The 20-second news segment on China Star's Audi engine had just finished airing—
and across the entire auto industry, it was like a bomb had gone off.
Inside Sanling Motors – China Branch
Goto Juro and Kitamura Kazuki stared at the broadcast replay, red-faced and furious.
"Baka! They developed their engine?!"
"How's that possible? We worked with the West to impose tech blockades!
We've scattered enough patent traps to choke the entire country!"
"Even the engines we sold them were intentionally tampered with—to lead their R&D in the wrong direction!"
They had long believed:
"Daxia car companies will never develop an engine on their own.
They'll always need us."
But now?
That belief had just crashed and burned.
Their Panic Wasn't Just About Tech
Sanling had always assumed that Audi Motors was using Japanese engines—especially since Sanling's were cheaper than European options.
But the broadcast proved otherwise.
And more than embarrassment, they sensed danger.
"If they develop independent engines and install them in mass-produced cars…"
"It'll be a disaster for us."
Why?
Because once Daxia had its engines, the government would back them hard.
Tariff breaks.
Policy support.
Easier market access.
And that meant foreign joint ventures were in trouble.
"Contact headquarters immediately," Goto ordered.
"This is bad. Very bad."
Across foreign car companies in China, reactions varied:
Some were dismissive
Others were worried
A few were already making calls to HQ
Inside Toyota – China Branch
Toyota Junko, granddaughter of the Toyota Group's chair, wasn't panicking.
At just 26, she controlled all of Toyota's China operations.
After watching the news, she calmly closed the file and leaned back.
"Audi Motors… interesting."
"This Lu Haifeng, the head of China Star—what background does he have?
To get that kind of exposure on a national broadcast…"
She wasn't naive.
She knew how rare it was for the country's top news outlet to feature a private company's tech achievement—especially so prominently.
"It's not about whether they can build engines.
It's about the weight behind them."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they appear at next year's Ward's 10 Best Engines awards."
She smiled slightly.
"And if they do, I'll be there to meet this Lu Haifeng in person."
Among Domestic Automakers
There was no sarcasm. No jealousy.
Only admiration—and hope.
If you had worked in China's car industry, you would have known how hard it was to break through foreign monopolies.
For years, they'd tried.
And every time? They were forced to give up—choked out by patent webs, low-quality components, or sheer tech gaps.
Many domestic carmakers had long resigned to focusing on vehicle styling and accessories, not the three core components.
They bought the engines from overseas—because they had no choice.
And yet those components were:
Expensive
Underpowered
Deliberately downgraded
Now?
China Star's Audi Motors had cracked the code.
Suddenly, the tide shifted.
"If the engine performance is real… we'll buy it from them."
One after another, local brands started discussing engine procurement.
And for the first time in decades?
Domestic automakers saw a way forward without relying on the West or Japan.