The rivalry between western carmakers and their Chinese competitors has sparked an industry-wide race to be the fastest in developing a vehicle without compromising safety.
In a drive to match Chinese speed and cost, Ford has chosen Renault as a partner to jointly produce small electric vehicles in Europe after the French carmaker halved the development time of its new models to under two years.
Germany’s Volkswagen has also shortened the development cycle for its new EVs produced in China by 30 per cent compared with the traditional process, which takes just over four years. Nissan’s new N7 electric sedan, priced at less than $20,000, launched in China this year after being developed with its local partner Dongfeng in about two years. The model will be exported to other markets from next year.