Recently, the Wisdom Bud Innovation Research Center under Wisdom Bud conducted an annual inventory of listed companies and industry science and technology innovation capabilities in the automotive industry from the two dimensions of patent ability and science and technology innovation power, and gained insight into the real "science content" of automobile enterprises. The analysis pointed out that (as of December 31, 2021) the total patent applications of 219 listed companies in the automotive industry are about 170,000, the effective invention patents are about 23,500, the software copyrights are about 2,900, and the trademarks are about 33,400.
The Wisdom Bud Innovation Research Center evaluated 20 annual "Science and Technology Innovation Stars". They are BYD, Jianghuai Automobile, Weichai Power, Foton Motor, SAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor, GUANGZHOU AUTOMOBILE Group, Changan Automobile, Wanxiang Qianchao, Xingyu Shares, Weifu Hi-Tech, Yutong Bus, Juyi Technology, China Automobile Research Institute, Fuyao Glass, Tongda Electric, Yapu Shares, Baolong Technology, Dongfeng Motor, and Zheng Coal Machinery. Among them, BYD, Foton Automobile and Weichai Power have the most eye-catching performance in the passenger car, commercial vehicle and auto parts sectors.
First, the overall situation of listed enterprises
According to the latest data from Wisdom Bud, among the 219 listed companies in the automotive industry (as of December 31, 2021), the total number of patent applications is about 170,000, the number of effective invention patents is about 23,500, the number of software copyrights is about 2,900, and the number of trademark applications is about 33,400. The average number of patent applications of a single enterprise is about 776, the number of valid invention patents is about 107, the number of software copyrights is about 13, and the number of trademarks is about 152. (Figure 1)
Figure 1: Overview of IP data of 219 listed companies in China's automotive industry (Source: Wisdom Bud)
A further comparison of the patent applications and effective invention patent applications of more than 4600 listed companies in A-share found that the average number of patent applications of listed enterprises in the automobile sector was about 776, while the average number of patent applications of A-share listed enterprises was about 377, and the average number of patent applications of listed enterprises in the automobile sector was nearly 1 times that of A-share listed enterprises; while the average number of effective invention patents of listed enterprises in the automobile sector was about 107, and the average number of patent applications of A-share listed enterprises was about 74. It can be seen that both the patent ability and patent quality of listed companies in the automotive sector are far ahead of all A-share listed companies. (Figure 2)
Figure 2: Analysis of the overall patent capability of listed companies and A-share listed companies in the automotive sector (Data source: Wisdom Bud)
Second, the comprehensive strength of patent reserves of listed enterprises in the passenger car sector is outstanding
According to the Shenwan industry classification method, the automotive industry is divided into five major segments, namely passenger cars, commercial vehicles, auto parts, auto services and other transportation equipment. Among them, passenger cars, commercial vehicles and auto parts are the three most important sectors in the layout of the automotive industry. Therefore, this study will focus on the analysis of these three sectors.
In terms of patent applications, effective inventions, software copyrights and trademarks, passenger car companies are far ahead of commercial vehicle and auto parts companies. From the data level, the 12 listed companies in the passenger car sector hold a total of about 92,000 patent applications, about 12,000 effective invention patents, about 1,150 software copyrights, and about 15,000 trademarks. The 11 listed companies in the commercial vehicle sector hold a total of about 20,000 patent applications, about 2,300 valid invention patents, about 300 software copyrights, and about 3,900 trademarks. The 171 listed enterprises in the auto parts sector hold a total of about 45,000 patent applications, about 5,200 valid invention patents, about 1,200 software copyrights, and 7,600 trademarks. From the perspective of ratio, the number of intellectual property rights of listed enterprises in the passenger car sector accounted for 58.38%, 66.72%, 42.98% and 57.05% of the total, respectively. (Figure 3)
Figure 3: Comparison of the total amount of intellectual property rights of listed companies in China's auto segment (Data source: Wisdom Bud)
The average can better represent the overall "average" of the data, and assist in judging the patent capabilities of listed enterprises in various sectors. According to wisdom bud statistics, the number of patent applications, effective invention patents, software copyrights and trademarks held by passenger car listed companies in a single enterprise far exceeds that of commercial vehicle and parts companies. (Figure 4)
Analysis of the dimension of patent applications found that the average single enterprise holding the largest number of patent applications held by listed passenger car companies, reaching about 7670 pieces/single enterprise; commercial vehicle listed companies ranked second, reaching about 1850 pieces/single enterprise; and the third was about 260 pieces/single enterprise of auto parts companies.
The analysis of the dimension of effective invention patents shows that the average single enterprise of passenger car listed companies holds the most valid invention patents, reaching about 1270 pieces/single enterprise; commercial vehicle and auto parts companies rank second and third respectively, holding about 210 and 30 valid invention patents respectively.
The analysis of the software copyright dimension found that the average single enterprise of passenger car listed companies holds the most software copyrights, reaching about 100 pieces; commercial vehicle listed companies rank second, holding about 30 pieces of software copyrights / single enterprise; the third is an auto parts company, holding about 10 pieces of software copyrights / single enterprise.
The analysis of the trademark dimension found that the average number of trademarks held by a single enterprise of a passenger car listed company was the largest, reaching about 1270; the listed commercial vehicle company ranked second, holding about 360 pieces /single enterprise; the third was an auto parts company, holding about 45 trademarks per single enterprise.
Figure 4: Comparison of IP averages of listed companies in China's auto segment (Source: Wisdom Bud)
Third, "Science and Technology Innovation Star": 20 enterprises have performed well
In 2021, Wisdom Bud launched the "Wisdom Bud Enterprise Science and Technology Innovation Evaluation Model" comprehensive assessment, based on the basic competitiveness of enterprises, research and development scale and stability, technical influence, technical quality and technical layout of the five dimensions of the formation factor, with the model to give enterprises a science and technology rating score. The model is based on the results of a variety of model selection comparison and discussion, the financial scorecard mechanism is selected as the evaluation model of the enterprise's science and technology innovation ability, and the enterprise science and technology innovation score is weighted by the scores of each index included in the calculation.
Through the evaluation of the "Smart Bud Enterprise Science and Technology Innovation Evaluation Model", it can be seen that 20 of the 219 listed companies in China's automotive industry have performed well. They are BYD, Jianghuai Automobile, Weichai Power, Foton Motor, SAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor, GUANGZHOU AUTOMOBILE Group, Changan Automobile, Wanxiang Qianchao, Xingyu Shares, Weifu Hi-Tech, Yutong Bus, Juyi Technology, China Automobile Research Institute, Fuyao Glass, Tongda Electric, Yapu Shares, Baolong Technology, Dongfeng Motor, and Zheng Coal Machinery. (Figure 5)
Among the 20 "Sci-Tech Star", passenger car companies accounted for 6 seats, commercial vehicle companies accounted for 3 seats, auto parts companies accounted for 10 seats, and auto service companies accounted for 1 seat.
Figure 5: Top 20 Listed Enterprises in the Automotive Industry (in no particular order)
Fourth, BYD, Foton Automobile and Weichai Power have performed the most prominently in the passenger car, commercial vehicle and auto parts sectors
According to wisdom bud statistics, AMONG THE LISTED PASSENGER CAR COMPANIES, BYD holds about 25,000 patent applications, accounting for 28% of the total number of patent applications in the top 10 listed passenger car companies. In addition, BYD holds more than 6,600 valid patents, accounting for 43% of the total number of effective patents in the top 10 listed passenger car companies. (Figure 6)
It is worth noting that in the field of passenger cars, whether it is the number of patents applied for or the number of effective patents, BYD exceeds the sum of the second and third in the industry, fully reflecting BYD's scientific and technological innovation capabilities and technology research and development strength as a leader in new energy vehicles.
Figure 6: Proportion of top 10 patent capacity in the passenger car sector (Data source: Wisdom Bud)
Among the listed companies in the commercial vehicle sector, Foton Motor holds more than 7,800 patent applications, accounting for 39% of the total number of patent applications of the top 10 listed commercial vehicle companies. Among them, Foton Motor holds more than 1,200 valid patents, accounting for 52% of the total number of the top 10 effective patents of commercial vehicle listed enterprises. (Figure 7)
It can be found that in the commercial vehicle sector, foton Motor and Yutong Bus account for nearly 60% of the top 10 patent applications. In addition, Foton Motor holds more valid invention patents than the sum of the 2nd to 9th. It fully reflects foton's deep technical reserve strength in the field of commercial vehicles, and reflects the deep accumulation of Foton Motor's ability to continue to maintain the first sales volume in the field of commercial vehicles in China and the world's commercial vehicles.
Figure 7: Proportion of top 10 patent capacity in the commercial vehicle sector (Data source: Wisdom Bud)
Among the listed enterprises in the auto parts sector, Weichai Power holds about 8,500 patent applications, accounting for 58% of the total number of patent applications of the top 10 listed auto parts companies. Among them, Weichai Power holds more than 1,700 valid patents, accounting for 71% of the total number of the top 10 effective patents of auto parts listed enterprises. (Figure 8)
It is obvious that whether it is the number of patent applications or the number of valid invention patents held, Weichai Power exceeds the sum of the 2nd-9th place in the industry. Weichai Power's profound technology accumulation has also enabled Weichai Power to have a market share of more than 60% and 80% in the field of diesel engines and heavy trucks. And in the face of the era of change of new and old energy, Weichai Power still takes the initiative to change, comprehensively laying out fuel cells, pure electric, hybrid and other technical routes, going hand in hand.
Figure 8: Proportion of top 10 patent capacity in the auto parts sector (Data source: Wisdom Bud)
Remarks:
1. The deadline for data collation of listed companies in the article is December 2021.
2. For the report analysis of the 219 enterprises, the patent information analysis and the ranking of science and technology innovation power are based on the entities of listed enterprises, and do not involve related enterprises.
3. The industry classification standard is used in the article to classify the Shenwan automotive industry. The tertiary classification includes passenger cars, commercial trucks, commercial buses, auto parts, automotive services, and other transportation equipment.
4. The average single enterprise data appearing in the report refers to the data obtained by dividing the total number of patents corresponding to the total number of enterprises.
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