According to a Xinhua report, Chinese President and General Secretary Xi Jinping paid an official visit to SAIC Motor's Technology Center last month, where he asked about the emissions and prices of various models. After sitting in one of the vehicles, he stated to the representatives of various automobile manufacturers that the Central Government has decided to exclusively purchase own brand vehicles. This decision will give domestic manufacturers new development opportunities as they can expand into new market segments.

With the increasing reliance on intelligent navigation systems and cloud computer-based information exchange, there is an ever-increasing danger that sensitive information may be leaked via automobile computer systems. Therefore, it is of the utmost important that official government-use cars safeguard information. How own brand manufacturers rise to face this challenge is an ongoing matter of debate. SAIC and FAW, whose Roewe and Hongqi branded vehicles have already been approved for government, military and police use, are dedicating considerable resources to conduct independent research.

With increasing reliance on the Internet, information security is one of the major challenges faced by manufacturers of government use products all around the world. In response to this risk, the Central Government Procurement Center released legislation restricting government agencies from purchasing products which use the Windows 8 due to fears that the operating system insecure.

Automobile manufacturers too have to be aware of these dangers, especially as the automobile and information industries grow closer and closer due to increasingly complex vehicle electronic systems. While this link is most evident in onboard navigation and entertainment systems, even traditional technologies such as engines and drive trains are increasingly becoming more connected to information technology. As this technology becomes more prevalent on automobiles, automobiles themselves may carry more and more safety risks.

This may in fact be one of the motivating factors behind the government's decision to only buy domestic vehicles. By having domestic manufacturers fully design and manufacture a vehicle from the ground up, they will have a better grasp on how to comprehensively safeguard information.

The government has already taken steps to show its commitment. At the recently concluded Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia held in Shanghai last month, vehicles for both guests and security personnel were all made by domestic own brand manufacturers.

Despite being given such a great development opportunity, there are still many challenges for own brand manufacturers to overcome. There are a number of core autoparts that are closely linked to information security. However, Chinese own brand manufacturers are still lacking when compared to international standards when it comes to the manufacture of certain autoparts, and are still reliant on parts made by leading multinational companies. For domestic manufacturers to independently manufacture these parts to a high quality will require the creation and revolution of entire supply lines. By using self-produced core autoparts, these manufacturers will be able to better ensure information security and safeguard against other risks.

Source:Gasgoo