Dong Yang Urges Chinese Automakers to Proceed Cautiously with Flying Cars and Smart Robots

Dong Yang, Chairman of the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, Co-Chairman of the China Automotive Chip Industry Innovation Strategic Alliance, and Vice Chairman of the China EV100, recently stated that although Chinese automakers possess certain advantages in embodied intelligence fields such as flying cars and intelligent robots, these advantages are merely necessary—not sufficient—conditions. He cautioned that related strategic expansions should be approached with prudence. Dong noted that while Chinese automakers have made progress in new energy vehicles and intelligent technologies, they still face significant gaps in fundamental research, generic technologies, and core components—such as automotive operating systems, autonomous driving chips, and high-end manufacturing equipment. With relatively low overall profit margins and limited human, material, and financial resources, the industry currently lacks the capacity to sustain multi-front expansion. Diverting resources to emerging sectors could undermine competitiveness in their core automotive business. He emphasized that the automotive industry has already established the world’s most comprehensive supply chain and manufacturing ecosystem. In contrast, flying cars and humanoid robots differ substantially from conventional vehicles in terms of airworthiness standards, safety regulations, application scenarios, and industrial support systems, making it difficult to directly leverage existing automotive infrastructure. Therefore, prioritizing efforts to address weaknesses within the automotive sector itself is more urgent. Moreover, both flying cars and humanoid robots remain in the early stages of industrialization, characterized by small market scales, unclear commercialization pathways, and long profitability timelines. Flying cars are constrained by low-altitude airspace policies, insufficient infrastructure, and immature safety standards, while humanoid robots struggle with technological immaturity, high costs, and challenges in real-world scenario adaptation. Regulatory frameworks and supporting ecosystems for these new domains are unlikely to mature in the short term, exposing entrants to substantial policy, technological, and market risks. Dong clarified that he does not oppose cross-sector diversification per se but warns against blind and overly aggressive expansion. He suggested that qualified enterprises could collaborate strategically with leading firms in embodied intelligence to leverage their strengths in manufacturing, supply chains, and intelligent technologies—thereby mitigating risks and sharing in the sector’s growth potential. In summary, Dong urged Chinese automakers to prioritize deepening their capabilities in electrification, intelligentization, and globalization, solidifying their core business foundations. Only after securing a strong position in their primary domain should they cautiously and steadily advance into new areas.