By Zhang Ya

Recently, National Development and Research Commission (NRDC) issued 2009 result of evaluation on national identified enterprise technology centers. Chana Auto Co. Ltd., making a good score of 92.1 points, ranked the first in auto industry, and meanwhile, became the sole auto enterprise being appraised as excellent level.

As understood, such an evaluation ranking is the final result of an integrative appraisal conducted by such departments as NRDC, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs and State Administration of Taxation on indicators of 575 national identified enterprise technology centers in terms of technical investment, quantity of scientific and technical projects, scientific and technical investment including the scientific research teams and patent quantity, talent investment, trial facility investment, scientific research projects, output value of new products and patent quantity. Among the 575 national identified enterprise technology centers ranked in state level, Chana Auto's integrative ranking is in the position of No. 7 and ranks the first in auto industry. Meantime, in accordance with evaluation rules, those enterprise technology centers achieving more than 90 points will be appraised as the "excellent". In this evaluation, only 11 enterprise technology centers have been appraised as the "excellent". With the score of 92.1 points, Chana Auto as the sole representative of auto enterprises has shared such an honor with those enterprises including Haier and Baosteel Group Co., Ltd.

In the last evaluation of national identified enterprise technology centers held in 2007, Chana Auto only ranked the third in auto industry. Tracing the reason why Chana Auto can leap forward to the No.1 in auto industry within the short period of two years, the great investment and innovation on science and technology cannot be ignored.

The scientific and technical research and development system of "mainly depending on ourselves and independent development", which is called Chana mode, is just the achievement that Chana Auto has established and consummated in recent two years.

The core of such a mode is to establish a set of consummated independent innovation system, which is based on the support of national industrial policies, takes enterprise innovation as the main body and domestic and foreign joint venture copartners as resources, through the gradual upgrade of technical innovation in the interaction of such three parties as the Government, domestic and foreign joint venture copartners, as well as enterprises, so as to realize the cultivation and improvement of enterprises' core competitive strength.

Just based on this, Chana Auto takes advantage of CA-PDS R&D and management flow, which complies with international standards, to guide the course of product development, and fully mobilizes technical resources in Europe, Japan, and domestic areas, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing cities, which have provided consolidated management support for the highly efficient operation of enterprises' technical innovation mode. Such a flow was not only awarded with the first prize of national management and innovation achievement in 2008, but also the first management project winning the national innovation award in China's auto industry.

A consummated and scientific data base is the toughest threshold for a self-owned brand to turn into one of the transnational enterprises. The establishment of various standardized data bases is also one of Chana Auto's core competences leading over other automakers. At present, Chana Auto Technology Center has set up 10-odd design data bases for complete auto types, 20-odd data bases for analyzing autos and 2,000-odd related criterions and flows.

Nowadays, Chana Auto has established product platforms for auto body, base plate, engine, power system, interior and exterior decoration and electric appliance system, and launched a series of auto types with self-owned brands and great market influence. The sales volume of Chana Star 2, which was launched in March, 2007, achieved 100,000 sets in the same year, and it is estimated that the sales volume will break through 200,000 sets this year; meanwhile, the monthly sales volume of ALSVIN, which was launched in this March, has breached 10,000 sets.

In order to improve the R&D capability on complete car, Chana Auto has invested almost RMB1 billion yuan and had capabilities in such six aspects as shape design, engineering design, simulation analysis, trial manufacture of sample autos, appraisal of trial development and project management. At present, among the 147 core technologies in 12 key fields, Chana Auto has mastered 95 ones. By this October, Chana Auto has obtained 2,425 patents aggregately.

New energy technology as the future development orientation of auto industry has become the target of many enterprises to seek for breakthrough. Currently, Chana Auto has obtained research breakthrough in energy conservation and environmental protection technology, like hybrid power and hydrogen fuel, and lightweight technology, etc. Additionally, Chana has mastered the core technology of industrializing hybrid power autos, and won 70-odd patents. Chana Jiexun HEV, the first hybrid power car developed independently and realizing mass production in China, has once served for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games successfully. In this June, such a type of hybrid power auto was launched into the market successfully.

In order to guarantee the increasingly improved research and development capability, Chana Auto Technology Center has introduced 40-odd overseas senior experts successively, and cultivated a development team with almost 2,000 persons, which has provided persistent impetus and core competence for the long-run development of Chana's autos with self-owned brands.