The supply interruption of a pair of brake system air hoses produced in Wuhan, Hubei Province directly caused the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan to supply its global factories in Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Russia and India. Issue a discontinuation warning.
This is the "butterfly effect" exerted on the global automobile industry chain by the suspension of production in Hubei, China, a hub for parts production that almost all world-renowned automobile manufacturers rely on, due to the epidemic. The Hubei parts manufacturing industry cluster stepped on the sudden brake, causing automobile companies in Germany, the United States, France, Japan and South Korea to instantly fall into the shackles of a shutdown.
The "skeleton base" of global automobiles
According to the national spare parts catalog numbers, there are 74 types of automobile parts assemblies, and the parts of each assembly are composed of The number ranges from a dozen to thousands. If interchangeable and universal standard parts, such as bolts, nuts and gaskets, are included, an ordinary family car contains approximately 20,000 independent parts that cannot be disassembled.
Twenty thousand parts form the basic "skeletal structure" of a car, and each of these "skeletons" requires corresponding professional suppliers for supporting production.
According to statistics from the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, there are more than 100,000 auto parts-related companies in China and more than 10,000 cross-border investment auto parts companies. As of the end of December last year, there were a total of 6,025 parts integration and accessory manufacturing companies registered with the Hubei Province Industrial and Commercial Administration.
A data worthy of attention is that among the 103 auto parts development zones in the country, Hubei Province ranks second after Anhui Province (15) with 13 development zones. Among them, Xiangyang City ranks first in Hubei Province with 4 development zones, followed by Huanggang City with 3 development zones, Shiyan City and Wuhan City with 2 development zones, and Shishou City and Huangshi City with 1 development zone each.
In addition to national development zones, Hubei also has Wuhan East Lake Automobile Industrial Park, Jingang Auto Parts Industrial Park, Hongshan Industrial Park, Jingzhou Auto Parts Industrial Park and Xiaogan Auto Parts Industrial Park.
The Hubei Automobile Industry Association revealed that there are more than 1,300 auto parts companies above designated size in Hubei Province, including Bosch, Delphi, Valeo, Webasto, Honeywell, Getrag, Well-known overseas auto parts giants such as ZF and Denso have been deeply deployed in Hubei for many years.
Other local parts manufacturers including Daye Hanlong Engine, Sanhuan Group, Shanghai Natiefu, Joyson Electronics, Hubei Qixing, TPV Display and Fuyao Glass are also established in Hubei. Rooted.
Among them, the French parts giant Valeo, founded in 1923, was the first leader to enter Hubei, and was also one of the first Fortune 500 companies introduced to Hubei.
In 1994, Valeo Automotive Air Conditioning (Hubei) Co., Ltd. was established in Jingzhou as a joint venture and became Valeo's first batch of factories in China. In 2004, Valeo established its first technology center for the development of automotive lighting in Wuhan. Subsequently, Valeo deployed business sectors in Hubei including air conditioning, lighting, powertrain thermal systems, and lighting business technology centers. In October last year, Valeo China R&D Center was established in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone.
Currently, Valeo has four factories and one R&D center in Hubei Province, with a total of more than 1,900 employees. In an interview with the media, the relevant person in charge of Valeo said, "The company's two factories in Jingzhou, Hubei Province have officially resumed work on February 21. The preliminary resumption of work was specially approved by the government and is responsible for ambulances and related anti-epidemic production. The two factories in Jingzhou The resumption rate of the two factories in Wuhan has reached more than 90%. The two factories in Wuhan have gradually resumed production in mid-March and are now in the production ramp-up stage."
BorgWarner, an American parts company deeply involved in the automotive drive field, is located in The factory in Wuhan Caidian Economic Development Zone officially resumed work in mid-March and is currently moving towards full resumption of work. “The factory now mainly produces according to the priority of customer orders,” She Tao, general manager of BorgWarner’s Wuhan factory, said in an interview with Chutian Metropolis Daily, “and adopts small batch production.
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A relevant person from the Bosch China Public Relations Department said in an interview with the media, “Wuhan Bosch Huayu, which produces steering systems, has basically resumed work. However, the production capacity of each factory is different. Overall, the supply chain is not a problem. Now we mainly focus on the demand side of the automobile market. ”
Parts companies give priority to resuming production, and the global industrial chain stabilizes
As the core of global auto parts, the restart of Hubei parts companies is particularly touching.
At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on March 13, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, proposed to support the priority resumption of work and production in Hubei’s auto parts industry.
Xin Guobin introduced, Hubei is China's fourth largest automobile production base. During this epidemic prevention and control process, some multinational companies such as Volkswagen, BMW, and Hyundai Motor have proposed that because some parts are produced in Hubei, the company's stock reserves are insufficient. If work and production cannot be resumed in a timely manner, companies will face the dilemma of suspension of work and production.
There are also supporting manufacturers for some domestic automobile companies in Hubei. Among them, GAC Group has 156 of its more than 400 domestic suppliers. The parts company is located in Hubei.
In response to this situation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology organized the Hubei authorities to work with companies to initiate emergency supply guarantees to solve the difficulties and problems faced by some companies. Take South Korea's Hyundai as an example. Domestic wire harness production supporting companies are located in Hubei and Shandong. Due to the supply of wire harnesses, Hyundai has suspended production.
As a result, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology negotiated with relevant companies to quickly resume work and production, giving priority to solving the "blocking points" and problems of these companies. At present. South Korea’s modern production and operation order has returned to normal.
“From the current perspective, auto parts companies in Hubei Province have resumed work and production in an orderly manner. The resumption of work and production in China's automobile industry is advancing in an orderly manner, playing an important role in the stability of the global supply chain. "Xin Guobin said.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, the export volume of auto parts companies in China exceeded US$60 billion in 2019, of which foreign-funded companies' exports from subsidiaries in China accounted for 40%. More information It shows that more than 80% of the world's auto parts are closely related to Chinese manufacturing.
Just a week before the press conference to support the priority resumption of work and production in Hubei's auto parts industry, it was fully loaded with 9,200 car seat frames and frames. Train 41074, with 9,520 back frames, left Wuhan at full speed and was destined for the parts loading and unloading base of FAW Car Co., Ltd. in Changchun City, Jilin Province.
This is the traffic that has been implemented in Wuhan due to the epidemic. The first train to depart since the beginning of the epidemic, transporting auto parts and hope.
PwC China released the "Four Major Measures for the Automotive Industry to Respond to the Challenges of the Epidemic" report on February 13. pointed out that “approximately 40 production plants and R&D centers of the world’s top ten suppliers are in the hardest-hit areas. Due to the high degree of integration and interdependence of the automobile industry, the possibility of short-term replacement of suppliers is low, resulting in the production of parts suppliers in key epidemic areas being hindered. "
Feng Li, a partner in Deloitte Management Consulting's strategy and operations team, said in an interview with China Automobile News, "The long-term impact of the epidemic on the industry mainly has two aspects. One is the impact of small and medium-sized parts companies. The second is the operational risk, and the risk of supply chain substitution and loosening that may be brought about by 'cutting off supply'. "
Wu Songquan, chief expert at the China Automotive Technology Research Center, believes that "the epidemic will not change Hubei's status as an important auto parts manufacturing base in the country. Hubei's parts and components industry has formed cluster advantages. After production resumed, the economic and technical conditions for the supply of parts and components have not changed in view of Hubei's important industrial status and transportation center status. ”
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.