While car workers in Germany and South Korea fight to save their jobs, one of China's youngest auto brands is gearing up to build sport utility vehicles at a new factory with digitally-connected robots and a fresh workforce of 1,800 people.
A three-hour drive from the Chinese capital Beijing, the Lynk & Co plant in Zhangjiakou combines technology and manufacturing know-how from the Geely and Volvo Cars units of China car giant Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
The 12 billion yuan (Dh6.94bn) investment is a bright, freshly painted example of the challenge confronting long-established car factories in mature industrial economies.
As car makers adopt a new generation of manufacturing technology, industry officials are confident that they can deploy the same packages of robots, assembly line designs and digital quality control systems anywhere in the world - and train people to do the tasks robots cannot yet perform.
Plant manager Tong Xiangbei is in the vanguard of a tech revolution that enables car makers to put new factories in remote places like Zhangjiakou, a city of four million people in Hebei province and far from many of Geely's parts makers.
"With this team, we could go anywhere and replicate this factory," Mr Tong, 42, who previously worked at Ford, said during the first media tour of the factory.
The ability to build cars in almost any location that has electricity and decent roads is one factor behind Peugeot's clash with German workers over proposed cost-cutting at Opel brand factories once owned by General Motors.
GM this week agreed to invest $3.6bn in its money losing South Korean operations only after unions representing workers at its plants agreed to allow the shutdown of a factory in Gunsan, Korea and gave concessions GM said will save $400 million to $500m a year.
With Lynk & Co, Geely is targeting younger and less affluent buyers than typical Volvo customers, but who still demand more sophistication and technology than a standard Geely Automobile car for the mass market in China.
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Lynk & Co vehicles already are competing with GM, Peugeot and other automakers in China. The brand plans to begin production at a plant in Belgium in 2019, and begin sales in Europe in 2020. Geely and Volvo have said they plan to bring the brand to the United States, but have not said when.
The Zhangjiakou complex will build the Lynk & Co 02 4x4 and a saloon called the 03 for the Chinese market. Currently, the plant has about 1,800 workers on one daily shift, labouring alongside nearly 300 robots.
When the factory goes to a second shift, it will employ 3,000 people capable of building about 200,000 cars per year, Mr Tong said. Those are employment and production levels consistent with mature market auto plants.
The factory uses Kuka robots to weld together the bodies of its vehicles - the same brand used by Daimler to build Mercedes-Benz cars.
US firm Rockwell Automation and Germany's Robert Bosch supply the technology used on the final assembly line.
A robot from ABB glues windshields into each Lynk & Co 02 4x4, relieving human workers of that messy job.
US tool maker Atlas Copco provided what plant manager Mr Tong describes as a "huge-ass nut runner" that bolts wheels on vehicles, records the force used and sends the data to a cloud server.
The Zhangjiakou factory's advanced systems are evident in both the robots seen by journalists during the tour, and other things that are missing.
Unlike many older car factories, there are no natural-gas fuelled forklifts or tug vehicles operated by drivers to haul parts to the assembly line. At Lynk & Co, parts are brought to work stations by unmanned, automated machines.
For its human workforce, some of whom live up to 500 kilometres from the plant, the company is building housing for its employees, Mr Tong said.
But he also saw benefits in the plant's remote location.
"We're in the middle of nowhere," he said. "We can expand any direction we want."
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
