FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAR Roundtable Identifies Strategic Pathways for North America to Respond to “China Speed”
Automotive leaders call for faster decision-making, collaborative R&D and a coordinated industrial strategy to strengthen North American competitiveness
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) today released an executive summary highlighting key insights from its China Speed: Mapping the Product Development Race and North America’s Response roundtable, held June 17 in conjunction with CAR MBS 2026.
The roundtable brought together automotive leaders from the United States and Canada to examine how China’s automotive industry has accelerated vehicle development, manufacturing scale and technology deployment and what North American companies and policymakers can do to respond.
Participants described “China Speed” as more than a shorter product-development cycle. The discussion emphasized that China’s competitive position is supported by an interconnected system of industrial policy, access to capital, streamlined decision-making, localized sourcing, vertical integration, rapid product iteration and digital-first vehicle development.
“China’s automotive growth is not the result of a single technology, company or policy,” said Elizabeth Krear, President & CEO of the Center for Automotive Research. “It reflects a coordinated system designed to move quickly and build scale. North America does not need to replicate that system, but it must become more intentional about reducing complexity, accelerating collaboration and investing in the capabilities that will define the next generation of automotive leadership.”
Key Takeaways
Roundtable participants identified several factors contributing to China’s competitive momentum:
- Coordinated industrial development: Alignment among national, provincial and local governments can accelerate investment, infrastructure development, permitting and factory construction.
- Operational agility: Larger engineering teams, common components, rapid iteration and streamlined decision-making allow manufacturers to move products from concept to market more quickly.
- Selective adoption of proven practices: Newer Chinese manufacturers have incorporated established global manufacturing principles without inheriting every legacy process or requirement.
- Digital-first vehicle strategies: Chinese automakers increasingly treat vehicles as continuously evolving technology platforms, with software and features updated after the vehicle is sold.
- Access to capital and state support: Participants raised concerns about subsidies, low-cost capital and other structural advantages that can create an uneven global competitive environment.
The discussion also made clear that tariffs or other protectionist measures alone will not close the competitive gap. Participants emphasized that North America must pair fair rules of market engagement with a broader strategy to improve product-development speed, strengthen innovation capacity and capitalize on regional advantages.
A North American Path Forward
Participants identified several opportunities for industry and policymakers:
- Use artificial intelligence, machine learning and systems-based engineering to accelerate decisions throughout the development process.
- Expand collaborative, pre-competitive research in areas such as batteries, autonomous-driving software, connectivity and advanced manufacturing.
- Increase benchmarking of Chinese automakers and newer North American manufacturers to challenge legacy assumptions and identify more efficient practices.
- Establish clear standards for cybersecurity, connected-vehicle data, safety and supply-chain transparency.
- Build on North American strengths in advanced automation, software, artificial intelligence, engineering and regional innovation ecosystems.
The executive summary concludes that responding effectively to China’s automotive momentum will require coordinated action across industry, government, academia and the broader automotive supply chain.
“North America has the engineering talent, technology base and innovation capacity to compete,” Krear added. “The challenge is translating those strengths into faster execution. CAR will continue convening leaders and conducting independent research that helps the industry move from discussion to actionable strategy.”
CAR will use the perspectives gathered during the roundtable to help inform future research, stakeholder discussions and industry reports.
The executive summary, China Speed: Mapping the Product Development Race and North America’s Response, is available at Download Link.
Center for Automotive Research
The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) is an independent, non-profit organization conducting industry-driven research and analysis. Focusing on critical areas like Energy & Sustainability, Technology, and Labor, Economics, and Policy. CAR has been a trusted resource for the automotive industry for over twenty years. www.cargroup.org
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