Midea's auto parts have been used in Xiaopeng and Weilai, and this year's goal is to break into half of the world's mainstream new energy vehicle supply chain

Reporter | Xu Shiqi

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Recently, Interface News learned from Midea Group that Midea Group's auto parts business company, Midea Welling Auto Parts Company (hereinafter referred to as "Midea Welling"), aims to break into the supply chain of half of the world's mainstream new energy vehicle customers this year.

From the perspective of organizational structure, Midea Group currently has five major divisions, and Midea Welling is a product company under the Industrial Technology Division, responsible for automotive components. The Industrial Technology Division is regarded as an important team of Midea Group to march to tob, and is divided into four major segments: consumer appliances, intelligent transportation, industrial automation, and green energy, and is divided into eight product companies.

Drafting: Interface News

Founded in 2018, Midea Welling currently has three product lines: thermal management, electric drive and intelligent driving.

Chen Jintao, general manager of Midea Welling, said that the company put forward the "333 strategy" internally - focusing on core components in the past 3 years, focusing on integrated components in the next 3 years, and striving to become a system-level solution supplier for new energy vehicles in the next 3 years.

On May 18, 2021, Midea Welling officially announced the mass production of its products. Chen Jintao said, "Since May 18 last year, the three major product lines have been tested on the bus for more than half a year to verify the reliability of the product. In 2022 we have reached a relatively mature stage. Customers in the automotive industry are all project-based, and as customers (new models) begin to mass-produce, Midea's auto parts have also begun to be listed in large quantities. ”

In fact, 2021 Midea Welling products have already been used. Youmei insiders revealed to Interface News that its automotive heat pump products have been used in the whole line of Xiaopeng Motors, Weilai ES6 and ES8, of which Xiaopeng Motors is one of the company's first customers in 2021.

It is understood that 5 products of Midea's existing three major product lines have basically been tested on the car, and the production capacity of each product is about hundreds of thousands of units. "This year, there will be new lines in the three product lines of thermal management, electric drive and intelligent driving. After the new line is invested, the production capacity will be doubled again. Chen Jintao said.

By product, Midea Welling's thermal management products are the largest track in the three product lines, especially the compressor "leading the way". Automotive compressors and home appliance compressors are the same, but also a product with high demand for new energy vehicles. For example, new energy vehicles often encounter discounts on battery life in winter, and the thermal management system is to solve this problem.

At present, the thermal management industry of traditional automobiles is occupied by foreign-funded enterprises, and Denso, MAHLE, Valeo, and Hanon account for a total market share of 55%, and the giant pattern has become a big pattern. However, the thermal management of new energy vehicles is different from the thermal management of traditional vehicles, the technical threshold is higher, and the value of bicycles is also multiplied.

Chen Jintao said that it is precisely because of the fundamental changes in the thermal management technology of new energy vehicles that Midea has the opportunity to participate in it and reverse the competitive landscape of the industry. In his view, the thermal management market of new energy vehicles has just started, and there is a broad market space.

Another product line is electric drive systems. Chen Jintao previously revealed in an interview with Interface News and other media that electric drive products are expected to reach more than 5 million units of sales in 2022.

In terms of intelligent driving business, Midea Welling is currently doing the execution and control parts of intelligent driving, including steering, braking, suspension, etc., mainly in the field of Midea's previous technology accumulation, and will expand in other directions in the future.

In terms of customers, Midea Welling's play style is from top to bottom, starting from high-end customers. "Now the mass-produced models are basically 200,000 to 300,000 to 700,000 or 800,000 cars, going down from the high-end, which is an overall way of playing." Chen Jintao said.

In terms of revenue, Midea Welling Auto Parts aims to achieve a revenue scale of 10 billion yuan in the next 5 years. The company also said that in the next 10 years, Midea's auto parts will invest 1 billion US dollars in research and development of leading technologies.