Dr. Ninghua Song

Principal

Head, Automotive & Manufacturing Practice, China

Areas of Focus

Education

University of Cambridge
Ph.D. of Manufacturing Management
Tianjin University
Master’s Degree of Management Science and Engineering
Tianjin University
Bachelor’s Degree of Engineering Economics

Past Experience

Motorservice (KSPG Aftermarket Business)
Director of Strategy and Business Development in Asia
Qoros
Senior Manager of Strategy and Business Development
McKinsey & Company
Senior Associate/Junior Engagement Manager (Frankfurt and Shanghai offices)

Ninghua is a Principal at Arthur D. Little Greater China, based in the Shanghai office, and leads the Automotive and Manufacturing Practice in this market.  

Ninghua has over 15 years’ experience in top management consulting and industry with Automotive OEMs and major global and local suppliers. She has a deep understanding of the Chinese market, plus her global experience covers Asia-Pacific more broadly, as well as Europe, North America and the Middle East. 

She primarily advises companies in the sectors of automotive, manufacturing and energy. Her main fields of expertise include strategy development, marketing, sales & after-sales, operations improvement and transformation.  In the EV and EV battery areas, her project topics cover regulation and collaboration with the government, product strategy, battery technology and recycling strategy.    

Ninghua also works on M&A and Chinese outward investment for Chinese organizations looking to create growth opportunities in Europe, North America and beyond.  

Ninghua holds a Ph.D. of Manufacturing Management from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Recent Publications

Travel & transportation
Electric buses
Petter Kilefors, Rodolfo Guzman, Dr. Ninghua Song
Electric buses are expected to be more efficient and greener than diesel buses, and key to making cities more environmentally friendly. Every city must carefully choose its individual solution for its bus fleet, and OEMs have to be ready to mirror the local requirements by understanding the needs of both PTOs and PTAs.
Find out more
Automotive
Win the automotive COVID-19 rebound
Dr. Andreas Schlosser, Florent Nansé, Dr. Ninghua Song, Dr. Philipp Seidel
Economic lockdowns in the COVID-19 crisis have quickly and severely compromised the automotive supply chain and dealerships in unprecedented ways – car sales dropped by up to 80 percent in one month and production was stopped for weeks. The recession after the crisis will cut global car demand by multi-digit percentages in 2020, followed by a slow recovery that will lag behind GDP rebound by one or two years.
Find out more
Automotive
Will Chinese EV start-ups reshape the automotive industry?
Dr. Ninghua Song, Hiroto Suzuki
With Chinese regulators’ stimulation policy, a number of EV start-up companies have been set up since 2015. Many of them aim to launch EV products with high levels of artificial intelligence, connectivity and autonomous driving technology. In this viewpoint, Arthur D. Little reviews major players’ product offerings, highlighting sales and aftersales services, market performance, major challenges and implications for the future.
Find out more
Automotive
Car sharing in China: another storm in city mobility
Dr. Ninghua Song, Dr. Klaus Schmitz
After Didi acquired Uber China in 2016, the fierce battle between the two chauffeur giants came to an end, resulting in a large customer pool that was well educated on new urban mobility. Now the battle in city mobility continues, with another storm coming in – car sharing. Arthur D. Little analyzes the market dynamics, major challenges, and implications for the future.
Find out more
Automotive
The rapid growth of bike sharing in China
Dr. Ninghua Song, François-Joseph Van Audenhove
With significant venture capital injected, bike sharing has been booming rapidly in China since the second half of 2016, and already looks to be impacting the future development of the urban mobility ecosystem. Arthur D. Little considers the market dynamics and competition landscape, as well as some key takeaways for different stakeholders, including city authorities, the existing bicycle supply chain, and the new entrant bike-sharing companies themselves. 
Find out more

Ninghua is a Principal at Arthur D. Little Greater China, based in the Shanghai office, and leads the Automotive and Manufacturing Practice in this market.  

Ninghua has over 15 years’ experience in top management consulting and industry with Automotive OEMs and major global and local suppliers. She has a deep understanding of the Chinese market, plus her global experience covers Asia-Pacific more broadly, as well as Europe, North America and the Middle East. 

She primarily advises companies in the sectors of automotive, manufacturing and energy. Her main fields of expertise include strategy development, marketing, sales & after-sales, operations improvement and transformation.  In the EV and EV battery areas, her project topics cover regulation and collaboration with the government, product strategy, battery technology and recycling strategy.    

Ninghua also works on M&A and Chinese outward investment for Chinese organizations looking to create growth opportunities in Europe, North America and beyond.  

Ninghua holds a Ph.D. of Manufacturing Management from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Recent Publications

Travel & transportation
Electric buses
Petter Kilefors, Rodolfo Guzman, Dr. Ninghua Song
Electric buses are expected to be more efficient and greener than diesel buses, and key to making cities more environmentally friendly. Every city must carefully choose its individual solution for its bus fleet, and OEMs have to be ready to mirror the local requirements by understanding the needs of both PTOs and PTAs.
Find out more
Automotive
Win the automotive COVID-19 rebound
Dr. Andreas Schlosser, Florent Nansé, Dr. Ninghua Song, Dr. Philipp Seidel
Economic lockdowns in the COVID-19 crisis have quickly and severely compromised the automotive supply chain and dealerships in unprecedented ways – car sales dropped by up to 80 percent in one month and production was stopped for weeks. The recession after the crisis will cut global car demand by multi-digit percentages in 2020, followed by a slow recovery that will lag behind GDP rebound by one or two years.
Find out more
Automotive
Will Chinese EV start-ups reshape the automotive industry?
Dr. Ninghua Song, Hiroto Suzuki
With Chinese regulators’ stimulation policy, a number of EV start-up companies have been set up since 2015. Many of them aim to launch EV products with high levels of artificial intelligence, connectivity and autonomous driving technology. In this viewpoint, Arthur D. Little reviews major players’ product offerings, highlighting sales and aftersales services, market performance, major challenges and implications for the future.
Find out more
Automotive
Car sharing in China: another storm in city mobility
Dr. Ninghua Song, Dr. Klaus Schmitz
After Didi acquired Uber China in 2016, the fierce battle between the two chauffeur giants came to an end, resulting in a large customer pool that was well educated on new urban mobility. Now the battle in city mobility continues, with another storm coming in – car sharing. Arthur D. Little analyzes the market dynamics, major challenges, and implications for the future.
Find out more
Automotive
The rapid growth of bike sharing in China
Dr. Ninghua Song, François-Joseph Van Audenhove
With significant venture capital injected, bike sharing has been booming rapidly in China since the second half of 2016, and already looks to be impacting the future development of the urban mobility ecosystem. Arthur D. Little considers the market dynamics and competition landscape, as well as some key takeaways for different stakeholders, including city authorities, the existing bicycle supply chain, and the new entrant bike-sharing companies themselves. 
Find out more

More About Ninghua
  • University of Cambridge
    Ph.D. of Manufacturing Management
  • Tianjin University
    Master’s Degree of Management Science and Engineering
  • Tianjin University
    Bachelor’s Degree of Engineering Economics
  • Motorservice (KSPG Aftermarket Business)
    Director of Strategy and Business Development in Asia
  • Qoros
    Senior Manager of Strategy and Business Development
  • McKinsey & Company
    Senior Associate/Junior Engagement Manager (Frankfurt and Shanghai offices)