[[B1]] As competition to launch new vehicles intensifies in China's auto market, critics say some manufacturers are putting cars on the market without adequate testing. As they sharply compress development timelines, some are skipping or scaling back real-world road testing and component verification, fueling concern over what has been dubbed "rushed cars."
[[B2]] China rolled out 165 new vehicle models in the first half of this year, according to Chinese business outlet Yicai on the 20th. That is roughly double the number from the first half of 2016, when new models fell short of 90 — a twofold increase over a decade.
[[B3]] Development times have shrunk sharply as the electric vehicle market grows rapidly. In the era dominated by internal combustion engines, developing and launching a single new model took about five years on average. But as the market has shifted toward EVs, development time has been cut to about two years. Some manufacturers even claim they can launch three new models a year.
[[B4]] Bringing a single vehicle to market typically requires dozens of stages, including market research, design, technology development, various reviews, selection of parts suppliers, simulation and real-world road testing. This development and verification process alone is known to take at least about two years.
[[B5]] But according to Yicai, some manufacturers seeking faster launches are shortening development time by leaning more heavily on laboratory simulations and cutting back on road tests using actual vehicles. Some parts are said to skip separate verification altogether.
"Are Consumers Test Personnel?" — Concerns Grow in China's Industry
[[B6]] The situation has given rise to the term "rushed cars" within China's auto industry. While launching new models in a fast-changing market can itself be a competitive edge, there is concern that safety and quality problems could arise if unverified vehicles reach consumers.
[[B7]] Li Fenggang, president of Beijing Hyundai, directly criticized the development practices of some automakers at the 2026 China Auto Forum held last month. His point was that if automakers fail to conduct required testing thoroughly in order to meet launch schedules, consumers could end up as "test personnel" who discover problems while actually using the vehicles.
[[B8]] For an auto part to be applied to an actual vehicle, it must go through procedures such as design verification (DV) and production verification (PV). But some in the industry point out that completing only some of these stages, or reducing the scope of verification, could widen quality variation during vehicle production.
[[B9]] There are counterarguments, however, that a vehicle's quality should not be judged by development time alone. Lu Fang, CEO of Voyah (Lantu) automobile, stressed: "I disagree with the notion that consumers are being treated like lab rats. What matters is not how long development took, but whether the verification process is properly in place and whether sufficient verification was carried out."
[[B10]] China's national standards do set minimum mileage requirements for vehicle reliability testing. Under current rules, internal combustion vehicles must undergo 30,000 kilometers of reliability road testing, while new-energy vehicles must complete 15,000 kilometers. China is pushing to raise the standard for new-energy vehicles to 30,000 kilometers as well.
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[[B11]] The problem is that even when a standard such as minimum mileage is met, it is difficult to judge how thoroughly the actual verification was carried out.
[[B12]] A research and development official at GAC (Guangzhou Automobile) explained that a 30,000-kilometer road test is hard to consider excessively long for the auto industry. Driving 500 kilometers a day, a vehicle could cover that distance in about two months. The official noted that while many new vehicles conduct road testing far exceeding the standard, some models still develop breakdowns or quality problems.
[[B13]] Yicai identified as a problem the absence of clear national standards, beyond minimum mileage, for the ratio between testing with actual vehicles and computer simulation. Ultimately, that leaves considerable room for manufacturer discretion over specific test methods, the number of vehicles and the number of tests.
[[B14]] One EV maker offers a telling example. Of the 10,000 durability tests for a door handle used in a new model, only 2,000 were conducted using actual parts, with the remaining 8,000 replaced by simulation, according to reports. In other words, 80% of all testing was done in a virtual environment rather than on an actual vehicle.
[[B15]] A research and development engineer at a joint-venture automaker said: "It is common to operate multiple test vehicles, but some manufacturers assign only a single vehicle to road testing for a specific part." If that vehicle passes, verification of that item is completed.
[[B16]] "The number of sample vehicles and the frequency of testing are matters manufacturers decide internally," the engineer said. "In the end, a new model can be launched as long as it meets the set standards."
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