China Market Insider The seven largest Chinese automotive suppliers

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Chinese suppliers are following their domestic car manufacturers in global expansion. This significantly intensifies the competition for German companies in Germany and Europe.

Henrik Bork is the Managing Director at Asia Waypoint, a Beijing-based consultancy specialized in China. "China Market Insider" is a joint project of the Vogel Communications Group, Würzburg, and Jigong Vogel Media Advertising in Beijing.

Chinese suppliers are expanding. This is intensifying competition in Germany and Europe. Precisely at a time when the framework conditions such as electricity prices, political planning security for electrification, and promotion of e-mobility in the Federal Republic are anything but ideal.

Where is the investment going?

Data from the "China Automotive Technology and Research Centers" and the "Cyzone Research Centers" show that almost 85 percent of the 70 "outstanding" Chinese automotive suppliers have already invested in Europe. The most popular countries for these investments were Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Slovenia, and France, report the two think tanks. 60 percent of the Chinese suppliers from this elite group have also invested in their own production lines in North America, 57.1 percent in Southeast Asia.

The seven largest Chinese automotive suppliers

While the worldwide expansion of Chinese car manufacturers is stirring emotions and making many headlines, this new phase of globalization by Chinese suppliers is rarely reported on.

Reason enough to briefly introduce the seven largest of the Chinese automotive suppliers from the People's Republic. Our ranking here results from comparing the revenues in 2023.

1. CATL

Revenue 2023: Approximately 51 billion euros

Headquarters: Ningde, Fujian Province

The "Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd." is by far the leading battery manufacturer in China and the world. It counts many Chinese auto OEMs as well as international automotive giants like BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, and Honda among its customers.

In March, the company reported in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where it is listed, that it was able to increase its net profits in 2023 by a further 44 percent compared to the previous year.

Not even the slower sales of electric cars in Europe can brake the company's enthusiasm for its further global expansion. CATL is currently planning or building factories in Thuringia, in Hungary, in Thailand, Indonesia, Michigan, and Nevada. It has also recently announced new projects in Spain and Morocco.

A few months ago, the company's employees in Shenzhen found a new screensaver on their computers that titles everyone as a "hero" who goes abroad for the company. CATL clearly intends to grow by being closer to its customers in the automotive industry, no matter where on the globe they build their vehicles.

2. Weichai Power

Revenue 2023: Approximately 27.3 billion euros

Headquarters: Weifang, Shandong Province

The company, which was founded in its current form in 2002 and has both Chinese and foreign investors, has its roots in the "Weifang Diesel Engine Factory". It was the first producer of diesel engines to go public in Hong Kong and has since had sufficient funds to expand quickly.

The company's main business areas include powertrain systems, diesel engines for heavy trucks, transmissions, axles and agricultural machinery, and their components. In some product groups, such as engines for heavy-duty trucks, the gearboxes for them, and industrial forklifts, Weichai Power has now become the global market leader.

The company is currently active in 150 countries and regions around the world. It invests large sums annually in the research & development (R&D) of new products and has for this purpose established or funded a variety of R&D centers, including the "State Key Laboratory of Engine and Powertrain Systems," the "National Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Center," and the "National Internal Combustion Engine Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center," to name just three examples among many.

3. Hasco

Revenue 2023: Approximately 21.5 billion euros

Headquarters: Shanghai

The company ranked third on our list is perhaps best described as a "classic" supplier to the automotive industry. The "Huayu Automotive Systems Co., Ltd." (Hasco) emerged from a restructuring that the large state-owned carmaker SAIC had to undergo in 2009.

At that time, SAIC took over part of the state bus manufacturer "Shanghai Bashi Industrial (Group) Co."—also called Shanghai Bus. But it turned it into a company for the production of car parts. Since then, Hasco has been the "shooting star" of the Chinese and global automotive industry par excellence.

The SAIC Group, majority shareholder in Hasco via SAIC Motor, the joint venture partner of Volkswagen in China, and the entire SAIC Group, as a state-owned enterprise, in turn belongs to the Chinese government, controlled by the "State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission" (SASAC).

With such good networking with the government and other state-owned enterprises, it is not difficult in China to get orders. A stock market listing also ensured sufficient capitalization shortly after its foundation to be able to invest heavily in research & development.

Hasco's products, including interior fittings, headlights, body parts, or car electronics, have an excellent reputation for their quality. Customers include SAIC-Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, but also Beijing-Benz, Audi, Geely, and many other reputable Chinese and international manufacturers.

Abroad, Hasco likes to expand through acquisitions or joint ventures. The list is far too long to be enumerated here. One example is the "Hasco Magna Electric Drive System Co., Ltd.", which supplies secondary electric drives for VW's MEB platform worldwide.

4. BHAP

Revenue 2023: Approximately 8.3 billion euros

Headquarters: Beijing

The "Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts Co., Ltd." produces car seats, electronic control units, heat exchangers, and other products. In China, it is considered the fourth-largest parts supplier to the automotive industry, worldwide it currently appears at number 37 in some rankings of the top 100 suppliers.

BHAP pursues a strategy of partnerships with reputable foreign manufacturers to bring its products up to the latest technical standards. An example of this is its joint venture "Bejing Hella BHAP Automotive Lighting," which has just opened a state-of-the-art factory for all kinds of automotive lighting in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province.

In such joint ventures in the largest car market in the world, effort is made not scrimped. The new factory covers an area of 12,000 square meters and has started production with a modest annual quantity of 600,000 for BHAP standards. However, a doubling of the number of employees (currently 150) is already planned.

5. Joyson Electronics

Revenue 2023: Approximately 7 billion euros

Headquarters: Ningbo, Zhejiang Province

The company, founded only in 2004, has quickly made a name for itself as a leading manufacturer of high-tech components for modern cars. Its products include intelligent cockpits, charging technology for electric cars, other electrical and electronic components, and air intake systems for engines.

Customers of Joyson Electronics include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Volkswagen (since 2006), General Motors, Ford, and Audi. However, it is especially the long list of Chinese OEM customers that ensures the rapid growth in revenues.

Last year, for example, Joyson Electronics achieved revenue growth of around 12 percent compared to the previous year, despite a rather difficult overall situation on the Chinese market.

For several years now, a growth segment has been safety systems, with which Joyson Electronics supplies, among others, the top ten electric car manufacturers in China.

6. Citic Dicastal

Revenue 2023: Approximately 5.4 billion euros

Headquarters: Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province

The supplier, which is 100 percent owned by Citic Limited, is China's largest exporter and thus, of course, the world's largest supplier of aluminum wheels. In addition, it manufactures lightweight aluminum parts for drives and similar components, also assists with all integrated processes for their operation.

To date, Dicastal has set up 21 factories in China, Europe, and North America. The more than 1,000 different die-cast aluminum products are installed on every continent on earth, including by Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GM, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, as well as the rapidly growing Chinese car manufacturers.

The president and co-founder of Dicastal, Xu Zhou, recognized 30 years ago as one of the first in the Chinese auto industry that aluminum wheels belong to the future. "Looking back now, it's easy to see our success and forget how hard we worked for it," Xu writes in one of the company's recent business reports.

At that time, not only did we see a trend and remain faithful to it, but we also invested endless experiments and "blood, sweat, and tears" until we could become as big as we are today, says the co-founder.

7. Ningbo Huaxiang

Revenue 2023: Approximately three billion euros

Headquarters: Shanghai

The "Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic Co., Ltd." (NBHX), founded already in 1988, manufactures automotive parts for premium brands such as luxurious instrument panels and interior fittings with parts made of wood or synthetic materials and particularly modern surfaces of all kinds, but also electrical components and components for the chassis.

Well-known customers include Volvo, Audi, BMW, Nissan, Mercedes, FAW, GM, and Toyota. In June of this year, NBHX took over the trim business of the "International Automotive Components Group" (IAC) in China. Since then, it has been included in all global orders from IAC.

Ningbo Huaxiang also pursues the strategy of acquisitions of or participations in foreign market leaders in other business areas. For example, it recently also acquired a 49 percent stake in the operator of a factory for emission control components from Faurecia in Chengdu, southwestern China.

Instead of raising the capital needed for its expansion on the stock exchange like most Chinese suppliers, Ningbo Huaxiang prefers to sell corporate bonds to private investors.