Japanese suppliers in China: Enhancing development and production for NEVs and intelligent vehicles

Activities in China in the Northeast, North, Central, South, and Southwest ...

2022/01/13

Summary

中国の自動車工場マップ
China automobile plant map
(Click to open OEM Plants Interactive Map)
Detailed maps: South China / Central China / North China / Southwest China / Northeast China

  This report presents the activities of Japanese parts suppliers in Northeast China, North China, Central China, South China, Southwest China, and China in general. (Based on sources dated over the 16-month period from August 2020 to December 2021)

  *Please refer to the previous report for the trend of Japanese parts manufacturers in East China.


  While China's overall automobile market is growing only slightly, both production and sales of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), especially electric vehicles (EVs), are increasing significantly. Not only the major Chinese automakers such as SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng, Changan, and Geely, but also Great Wall Motor, Chery Automobile, BYD, XPeng, and NIO are aggressively introducing models and promoting development plans. These manufacturers are strengthening their ties with giants in other industries such as Alibaba and Tencent to expand their business.

  Against this background, Japanese suppliers are also launching new products in areas including electrification, weight reduction, automated driving, safety, and semiconductors, strengthening their production systems, and expanding business with Chinese companies. In particular, the activities in the EV field are remarkable.

  In the area of lithium-ion batteries, TDK's cross-licensing and alliance to establish a joint venture with CATL, Asahi Kasei's plan to establish a joint venture with Shanghai Energy for EV battery materials, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions' (PPES) expansion of its production line for rectangular lithium-ion batteries, and G-Tekt's introduction of aluminum-based battery housings for EVs are some of the examples.

  As for E-Axles for EVs, Nidec is starting production for Geely Automobile and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile, using them in EV delivery vehicles for Japan, and Marelli is planning to build a new plant.

  In the area of automated and safe driving, Renesas Electronics established a joint research institute for intelligent driving systems with FAW Group. Hitachi has entered into a partnership with Tencent for services in the fields of IoV (Internet of Vehicles) and automated driving. Alps Alpine has developed a communication module for safe driving support and has begun production in China.。

  In addition, new initiatives are underway to deal with scarce resources, problems associated with digitization, and environmental regulations. Fine Sinter has developed a new cobalt-free valve seat material and plans to switch to the new material at its production base in China. Murata Manufacturing has set up an EMC center to evaluate electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and noise of in-vehicle equipment and to propose countermeasures. Shimadzu and Foxconn have established an allied laboratory to analyze components related to environmental regulations, and will begin services at 22 sites in China.

 

Related reports:
Key Allies China analysis on NEV market in November 2021 (Dec. 2021)
China market Q3 2021 (2): VW to produce batteries in Hefei & Changsha (Nov. 2021)
China market Q3 2021 (1): FAW, Dongfeng, Geely and Others Announce Five-Y (Nov. 2021)
China FY2020 NEV Credits: Tesla No. 1, Emerging EV OEM WM Motor ranks in top 10 (Oct. 2021)

＜Japanese Supplier Reports＞

  East China (Dec. 2021)
  ASEAN (Nov.2021)
  India (Oct. 2021)
  Mexico (Jul. 2021)
  U.S. / Canada (Apr. 2021)
  Central and Eastern Europe (Dec. 2020)
  China in general (Oct. 2020)
  ASEAN (Jun. 2020)
  Western Europe (Apr. 2020)

 

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