Inside China conference focuses on auto industry
Posted 11/09/2011
UMTRI's fourth annual Inside China conference took place Wednesday, November 16, at the University of Michigan. The event featured insights by manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, and U-M experts on the current and future prospects for the automotive industry in China.
UMTRI assistant research scientist Bruce Belzowski introduced key issues and moderated the conference, which took place at the U-M Michigan League from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The conference featured the unique perspectives of the sales leader in China, General Motors, and one of the largest manufacturers, Changan Motors. The two companies represent the different sides of the complex joint venture relationships that make up the Chinese auto industry. General Motors is the foreign member of a joint venture with the Chinese firm, SAIC, and Changan Motors is the Chinese joint venture partner for Ford Motor Company.
Conference speakers addressed manufacturer strategies, labor issues, market updates, and government direction, as well as a U.S.-China research and development consortium on batteries and electric vehicles.
Speakers included the following:
- Yingzi Su, Senior Economist, General Motors Corporation
- Jun Ni, Manufacturing Science and Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
- Larry Johnson, Transportation Technology R&D, Argonne National Labs
- Hong Su, Vice President, Changan U.S. R&D Center
- Richard Hanna, Global Automotive Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Jingwen Hu, Assistant Research Scientist, U-M Transportation Research Institute
For conference details, see Inside China Conference.