A landmark building in Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone. WU XINZHE/FOR CHINA DAILY
Northeast China's Jilin province is shoring up efforts to construct a first-class business environment and advance a sound automobile industry ecosystem to better embrace the Audi FAW New Energy Vehicle Company project in Changchun International Automobile City.
Based on the cooperation between FAW and Audi auto manufacturers over the past 30 years, Changchun International Automobile City, located in Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone, is using its resources to spur the growth of such key projects in the automobile industry.
The Audi FAW New Energy Vehicle Company project started construction as scheduled in June. As a major project of Sino-German cooperation, it adopted advanced planning and design concepts and leads the high-standard development pattern in the industry.
The project area covers 150 hectares, and steel consumption will exceed 80,000 metric tons by the time it is finished. It is scheduled to be put into production by the end of 2024. The annual output will exceed 150,000 vehicles.
At present, there are more than 120 designers from China and Germany in charge of the whole project. The total number of construction personnel has reached 1,800. It is estimated there will be 5,000 people required at the peak of construction.
As part of efforts to cut down carbon emissions and support China's dual carbon goals, the project introduced Audi's "Mission: Zero" strategy.
During construction, all of the energy supplied is green electricity with a part of the power generated by a photovoltaic system on the roof of the factory. The plant will also install a membrane bioreactor to achieve better water resource management.
Leveraging Changchun's resources as one of the largest automobile production bases in China, the project was launched here.
After its completion, the project will create about 3,000 new jobs and gather a good number of projectsupporting suppliers.
With an advanced concept, cutting-edge technology and high-value investment and output, the project paves the way for Jilin province to achieve dual carbon goals, and injects momentum for Changchun to accelerate the construction of an international automobile city, officials said.
The project is opening a new chapter in the development of Changchun International Automobile City. During the process, the zone has made notable achievements in diverse fields.
When choosing the location of the project, the company made a thorough consideration about the local business environment and industrial clusters, Audi said.
In September 2020, Audi's project investigation team came to the zone for the first time, performed field investigations and raised more than 1,200 questions.
The special work team in the zone responded to all their questions within five days.
On March 25, 2021, Audi FAW New Energy Vehicle Company completed its registration in just 20 minutes and obtained its business license.
On May 18 and 19, Audi's Premium Platform Electric or PPE project spent two days completing the construction permit process.
On June 28, the factory set up a workshop to build its steel structure and finished it just more than two months. It is to finish the warm sealing step by the end of this year.
The company appreciated the fast procedures in land acquisition, approvals, efficient communication and staff members' professionalism in the zone, said Helmut Stettner, CEO of Audi FAW New Energy Vehicle Company.
"Building a factory from scratch is full of challenges and excitement, and Changchun is becoming one of the most attractive production bases in China," Stettner added.
In 2020, Linglong Tire was set up in Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone. When it decided to build its fifth domestic production base here, it received high-quality and efficient services.
It only took 121 days from signing the contract to kicking off construction.
FAW is also located in the zone. To better serve the company, Changchun Automobile Economic and Technological Development Zone changed the name of the investment promotion bureau into the service bureau to make every effort to support its operation.
The market supervision bureau in the zone formulated a service development manual and proposed 28 service measures from 10 aspects in a bid to establish a long-term service mechanism.
Nowadays, FAW has built up its range. Hongqi, the premium arm of the group, is tapping into the younger market.
With the goal of supporting FAW to build a world-class enterprise and Changchun to build a world-class automobile city, the zone has brought benefits to a number of foreign and domestic automobile enterprises in the area.
Besides those projects, FAW-Findreams batteries and Volkswagen's new sales center are under construction.
Linglong Tire, FAW Research and Development Institute, FAW Jiefang Automobile Axle Base and other projects are expected to be put into use by the end of the year.
Zhu Guangming, head of the management committee of the zone, said that it is striving to provide a good environment for enterprises in a bid to achieve high-quality development.