KraussMaffei bullish on China's automotive industry

The Chinese automobile industry's rapid growth has brought tremendous market opportunities to global players in the plastic industry such as KraussMaffei, a top executive of the company said.

As a major manufacturer of plastics and rubber machinery, KraussMaffei has been focusing on the automotive industry in China, said KraussMaffei China CFO Jeff Guan.

"In recent years, China's automobile industry, especially new energy vehicles, has shown significant growth potential with vast market prospects, driven by the positive influence of government policies and technological advancements," Guan said on the sidelines of the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) last week.

"With the continuous recovery of China's economic and consumption growth, the business of KraussMaffei, one of Sinochem Holdings' overseas subsidiaries, is expected to further reap significant growth in the Chinese market," he said.

Latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that China's automobile manufacturing industry registered steady expansion in the first eight months, with industrial added-value surging 11.7 percent year-on-year and combined operating revenue coming in at 6.17 trillion yuan ($846.4 billion), up 10.9 percent.

"The robust growth of the domestic automobile industry offers us significant opportunities to support the local auto industry to transform and upgrade with advanced materials," said Guan.

The automotive industry is one of the key customer industries for the Munich-based company, he said.

Xu Changming, deputy director of the State Information Center, said the automotive industry will focus on reducing weight as well fuel consumption going forward.

As traditional vehicles will continue to hold an absolute major share in China's automotive market until 2030, low carbonization is the inevitable trend for future vehicles. Reducing weight and technological upgrade of the traditional engine are among the major ways of meeting the stricter limits on fuel consumption, he said.

At this year's CIIE, KraussMaffei displayed a range of solutions in the field of new energy vehicle manufacturing, focusing on weight reduction and energy efficiency.

It signed a cooperation agreement with Koller (Nanjing) New Material Technology Co Ltd, a battery housing supplier for China's top new energy vehicle manufacturers, to further expand its presence in the country.

Guan said China is currently one of the most promising markets for KraussMaffei, which has been cooperating with numerous domestic auto parts manufacturers in recent years, providing equipment and facilities to many production bases in the country.

The company is committed to further increasing the local application of global technologies in China, he said.