Comau puts faith in China's automotive growth momentum

Comau, an Italian company specializing in automation, is confident about its growth potential in China, one of its most significant markets, said a senior executive.

A subsidiary of carmaker Stellantis, the Turin-headquartered company has a presence in various industries, with the auto sector representing one of its largest sources of revenue.

"The Asia-Pacific region generates roughly a quarter of Comau's business. We would like to scale it up to one-third in the coming years," said Jeff Yuan, head of the company's APAC Countries Cluster.

He explained that China accounts for the absolute majority of Comau's business in the APAC region.

Yuan made the remarks in an exclusive interview with China Daily at the Shanghai International Automotive Manufacturing Technology and Material Show held in early July.

At the event, the company showcased a number of products ranging from high-speed conveyors for battery assembly to hairpin assembly technology for e-motors.

The fast-growing electric vehicle market is one of Comau's growth pillars in the country.

Of its business in the automotive industry, Yuan said 60 percent is new energy vehicle-related.

"I would like to say the proportion is expected to rise further in the coming years," said Yuan.

He said Chinese brands account for half of its auto business, especially in the NEV sector, adding that two of China's top three NEV startups are its clients.

The company is optimistic about the prospects of China's NEV market, saying that the number of installed e-drives will rise from 5.78 million units in 2022 to 13.67 million units in 2025.

To better tap into the opportunities, Comau has been tailoring solutions for the Chinese market. Having been in China for 26 years, the company has one innovation center, one digital hub and three manufacturing plants in the country.

Extensive localization has made the company better accustomed to Chinese companies' higher demand for speed as well as new technologies, said Yuan.

The heated competition in the Chinese NEV market has generated opportunities. Startups vie to be faster in production and they need help from experienced companies such as Comau, said the company.

One example is an intelligent welding solution for the framing line at Chinese startup Hycan.

The flexible automated system can randomly switch between four different platforms and thus enable the carmaker to roll out different models based on customer orders at a cycle efficiency of 60 jobs per hour.

"Comau's innovative technologies and professional engineering management throughout the project have fully demonstrated its position as a leader in body solutions and provided an important guarantee of the processing efficiency and quality for our first model production project," said Feng Yiqiang, director of Hycan Intelligent Process.

Yuan said there are also business opportunities emerging from Chinese brands' going-global strategy.

Some leading NEV makers, including SAIC and BYD, have released plans to build plants overseas.

Last year, SAIC's sales in Europe surpassed 100,000 vehicles. With the increase in exports, establishing a factory for localized production has become a priority on the company's agenda, said the carmaker.

"We design and produce what they need in China based on their demands. And Comau's subsidiaries in the destination countries can offer technical support in construction, installation and tests," said Yuan.