After the killing of ZTE, which part of the supplier's throat is still holding it?

It has been six days since ZTE announced that it had entered “dormant”.

On May 9, ZTE officially announced that the company’s main business was suspended due to the US government’s ban. Since the Washington side banned US companies from supplying parts and components technology to Zhongxing, the ZTE Incident, which has been simmering for a month, has finally ushered in the worst results.

After the story of “A Thousand Miles of Dyke and Bursting on an Anthole” was actually staged, many people still cannot understand it. ZTE, the world’s top 10 communications equipment manufacturer, the fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, and the largest communication equipment in mainland China Why is a listed company so vulnerable to a US government ban?

As a matter of fact, ZTE's spare parts problem is not a hidden problem long ago. Due to the lack of core technology for chip R&D, ZTE has been relying on the supply of U.S. companies for many key components. In the past 2017, ZTE paid up to US$2.3 billion to 211 U.S. exporters. Therefore, on the surface, ZTE's "dormant" is the victim of the political game between China and the US. However, the hand that really grabs ZTE's neck is a parts supplier.

Another boiled frog

In the middle of the reign of ZTE on the knife edge, on the day before the Beijing Auto Show, Geely Automobile and Guangzhou Automobile Passenger Vehicle signed an agreement with Japan's Aisin, respectively, and announced the establishment of two independent new joint ventures to produce and sell FF6 automatic transmissions. The registered capital of the two companies is 117 million US dollars, respectively, plans to produce 400,000 units a year, in the new company, Aisin's shareholding ratio will be 60%.

On the same day, Aisin announced that Tangshan Aisin, a subsidiary of the company, will expand and restructure its existing manual gearboxes, introduce an AT assembly line, and expect an annual production capacity of 400,000 units.

Earlier, Aisin accounted for 80% of the shares, and Tianjin Aida Automatic Transmission Co., Ltd., a joint venture with FAW, also started the installation initiation ceremony for the ff6 automatic transmission production line equipment. It is reported that after the completion of the two-phase project, Tianjin Aida Automatic Transmission Co., Ltd. will achieve an annual production capacity of 800,000 units.

As soon as the incident occurred, the dark clouds that hovered over Zhongxing's head seemed to have vaguely drifted into the automotive component sector. Aixin does not have a joint venture, but a joint venture will soon be China’s top three car companies, and the Ministry’s annual production capacity will be close to 2 million. What exactly does this mean?

The key issue that this series of cooperation has mapped out is that in the spring of 2018, autonomous transmission companies have once again realized that even if the automakers of their own brands are becoming more and more active, the gearbox market They are still kneeling on the edge of the stands and have not been given instructions to play. The same companies that are self-employed, this bitterness of the “buzz is all theirs, I have nothing” may be difficult to swallow.

Autonomic gearbox anxiety and anxiety

Therefore, when it comes to anxiety, the autonomous transmission companies can feel their experience. In the meantime, “the wolf came” and the market share was swallowed up. However, he himself did not fight back, as if it were an outsider. Zhang Baolin, chairman of Chang'an Automobile, said that “the era has eliminated you. It has nothing to do with you.” I believe that the leaders of autonomous transmission enterprises with anxiety and anxiety are also worried.

Only jealousy and anxiety are obviously not enough. Where is the current gap and what new issues will the establishment of joint ventures bring? This is what the autonomous transmission companies must now face. On May 11th, at the autonomous auto transmission development seminar sponsored by China Automotive News, representatives from Shengli, Wanliyang and Dongan Steamship, etc., brought together their own representatives. Thinking.

First of all, at the product level, Chinese brands of automatic transmission products are limited by factors such as late start-up, and the leading gap with the Japanese Aisin industry and other industries can not be caught overnight. Although this gap is continuously narrowing, independent brands such as Shengrui have come up with innovative technology products such as 13AT. However, regardless of the actual application of the technology itself or the transition from technology to industrialization, autonomous transmission companies have Still in its infancy.

Secondly, at the product price level, as Li Shengqi, Secretary General of the China Gear Professional Association, put it: “The process of growth of autonomous transmission companies is currently in the process of fixed-investment amortization of early-stage R&D costs.” This leads to autonomy. Gearbox companies cannot obtain price advantage. In the core parts supply chain of the autonomous transmission companies, the problem still stems from the lack of independent suppliers. Components are monopolized by imported products, the cost remains high, and the industrial chain is difficult to form. This comprehensively leads to the price of autonomous transmission products. Difficult advantages.

The problem of even more anxiety for autonomous transmission companies comes from the future. At the meeting, Pan Yuming, the representative of Ningbo Shuanglin, all pointed out that: “Now, Ningbo Shuanglin and Shengrui, which are independent gearbox enterprises in China, still belong to the traditional gearbox enterprises. Despite their efforts in new energy, traditional gearboxes How to survive under the new energy system is still a question to be considered."

Obviously, under the background of the vigorous development of new energy trends in the automotive industry, the next city in the transmission market is obviously the research and development of auxiliary transmissions such as hybrid transmissions. However, the situation in which Chinese autonomous transmission companies have fallen into the traditional transmission market will obviously only lead to a more unequal starting point for the next round of competition.

Where is the way out?

For up to 6 hours of seminars, clarifying the issues is obviously only a matter of priming. More importantly, it is to work together to discuss where this difficult road is. Anxiety is anxious. It is gratifying that, from the speeches made by the representatives of the autonomous transmission companies at the meeting, the search for a way out and hope are still very strong. Their direction and appeal are mainly concentrated in two aspects.

The first is the support of national policies. From the perspective of most experts and business representatives, it is at this stage that the autonomous transmission industry needs the most support. The state should give full play to its policy advantages and give it some support. “Individuals feel that the country’s protection of power batteries is in place, and that the transmission industry can learn from them,” said Zheng Haibing, vice president of the Transmission Research Institute of Jianghuai Group.

As regards specific support policies, the direct adoption of policies requires that joint ventures be open to autonomous gearbox companies, increase financial and policy support for independent brand transmission technology research and development, and include the development of hybrid transmissions as key development targets. Measures have been repeatedly mentioned.

On the other hand, besides expecting the landing of the policy, the author is more gratified to see the positive demands of their respective main gearbox companies for their own higher development and for the integration of industry and mutual benefit. Zhao Fuquan, Dean of the Institute of Automobile Industry and Technology at Tsinghua University, said in his concluding remarks: “It is harder for us to fight the iron. We need a national strategy to solve the problem of palliatives, and the approach to the root cause should also focus on the alliance between industry technology and industry. Through the integration of funds, technology, and talents, through the full participation of leading autonomous gearbox companies, state capital, automakers, and core component manufacturers, the fundamental issues of the competitiveness of the autonomous transmission industry will be resolved.”

Like ZTE, the current problems faced by the auto parts industry represented by autonomous transmissions are exactly the epitome of thorns and anxieties faced by China’s “intellectual-wise” upswing. At present, China's industrial chain support and technology cultivation in all sectors of the automotive industry are at a critical stage, and they are always facing threats from outside forces. At this critical moment, policy support and corporate self-reflection and response are all essential. Through multiple efforts and cooperation, turning pressure into motivation is the only way to break away from the big arms of Chinese companies.