Abstract: China is one of the world's largest EV markets, and EV manufacturers are increasingly relying on lightweight technologies to improve battery range and reduce battery costs. The Chinese government has introduced a series of policies to encourage the sales and development of new energy vehicles, which is driving the demand for lightweight technology for electric vehicles. The growth of the electric vehicle market will provide more opportunities for lightweight technology, as electric vehicles require lighter structures to improve range. The continuous progress of material science and technology and the reduction of costs will also promote the widespread application of lightweight technology. According to the data, the market size of China's automotive lightweight industry in 2022 will be about 361.868 billion yuan.
1. Definitions and Classification
The concept of automobile lightweight originated from motorsports, under the premise of ensuring that the overall quality and performance of the car is not affected, modern design methods and effective means are used to optimize the design of automobile products or use new materials to minimize the quality of each part, and strive to seek high output power, low noise, low vibration and good handling, high reliability, etc., reduce fuel consumption and reduce emission pollution.
With the continuous upgrading of national environmental protection standards, automobile energy saving, emission reduction and lightweight design have become an inevitable trend in the development of the automotive industry, and enterprises using lightweight materials and high-tech production processes will gain a competitive advantage. In recent years, the world's major automobile producing countries have actively promoted the research and development and promotion of energy-saving vehicles, and accelerated the rapid development of automobile energy-saving and emission reduction, new energy technology and lightweight technology. At present, the main focus is on the lightweight of materials and processes: in terms of parts and components, the use of lightweight materials such as aluminum alloy to reduce the body mass, vehicle fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, improve vehicle power and acceleration, and enhance the stability and safety of vehicle control; The significant advantages of high surface hardness and high bending fatigue strength and contact fatigue strength can reduce the volume and weight of gears under the premise of meeting performance requirements, which is more in line with the development trend of energy saving, emission reduction and lightweight of automobiles.
Second, the business model
1. Independent R&D and production mode
This model is mainly suitable for enterprises with strong technical strength and financial strength. Through independent research and development, these enterprises have mastered core technologies and intellectual property rights to launch market-competitive lightweight automotive products. The independent R&D and production mode can ensure the quality and performance of products, and at the same time, it can also reduce production costs through scale effects.
2. Cooperative development and production mode
For some enterprises with relatively weak technical strength, the cooperative development and production model is more suitable. These companies can cooperate with companies or institutions with advanced technology to jointly develop and produce lightweight automotive products. Through cooperation, enterprises can quickly improve their own technical level and reduce R&D costs and risks.
3. Procurement and OEM mode
Some small enterprises that do not have the ability to independently develop and produce lightweight vehicles will choose to purchase parts or complete vehicles from other companies, and then enter the market through OEM sales. This method can reduce the production and operating costs of enterprises, but it faces challenges in brand competition and supply chain management.
3. Industry policy
Policies support the development of the lightweight industry and accelerate the application of lightweight technology for vehicles and parts. In January 2022, the Central People's Government issued the "Opinions of the State Council on Supporting Guizhou to Blaze a New Path in the Development of the Western Region in the New Era", which clearly pointed out that it is necessary to accelerate the construction of R&D and production bases for new energy power batteries and materials, and orderly develop new energy vehicle supporting industries such as lightweight materials, motor and electronic control, and charging and swapping equipment. In June 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Pilot Implementation Plan for the Extension of Producer Responsibility for Automotive Products", which aims to strengthen the research and development of green products, increase the proportion of low fuel consumption, low emission and new energy vehicle production, and accelerate the research and application of lightweight technology for vehicles and parts.
Fourth, industry risks
1. Market competition risk
The main market for automobile lightweight is the field of new energy auto parts. In recent years, the new energy vehicle market has grown rapidly, but the proportion of all automobile production and sales is still low, and the market promotion still faces many uncertain factors, such as the new energy vehicle subsidy is decreasing year by year, the coverage rate of charging piles is insufficient, the mileage can not fully meet the needs of consumers, and there are still differences in technical routes. In the future, if the development of the new energy vehicle market is repeated, there will be obstacles to the growth of production and sales, which is not conducive to the product sales of automobile lightweight enterprises and will have an impact on the business performance of enterprises.
2. Raw material pressure risk
The main raw materials of automobile lightweight account for a high proportion of production costs, and if the alloy price fluctuates greatly in the future, it will have a certain impact on the operation of automobile lightweight enterprises. If the price of raw materials rises sharply in the future, and the adjustment of the price of automobile lightweight products is not timely, it will have an adverse impact on the production cost and profit of automobile lightweight products.
3. Technical risks
In order to meet the increasingly high professional requirements of the industry, China's automotive lightweight enterprises adhere to the adjustment of product structure, strengthen the development of new products, and increase investment in scientific research, so as to continuously improve the company's technological research and development capabilities. Despite this, enterprises are still facing the risk of failing to meet customer needs in a timely manner due to the slow update of technology and product varieties, resulting in a decline in market share and product profit margin. If competitors take the lead in launching updated products, it will pose new challenges to the competitiveness of enterprise products.
4. Policy and institutional risks
The automobile industry is an important pillar industry of the national economy, and has become one of the important forces driving the development of the national economy in the mainland due to its huge pulling effect on the upstream and downstream industries. However, with the rapid growth of car ownership in mainland China, the problems of urban traffic congestion and air pollution have become increasingly prominent. In order to curb the excessive growth of private cars, some cities have introduced various restrictive measures and vigorously promoted public transport. In recent years, affected by the international and domestic economic situation, the growth rate of automobile production in mainland China has fluctuated greatly. The automotive industry is greatly affected by the macroeconomy, and if the global economy and the domestic macroeconomic situation deteriorate in the future, the automobile industry will undergo major adverse changes, which will adversely affect the production, operation and profitability of automobile lightweight enterprises.
Fifth, the industrial chain
The upstream of China's automobile lightweight is the main raw material, including high-strength steel, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, carbon fiber composite materials and modified plastics, the midstream is automotive lightweight parts, and the downstream is used in the whole vehicle. Among the upstream raw materials, the three-dimensional bending of aluminum profiles, the welding of steel and aluminum, and the forming of carbon fiber parts are the new processes that are currently being faced. The adoption of the new process can significantly reduce the number of parts used and achieve the goal of lightweighting. In the downstream vehicle manufacturing and automobile modification and maintenance industries, the demand is gradually rising under the steady development of automobile production and low-carbon environmental protection at this stage.
Note: This article is transferred from the Zhiyan Industry Encyclopedia platform, if you need to get more industry information and customized services, you can enter the official website of Zhiyan Consulting to search and view.
Zhiyan Industry Encyclopedia is a production and research tool platform launched by Zhiyan Consulting, which is committed to providing you with a full range of encyclopedic industry information query services. Zhiyan Consulting practices the corporate mission of driving industrial development with information, improves and enriches enterprise methodology, relies on the industry encyclopedia platform to enhance the value of information, and continues to empower industry development and enterprise investment decision-making. As a one-stop systematic research tool for the automotive lightweight industry, the automotive lightweight industry encyclopedia comprehensively summarizes the knowledge and information of the automotive lightweight industry, covering the definition, classification, policy, industrial chain, competition pattern, development trend, etc. of the automotive lightweight industry, and relies on information technology to establish an industry knowledge graph of intelligent interchain, providing in-depth insight and comprehensive information for industry research practitioners and relevant investors.
Zhiyan Consulting takes "using information to drive industrial development and empower enterprise investment decision-making" as its brand concept. Provide professional industrial consulting services for enterprises, including high-quality industry research reports, special customization, monthly topics, feasibility study reports, business plans, industrial planning, etc. It also provides weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual reports and customized data such as regular reports, covering policy monitoring, corporate dynamics, industry data, product price changes, investment and financing overview, market opportunities and risk analysis, etc.