Shanghai leads auto parts industry in Yangtze Delta

Shanghai, August 6 (Gasgoo.com) The Yangtze Delta in East China generally comprises Shanghai, southern Jiangsu province and northern Zhejiang province. This economically booming area also boasts many auto-parts manufacturing bases, with Shanghai leading the region's, and the country’s, auto-parts industry.

The auto-parts makers of Zhejiang province are concentrated in its eastern coastal cities such as Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Xingchang, Xiaoshan and Taizhou. Their wide range of products cover engines, wheels, lamps, interior decorations and even small steel parts. Although these places occupy only one fifth of the Zhejiang's total area, they have 70% of the province’s auto parts industry.

Zhejiang's auto parts industry shows no strong competitive capabilities for money-making, with its gross and net profits only at 13.84% and 5.43% respectively, both below the national average; but the assets returns are above the national level.

Jiangsu province is one of the important auto-making bases in China and contributes about 15% to the country's auto-parts output. Certain products are named "single champions" of the nation and some components have over 60% market share in the country. Bosch, ZF, TRW, Valeo and other global auto-parts manufacturers have settled in Jiangsu.

The provincial government of Jiangsu has plans to set up about 20 more auto-parts enterprises to lead China’s auto-part industry and capture the lion's share of the home market, and also to build one or two globally competitive auto-parts manufacturing groups or giants equipped with integrated, module supply systems and capable of generating annual sales revenue of 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion). These manufacturers are expected to provide OEM and aftermarket services for global and national automakers.

Shanghai, a city between Zhejiang (to the southwest) and Jiangsu (to the north), has formed a powerful auto-parts industry chain. Shanghai ranks first in the profits and assets of China's auto-parts industry, representing 17.83% of the nation's total auto-parts profits. The super-city's favorable location has attracted more investment and also generated higher returns than other parts of China, and that's why many multinationals are willing to invest in Shanghai. 

The 2005-2010 science and technology project planning team of the Shanghai municipality has listed the development of auto-parts industry as one of its top-priority programs. The auto-parts research program is headed by the city's prestigious Jiaotong University and focuses on the research and development of auto electronics, an important field of the auto-parts industry.