By Wu Siya

 

BEIJING, Apr. 26 (China Economic Net)- When it comes to lighthouse, what’s on your mind? Is it a lonely building on the coast that guides ships? Entering the new era, “lighthouse” has taken on new special meaning.

 

“Benefiting from 5G-powered industrial internet, we not only have achieved a 98.5 percent first-pass yield and maximum capacity utilization of 160 percent, but also offer users over 100,000 personalized configuration combinations across more than 20 dimensions including intelligent driving, wheels, exteriors, and interiors," a staff of Chinese EV pioneer, GAC Aion, told China Economic Net during the 2024 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. “Our smart ecological factory is also the only lighthouse factory in the new energy vehicle industry in the globe.”

 

 

“Currently, we have two smart ecological factories that have been put into production. The standard EV production capacity of each factory can reach 200,000 vehicles per year, which means that the annual output can reach 400,000. Within this year, our third Changsha factory will also be officially put into production, with an annual output of 200,000 EVs, meaning that the total production capacity is expected to reach 600,000 vehicles,” the staff added.

 

Lighthouse factories are manufacturers showing leadership in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies at scale to drive step-change financial, operational and sustainability improvements by transforming factories, value chains and business models. And the Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) was formed when the World Economic Forum (WEF) teamed up with McKinsey & Company in 2018 to identify the most innovative leaders in manufacturing.

 

Last year, Guangzhou-based GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. became one of 21 newest lighthouses selected into the GLN. By now, the GAC Aion factory can finish the assembly of a new energy vehicle (NEV) in just 53 seconds. 

 

 

The company made the news last July when China witnessed a record moment - the nation's 20 millionth NEV rolled off a production line, with the vehicle manufactured by GAC Aion. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers commented then that this record in NEV production meant that the NEV sector had entered a new stage of large-scale, globalized, and high-quality development, becoming an indispensable part of China's modern industrial system.

 

According to the white paper released by the WEF in December 2023 titled “Global Lighthouse Network: Adopting AI at Speed and Scale,” the newly recognized lighthouses in 2023 have implemented AI with high impact across every step of the supply chain.

 

In 2023, the firm produced and sold over 480,000 vehicles, a 77 percent surge year on year. Furthermore, the company has revealed plans recently to expand market in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, South America, and Africa this year.

 

In recent years, China’s lighthouse factories have experienced a mushrooming. As of December 2023, there are 153 lighthouse factories in the world, 62 of which are located in China, accounting for 40.52percent, and the total number continues to rank first in the world. As per specific fields, there are only three lighthouse factories in the lithium battery industry in the world, all of which are owned by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL); Hengtong Optical Fiber Suzhou factory is the first lighthouse factory in the global optical communications industry; Alibaba's Rhino Smart Manufacturing Platform is the world’s first lighthouse factory in the textile and apparel field, leading changes in the flexible supply chain for small businesses in related industries…The list goes on. New “lighthouses” scattered across this ancient land are leading a new industrial era.