ZF Aims to Become First Overseas Auto Parts Maker to Build Whole Products in China

[TaiShang]

ZF Aims to Become First Overseas Auto Parts Maker to Build Whole Products in China

QUAN XIAOXING
DATE : MAR 25 2019/SOURCE : YICAI

ZF Aims to Become First Overseas Auto Parts Maker to Build Whole Products in China

(Yicai Global) March 25 -- ZF Friedrichshafen, one of the world's largest parts suppliers to the car industry, will gradually start to produce whole products in China and will build up a local research and development team in China to support the goal.

The products include a new generation of the eight-speed automatic transmission system, the Friedrichshafen-based firm said in a strategy document. The company aims to start mass-production of the set at its Shanghai facility, making it the first foreign auto parts supplier to make such products in the country.

Dr. Holger Klein, a board member at ZF, has been based in Shanghai since January, which is also a first for an overseas car parts maker.

China's per capita car ownership is still low, and the country will remain the world's largest auto market with great potential, especially in new energy vehicles, Klein said in an interview with Yicai Global, adding that ZF will not only continue to invest in China but also develop products that meet the needs of the local market.

Many of its customers are self-owned brands and new carmakers from China and ZF has established R&D centers and factories in the country, including nearly 40 plants spanning 24 cities, along with two regional headquarters and two engineering and technology centers.

As a large-scale auto part maker capable of bearing failure risks, ZF is willing to cooperate with some start-ups that share the same development direction as the company, Klein said.

The company unveiled an electric vehicle prototype for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region on March 22, which is still under development and is named "Next Generation Mobility."

ZF's revenue in APAC made up 21 percent of its global total in 2017, while its earnings in China accounted for 19 percent.

https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/zf...-parts-maker-to-build-whole-products-in-china

US threats seem to not work, my friend, @Viva_Viet .

Maybe, soon, they will start selling parts to Vietnam's auto giant (Vin Diesel?) from Mainland, too.

 

[ZeEa5KPul]

Maybe, soon, they will start selling parts to Vietnam's auto giant (Vin Diesel?) from Mainland, too.

 

[TaiShang]

BAIC BJEV, Magna International to Build Luxury Electric Car Plant in China

TANG SHIHUA
DATE : MAR 25 2019/SOURCE : YICAI

BAIC BJEV, Magna International to Build Luxury Electric Car Plant in China
(Yicai Global) March 25 -- BAIC BJEV, the new-energy vehicle maker under state-owned Chinese automaker BAIC Group, is teaming up with Ireland's Magna International to build a luxury electric car factory in Zhenjiang, a city along China's Yangtze River Delta.

The manufacturer and die maker Magna International Autolaunch Ireland will pump CNY2 billion (USD298 million) into the plant, which will use smart technology to create the vehicles, BAIC Group's listed new-energy business unit BAIC Bluepark New Energy Technology said in a statement. The pair plan to build 150,000 vehicles a year.

BJEV hopes the deal will enhance the brand influence of its Arcfox brand, an independent EV marque that targets the mid- and high-end markets, the statement added. Magna International is an Ontario-based parts supplier that ships products worldwide.

BJEV sold 103,200 electric vehicles in 2017, ranking it first among domestic EV manufacturers with a 23 percent share of the Chinese market, the world's largest EV sector, according to public information.

The two firms will work together by taking control of BAIC Group subsidiary BAIC Zhenjiang Automobile, which makes special transport vehicles like concrete mixing trucks.

They will take over the venture through equity transfers and cash injections, though the statement did not disclose how much equity each of the investors would hold or how soon they could begin mass producing vehicles together.

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That would make a super interesting name. I would also hire the actual Vin Diesel for commercials. I guess, in two-three years, 10% of US market would be controlled by Vin Diesel (Motors).