I just returned from a trip to China and Korea – two weeks discussing, sharing information, and visiting factories.
DVN Shanghai was impressive this year. We had more than 520 participants, more then 150 companies, and more than 200 OEM participants. Most car makers were there, both the domestic Chinese ones (BYD, Xiaomi, Geely, Chery, BAIC, Great Wall, Dongfeng…) and international ones (Ford, GM, VW, Mercedes, BMW, Renault…). The average age of attendees was clearly under 35 years, a big difference compared to Europe. Car buyers are younger on average in China, at around 40, versus around 60 in Europe. It is the same for those working in vehicle lighting: much younger!
This demonstrates motivation to work in the automotive realm. They like cars; they can wake with cars, lunch with cars, have dinner with cars. Discussions were passionate, with everybody analysing lamp details, asking questions, wanting to learn. It reminded me of my time in Romania 15 years ago with a super dynamic team in Bucharest, with this same eager willingness.
When you have the motivation, you can walk faster, you can run a marathon. This is perhaps the secret of China; it’s not that they succeed because they have the right ecosystem, I think they succeed because of the mindset: go forward, work hard, learn. After 25 years in the business, I think we have lost part of our spirit in western countries. The overall opinion from American and European colleagues is broadly similar to mine. We have lost something. It’s difficult to explain.
For the first time, this year at Shanghai we invited a design school to join a DVN event. This was a great success and fresh air was in the room. Students were not shy in front of their peers. They enjoyed and we enjoyed. It is something we will do again at our next event in Munich with 7 design school, to bring the same fresh spirit in our community.
China is something you must feel. Feel free to join us at our next Shanghai event in September, 2027!
Thank you to all my Chinese contacts who participated. Thank you for all the feedback received, appreciated!
Sincerely yours,
