Brandy Ryan
Autodesk was thrilled to host its second annual China Automotive Innovation Forum on September 13th in Shanghai. This forum spotlights industry trends, customer case studies, interactive demos, executive meetings, media engagements, and exclusive updates on our ID&V solutions, which encompass automotive design, advanced manufacturing, and digital factories.
This event drew 583 attendees – 332 in-person and 251 virtual participants – who took in 24 curated sessions, 54% of which were led by customers.
The focus of this year’s China AIF was how AI is impacting creativity, design, and manufacturing. The rapid rise of AI has made it a central topic of discussion – and Autodesk aims to embrace innovative solutions centered on digitalization and advanced technologies.
Haresh Khoobchandani, Autodesk’s Vice President of APAC & Japan, spoke to this in his opening remarks:
“As one of the most trusted partners of Chinese customers, Autodesk has long recognized the significant value of AI for the automotive industry. We continue to help our Chinese customers strengthen their business resilience and promote in-depth exchanges among partners through our extensive ecosystem collaborations. We look forward to the three core functions of our analytical AI, augmented AI, and automated AI seamlessly integrating into the workflow of the automotive industry.”
Haresh Khoobchandani
China AIF speakers & topics
Strategy Director of Creative Department of Modeling Institute, Exterior Design Director of Shanghai Modeling Center, IAT Automobile Technology Co., Ltd.
Francis Sun (Autodesk GCR Senior Regional Director) and Haresh Khoobchandani (Autodesk VP of APAC & Japan) gave the Ideas in Motion keynote. Francis Sun shared how Autodesk is focused on driving the evolution of car model designing, while striving to improve product quality and reliability through collaborative design, connected digital platforms, simulation technologies, and smart manufacturing solutions.
Detlev Reicheneder (Autodesk Senior Director of Industry Strategy at PDMS) spoke about Autodesk’s leading innovation in automotive, with its experience in capturing technological changes, anticipating trends, and creating leading products.
Harry Luo (Autodesk Senior Technical Sales Manager) offered insights from the “State of Design and Make Report” on business agility. He highlighted that the Autodesk 2024 “State of Design & Make Report” indicates that 83% of respondents in China use AI to enhance their design and manufacturing tools.
Ye Wang (Autodesk Senior Principal Research Scientist) explored streamlining conceptual design with GenAI with an in-depth session on Autodesk AI.
Executives from Dongfeng Motor, Xiaomi, and Wuhan Dongyan Intelligence Design Institute shared best practices from agile design innovation through to digital factory optimization. They demonstrated the unique advantages of Autodesk’s digital design tools in organizing design requirements, simplifying design processes, and addressing teamwork challenges.
Dongyan Intelligence introduced the concept of “software-defined factories.” With more efficient software and deeper data support, Dongyan Intelligence is helping their customers meet the challenges of rapid plant construction, efficient production, and intelligent upgrades. Autodesk AI technology will play a significant role here.
China AIF Exhibition
- Agile Design Studio with VR room and auto cabin features
- Digital Factory with factory model simulations
- FlexSim, comprehensive factory solution (Beijing Chuangshi Neng)
- Moldflow, EV part manufacturing support
- NavVis Laser Scanning and Digital Twin solutions
- Idea Station – participant feedback on Alias and VRED feature prioritization
China AIF photo gallery
Yes, there will be more! Customer spotlights, industry stories, and product updates.
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