In business with Chinese car manufacturers, two aspects are needed in particular: autonomy and speed. A new company in Electronics is now tackling this in a targeted manner – also drawing on the experience of a similar approach in India.

Tuesday 21.05.2024

Auto Shanghai 2023 was an eye-opener in many respects – for the automotive industry as a whole, but also for FORVIA HELLA. Visitors to the trade fair were particularly impressed by the speed at which local Chinese car manufacturers are developing vehicles and putting them on the road. The automotive market is divided into two speeds, that of Chinese manufacturers and that of non-Chinese OEMs. This is, for example, how Electronics Managing Director Jörg Weisgerber described his impressions after the trade fair – and emphasized: "The European industry is lagging behind, also because the development cycles are longer internationally."

Speed and autonomy as success factors
Auto Shanghai clearly demonstrated the importance of speed and autonomy in product development in order to keep pace with the dynamics of local – and fast-growing – car manufacturers.

The foundation of a new electronics company in China is the logical conclusion of this lesson learned: Officially registered in December 2023, HELLA (Nanjing) Electronics Co. Ltd (HNE) is set-up with a high degree of independence and autonomy in the Chinese market – always with the target of developing new business with local manufacturers. HNE's initial focus is on the development of products for energy management. Further products from the electronics portfolio shall gradually be added to the HNE portfolio as well.

Following an Indian example
HELLA Nanjing Electronics is also drawing on the experience of a similar approach that FORVIA HELLA is pursuing in India. In 2020, FORVIA HELLA founded the subsidiary "Hella eMobionics" there. It focuses primarily on the two- and three-wheeler business, which is both widespread in India and clearly distinct from the automotive core business. Here too, the aim is to penetrate the two- and three-wheeler market better and faster and to be able to offer manufacturers customised technologies for this customer group. Since its foundation, Hella eMobionics has already won three active customers, talks with further manufacturers are ongoing.

Small, agile, flexible
FORVIA HELLA's new China company is currently operating with a team of around 20 developers, largely independent of the established processes and standards in the automotive business. Under the leadership of Dr May Deng, the team is responsible for driving product development from the prototype to the start of production. Simplified processes, short distances and local supply chains, a high degree of freedom and the early involvement of local customers and suppliers shall accelerate the pace of development and reduce costs – another advantage in the price-sensitive Chinese market.

As in India, customer-related functions such as market research, development and sales will also be located directly at HNE in China, while the existing production capacities of FORVIA HELLA as the parent company can be utilised. This brings further cost benefits as well.

"With HNE, we are implementing the ‘In China, for China’ strategy even more consistently," says May Deng. The experienced manager walks between worlds, so to speak: She not only heads the HNE team, but is also responsible for energy management at the Technical Centre in Nanjing - FORVIA HELLA's largest technology centre in China, in whose immediate vicinity HNE is located. "Both units exist side by side on a completely equal footing and complement each other," she says. "Only the customer focus is different. While HNE concentrates primarily on new local manufacturers, business with established customers in China will remain with FORVIA HELLA as the parent company."

First successes
Successes are already visible. In January 2024, the first customers placed series orders for high-voltage current sensors for full hybrid and electric vehicle applications, series production started in April. This means that there are just three months between development and the start of production – a unique speed. "We only won the contract because we bid within the new set-up. If we had operated within the existing structures, we would not have been able to achieve this speed and therefore not have been awarded the contract," says May Deng.