Feature: First Chinese entrepreneur inducted into U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame

A marble plaque bearing the signatures of Lu Guanqiu and five other inductees is on display before the installation into the Hall of Honor at the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit, the United States, on July 20, 2022. Lu Guanqiu, founder of Chinese privately owned Wanxiang Group, has become the first Chinese who is inducted into the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame (AHF). A marble plaque bearing the signatures of Lu and five other inductees was installed into the Hall of Honor at the U.S. AHF in Detroit Wednesday night. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng)

DETROIT, the United States, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Lu Guanqiu, founder of Chinese privately owned Wanxiang Group, has become the first Chinese who is inducted into the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame (AHF).

A marble plaque bearing the signatures of Lu and five other inductees was installed into the Hall of Honor at the U.S. AHF in Detroit, U.S. state of Michigan, Wednesday night.

There were 65 candidates competing for the AHF induction this year. Lu is among a diverse collection of mobility pioneers from around the globe who are recognized as 2022 AHF inductees.

The other five 2022 inductees are Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of Lamborghini luxury performance sports cars; Taiichi Ohno, creator of Toyota Production System (TPS); Lyn James, female race car driving pioneer; and Alma and Victor Green, authors and publishers of the Green Book, a travel guide for Blacks traveling America.

"We're very excited to be inducting our first individual from China," AHF President Sarah Cook told Xinhua. "Lu really exemplifies entrepreneurship. This was a man that started from very humble beginnings and built his company to 25 billion dollars a year of business."

"He's left a great impact in the industry, but also a really strong legacy of building a business that's surviving into the next generations," Cook said.

Starting from a local bicycle repair shop in the 1960s, Lu evolved his business into a global auto parts supplier. Wanxiang was the first Chinese company to sell auto parts to American Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and now has operations in 22 U.S. states. Lu spearheaded the drive for clean energy in China in the 1990s.

In his leadership, Wanxiang acquired and revived A123 Systems and Fisker Automotive Holdings, Inc. in the United States. The latter has transformed into Karma Automotive.

Lu died in October 2017.

The U.S. AHF is a non-profit organization that honors and celebrates the automotive/mobility industry's leaders and innovators through awards and programs that challenge young and old alike to higher levels of personal achievement.

Each year, the AHF evaluates around 60 to 70 candidates from around the world and inducts 4 to 6 candidates. The qualification makes a great demonstration impact in the automotive and mobility industry.

Founded in 1939, the AHF has so far honored 755 awardees from around the world who have impacted and influenced the automotive and mobility industry, including founder of the Ford Motor Company Henry Ford, German inventor and engineer Karl Benz, Honda Motor Co. founder Soichiro Honda, founder of Toyota Motor Corporation Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque Enzo Ferrari, and founder of the Porsche AG Ferdinand Porsche. 

A marble plaque bearing the signatures of Lu Guanqiu and five other inductees is seen in the Hall of Honor at the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit, the United States, on July 20, 2022. Lu Guanqiu, founder of Chinese privately owned Wanxiang Group, has become the first Chinese who is inducted into the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame (AHF). A marble plaque bearing the signatures of Lu and five other inductees was installed into the Hall of Honor at the U.S. AHF in Detroit Wednesday night. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng)

Lu Weiding (L), CEO of Wanxiang Group, and Ni Pin, president of Wanxiang America Corporation, are seen in the Hall of Honor at the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit, the United States, on July 20, 2022. Lu Guanqiu, founder of Chinese privately owned Wanxiang Group, has become the first Chinese who is inducted into the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame (AHF). A marble plaque bearing the signatures of Lu and five other inductees was installed into the Hall of Honor at the U.S. AHF in Detroit Wednesday night. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng)