Xinhua News Agency,
Beijing,
December 12
Reporter: Pan Zidi, Xinhua
News Agency
In
recent
years, as
automobiles evolve from mere travel tools into
mobile
intelligent
terminals, ordinary-looking automotive glass
is
undergoing profound transformations.
From Protective Barrier to Intelligent
Terminal
How
versatile
can a piece of
auto glass be?
It can serve as a sunshade. Coated heat-insulating
windshields
block solar
radiation from entering vehicles, shielding over 99%
of
ultraviolet rays and
more than 97% of infrared
rays.
It can act as a mobile power source. Solar cell
components
embedded
inside glass interlayers convert solar energy
into
electricity to power
in-vehicle electrical
appliances.
It can also function as an ETC card slot. Built-in ETC
chips
directly integrated
into windshields ensure more stable passage
efficiency.
Diversified glass products displayed in the exhibition hall
of
Fuyao Automotive Glass
Engineering Research Institute
fully
demonstrate the
infinite potential of automotive
glass.
Photo taken on November 28 in
the
exhibition hall of
Fuyao Automotive Glass Engineering
Research
Institute. Photo
by Xiao Heyong/Xinhua News Agency
The
automotive glass revolution originates from the restructuring
of
product
attributes. In the past, consumers mainly valued
impact
resistance and
shatterproof performance of auto glass.
Nowadays,
automotive
glass has developed into an intelligent
terminal
integrated
with diverse advanced
technologies.
Such
changes
have greatly
upgraded travel experience, and the application
of
AR-HUD is a typical
example, which relies heavily on well-adapted windshields.
In
traditional driving scenarios, drivers need to frequently look
down
to check dashboard
data and navigation routes. Though the
action
takes little time,
it brings huge hidden dangers. When driving
at
high speed, taking
eyes off the road for merely 3 seconds allows
the
car to travel dozens
of meters, greatly raising traffic accident risks.
AR-HUD
effectively solves this problem. Supported by specially
optimized
windshields
that meet strict standards on light
transmittance,
refractive
index and flatness, it clearly projects core
driving
information
including vehicle speed, fuel consumption and
navigation
routes right
in front of drivers’ field of vision. Drivers
can
obtain all needed
information without changing driving postures
or
looking away from the
road, which greatly improves driving safety.
Apart
from
safety optimization,
enhancing user comfort is also a key
direction
for automotive
glass innovation. According to relevant
technical
principals,
with accelerated intelligent and connected
development
of the auto
industry, panoramic sunroofs have been widely
adopted.
Their
ultraviolet absorption capacity affects user experience,
while
signal shielding
performance directly influences
vehicle
communication
efficiency, becoming core factors restricting
product
competitiveness
and user satisfaction.
Nowadays,
many new energy vehicles are equipped with intelligent
dimmable
glass, which can
adjust light transmittance as needed to
block
strong light and
ultraviolet rays and protect in-car
privacy.
Meanwhile,
leading automotive glass manufacturers including
Fuyao
Group have launched
5G antenna integrated glass,
realizing
integrated
design by embedding antennas inside glass panels.
As
an
important carrier
for display interaction and data
transmission,
automotive glass is being continuously
redefined.
Driven by Dual Forces: Market Demand and Technological
Innovation
The
intelligent-oriented automotive glass revolution is
no
coincidence, but
jointly driven by upgraded market demands
and
continuous
technological
breakthroughs.
In 2024, sales volume of new energy vehicles accounted
for
40.9% of
total new car sales in China. The vigorous
development
of
domestic new energy vehicles has reshaped the
industrial
landscape and brought new development opportunities to
the
automotive
glass industry.
"Different
from traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles differ
not
only in power
systems, but also in intelligent
transformation,
which creates great opportunities for us to integrate
various
functional
applications into a single piece of
automotive
glass," said Huang Xianqian, Vice President of Fuyao
Group.
His words
reveal the core logic of industrial
transformation.
AR-HUD
requires customized windshields; intelligent dimmable
skylights
need to
balance heat insulation and lightweight design;
LiDAR
integration
puts forward strict requirements on
light
transmission performance of glass. Continuous upgrading
of
market demands
keeps promoting iterative updates of
automotive
glass
products.
Sustained
technological breakthroughs lay solid foundations for
market
demand
fulfillment. "Domestic intelligent vehicle
industry
is
developing much faster than before," Huang
Xianqian
added.
To maintain leading advantages, enterprises
must
strengthen
core independent research capabilities.
Photo
of
intelligent automatic
production lines at Fuyao Fuqing Green
Smart
Factory, provided
by Fuyao Group
Strong
R&D capability constitutes the core competitiveness.
Fuyao
Group has built
a global R&D team of over 5,600
members,
accounting
for 15% of its total staff, with its R&D
investment
reaching
1.678 billion yuan in 2024. Leading enterprises
also
actively carry
out joint R&D with new energy
vehicle
manufacturers
to accelerate technology
commercialization.
"In
the era of intelligent vehicles, automotive glass is no longer
a
passive protective
accessory, but an active
interactive
technological carrier that undertakes core in-cabin
intelligent
experience," stated Yang Zhongping, Deputy
Secretary-General
of
China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. He pointed
out
that joint
R&D between top glass enterprises and new
energy
vehicle brands
forms a positive cycle where demands guide
R&D
and research
achievements empower product
upgrading.
Market
demands define development directions, while
technological
innovations pave the way for industrial upgrading. Jointly
driven
by the two
forces, the automotive glass industry is
transforming
from
traditional manufacturing to high-tech
integrated
manufacturing, becoming an indispensable part of the
intelligent
travel
ecosystem.
Improved
Services & Talent Cultivation Boost Long-term Industrial
Development
By the
end
of September
2025, China’s vehicle ownership had exceeded
360
million units,
fostering a huge automotive aftermarket market.
As
a key link in the
industrial chain, automotive glass
installation
directly
determines the practical application of
technological
achievements, and service quality greatly affects consumer
experience.
"Automotive
glass
installation is the final step to implement
industrial
standards
and a core driving force for service
upgrading,"
said
Tso Fai, Chairman of Fuyao Group. In the past, the
automotive
glass
aftermarket was troubled by three major
problems:
counterfeit
products, inconsistent operation standards
and
undervalued service
value. To solve these pain points,
Fuyao
adheres to the
development path of standard guidance
and
ecological
co-construction.
Besides,
hidden problems including fragmented industrial data and
complex
glass
specifications lead to low recognition accuracy
of
automotive glass,
and even trigger chain reactions in
supply
chains due to
identification errors.
"In
the U.S. automotive glass aftermarket, consumers bear an
average
implicit cost
of about 20 US dollars per glass installation
caused
by wrong part
identification, mainly due to disordered
independent
industrial coding rules," introduced Curie Chen, President
of
Fuyao ARG Group.
This highlights the urgency of unified industrial
standards.
Fuyao has established China’s first unified automotive
glass
standard coding
system CARG to build a universal digital
language
for the
industry, and promoted the
one-product-one-code
traceability system to let consumers learn full
lifecycle
information
of each genuine Fuyao glass. Meanwhile, Edows
has
built the AGTSS
automotive glass technical service
system,
embedding
unified standards into every procedure
including
disassembly, installation, repair, ADAS calibration and
window
film
application, perfectly completing the final service
link.
"High-quality manufacturing development relies on
joint
efforts of all
industrial chain participants rather
than
individual
enterprises. It is essential to break
industrial
barriers
via unified standards and share industrial values
through
ecological
cooperation," said Guan Qingyou, President
of
Rushi Finance
Research Institute. Such collaborative
mode
integrates
high-quality products and professional services
to
elevate overall
industrial value.
If standardized services serve as logistical support for
the
automotive glass
revolution, professional talents are the
core
engine driving
the industry transformation from Made in China
to
Intelligent
Manufacturing in
China.
Leading enterprises take the lead in talent training
and
layout
optimization. Fuyao Group cooperates with Edows to
build
online and
offline training platforms, carry out joint
research
projects
with global supply chain partners, universities
and
research
institutions, and cultivate top-tier
professional
research
teams. It also holds industrial skill competitions
to
encourage
technicians to polish glass repair and installation
skills.
Photo of
Fuyao
Group researchers
conducting scientific research, provided by Fuyao Group
As
major
talent training
bases, universities are also actively
adjusting
talent
cultivation orientations to meet industrial
demands.
"Excellent skilled craftsmen are nurtured through
on-site
practical
practice rather than mere classroom learning,"
said
Xi Haitao, Party
Secretary of Changzhou Vocational Institute
of
Industry
Technology. The transformation from
traditional
functional glass to intelligent interactive terminals calls for
a
large number of
interdisciplinary
professionals.
Focusing on new automotive materials, intelligent
connected
technology
and intelligent manufacturing, Changzhou
Vocational
Institute
of Industry Technology dynamically adjusts
academic
majors to
align talent training with industrial upgrading,
and
provides targeted
talent support for enterprises to better
connect
talent chains
with industrial
chains.
Tiny automotive glass carries technological innovations
and
gathers
professional talents, which together form strong
driving
forces for
high-quality development of China’s manufacturing
industry.
Contributors:
Xiao Heyong, Han Menglin
Editor-in-charge:
Liu Yang
