Industry-First One Car Six Tests Exceeding National Standards, SAIC-GM-Wuling's Two Uniques Create Two "Consistencies"

During this period, "fast-tracked cars" have become a hot topic in the industry. Fast-tracked cars refer to models that significantly compress the R&D cycle, cut necessary verification processes, and result in insufficient product maturity.

Car Riff did not participate in the discussion. We believe focusing on this negative example is far less effective than letting everyone see how industry positive examples handle it.

Excellent cases came soon. On the afternoon of August 19, CCTV's "Top Laboratory" program conducted a live broadcast lasting over 2 hours. For the first time in the industry, the same car was used to continuously complete six super-national standard chain tests, all passing. There were also rain/fog intelligent driving active safety tests. It also deeply visited the New Energy Vehicle National Quality Standard Laboratory and the Smart Island Manufacturing System, revealing the hardcore strength of SAIC-GM-Wuling's full-link self-research and self-construction behind the hot sales of Hua Jing S.

Industry conventional crash tests are mostly independent single-direction tests, and national standards only assess single conditions. This live test of Hua Jing S used the same car for continuous multi-round destructive tests, simulating real-world scenarios where the undercarriage is scraped followed by wading, front and rear collision followed by side collision, then crashing into a utility pole, pulling possible accident scenarios to the limit.

This live test also provided new verification ideas for the industry: Compliance is just the baseline, better products need to benchmark against real traffic scenarios for more complex limit validation.

The protagonist Hua Jing S is Wuling's latest flagship large SUV, launched on May 8. By August 17, cumulative deliveries broke 20,000 units. In July, single-month deliveries reached 7,203 units, jumping to first place in plug-in hybrid large SUV deliveries.

Many people's impression of Wuling remains focused on its expertise in making small cars and national cars. Hua Jing S shows the market that Wuling also has such strong competitiveness in large SUVs.

Xiao Xiao, General Manager of Planning and Operations Management Department of SAIC-GM-Wuling, said in the live broadcast: "Wuling used to make tool cars to help everyone create wealth. Later, it made family cars to accompany everyone through life. Now it makes intelligent technology new energy vehicles. Essentially, it still follows the needs of the people, satisfying the people's needs for a better life in the new era."

Creating wealth - Living life - Better life in the new era. Xiao Xiao summarized Wuling's three development stages and three generations of product logic, which is also the leap in lifestyle of Chinese consumers and Chinese people in the recent decades. No matter the era, Chinese people always have a suitable Wuling companion.

The CCTV broadcast also visited Wuling's industry-only National Quality Standard Laboratory and industry-only Leading-level Smart Factory.

The National Quality Standard Laboratory changed the industry model where most car manufacturers rely on third-party testing agencies for compliance testing. It allowed Wuling to achieve full-link autonomous verification from materials, components, simulation, whole-vehicle crash, three-electrics, to intelligent driving. It can also reverse-define corporate internal test specifications higher than national standards based on big data from 32 million users, upgrading from "meeting national standards" to "higher than national standards, benchmarking real accidents". It also exported China's new energy vehicle safety standards to ASEAN, achieving a zero breakthrough in ASEAN technical standard formulation by Chinese car manufacturers.

The industry-only Leading-level Smart Factory, the Leading-level Smart Island I²MS Manufacturing System, converts the laboratory's safety standards into mass production capabilities through digital manufacturing. It improved assembly process precision, enhanced production efficiency and logistics efficiency, shortened manufacturing cycles, and improved flexibility.

More importantly, it used the parallel island production method of "cars finding workstations, materials finding cars", subverting the series assembly line production method practiced by the automotive industry for over 100 years. It is the third manufacturing mode innovation in the industry after Ford's assembly line and Toyota's lean production.

Wuling's manufacturing mode innovation this time will be an important symbol of China leading and dominating the transformation of the automotive industry.

Out-of-Syllabus One-Car Six Tests

Crash, wading, undercarriage collision tests are not rare in the industry, generally one car is used for one test. This time, Hua Jing S used one car to continuously complete six tests: undercarriage collision, wading, rear-end truck collision, rear collision, side collision, side pole collision. And the standard for each test exceeded national standards, finally all passed.

One car passing all six super-national standard tests consecutively is because Hua Jing S has high standards and strict requirements in design, materials, testing, and manufacturing links.

For example, the intrusion depth of the undercarriage collision increased by 33% compared to the national standard. After completing the six tests, the battery pack was removed, and the entire battery pack structure remained very complete, with no bulging, no leakage, no smoking, and no fire. Because of the chassis protection frame with five vertical and eleven horizontal members, the chassis has large-area steel protective plates, and a buffering layer. The protection ability is far higher than national standard requirements.

Solid materials and high-standard, multi-redundant body design are the solid foundation for Hua Jing S to continuously withstand six major severe tests on a single vehicle.

The biggest difference between this live test and industry conventional tests is the superposition of scenarios, accidents, and damage to the car. Industry conventional tests require each test car to face only one scenario, single-item damage, and challenge. Hua Jing S experienced 6 types of destructive tests sequentially with one car, pulling the challenge of the vehicle responding to accidents to the limit.

Will such a six-consecutive accident happen in reality? Probably not. But precisely this continuous destruction, difficulty upon difficulty, proves the safety and reliability of Hua Jing S. This reliability beyond standards also greatly reduces the probability of new cars meeting national standards and appearing various problems after mass market road tests.

Two Uniques Give Birth to Two "As Ones"

To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools. Hua Jing S's rigid safety and whole-vehicle quality come from Wuling's industry-only National Quality Standard Laboratory and industry-only Leading-level Smart Factory.

In the live broadcast, Wuling staff mentioned multiple times that Hua Jing S quality is "Ten Thousand Cars As One, Ten Thousand Miles As One", referring to consistency and reliability reaching a new level. Behind the two "As Ones" are the two Uniques providing protection and support.

Wuling's New Energy Vehicle National Quality Standard Laboratory is the only National Quality Standard Laboratory approved in the automotive industry. It includes 14 international-level sub-laboratories, covering three-electrics, crash safety, NVH, EMC electromagnetic compatibility, thermal management, intelligent connectivity, lightweight materials. It is equipped with a large-scale whole-vehicle test field, possessing the first set in China and the third set in the world whole-vehicle virtual simulation test system. It can run tens of thousands of extreme accident scenarios in simulation in advance, without entirely relying on real vehicle crashes.

The verification for undercarriage, wading, chain collision, pole collision, and white body press shown in the live broadcast was completed here.

Wuling's New Energy Vehicle National Quality Standard Laboratory has three major significances.

First is covering all enterprise testing needs, Wuling no longer relies on external third-party laboratories.

Second is not only verifying based on national standards, but reverse-defining test standards based on 32 million user data to raise standards.

Third is that 81 tests obtained ECE European International Certification. Part of the safety standards were included in ASEAN official technical specifications. Charging standards obtained Indonesia SNI certification. This helps Chinese new energy products when going global, no longer simply passively complying with overseas standards, but having the ability to output China's technical standards.

The live broadcast concluded with the National Leading-level Smart Factory, Wuling's I²MS Smart Island Manufacturing System.

It is called Smart Island because this factory changed the waterline mode started by Ford's assembly line in the automotive industry. It splits the final assembly into 78 independent Smart Island workstations: Tire Island, Glass Island, Interior Island, Quality Inspection Island, etc. IGV carts carry the body, automatically cars finding workstations, materials finding cars, parallel assembly.

The workshop has over 280 robots, over 250 IGV unmanned logistics vehicles. They autonomously plan the body flow path. Jointly with Huawei Industrial 5G Network, communication zero error is guaranteed, achieving parallel assembly.

The assembly line used by the automotive industry for over a hundred years has become Smart Islands. The advantages are decoupled processes, adaptive capacity, evolvable systems, and expandable models. One production line can support mixed production of 24 car models. New car iterations do not require rebuilding production lines. Development periods are shortened, and changeover costs are significantly reduced.

Wuling's Smart Island production efficiency increased by 30%, logistics efficiency increased by 80%, manufacturing cycle shortened by 33%, and final assembly automation rate is 50%. It can be said that this is another major manufacturing mode innovation in the automotive industry since Ford's assembly line and Toyota's lean production.

The automobile was invented in Germany. Ford's assembly line significantly reduced car costs, allowing it to enter every household. The first automotive industrial revolution made American cars and American industry lead the world.

Toyota's lean production once again changed the production mode and supply chain model of automobiles. The second automotive industrial revolution put Japan at the pinnacle of the global automotive industry.

In the new energy era, China has already led the world in technology and products. Wuling's manufacturing mode innovation will be another important symbol of China leading and dominating the transformation of the automotive industry.