17 Feb Digital Disruption in China’s Automotive Industry

Gao Feng Insights Report, January 2016

We are pleased to share with you our paper titled: Digital Disruption in China’s Automotive Industry. Recent advances in mobile connectivity, big data and social networks have infiltrated the traditional automotive industry and are beginning to redraw the competitive landscape among traditional hardware companies and digital “disruptors”.

The traditional automotive industry, where technology innovation has primarily been focused on powertrain and safety systems, must now contend with new forms of mobility services that are transforming the business model of the auto industry. The conventional hardware-centric, sales-driven, asset-heavy, and ownership-based business model with sporadic customer interactions is being superseded by more connected, on-demand, cost-effective, personalized mobility services. This new form of “connected mobility” is driving new technologies in the areas of navigation, analytics, driver safety, driver assistance and information virtualization.

China’s automotive industry is at the forefront of digital disruption as this transformation is happening much faster in China than the rest of the world, and China will leapfrog to a new era of personalized and electrified mobility.  The unique context of China’s urban transportation challenge, the high rate of adoption of mobile device connectivity, combined with the rapid and aggressive introduction of alternative mobility and ownership concepts will compress the time needed to commercialize smart, connected car technology and related services.  These conditions may permit China to “leapfrog” to towards a new era of personalized and electrified mobility.

We welcome your comments and feedback on our briefing paper or in general about our firm. We would be glad to meet you in person to share our data and perspectives in a fuller manner. Please let us know if you are interested in meeting and discussing directly how we can help you to operationalize these insights.

Thought leadership is core to what Gao Feng does. We will, from time to time, share with you our latest thinking on business and management, especially as it relates to China and China’s role in the world.

Best Regards,

Bill Russo
Managing Director, Gao Feng Advisory Company
[email protected]

Edward Tse
Chairman and CEO, Gao Feng Advisory Company
[email protected]

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