Dialogue with Zhang Lihua, Vice President of Webasto China: The Chinese market is becoming more and more important

　　China News Service, Shanghai, November 10th, title:

　　Author Zhou Zhuoao

　　"The CIIE is the only exhibition project we participated in this year." Zhang Lihua, Vice President of Webasto China, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency that Webasto cancelled all exhibition activities to save expenses due to the epidemic. The only exception is the CIIE.

　　As the "three-time veteran" of the China International Import Expo, Webasto from Germany is an innovative system partner of almost all automakers in the world, and one of the world's top 100 auto parts suppliers.

At this year’s CIIE, Webasto showcased innovative and comfortable driving solutions for future electrified and smart travel, covering innovative folding roof systems, smart roof modules for autonomous driving scenarios, smart front-end modules, and new energy Products such as power batteries, heaters and charging pile charging lines.

　　"I feel that the CIIE is high-level, new technology, and a wide range of customers." Zhang Lihua said that Webasto has been rewarded every time he participates in the CIIE. Not only did he get feedback from many customers on the spot, Later, they also conducted more in-depth technical exchanges, which greatly helped the company's new products and new technologies in the Chinese market.

　　China has become the world's largest single market for new energy vehicles. Major auto companies have stepped up their efforts to transform towards electrification and intelligence. The Chinese market has also become more important among major auto companies.

Webasto as a supplier is no exception.

Zhang Lihua said frankly that for Webasto Group, the Chinese market will become more important, and the overall importance may become more prominent in the next few years.

　　It is understood that Webasto has been paying attention to the changing trends of the global automotive industry, and therefore set a "dual strategy" as early as 2017: strengthen strategy and participation strategy, on the one hand, strengthen traditional core products, on the other hand, actively participate in The entire new energy field.

　　In recent years, Webasto has also increased its investment in new energy in China.

Up to now, Webasto has 11 factories in China with more than 4,000 employees. In 2019, the output of skylights exceeded 6.2 million sets.

In order to meet the localized technology development needs of Chinese customers, the company established a R&D center in Shanghai in 2004 and a power battery R&D and testing center in Jiaxing in 2019, which can provide comprehensive localized R&D services for automotive sunroofs and power battery packs.

　　Zhang Lihua introduced that the Webasto Shanghai R&D Center ranks second among the 7 largest Webasto R&D centers in the world. Currently, there are more than 300 highly qualified engineers and industry-leading equipment that can independently complete the entire project. Development work provides strong support for the company's R&D and innovation capabilities.

　　"We have full confidence in the Chinese auto market. In recent months, the orders we have received from customers are actually better than in previous years. The sales volume of auto sunroofs in December may create a new high for the company in the 20 years since the company entered China." Zhang Lihua said that in the past, the Chinese market accounted for roughly One-third of Buster's global sales, and this year's sales in China accounted for more than half.

　　Zhang Lihua pointed out that under the influence of the epidemic, China persists in holding the CIIE, continuously optimizes its business environment, and expands its opening to the outside world. This in-depth interpretation of the importance of building a community with a shared future for mankind. “Webasto is confident in China’s sustainable development and will continue to cultivate deeply. In the Chinese market, we also hope that in the future, we can use this platform to have in-depth exchanges with vehicle customers, explore cooperation intentions on innovative projects, and promote the implementation of related projects." (End)