Parts will become the main battlefield of China's automotive technology innovation

　　 The economy has entered the "new normal" of decelerating growth, and the growth rate of the automobile industry is also declining. The development of auto parts companies has been hit by an unprecedented impact, showing many problems. Of course, the danger is in danger. Some powerful parts and components companies have used their achievements to prove that they can still find new opportunities for development as long as they plan early, re-research and develop, and transform themselves.

　　 1. The auto parts industry is “organized in danger”

　　 1. The overall profitability has declined, but companies with higher technological content are still growing.

　　 The profitability of my country's auto parts industry has declined overall in the past two years. This is a reality that we have to admit. But we also see that the profitability of parts and components companies with relatively high technical content is increasing.

According to the statistics of the annual reports of 71 listed parts and components companies in 2013, the accumulated operating income was 334.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.17%; the net profit was 19.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.32%, and the average net profit rate was only 6.05%, a year-on-year decrease of 11.55 %. The average net profit margin in 2012 was 6.84%, and the average net profit margin in 2011 was 7.53%. From the data of the past three years, it can be seen that the profitability of parts and components companies is continuing to decline.

　　 One of the factors contributing to the continuous decline is that independent component companies mainly provide support for the commercial vehicle industry, while the commercial vehicle industry has only grown positively in the past three years, and the remaining two years have experienced substantial declines. Judging from the development and changes of China's truck industry in the past ten years, five years have been high growth and five years have been negative growth. The decline in the commercial vehicle industry has seriously affected the parts industry.

　　 2. Imports of key parts and components increased, and exports of low-level products were frustrated.

　　According to national customs data, from January to June 2014, the import value of national automobile commodities reached 48.01 billion U.S. dollars and the export value was 40.023 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 28.28% and 7.33% year-on-year respectively. National auto parts imports were 17.726 billion U.S. dollars and exports were 30.913 billion U.S. dollars, an increase in growth over the same period last year.

　　 Although the export volume of auto parts has increased, the import volume of key components such as automatic transmissions, controllers, and electronic injection systems has increased even more. What’s more serious is that most of China’s exported parts and components are mainly in the after-sales maintenance market. In recent years, many countries have launched “dumping and anti-dumping” (anti-dumping, subsidy) investigations on Chinese auto parts, and the EU has adopted tire labeling laws. China's exports of related parts and components have had a greater impact.

　　3. The rapid growth of foreign investment poses a severe challenge to independent auto parts companies.

　　 At present, foreign auto parts companies are still growing rapidly in the Chinese market. They are confident in the future of the Chinese market and continue to maintain a leading position in technology, while independent products are still at a disadvantage. Many foreign companies such as Bosch, Delphi and Faurecia have formulated plans to double their growth in China.

　　 After years of hard work, foreign-funded auto parts companies have firmly occupied the high-end market for China's auto parts by virtue of their technological advantages. In addition, in recent years, many foreign-branded components have begun to significantly reduce their prices, squeezing out the low-end market that was originally self-owned components. This makes it more difficult for independent parts companies to survive. Some new products with huge investment, such as ABS, electronic injection system, etc., have been suppressed by the price advantage of foreign-funded products, and it is very difficult to promote them.

　　4. The trust of automakers in auto parts companies has declined, and there are even discriminatory behaviors.

The contradiction between my country's automakers and auto parts companies has a long history. In particular, Chinese and foreign-funded auto parts companies are treated differently, which makes independent parts companies worse. For example, there are differences in settlement standards inside and outside, no opportunities to participate in fair bidding, and no product development fees for local companies. These discriminatory practices in the supporting process of vehicle companies, especially autonomous vehicle companies, have caused many local component companies to Chill and helpless.

　　 An important measure for the transformation and upgrading of self-owned brand vehicle companies is to upgrade the supply chain and use a large number of foreign brand components. More and more self-owned vehicle companies have their supporting doors closed to local component companies.

　　 Cultivating a strong parts industry requires the consciousness of vehicle companies. The fate of autonomous vehicle companies is tied to the development of the local parts industry. If my country's vehicle companies and parts companies still have such a relationship, the future China's auto industry will face a serious crisis.

　　 5. Parts companies lack policy support.

　　 It is an indisputable fact that China's auto parts industry lacks policy support. At present, my country's parts and components companies are unorganized and disorderly, and they are in a state of fighting on their own. They are completely free to compete. The positive role that the government should play is basically invisible.

The policies introduced in recent years are basically aimed at complete vehicles. The most typical one is new energy vehicles as a national strategic emerging industry. Large subsidies are all allocated to complete vehicle companies, but it is difficult for companies such as batteries and motors as core components. Get support.

At the China Automobile Industry Returned Talents Symposium organized by China Auto News, returnees experts unanimously called for the development of parts and components companies to become the key to the strength of China’s automotive industry. The government is constantly stimulating and encouraging the development of vehicle companies. , Whether the balance can be tilted towards parts and components companies to help China's parts and components industry develop better.

　　 6. Single investment channels and lack of strong financial support for technological innovation.

　　 The investment and financing channels of my country's parts and components enterprises are single, and the channels for obtaining production factors are single. In recent years, some local governments have given away a lot of production factors such as land and funds to vehicle companies free of charge, but few have heard of support for parts and components companies.

　　As the growth rate of the automobile market is slowing down and it is difficult for parts and components companies to survive, some companies reduce costs in order to keep the market and first reduce R&D investment. The R&D investment of my country's auto parts companies is insufficient. Companies with R&D investment accounting for 2% to 3% of sales revenue are already good, while the R&D investment ratio of auto parts multinational companies such as Bosch is more than 5%, and some are even as high as 10%. Insufficient investment in innovation will only widen the gap.

　　7. There are major problems in the system and mechanism, and there is still a lot of room for reform.

　　 There is a relatively large room for reform of the system and mechanism of my country's parts and components enterprises, and the reform dividends still exist. Some veteran parts and components companies are now very difficult to operate, due to rigid institutional mechanisms, adherence to conventions, and failure to transform in time, leading to marginalization or even elimination.

　　 A large number of private enterprises and mixed-ownership parts and components enterprises, due to the relatively flexible system and mechanism, many enterprises are sensitive to market response and have strong adaptability, and they are currently in a good state of development. Some private and mixed-ownership component companies with ideals and pursuits have clear strategic goals and clear plans, and have the determination and perseverance to become "century-old stores".

　　 Regarding institutional obstacles, it is also reflected in the cooperation between enterprises. There are many alliances in the automobile industry in my country, and the combination of production, education and research has been implemented for many years, but many scientific research results have not been transformed, and many alliances have been fruitless. Of course, there are also good examples, such as the Automotive Lightweight Innovation Alliance organized by the Chinese Society of Automotive Engineers, and the large-scale auto parts park in Hangzhou Bay New District, Zhejiang Province, which have achieved good results.

8. Talents are scarce, but a group of technological innovation leaders have emerged.

　　 During the Beijing Auto Show this year, we once conducted a questionnaire survey on auto parts companies. The survey shows that the lack of talents has led to the lack of technology of self-owned brand auto parts companies, which is the main reason for the backwardness of self-owned brand auto companies. Specific to the most scarce type of talent, engineers and management talents have the highest votes, followed by sales talents and technical workers. No company believes that “there is no fear of lack of talents”.

However, we are pleased to see that in the parts industry, a group of technological innovation leaders are emerging, especially university professors and some researchers in colleges and universities, who take the lead in innovation, research key parts and key technologies, Brings hope to the parts industry. For example, Professor Song Jian of Tsinghua University, who led the research and development of AMT in Suzhou Green Control, and Professor Xu Xiangyang of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who played a major role in the Shengrui 8AT innovation project.

　　 2. The gratifying changes of hundreds of parts suppliers

　　 It is undeniable that although my country's auto parts industry still has many problems of this kind and that, we should not be scornful because of this, and we should also see the growth and progress of independent parts companies. For example, China's "100 Excellent Parts Suppliers" are leaders in their respective sub-sectors, leading the development of their respective sub-sectors. Some of them have successfully achieved transformation and upgrading, some have achieved extreme specialization, some have achieved leapfrog development after implementing overseas mergers and acquisitions, some have entered the supply chain system of multinational auto companies, and some have been in the key core In terms of components, it can already compete with multinational component companies, and some are advancing on the road of energy saving and emission reduction.

　　 1. Significant progress has been made in the development of precision and expertise. Practice has proved that taking the road of precision, specialization, innovation and speciality is the only way out for parts and components. Parts companies want to be singles champions, as long as they have expertise in technology and a dedicated team, they can achieve the ultimate in a product. For example, Longcheng Precision Forging, a private enterprise located in Wujin, Jiangsu Province, only produces a small part of the claw pole in the motor, but it accounts for 33% of the global OEM market. The global OEM market is 180 million. Longcheng Precision Forging achieved 60 million, becoming the preferred supplier of Bosch, Valeo, Remy and other motor companies.

　　 2. Acquire international advanced technology through acquisitions. For example, Joyson Electronics has become the exclusive supplier of battery management systems for BMW electric vehicles through the acquisition of German Preh, and has also become a supplier of driver operating systems for luxury brands such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, making luxury brands imprinted with China. As a result, Joyson Electronics has also achieved leapfrog development, with sales revenue of 7 billion yuan.

　　3. Increase the right to speak in a certain sub-industry, and enhance international competitiveness. In the field of automotive wheels, Zhejiang Wanfeng Aowei Steam Turbine Co., Ltd. has entered a stage of in-depth strategic cooperation with GM, BMW, Ford and other international car companies. Successfully entered the Japanese Toyota system last year. In the field of airbags, Jinzhou Jinheng Automotive Safety System Co., Ltd. has successfully broken through the suppression of multinational competitors such as Autoliv, Trina, and Takata in the past few years, and entered the supporting facilities of multinational car companies such as Volkswagen, Peugeot and Citroen. system. In addition, there are many local companies that have become global sales leaders in subdivisions, such as Jinzhou Wanyou in the field of shock absorber piston rods, Far East Transmission in the field of commercial vehicle drive shafts, and Fast in the field of commercial vehicle transmissions.

4. The transformation was successful, and the product was upgraded. For example, Bohai Piston, a leading company in the field of commercial vehicle pistons in my country, has also successfully expanded into the passenger vehicle market in recent years. It has not only established in-depth cooperation with independent brands such as Geely, Chery, BYD, JAC, and Changan, but also successfully entered the supporting system of European and American car companies. And with its excellent quality, it has won the favor of senior executives from the purchasing department of Volkswagen Group in Germany. In 2013, the company supplied the German Volkswagen in batches; in 2014, it passed the VDA6.3 audit of Germany Daimler-Benz with a high score of 91.4 and became one of the world’s four major automotive systems. A-level supplier. In addition, a large number of small-scale up-and-coming stars with great growth potential have emerged. For example, Kunming Guiyan Catalyst Co., Ltd., through years of research and development of three-way rare earth-based catalysts for automobile exhaust purification, has now successfully entered the German Volkswagen supporting system, while Longpan Petrochemical entered the development of automotive urea products a few years ago. Currently, it has a 70% share in the automotive urea market.

　　 5. Breakthroughs have been made in key parts and components, and the innovation model has undergone major changes. In recent years, local component companies have made important breakthroughs in key and core product areas such as automatic transmissions. Fast's commercial vehicle automatic transmissions have already been supplied in small batches in the field of bus and terminal tractors. After 7 years of research and development, Shandong Shengrui Transmission has entered a critical stage of industrialization. The mass production of 8AT will not only shake the voice of foreign capital in this field, but will also have a profound impact on the development of my country's autonomous automatic transmission industry.

We are more pleased to see that today’s local component companies no longer only focus on scale, but pay more attention to product quality; they are no longer satisfied with the increase in sales revenue, but pay more attention to the quality of operation; Competitiveness, in turn, pay more attention to the competitiveness of the entire system. This means that the extensive management methods in the past have been gradually abandoned.

　　 Three, auto parts are the main battlefield of automotive technology innovation

　　 Today, the situation of my country's auto parts industry can be described as "organic in danger". The industrial dilemma we face is very severe, but the huge and diversified market demand, the ever-changing industrial structure, and various merger and reorganization opportunities in the global market have made us not lose the opportunity to break through.

　　 In the current development trend of my country's auto market, I think the main battlefield of China's auto future innovation and development is auto parts. Parts and components are the foundation of the automobile industry. Vehicle technology comes from the technological innovation of parts and components. Parts companies are the core part of the core technology of vehicle companies.

　　 At present, the integrated innovation capability of the whole vehicle has reached a high level, but the development level and innovation ability of parts and components have not kept up with the pace of the whole vehicle. This provides opportunities for innovation and development for the current and future auto parts market. This opportunity is created by the market, and the market will inevitably determine the allocation of resources. In a state where the market determines the allocation of resources, private enterprises and mixed-ownership enterprises will be the main force to seize this opportunity. These companies can not only seize opportunities, but also turn opportunities into capabilities. I have a foreboding that their internationalization capabilities will exceed imagination, and their innovation in the two fields of new energy and the Internet will exceed imagination.