If it weren’t for electric cars, I haven’t had a chance to understand that in the Chinese auto industry with an annual output of More than 20 million cars, the proportion of such important chassis components and autonomous production is as low as almost negligible. China's auto industry hollowing is evident!
The Innovation Association of New Energy Passenger Vehicles led by the China Association of Automotive Engineers (hereinafter referred to as the “Allianceâ€) has recently conducted a domestic survey to find a cooperative company of brake systems for electric vehicles. I was fortunate to participate in this work. The braking system of an electric vehicle is composed of a combination of a conventional automotive braking system and an electric motor braking system. It is necessary to ensure the safety and stability of the vehicle's braking system and to obtain the most effective energy recovery effect. The advanced system can realize the functions of ABS and ESP (Automotive Dynamics Control System, including brake slip prevention, integrated anti-slip control and lateral slip control systems), as well as effective energy recovery. Energy recovery accounts for more than 30% of total energy consumption, which is equivalent to an increase of 30% of driving range. Japan, Germany, and the United States already have fairly mature technologies and products and have realized industrialization. Bosch and other international companies that produce automotive brake systems have already achieved coupling control between ESP and motor braking systems, and they have made every effort to capture the market for electric vehicle brake systems. In the research and development of electric passenger cars launched in recent years in China, some vehicles have realized the coupling control of ABS system and motor braking, but the system control technology and industrialization are at the primary level, and the energy recovery effect of the actual sales of electric vehicles is not satisfactory. The coupling technology between ESP and motor systems is in the R&D test phase.
The alliance has determined that it will develop advanced electric vehicle braking systems (including ESP) and promote its industrialization as an important task in the future.
This task should first be considered to be achieved by a company that has traditional braking system R&D and production as its main body. After preliminary investigation, China’s current factories that have the ability to produce traditional automotive ABS systems are Asia-Pacific, Yuanfeng, and Bethel, which are not large compared to similar foreign companies. They produced and sold products in 2013. Up to less than 200,000 units, the market share of similar products is less than 4%, they only have the production capacity of the ABS system, ESP system is still in the research and development stage. However, they are most hopeful to become China's autonomous electric vehicle brake system manufacturing enterprises in the future.
In conversations with the heads of these ABS companies, they generally talked about their difficulties. Many self-owned brand automakers have also purchased their products, but they only use domestically produced products to negotiate with foreign suppliers to negotiate price reductions. Once prices are achieved, they will not come back to purchase their own branded products. Due to strong foreign technology R&D and large output, foreign companies can also be in a favorable position in the procurement of raw materials, and they also have advantages in terms of cost. These autonomous parts and components companies do not get large orders and it is difficult to obtain development. The investment is also limited and it is difficult to be strong.
Here is an example of a braking system, and other parts have similar conditions. Even the power battery that everyone concerns is not necessarily very optimistic. There have been foreign large battery companies establishing factories in China with support from some local government preferential policies. I have already found that many foreign brand batteries are piled up in the warehouses of some OEMs.
At present, we are trying to promote new energy vehicles with the attention of the world. How many people are concerned about these deep-seated problems? We would like to report that the new energy automobile industry will become the hollow industry.
Dongguan Huayuan Electronic Technology Co., Ltd , https://www.huayuanelectronic.com