Multinational parts giants still rely on China market

Since 2015, the domestic auto market has been sluggish, and the growth rate of production and sales has continued to slow down. Currently, it has entered a period of low development. Under the new normal of economic development, the enthusiasm of multinational auto parts enterprises in the Chinese market has gradually "cooled down". As the reporter has combed the development trends of some multinational component giants in China since the beginning of this year, they found that although the market is depressed, most parts and components companies The strategy of reliance on the Chinese market has not changed, and the various investment and localization processes for the Chinese market have not stopped.

Multinational parts giants still rely on China market

Cooperative construction is still optimistic about the Chinese market

When the industry as a whole is under the influence of the "inflection point theory," the world's leading auto parts suppliers have given diametrically opposite answers, and most of the multinational component giants continue to rely heavily on the Chinese market.

In February 2015, Golden Dragon Automotive signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with German ZF Group, announcing that both parties formally become global strategic partners. This time, the two parties have joined hands to change the previous model of cooperation between the subsidiaries of the Jinlong Auto Group and ZF. The cooperation between the two parties has entered a higher level and a wider scope, and resources have been concentrated to carry out technological breakthroughs in key areas for mutual benefit and win-win results.

In April 2015, the Bosch Group formally established a new communications service center in Shanghai, which will begin operations in the second half of 2015 and claim to provide diversified travel solutions and services for Chinese vehicle manufacturers and users. This move is showing that Bosch is optimistic about and attaches importance to the Chinese market, actively deepening after-sales service, and seizing market share. “A lot of OEMs think that China's auto industry is a bit 'cooling down'. Is this a bit disappointing to us, or is it causing us to lose momentum? I don’t think so, because very long ago, Europe and the United States The region has entered such a normal stage.” For the prospects of China’s auto market and Continental Group, Con Ruifan, a member of the executive board of the China Continental Group and President and CEO of China, is quite confident.

It is reported that in June this year, the Continental Group officially announced that it will jointly invest in the new Huayu Continental Automobile Brake System Co., Ltd. with Hua Yu Automobile, and will manufacture automobile brakes based on brake calipers, vacuum boosters and electronic parking brake systems. Components, their "value chain localization" concept allows local production to meet market demand.

Speed ​​up the development of localization

For multinational giants, complying with the development of the Chinese market and getting closer to the needs of consumers has become an urgent task that needs to be urgently addressed. Multinational corporations only have to constantly upgrade their localization, tilting their production, procurement, R&D and other centers to China in stages, to meet market demands and gain more market share in the Chinese market.

In the past few years, from the perspective of the layout of the production bases of multinational parts and components companies in China, the trend of establishing factories in the rapidly growing areas of the automotive industry is clearly visible. Qingdao, Wuhu, and Changchun, which are intensively constructed by multinational component giants, are the major automobile industrial cluster cities in China. At the same time, the trend of R&D centers moving eastward is also emerging.

Delphi, which is developing the internet of vehicles in the world, has long been optimistic about the opportunities in the Chinese market. Earlier this year, Delphi teamed up with Baidu, the Chinese Internet search engine, to integrate Baidu's "Carlife" into Delphi's next-generation in-car infotainment platform. Through in-depth cooperation with Baidu "Carlife", Delphi will be able to help users seamlessly connect vehicles and mobile devices, provide better service and user experience for local Chinese users, and also demonstrate Delphi products' local upgrade strategy. Chinese market.

Coincidentally, Continental Group also continued to deepen local cooperation this year.

In early July, the mainland officially launched the integrated mechatronics production line for investment in the transmission control business unit at the Tianjin plant. This is a new business area that China has entered in China. The mainland not only accelerates its investment in China, it continues to deepen the process of its localization, it also shifts manufacturing centers to R&D centers and improves local R&D capabilities.

In recent years, the actions of multinational parts and components companies in China have discovered that, unlike in the past when only products were introduced into the Chinese market, or that local production plants were established in the Chinese market, the strategic focus of today’s multinational parts and components companies is in the Chinese market. Establish a localized R&D center as the main target. It can be said that in-depth development of localization and the transfer of R&D centers have become the choice of many multinational companies.

Smart driving and other technologies will be introduced

With the adjustment of the global auto market and the promotion of technology upgrades in the automotive industry, mobile internet, smart driving, and new energy automotive technologies have begun to be valued by traditional component companies. The integration of these technology resources by global multinational component giants will surely affect the Chinese market. Have an impact. This year, Delphi has actively consolidated its leading position in active safety and autonomous driving by acquiring software company Ottomatika and strategically investing in Quantra, a leader in 3D laser sensing technology. These strategic initiatives will enhance Delphi Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) applications and help accelerate the market adoption of self-driving cars.

At the end of July, Delphi paid US$1.7 billion for the acquisition of Hellmann Taitong and launched a car networking business. The industry believes that this acquisition marks its significant expansion into the car network this year and will consolidate its position in the electrical system market. Delphi's claim that the acquisition of Telepath can provide customers with more highly engineered and customized vehicle networking technologies and cable harness management solutions.

As early as a few years ago, Delphi had already promoted these technologies in local domestic auto makers such as FAW and Great Wall. Many active safety technologies have also landed on many auto brands in China. For example, the Red Flag H7 is equipped with Delphi Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Departure Warning System (LDW), Collision Mitigation System (CMS), Driver Condition Monitoring System (LKP) and Night Vision System (ANV). Yang Xiaoming, president of Delphi China, said this year that Delphi has been committed to research and development of the three major technologies of security, connectivity, and green, has become the appeal of Chinese users. In the next 5 to 10 years, there will be a lot of applications. And its global R&D center has moved eastward to ensure that the latest technologies and products will be applied to the Chinese market in the first place.