A Look at the Current State of Chinese Model Makers.The Key Players Supporting China’s Fiercely Competitive Automotive Industry — Part 2: Shanghai SKY
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In China's automotive development landscape, "model makers" — companies that support automakers through the production of prototype models and show models, design proposals, and development assistance — are growing increasingly prominent.
In the world's largest automotive market, both MOTIVO and Shanghai SKY, operating out of Shanghai, China, trace their roots back to the Shanghai branches of Japanese model makers. Yet it is the people themselves who have preserved, nurtured, and grown that foundation within China's unique cultural and business environment. The concept cars they produce have already reached a global standard of quality — even if certain challenges remain.
TEXT: Car Styling
PHOTO: Tatsuo Nagano
Shanghai SKY — The Modeling Division of Kun Yuan Automotive Technology, Achieving Rapid Growth Through Proprietary Technology
The company is led by President Wang Fen. On the day of our visit, we spoke with Zhu Zhendong of the sales department.
Kun Yuan Automotive Technology (昆元汽車科技) operates an engineering and manufacturing division in Tianjin, and has established “Shanghai SKY” as its model development and production base — located approximately 30 minutes by car from Hongqiao Airport, the gateway to Shanghai. The company has built an in-house framework capable of handling the full spectrum of automotive development processes, including styling design, CAS (Computer Aided Styling), model production, Class A data, and structural design. Its factory floor spans approximately 11,000 square meters, and the company holds national certification as a high-tech enterprise.
The company’s competitiveness is underpinned by a comprehensive range of production and evaluation equipment. This includes Italian-manufactured five-axis machining centers, various CNC machines, a dust-free paint booth, a single-arm coordinate measuring machine, and a video relay system that enables online review sessions with clients both domestic and international.
The company also offers high-precision finishing for both exterior and interior work, encompassing polishing, painting, hand finishing, leather and suede wrapping, PVD coating, water plating, and UV printing. Research and development into new materials — including light-transmitting surface films and anti-reflective materials — is also underway. The facility is equipped with an in-house-developed self-circulating wet-sanding workbench, among other installations designed with energy efficiency and environmental consideration in mind.
The design development and modeling division includes veteran designers from Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom, while the model production and structural design teams are composed primarily of Chinese staff — ensuring strong responsiveness in local production and local development.
In recent years, Kun Yuan has produced concept models and show models for a large number of China’s major automakers. Its track record is extensive, including the Chery Jingyun SMVP at the 2024 Guangzhou Motor Show, the Chery Exeed E08 and the Ford Ranger show model at the Beijing Motor Show, and the Ford EVOS Concept Car in 2021, among many others. The company also undertakes interior mockup production for European brands during the design development phase.
One particularly noteworthy aspect of Kun Yuan is the presence of a dedicated product planning team specializing in heavy-duty trucks. This team is capable of handling the entire truck development planning process in-house, from market analysis and product strategy formulation to performance requirement development, platform classification and design, interior design, and CMF support.
The challenges facing Shanghai SKY are also the improvement and maintenance of quality — and above all, improving employee retention.
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In 2024, China recorded sales of approximately 31 million vehicles, cementing its position as the world’s largest automotive market. Competition in sales is fierce, with roughly 150 brands vying to launch new models. Against this backdrop, the role of model makers continues to expand day by day. Companies like MOTIVO and Shanghai SKY — armed with extensive facilities and diverse talent, and capable of supporting OEMs’ development speed in both proposal-making and execution backed by high technical expertise — have become indispensable partners in the industry. And much like the automakers themselves, these companies are engaged in their own fierce battle against a growing field of new competitors entering the same space.