Beijing E-Town welcomes new energy technology joint venture

Beijing IAT Yazaki New Energy Technology, jointly funded by IAT Automobile Technology and Yazaki (China) Investment, was officially established on Tuesday in Beijing E-Town, an economic and technological development area in the southeast of the capital city.

The two companies will collaborate in depth on high-voltage systems, the "heart" of new energy vehicles, which will consolidate Beijing E-Town's foundation of the new energy vehicle industry and enhance the resilience of its industrial chain.

With the establishment of the new joint venture, Beijing E-Town has attracted 160 projects invested by 105 Fortune Global 500 companies.

"We are optimistic about the development prospects of the new energy vehicle industry," said Xuan Qiwu, president of IAT Automobile Technology, a Beijing-based listed independent automobile design company. "We will make use of the advantages of both companies in technology research and development, production and manufacturing to jointly overcome core technical difficulties and promote the market application and popularization of related products."

Xuan said that as the first independent automobile design company listed on China's A-share market, IAT has strong capabilities in designing and developing new energy vehicles, as well as system solutions.

"Yazaki, on the other hand, is a world-leading auto parts manufacturer and has been listed on the Fortune Global 500 list for consecutive years," he added. "The cooperation will be beneficial for both sides and raise the competitiveness of the regional industry."

According to the official data, Yazaki's wiring harness products account for 30 percent of the global market share. It possesses design and development technologies for automobile wiring harnesses, high-voltage connectors, manufacturing capabilities and an international sales network.

According to the plan, the joint venture's product research and development in the next two years will cover charging and power battery, drive and distribution systems. It is expected to complete core technology breakthroughs, develop serialization product prototypes, and eventually achieve mass production under joint efforts.

"In the future, we will keep up with market trends, explore the core technologies of high-voltage systems, and develop products with advantages such as intelligence, integration, and lightweight," said Yao Lin, vice-general manager of the joint venture. "The main layout products in the early stage will be high-voltage charging, power distribution and power supply systems."

The high-end and new energy automobile industry is one of the four leading industries in Beijing E-Town, also called Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area.

The output value of the automobile industry in the area exceeded 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, and it is expected to set a new record for the whole year, according to government data.

To support the development of the automobile industry, Beijing E-Town has planned an industrial space of 2.7 million square meters to better meet the development needs of enterprises of different types and stages in the area.