ZF reaffirms commitment to Chinese market

ZF Group will continue its innovation and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, especially China, said a senior executive of the leading German auto parts supplier on Monday.

"ZF is committed to China, as we have been here for more than four decades achieving win-win with our partners and the local community…One thing is clear: decoupling cannot be the approach," said Stephan von Schuckmann, a member of the board of management of ZF.

He said ZF has nearly 50 production locations, four R&D centers and nearly 240 after-sales service outlets in more than 20 cities in China.

It has over 20,000 employees in the country and its sales in China accounted for nearly 20 percent of its global total.

In the first half of the year, the company's sales in the Asia-Pacific market, mainly in China, reached 5.276 billion euros ($5.693 billion), an increase of 16 percent year-on-year.

He said ZF is driving the "Next Generation Mobility" with localization strategy, having launched new projects in Shenyang, Liaoning province; Weihai, Shandong province; Shanghai; Wuhan in Hubei province and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

The projects are examples of its long-term commitment to this strategic regional market, said von Schuckmann.

Since its entry into the Chinese market in 1981, ZF went through the stages of "Sold in China", "Made in China" and "Developed in China" and is now on its way to "Led by China", he said.

As China's new energy vehicle industry surges and the revolution about software-defined vehicle is in full swing, ZF will leverage its unique competitive advantage in this process to empower the development of China's automotive industry.

"For ZF, China has become the home room to global technologies and functionalities, and a global innovation hub," said von Schuckmann.

As Chinese carmakers are exploring the global market, ZF said it would like to help facilitate their efforts.

Southeast Asia has become a major hub for Chinese OEMs to implement their "going overseas" strategy, while ZF maintains a good presence there, said von Schuckmann.

He said ZF is expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia, with the recent opening of Malaysia Hub, which has multiple functions such as purchasing, IT, sales, engineering R&D and human resources.

"ZF's global production, engineering, and aftersales network, as well as its understanding of local laws and regulations will support Chinese OEMs when they go overseas," said von Schuckmann.