(Yicai Global) June 21 -- China's rapidly growing sectors for new energy vehicles and smart driving systems pose high risks for unrealistic expectations regarding quality, delivery times and fast profits, as well as outdated infrastructure and regulation, an industry expert said.

Many smart car manufacturers have published a series of timetables for the future, but the difference between what they say and what they actually do is too big, said China EV100's Secretary-General Zhang Yongwei, speaking at the global smart car summit in Shenzhen yesterday. 

"At China EV100, we are always concerned about large-scale investments in less mature technologies, which will result in low-level production capacity and small or no returns on investment," Zhang said. On the other hand, the expert pointed out that excessive production volume formed by early investments may create an obstacle for innovations in the next phase.

The smart driving and NEV sectors require sound redesigned ecosystems, Zhang said. "The industry chain needs to be restructured, existing companies will need to speed up adjustments with more new entrants, and everyone's role may change, especially for vehicle manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers." Maps, operating systems, chips, devices and software are all vital technologies in the intelligence era and need to form synergies with OEMs, Zhang added.

Regulations

Besides technologies, what matter most are standards, laws and regulations, Zhang said. "In the first wave of electric cars, these standards fell through, leading to the current non-uniform forms of battery charging and communications. In the intelligence era, these lessons should not be repeated."

Overall, advancements should be achieved through a synergy effect between the government and the industry players, Zhang said, raising an example of the city of Shenzhen which has started developing smart infrastructure projects such as its partnership with Huawei Technologies to pilot a 'city brain' big data platform for traffic control.

Chinese vehicle developers and local governments should take the lead in technologies, and have matching infrastructures and regulations in place, Zhang said. "Only in this way can we be the first to build an ecosystem that underpins smart technologies and innovation," he concluded.

Editor: Emmi Laine