Alliance for Vehicle Technology Development Forged in Taiwan

The Industrial Technology Department (ITD) under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) recently brought four domestic research institutions together to form the Taiwan Vehicle Technology Development Alliance (TVTDA). The goal behind the new grouping is the beefing up of the island's automotive technology R&D capabilities so that it can develop the key systems needed by the auto industry.



The four member institutions are the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the Metal Industries Research & Development Center (MIRDC), the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), and the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST).

The CEO of the MIRDC, Huang Wen-hsing, has been chosen to serve as the first director of the TVTDA. The new alliance, he states, hopes to develop "three highs" for the local auto industry: high-technical-threshold technologies, highly cross-field-integrated electromechanical systems, and high-added-value products. "These three highs," Huang says, "can help local auto and parts makers to develop the international market with their key auto parts, home-grown auto engines, and complete cars."

The director hopes that with the help of the alliance, the overall production value of Taiwan's automotive industry will soar to NT$800 billion (US$25.5 billion at NT$31.4:US$1) by 2010, up from about NT$250 billion (US$8 billion) in 2000, and that it will transform itself from its original concentration on original-equipment manufacturing (OEM) mode of operation to the original-design manufacturing (ODM) mode. The objective is to elevate Taiwan's position in the automotive industry's worldwide division of labor and develop the island into an Asian auto R&D, marketing, and service center.

Under the Industrial Technology Department's plan, the four members of the alliance will jointly develop a technology R&D platform, introduce key technologies through international cooperation, help local auto-parts makers develop a synchronic-engineering design platform, assist local universities with the cultivation and training of professionals, and cooperate with local and foreign research institutes in setting up an academic research platform. The results of these efforts will be consolidated into four technological categories: lightweight-alloy-forming technology used in automobile structures and parts production (in the charge of MIRDC), clean-power automotive engines and automobile-chassis modularization (ITRI), complete-auto testing technology (ARTC), and automotive electronic-control technology (CSIST).

The initial goal is the development of a 100% homegrown automobile, an effort which will nurture the R&D and manufacturing capabilities of local parts makers and integrate vehicle-development resources.

The ITD points out that the attractive auto-electronics industry has drawn intense attention from local information-technology (IT) equipment and electronics manufacturers, but cautions that entry into this industry requires a relatively high technological capability and that its products have to overcome tough challenges due to their harsh operating environment. Local companies wanting to get into original-equipment (OE) auto-electronics manufacturing, most of which are limited in size, experience, and technical capability, will face formidable technological obstacles.

More optimistically, the ITD believes that Taiwanese companies will play an increasingly important role in the international whole-auto and auto-parts markets if they only work hard and succeed at strengthening their abilities to upgrade production processes, develop molds and dies rapidly, carry out stringent quality control, and integrate with the island's solid IT and electronic industries.