Recently, from the press conference of the China (Guangzhou) Automobile and Parts Products Export Fair, a news conference, from October 15th to October 20th, the 2004 China (Guangzhou) Automobile and Parts Products Export Fair will be held during the autumn Canton Fair. Yan Lixing, secretary-general of the Auto Parts Market Confederation, declared that the trade fair will create a largest export trading platform for Chinese auto parts and related products and build a dialogue with the world for Chinese auto parts companies.
The construction of the export trading platform is a manifestation of adapting to the country’s industrial policies and market development needs. On June 1 this year, the National Development and Reform Commission formally promulgated the new "Automobile Industry Development Policy." The new policy, Chapter 8 "Parts and related industries" pointed out that China's auto parts industry should "adapt to international industrial development trends", "to meet the needs of domestic and foreign markets," and "try to enter the international auto parts industry procurement system." The direction and willingness of the new policy are obvious: China's auto parts industry needs to accelerate the pace of integration with the international market so as to incorporate the globalized division of labor system as soon as possible.
With the full support of the policy and the upcoming establishment of the platform, it seems that everything is explaining that China’s auto parts and related industries have stepped out of the country and the time has come for the world to rush. However, the willingness of the policy is good, and the role of the platform cannot be ignored. However, there are ways in which “external factors are the conditions and the internal factors are the keyâ€. In the face of the global trend, the domestic auto parts industry itself is World preparation for equal dialogue?
Internationalization is the only way
In fact, the new "Automobile Industry Development Policy" only uses the official status to clarify the development direction of the domestic auto parts industry, and as a "parties" of domestic parts and components companies, as a road to survival and development with no choice, As early as a few years ago they began to try to take the road to internationalization.
In recent years, global economic integration has become an inevitable trend in the development of the world economy. Especially after China's accession to the WTO, multinational auto parts companies have accelerated their entry into China. At present, of the 5,000 auto parts companies in the country, 1,200 are foreign-invested enterprises. Most of the world’s top 20 auto parts companies have established joint ventures or wholly-owned enterprises in China, such as Delphi, Dana, TRW, Bosch. Valeo, Denso, Eaton, 2P, Lucas, Visteon, Lear, and more. These multinational companies have invested in factories in China or have conducted technical cooperation with domestic parts and components manufacturers. On the one hand, they have promoted the construction and development of China's auto parts industry. On the other hand, they have taken advantage of their own capital and technological advantages and have increasingly occupied. China's market share.
According to statistics, in 2002, the total sales of the domestic auto parts industry was 75 billion yuan. Among them, Delphi, Denso, and Germany's Bosch took up 14% of China’s market share. The US dollar and Bosch 150 million U.S. dollars are only dozens of companies that are solely funded and joint ventures in China, and are still less than 1% of the total number of domestic auto parts companies.
After China's accession to the WTO, the implementation of investment agreements related to the trade in goods has affected domestic policies, and the domestic auto parts industry has been greatly challenged by the development capacity, quality and price factors.
It is understood that at present there are basically no countries in the country that have localization rates in their policies. In the "Development Policy for the Automotive Industry" promulgated on June 1 this year, we have not seen the words "localization", "localization" raised more frequently in previous years, "If we still implement 40% of the spare parts for domestic production, Rate policy, then our gap will be even greater after 5 years," a senior automotive industry expert frankly said, "the localization rate requirements are largely to protect the backwardness, without such protection, but can stimulate the domestic zero Parts companies are catching up."
On the one hand, it is the cruel squeeze of the international giants. On the one hand, it has lost the protection of policies. In the face of huge market competition pressures, the Chinese domestic auto parts companies and products have become the only choice for survival and development.
Chen Guangzu, a senior expert in China's auto parts industry, said: The new “Auto Industry Development Policy†indicates that China's auto parts industry should adapt to the development trend of globalization. This is inevitable after China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. China’s auto parts industry is in compliance. This trend can survive and develop; otherwise, it cannot survive and develop.
Opportunities and gaps coexist
It is a frustrating move to face the trend of the global economy. It is a positive attitude to take the initiative in the face of market competition. The internationalization of parts and components products brought about by the global procurement of auto parts and components is indeed to China’s auto parts industry. In particular, labor-intensive component industries have brought about development opportunities.
In recent years, through the introduction of technology, digestion and absorption, and joint ventures with multinational companies, etc., traditional products such as car audio, automobile tires, and engine parts produced by Chinese parts and components companies have been continuously improved along with the technological level and product quality. The constant enrichment has great export potential in the international market. A number of products such as automotive electronics, brakes, aluminum wheels, automotive wiring harnesses, constant velocity joints, brake pads, etc., have also occupied an important position in the world. The export of parts and components is increasing year by year.
In 2003, China exported 4.31 billion U.S. dollars in auto parts and exports, and more than 100 exporting countries. Of these, 14 countries have exported more than 100 million U.S. dollars. Take Guangdong Province as an example. In 2000, the export value of auto parts in Guangdong was 150 million U.S. dollars. In 2003, the export value had reached 330 million U.S. dollars, and the average annual growth rate was as high as 30% in three years. From January to April 2004, Guangdong's auto parts exports were US$140 million, an increase of 35.8% over the same period of the previous year.
This seemingly good momentum of development has triggered some domestic optimistic voices. They believe that the gap between China's auto parts industry and the international level has been greatly reduced and will be fully integrated with the international market. Small countries already have well-known foreign parts and components production. Enterprises compete against each other.
However, the facts are not so optimistic, according to the domestic authoritative department's analysis of the competitiveness of China's major auto parts products. China's auto parts products with competitive advantages are still concentrated in materials-intensive, labor-intensive, or unreasonable long-distance transportation, and have already been used in batches for the introduction of vehicle models that are either self-contained or exported in bulk. Those parts and components that have high technology, high added value, and high market demand potential are our weak points.
From the current development trend of the world auto parts industry, the development trend of auto parts technology to generalization, modularization, electronics, intelligence, environmental protection, lightweight, digitalization, globalization, and information exchange networking is obvious; The value of auto parts also tends to the auto parts products with rapid technological development and high technological content, while the electronic auto parts products are precisely the “soft ribs†of the domestic auto parts industry.
According to statistics, there are about 1,000 companies involved in automotive electronics production in China, but the product line is monotonous, and the technology content and added value of the products are relatively low, which is quite different from the world’s automotive electronics multinationals.
In addition, from the perspective of the investment ratio, the ratio of China's total investment in total vehicle investment to the total investment in parts and components is maintained at a ratio of 1:0.3 to 1:0.4. In developed countries, the investment ratio of complete vehicles and parts is generally 1 to 1.1-1.3, that is, the investment in parts and components is more than 10% to 30% of the total vehicle investment.
The industry and people have pointed out that the parts and components industry is the basis of the automobile vehicle. China's parts and components companies have not invested enough strength in their efforts to adapt to the world’s three major automotive themes: safety, environmental protection and economics. As a result, products are not competitive in the face of international markets.
Internal and external barriers hinder internationalization
The development of auto parts products restricts the full integration of China's auto parts industry with the international market. In addition, there is an important factor that restricts the pace of internationalization of China's auto parts industry. This is the domestic and international environment that this industry faces.
At present, there is an interesting phenomenon in China: When multinational giants lift their trouser legs in China and throw off their arms to speed up investment and compete to develop accessory products for the Chinese market, domestic parts and components companies are demanding that domestic vehicle manufacturers give up. The "discrimination" of the eyes, so as to obtain a fair and just environment for cooperation and shouting.
The development of China's auto parts enterprises, due to historical reasons formed by the three attachments: excessive dependence on the host plant, excessive dependence on the main models, excessive dependence on local administration, and long-term lagging behind the development of the vehicle, which led to the lack of autonomy of parts and components companies Development capabilities, social supporting capabilities and international procurement capabilities.
These problems have seriously hampered the survival and development of the current state-owned parts and components companies and restricted them from becoming stronger and bigger. At the same time, due to the inertia of the enterprise's thinking or behavior over a long period of time, it will not be able to relax in the process of internationalization. This has become an inherent barrier to internationalization.
The domestic parts and components companies going global can not do without a standardized and orderly domestic competitive environment, but the fact is that multinational companies and local companies all have more or less exclusive or local protectionism.
In recent years, with the rapid growth of automobile production and sales in China, foreign brands are in a protagonist position in the field of cars, and their market share accounts for more than 80%. However, these companies all have their own procurement networks, and they almost uniformly exclusivity becomes a new zero. Parts barriers.
The universal incident that was widely reproduced in the media some time ago is a good example. Allegedly, Wanxiang participated in the matching tender for three shock absorbers of Shenlong Company. All the tests have passed and the price is 30% lower than that provided by Shenlong Fukang. However, the company’s foreign chief is not signed, and finally chose France. The reason for this is that one company cannot break through the old alliance system of the auto factory.
People in the industry believe that local interests or the interests of enterprise groups throughout the country directly protect the interests of local parts and components companies, and the phenomenon of local trade barriers is serious. These non-standard behaviors that do not meet market competition make it difficult for domestic auto parts manufacturers to face and accept competition from the international market with a normal attitude.
With the rapid development of the automobile industry, China’s auto parts exports have been growing rapidly year by year, and parts have been getting faster and faster at the country’s borders. One message from the international community cannot be seen as a result: China’s rising auto parts Industry may also face trade barriers from the United States.
Brian Dugan, director of international affairs for the U.S. Motor and Vehicle Manufacturers Association (MEMA), said that in the past two years, the number of counterfeit auto parts produced in China has risen in a straight line, and U.S. officials have started to pay more and more attention to counterfeit Chinese products. Automotive parts problem.
Industry insiders pointed out that the attention of the US government departments to the issue of counterfeiting of Chinese auto parts is a dangerous signal for Chinese auto parts exports.
In general, when the United States discovered a single issue in China's trade, it got a bargaining chip. When needed, the United States will play this card. For Chinese auto parts exporters, if they can't quickly improve the quality of their products, they will most likely be threatened by trade barriers.
The people and people in the industry stated that if this issue is viewed in a positive way, this is undoubtedly a wake-up call to China's auto parts companies: Auto parts companies must prepare well and respond positively, and at the same time increase technological research and development to improve products. With its scientific and technological content, it consciously regulates its export behavior, prevents counterfeit and shoddy products from flowing into foreign markets, and maintains the credibility of Chinese products. Otherwise, Chinese auto parts companies that have just made their way to the door of internationalization will have no recourse in the face of trade barriers in developed countries.
It should be said that China’s auto parts industry has opened the door to the international market, but there is still a long way to go before it is truly integrated into the core areas of this market. On the other hand, policies and trade fairs are all external "catalysts." The catalyst can play a role, but also depends on the development of China's auto parts industry itself.