Automotive supplier Webasto continues its expansion in the Chinese motor vehicle market. On November 8, 2013, one of the largest Webasto production plants to date was inaugurated at its Chongqing location. With an area encompassing close to 16,000 square meters (approximately 172,200 square feet), the newly constructed site represents a total investment of 6.4 million Euros (more than $8.7 million). With this step, the automotive supplier is sending a clear signal to its customers who are also continuing their expansion in the People’s Republic. In China, as elsewhere, Webasto provides outstanding customer proximity: 95 percent of customer plants can be accessed within the logistics radius of approximately 500 km. Medium-term planning calls for Chongqing, the gateway to robustly growing western China, to be the site of annual production of up to 700,000 roofs by 2016.
In 2012, Webasto realized a sales volume of 500 million Euros in China with about 2,000 staff. The company remains on a growth course in China. “With our new plant in Chongqing, we are consolidating our position as the global market leader for panorama and sunroofs,” said Dr. Holger Engelmann, Chairman of the Management Board of Webasto SE, at the official opening. Engelmann expressed his thanks to the representatives of the city of Chongqing, saying, “It was very helpful to have the strong support of the Chinese authorities once again.”
Development, sales and production in China
Webasto’s success story in China began in Shanghai in 2001 with the production launch of the initial series contract for a sunroof. By 2014, two additional plants in Wuhan and Shenyang will be opened, totaling ten sunroof plants in China. Webasto produces a wide variety of sunroofs and panorama roofs for customers in Asia, Europe and the US.
Opened in 2004, the local headquarters in Shanghai also features a development center where proprietary roof systems are created within the global Webasto research and development network. The sunroofs and panorama roofs are more and more frequently being integrated in global automobile models which are localized in cooperation with the international colleagues. In addition, the development center is equipped with facilities for constructing, testing and prototyping.
Effective management of globalism
“Customer projects are becoming increasingly global in nature and scale. For example, a contract for a global project can be awarded in Germany, development occurs in China and production then takes place in China and the US,” Engelmann elaborates. “Only those who can display this global scope along the entire value chain – as a partner in development, project management and production – will have a sustainable, long-term place in the market.”
Webasto’s customers in China include all renowned European, Japanese, South Korean and US automobile manufacturers as well as their joint venture partners such as China First Automotive (FAW), Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), Dongfeng Motor Corp. (DMC) and Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. (BAIC). The customer list also extends to such leading private manufacturers as Great Wall Motors and Chery. Nearly every third vehicle produced in China is delivered with a panorama roof or a sunroof. For international manufacturers the rate climbs to every second vehicle. “We anticipate that this proportion will continue to increase in the coming years,” says Dr. Engelmann.
