PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (5): 741-754.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2022.05.001

• Articles •     Next Articles

Cross-regional relatedness and influencing factors of China’s automobile production network from the perspective of “global-local”: A case study of FAW-Volkswagen

ZHAO Ziyu1(), WANG Shijun2, CHEN Xiaofei3,*(), HAN Zhonghui4   

  1. 1. School of Tourism and Geography Science, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, Shandong, China
    2. School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
    3. Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Yellow River Civilization by Provincial and Ministerial Co-construction of Collaborative Innovation Center, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, Henan, China
    4. School of Management, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, Shandong, China
  • Received:2021-09-17 Revised:2021-12-08 Online:2022-05-28 Published:2022-07-28
  • Contact: CHEN Xiaofei E-mail:zhaozy@qdu.edu.cn;xfchen@henu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(42171198);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41771161);National Natural Science Foundation of China(42001176);Henan Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project(2021BJJ030);Youth Foundation of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(ZR2020QD009)

Abstract:

Under the background of global production network development, the research on "global-local" cross-regional relatedness of production organizations has important theoretical significance. The cross-regional network characteristics and geospatial representations of China's joint venture automobile production network have been explored in the global-local interactive situation. Based on the perspective of global-local production relatedness and multi-scale integration and using primary supply data of automobile manufacturing, this study analyzed the cross-regional relatedness and influencing factors of China's joint venture automobile production network represented by FAW-Volkswagen. The results show that: 1) The global-local multi-scale integration provides a good perspective for understanding the industrial transfer footprint of multinational corporations in building global production networks. The German company Volkswagen is embedded into China's automobile manufacturing system by building global production network, and the structure of the production network shows a typical characteristic of global-local relatedness. 2) The spatial distribution of local primary suppliers in the FAW-Volkswagen automobile production network is highly consistent with the "T"-shaped pattern of China's territorial development strategy. Investment type / technology control of automobile suppliers presents a regional organization model of the same type of spatial agglomeration, and the agglomeration degree presents the characteristic of sole proprietorship ≈ joint venture > local investment business. 3) Through the production transfer of automobile assembly plants and the procurement by cross-regional supply chains, the production organization of FAW-Volkswagen has formed a cross-regional cluster network structure with the core of cities where the automobile assembly plants are located and are restricted by geographical boundaries. 4) Spatial and temporal constraints, location advantages and agglomeration effects, technological innovation represented by modular production, venture strategies of multinational groups, and foreign investement club strategies jointly influence the spatial organization structure of the FAW-Volkswagen production network. Through a typical case study, this study provides theoretical and practical bases for understanding the organizational structure of China's key industrial production networks under the global-local multi-scale.

Key words: global-local, automobile manufacturing, production network, FAW-Volkswagen