Nation becoming major hub of parts suppliers

China is emerging as a major hub of electric vehicle parts suppliers, said a senior executive at the country's major trade think tank, China EV 100.

"The automotive supply chain is taking on a new pattern, with China, the United States and Europe as major pillars," said Zhang Yongwei, vice-president and secretary-general of the think tank.

He made the remarks at a forum held by China EV 100 last week in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Zhang estimates that China will account for roughly 33 percent of global EV sales by 2030, while Europe will make up 27 percent, followed by the US at 20 percent.

"As you can see, they are growing as the top three markets for NEVs, and with that comes the localization of the supply chain," said Zhang.

Besides trade, Chinese companies should play a larger role in parts supplies for the global market and thus help deepen relations between China and the rest of the world, he said.

Zhang said China is very likely to become a new center of global parts supplies for EVs, adding that already some 70 percent of power batteries for the global market are produced in China.

In addition to giants like CATL and BYD, smaller ones are coming to the fore.

Greater Bay Technology, a three-year-old battery producer backed by GAC Group, unveiled the world's first plant dedicated to power batteries capable of extreme fast charging, or XFC, last week.

The US Department of Energy proposed the idea in 2018 of extreme fast charging, referring to technology that enables batteries to get charged from 0 to 80 percent within 10 minutes to extend the vehicles' mileage by 320 kilometers.

Pei Feng, president of the Guangzhou-based company, said its products reached the 7.5-minute level in 2022, three years ahead of the US Department of Energy's goal.

Some of its batteries, which were produced in other plants, have featured in models from carmakers including Aion, which is GAC's electric marque, and Chinese EV startup Hycan.

The new plant, with an annual production capacity of 4 gigawatt-hours that can be doubled if necessary, marks a new milestone in Greater Bay Technology's development.

Carmakers at the forum also talked about the challenges they face in the era of e-mobility in terms of supply chain management.

Zhang Xiong, vice-president of Aion, said the sophistication of EVs has made it more difficult compared with gasoline vehicles.

"One example is the displays. They involve tens of suppliers and the figure will grow. So how to manage the supply chain has become a new challenge for many carmakers," said Zhang.

Nio's strategy is to create a solid bond with suppliers through co-development and long-term collaboration.

"Simply put, there are three words: trust, integration and growth. We trust each other, we team up in development and in this way both of us can become more competitive," said Pan Yu, an executive at Nio.