A few days ago, the 2018 Top 100 Global Auto Parts Suppliers List was released. According to the latest list released by Automotive News, Bosch has won the championship for 8 consecutive years, Denso jumped to the runner-up, and Magna still ranks third. A total of 6 Chinese companies made the list this time, namely: Yanfeng, Beijing Hainachuan, CITIC Dicastal, Johnson Electric, Wuling Industrial and Minth Group, of which Yanfeng ranked 16th. Looking at the top companies, it can be seen that high and new technologies such as electrification, intelligence, and networking in the automotive industry account for an increasing proportion of suppliers' business, which also contributes to their performance growth.
Technology leads the future
Since 2005, "Automotive News" has published the list of the top 100 global auto parts suppliers, ranking according to the operating income (sales) of the supporting market business in the automotive industry provided by the suppliers in the previous year. Therefore, the evaluation criteria for the 2018 Top 100 list is the performance of each supplier in 2017. Among the 100 companies on the list, a total of 84 companies achieved year-on-year growth in their supporting revenue in 2017, while 16 companies experienced varying degrees of decline.
According to statistics, the total revenue of the world's top ten suppliers of automotive equipment in 2017 reached 315.44 billion US dollars, an increase of about 8% over 2016. Although the increase is not particularly large, it is also considerable. Among them, the only suppliers with a revenue of more than 40 billion US dollars are Bosch and Denso.
Germany's Bosch Group is firmly in the top spot with $47.5 billion. In fact, in the 14 published lists, except for Denso in 2010, the list champion in other years has always been Bosch, which is the world's largest parts supplier. Bosch established an artificial intelligence center last year, dedicated to researching artificial intelligence technology, and working with Daimler to develop software and algorithms for autonomous driving systems. The goal is to launch L4 and L5 fully autonomous driving systems suitable for urban roads in 2020.
At the same time, Bosch integrated the traditional power sector and sold its SG holding company, which is mainly engaged in the starter and generator business, to the Chinese company Zhengmei Machinery. Bosch is also making great strides in electrification, developing a 48V mild-hybrid system that can be quickly integrated into new models. "Bosch is accelerating the development of electric mobility, and we have received a considerable number of orders in the past year, some of which have reached billions of euros." Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bosch Group, said. For China, the world's largest electric vehicle market, Bosch and Weichai Power are cooperating on a pilot project to jointly develop fuel cells for trucks. At the Internet of Things Conference in February this year, Bosch announced the establishment of a new connected mobility service department, focusing on shared travel and intelligent connected services.
Denso is the second company with ancillary revenue exceeding $40 billion, reaching $40.782 billion. Compared to Bosch, Denso's position in the list has been up and down. For example, Denso ranked No. 4 in the 2015 list, rose to No. 2 in 2016, dropped to No. 4 in 2017, and returned to No. 2 in 2018. Under the background that electrification has become an inevitable trend in the automotive industry, in September last year, Toyota, Mazda and Denso signed an agreement to cooperate in the research and development of electric vehicle-related technologies, and decided to establish a new company for this purpose. The new company is mainly engaged in the research and development of technologies related to the basic structure of electric vehicles covering all levels and models. At the beginning of June this year, Denso and Toyota determined the policy of integrating the electric vehicle parts business. Starting from 2022, Denso will be responsible for the mass production of electrified parts for all Toyota vehicles. Denso plans to have a 30% global market share in electrification systems such as transformers and engines by 2025.
Magna came in third. As the "OEM emperor" in the automotive industry, Magna has just joined hands with BAIC New Energy. The two parties plan to establish two joint ventures: an engineering development joint venture and a manufacturing joint venture to provide the Chinese market with the development and manufacture of high-end smart pure electric vehicles. In May of this year, Magna announced an additional investment of $300 million by 2020 to further develop electrification and autonomous driving.
Lear, the No. 8 American parts and components company, has made a lot of moves recently. By acquiring companies such as EXO Technologies, a GPS developer in Israel, Lear has further penetrated into the field of advanced electronic products. As Lear's core business, the car seat market is highly competitive, and Lear hopes to make the seat part of the car's intelligent system, enabling it to predict traffic conditions and provide a personalized cabin space for future vehicles.
In addition, in recent years, technological innovations, strategic adjustments, and changes at the top of the company have greatly changed the supplier landscape. Mergers and acquisitions and splits have even changed the "identities" and names of several companies. For example, Adient, ranked 11th, was spun off from Johnson Controls in October 2016 to focus on the seat business, and established Adient Aerospace, a joint venture with Boeing, to enter the field of aircraft seats. Delphi announced last year that it would split into two companies, Aptiv and Delphi Technologies. Among them, Aptiv ranked 21st in this list, mainly focusing on autonomous driving, while focusing on big data, in-vehicle entertainment information services and car interconnection.
German and Japanese leading
In the ranking, the 4th to 15th places are: Continental, ZF, Aisin Seiki, Hyundai Mobis, Lear, Valeo, Faurecia, Adient, Yazaki, Panasonic Automotive Systems , Sumitomo Electric and Mahler. It can be seen that the German and Japanese parts companies are relatively strong.
Both Continental and ZF are well-known components giants. In high-tech fields such as autonomous driving, shared travel, and intelligent connectivity, Continental has an early deployment and deep accumulation. Last year, Continental announced that it would invest 300 million euros in electric vehicle technology research and development by 2021. At CES Asia 2018 in mid-June this year, Continental showcased a range of solutions for electric vehicles and autonomous driving. For example, Continental has developed the "All-ChargeTM" charging system, with which electric vehicles can be charged with all types of charging points.
In order to seize market share as soon as possible and enhance its own competitiveness, Continental has successively purchased lidar business from ASC, acquired Israel's virtual security technology company Argus, acquired Singapore's Quantum, and cooperated with high-tech companies such as Huawei, China Telecom, Baidu and HERE. Cooperation to lay out the autonomous driving business in advance.
ZF also invests a lot in the research and development of autonomous driving, electric vehicles and other technologies, and actively strengthens cooperation with BAIC, Baidu, Mobileye and other companies. At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September last year, ZF announced a strategic cooperation with Baidu to cooperate in the fields of autonomous driving, Internet of Vehicles and mobility services to develop complete autonomous driving solutions for the Chinese market. Soon after, ZF signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing Hainachuan Company to establish a joint venture to produce electric vehicle components for the Chinese market.
As a Japanese parts supplier, Aisin Seiki keeps pace with Japanese OEMs. In March of this year, Toyota, Aisin Seiki and Denso announced a joint investment of US$2.8 billion to form a new joint venture. In the future, the company will be mainly responsible for the production and development of autonomous vehicle software. In addition, in April and May of this year, Aisin Seiki suddenly expanded its production capacity sharply in China, and its intention of expansion was undoubtedly revealed, causing shocks in the domestic autonomous transmission industry.
