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5. Weifu High-Technology Group Co., Ltd. Business Report FY ended Dec. 2022

Weifu High-Technology Group Co., Ltd. Business Report FY ended Dec. 2022

-Analysis of main businesses:

• Fuel injection business: In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, sales of common rail pumps were 1.35 million units. VE pumps 400,000 units. Sales of  mechanical pumps exceeded 160,000 units, a year-over-year increase of 22%.
• Exhaust gas after-treatment systems: Annual sales of gasoline separators are over 2.17 million sets, and diesel separators are about 250,000 sets.
• Intake systems: Annual sales of 4-cylinder diesel turbochargers exceed 520,000 units. More than 220,000 units of gasoline turbochargers have been mass-produced for multiple OEMs’ New Energy Vehicle projects in China. In addition, annual sales of motor shaft products exceeded 560,000 units.
• Hydrogen fuel cell components and connected: Received orders from multiple OEMs, increasing production and sales volume.

Latest trends

‐The company announced that it has received orders from several Chinese and foreign leading NEV (New Energy Vehicle) manufacturers. The company has begun volume production of its traction motor shaft, with annual production capacity expected to reach 5 million units by 2025. Volume production of the electric oil pump is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2023. The 4D millimeter wave radar is under development. To promote localized production of fuel cell components, Weifu High-Technology has established a hydrogen energy business unit and a fuel cell joint venture. The company also revealed that its partnership with Bosch has expanded from diesel oil and gasoline systems to new business fields including electric drives and fuel cells. Bosch Powertrain Systems Co., Ltd., a joint venture between the two companies, is pushing ahead with the fuel cell business centered around key components such as stacks and air compressors, and has established an R&D center. Wuxi Weifu Hydrogen Long Power Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Weifu High-Technology, is working on the fuel cell component business. (From a public notice dated February 8, 2023)

Hydrogen energy business

Hydrogen energy business development strategy
-The company announced that it has developed a strategy for the development of its hydrogen energy business and will establish a Hydrogen Energy Business Division. This division will be responsible for three departments: the Hydrogen Energy R&D Center, the Fuel Cell Components Business, and the Hydrogen Production from Renewable Energy Business Department. The Fuel Cell Components Business Unit will focus on the development of membrane electrodes, graphite/metallic bipolar plates, and key BOP components, and will expand production capacity at manufacturing centers in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and North America. By 2025, the company aims to have a global production capacity of 8 million membrane electrodes, 9 million graphite bipolar plates, 4 million metal bipolar plates, and 100,000 key BOP components. About half of these production capacities will be established in the Asia-Pacific region (China). In the "hydrogen production from renewable energy" business, the company will focus on the development of hydrogen production system equipment technology using PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) water electrolysis. The company plans to invest approximately CNY 2.6 billion in the fuel cell component business and CNY 400 million in the PEM hydrogen production system equipment business by 2025, and of the total investment of CNY 3 billion, approximately CNY 800 million has already been invested. (From a press release dated January 11, 2022)

Established fuel cell core components factory in Wuxi
-Weifu Hi-Tech announced that China’s anti-monopoly service has approved the company to establish a hydrogen fuel cell parts joint venture with Robert Bosch Internationale Beteiligungen AG (RBINT, a subsidiary of Bosch) and Wuxi High-Tech Zone New Energy Industry Development Fund (Limited Partnership). The new joint venture, named Wuxi Weifu Hydrogen Power Technology Co., Ltd., completed the procedures of business registration and was formally established. Weifu Hi-Tech and its subsidiary invested CNY 375 million (accounting for 75%), RBINT invested CNY 75 million (accounting for 15%), and New Energy Industry Development Fund contributed CNY 50 million (accounting for 10%). Weifu Hi-Tech directly and indirectly holds a 75% stake in the joint venture. (From a press release dated July 2, 2022)

-The company signed a cooperation agreement with the administration committee of Wuxi National Hi-Tech District. Weifu Hi-Tech intends to set up a hydrogen energy division in Wuxi National Hi-Tech District which focuses on the development of hydrogen fuel cell core components and production of renewable energy hydrogen. It will also establish a joint venture to engage in R&D and production of core components for hydrogen fuel cells. The project is scheduled to cover a land area of about 200,000 square meters, of which 53,000 square meters will be used for the first phase. Weifu Hi-Tech plans to build a production base which can produce 5 million graphite bipolar plates, 2 million metal bipolar plates, 4 million membrane electrodes and core balance-of-plant (BOP) components from 2021 to 2025. At the same time, the company will start building a hydrogen production line by PEM water electrolysis and achieve the preliminary R&D capability. (From a press release dated May 7, 2022)

Strategic alliance

Dongfeng Technical Center
-Weifu Hi-Tech held the global launch ceremony for its wheel-hub-drive passenger car demonstration project in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The passenger car uses pure electric four-wheel-drive (4WD) and high-integration technology of the in-wheel motors and controllers. Compared with the traditional drive configuration, the vehicle's acceleration time from 0-100km/h is improved by 42%, and its maximum turning speed under extreme conditions is increased by 18%. Dongfeng Motor’s self-developed central motor is installed at the front axle, while in-wheel motors are incorporated into the rear wheels. The vehicle adopts a three-motor, 4WD layout. In March 2022, Dongfeng Motor and Weifu Hi-Tech established a partnership to promote the development of four-wheel-drive passenger cars. The recent cooperation will focus on exploring new business models and accelerating the industrialization of in-wheel motors through demonstration projects. (From multiple sources dated March 13, 2023)

-Dongfeng Motor Corporation Technical Center (Dongfeng Technical Center) signed a cooperation framework agreement with Wuxi Weifu Electric-Drive Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Weifu High-Technology Group Co., Ltd. (Weifu Hi-Tech). Under the agreement, the two parties will work closely in innovative fields such as ProteanDrive hub motors and distributed drive control, pool resources into the R&D facility of Dongfeng Technical Center, carry out the development and application of hub motor drive and distributed drive control technology for various business divisions of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, and develop extensive cooperation in fields such as installation and demonstration operation of hub motor drive and distributed drive control technology, as well as industrial chain construction.  (From a March 17, 2022 release on Donfeng Technical Center’s official Wechat account)

Merger and acquisition

-The Company announced that it will acquire a 100% share of VHIT S.p.A. Società Unipersonale (VHIT) and VHIT’s wholly-owned subsidiary VHIT, Automotive Systems (Wuxi) Co. Ltd. (VHCN), from Robert Bosch S.p.A. Società Unipersonale (RBIT) for about EUR 60 million by cash payments. VHIT and VHCN are both headquartered in Italy and currently have about 570 employees. VHIT focuses on the development, production and sale of mechanical vacuum pumps, electric vacuum pumps, electric fuel pumps, hydraulic valves and other related products. The company is a tier-one pump and valve supplier for passenger and commercial vehicles and has long-term partnerships with major automakers in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. It is currently developing and promoting the market application of electric fuel pumps, which serve as a core subsystem for the thermal management system (TMS) of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs). VHIT has won contracts from multiple foreign automakers and major Chinese NEV manufacturers for its electric vacuum pumps, the production of which is expected to begin in the second half of 2022. Weifu High-Technology aims to enter the field of TMS and core NEV parts through the aforementioned acquisition. It also hopes that the deal will help facilitate the development and application of such core parts as battery cooling plates and heat exchangers as well as TMS-related products. (From a press release dated February 9, 2022) 

R&D

-The Company established a post-doctoral scientific research station and a national-level approved enterprise technology center in 1999.

-The Company has an engineering center (provincial level), an exhaust aftertreatment system center, and a turbocharger R&D center.

-The company and semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics have established a joint laboratory in the Company's Technical Center to conduct research and development of automotive power ICs. The company hopes to introduce STMicroelectronics' advanced automotive electronics solutions to raise the technology level of its electronically controlled diesel pumps and electronic aftertreatment systems to international standards.

-In 2021, the construction of the "Weifu intelligent manufacturing 5G+" laboratory was completed.

-As of the end of 2022, the Company had 1,232 R&D staff, accounting for 20.92% of the total number of employees.

Ongoing R&D projects