enterprises to locate there, including ECARX Intelligence Technology Co. Most of the R & D projects there are related to the intelligent connected vehicles industry and electronics and electrical manufacturing.
Valeo is an automobile supplier and ranks among the top 500 companies in the world in its field, with 134 production bases, 17 R & D centers and 35 development centers in 30 countries. Valeo China Technology R & D Center is located in the South Taizi Lake Innovation Valley. It plans to establish optical, electronics and simulation laboratories for sample production and product analysis. In addition to developing lights, it will also be involved in advanced technologies such as automatic parking, driving assistance and human-computer interactions.
Jingkai Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park is an innovation factory for the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone (Hannan District) to build new energy "three electricity" technology, new materials and intelligent connected vehicles. It will also be home to intelligent 3D printing, intelligent equipment, intelligent factories and the modern productive services industry – including modern logistics, industrial design and the automobile aftermarket. Since it went into operation in May 2017, more than 50 innovation and entrepreneurship teams in the fields of intelligent connected vehicles and intelligent manufacturing have located there. Representative companies in the field of intelligent connected vehicles include Wuhan Huanyu Automobile Co., Ltd. and the intelligent network team of Hubei University of Automotive Technology. Examples located there of enterprises in intelligent manufacturing include Wuhan SAPW Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Jiuzhou Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Co., Ltd. and Wuhan Mars Robot Technology Co., Ltd. Examples of resident companies in modern productive services include Wuhan Yuanworld Digital Technology Co., Ltd and Bingshuijian (Wuhan) Industrial Design Co., Ltd.
Since 2017, the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone has successively issued "30 gold pieces" for industrial development, established a 30 billion yuan economic development industry fund and issued its “Automobile Capital Talent Program”.
According to the latest policy, for those recognized as " Leading Talents of the Automobile Capital Industry", 1 million yuan will be granted for project funding and up to 10 million yuan for equity investment, and they will enjoy free use of residential apartments -- or housing subsidies will be offered.
In September 2018, the preparations for Dongfeng Motor Co’s passenger car production expansion project in the WEDZ started off in an orderly manner, according to zone officials.
They said the project will have an annual output of 300,000 passenger cars after its completion.
The project, drawing an investment of 9.85 billion yuan ($1.39 billion), mainly focuses on the construction of the stamping, welding, painting and assembly workshops.
The construction period is from January 2019 to December 2022, officials said.
In February 2019, the zone accelerated the promotion of two complete vehicle projects for Geely and Dongfeng which were worth 10 billion yuan each, as well as actively introduced core parts support companies to boost the competitiveness of the automotive industry cluster.
The zone has also been promoting the construction work on a national new energy and intelligent networked vehicle base.
The zone has been accelerating the construction of new energy and intelligent-connected automobile bases, as well as the development of innovative platforms to fully promote the transformation and upgrading of the traditional automobile industry, ready for the next generation of automobiles.
The National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (Wuhan) Test and Demonstration Zone, officially launched in September 2019 in WEDZ, is currently the only demonstration zone for multi-scenario smart car applications in China.
A 106-kilometer test road for intelligent road network vehicle demonstrations and applications will soon be completed in the zone, with full 5G signal coverage. Combined with the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, the demonstration zone has become one of the most advanced V2X vehicle-road collaborative test areas in China.
Demonstration applications will be carried out in eight areas, including autonomous public transportation, logistics distribution, shared travel, smart parking, and sanitation.
A number of five-year goals have been set for WEDZ.
A "3+N" modern industrial system will be built up in WEDZ, with auto vehicles, new energy, and new materials as its three pillar industries.
The development zone is also striving to achieve its goal of producing 2 million vehicles annually, and its auto industry output value is expected to exceed 500 billion yuan by 2025.
