Anhui Power Made in China: Launching New Engines to Create New Momentum

A few days ago, the all-new NIO EC6 model was officially launched. Since its headquarters settled in Hefei, China in 2020, NIO has successively launched multiple pure electric vehicle models. "In August of this year, we delivered 19300 new cars, a year-on-year increase of 81%. Since its establishment, the company has produced nearly 400000 mass-produced cars," said Wei Jian, Senior Vice President of NIO.

If Anhui is compared to a fast moving car, then the new energy vehicle industry is its new engine. Automobile is the first industry in Anhui, and the development of new energy vehicles is the focus of a major article on improving the quality and increment of the first industry.

Gathering 7 complete vehicle manufacturing enterprises: In the first half of the year, the automobile production exceeded 1 million units, a year-on-year increase of 43.6%, including 342000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 87.8%; From January to July, the revenue and profit growth of the automobile manufacturing industry was far higher than the national level... A set of data outlines the various parameters of the new engine.

Launch a new engine, Anhui unleashes a new momentum: the added value of manufacturing has reached a new level of trillions, and GDP has historically entered the top ten in the country. At the same time, it has also contributed Anhui's strength to the continuous increase of China's export "new three samples" data.

From September 20th to 24th, the 2023 World Manufacturing Conference arrived as scheduled, and the host city of Anhui once again attracted attention. Here, we touch the Anhui power of Made in China through the new energy vehicle industry, and at the same time, "glimpse a glimpse and know the whole leopard" to experience the new atmosphere of Made in China's development.

New engine start: 11 new energy vehicles, 1 "made in Anhui"

Not long ago, the first model of pure electric brand "Yttrium" was unveiled, which is seen as another masterpiece of Jianghuai Automobile's efforts in new energy vehicles.

Jianghuai Automobile, headquartered in Hefei, is a pioneer in Anhui's automotive industry and also a pioneer in the direction of innovation.

More than 20 years ago, Jianghuai Automobile joined hands with relevant parties to tackle the core technology of new energy vehicles; In 2010, the first pure electric sedan with the Jianghuai logo was launched; One year later, 585 Jianghuai pure electric sedans entered the private car market in bulk, pioneering the large-scale deployment of pure electric sedans in the market.

Today, Jianghuai Automobile not only independently produces new energy vehicles, but also deeply participates in the research and manufacturing of Volkswagen and NIO electric vehicles. "By 2025, we strive to achieve automobile sales of 1.25 million vehicles, with new energy accounting for more than 50%," said Xiang Xingchu, Party Secretary, Chairman, and General Manager of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holding Co., Ltd.

Moving towards "new", Jianghuai Automobile is not alone.

Currently, Anhui has gathered 7 complete vehicle enterprises, including Chery, NIO, Volkswagen, BYD, Jianghuai, Changan, and Hanma Technology. They are using their practical efforts in the new energy vehicle market to launch a new engine for Anhui to compete for the first place.

Wuhu is known as the "automobile city" on the Anhui River. Chery is the main builder of this city.

Despite annual sales exceeding 1.2 million vehicles, Chery has not let up. "We are further expanding into the new energy market." According to Zhang Hongyu, General Manager of Chery New Energy Vehicles Co., Ltd., a few months ago, Chery launched a new pure electric series for the high-end market and the first new energy exclusive brand for young people, "striving to improve the brand's coverage in the new energy vehicle market and the accuracy of services."

On Ma'anshan, not far from Wuhu, new energy trucks carrying "battery packs" are driving off the Han Ma Technology assembly line. The reporter learned that Hanma Technology is a leader in the subdivision of new energy heavy-duty trucks, with a market share ranking third in the country.

"In the first half of this year, Anhui's production of new energy vehicles accounted for 9% of the country's total. This means that out of every 11 new energy vehicles in China, one is' made in Anhui '," said Ma Cuibing, Director of the Automotive Industry Department of the Anhui Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology.

Why is Anhui's new energy vehicle industry strong?

The importance of top grid promotion and top-level design is self-evident. In recent years, the whole province has attached great importance to the development of the new energy vehicle industry. Recently, Anhui has made it the top industry and has drawn up blueprints and construction plans.

The matching of charging and swapping facilities is equally important. "This year, we have fully launched the construction of charging and swapping infrastructure at the city, county, and township levels. By 2024, we will complete 75% of the coverage tasks, and by 2025, we will basically complete full coverage," said the relevant person in charge of Anhui Energy Group.

The comprehensive energy port built by Anhui Energy Group. Anhui Energy Group Supply Map

Innovation, talent, funding and other factors play the role of accelerators. "At the end of June, the balance of loans for the new energy vehicle industry in the entire bank was 6.82 billion yuan, an increase of 3.743 billion yuan or 121.64% compared to the beginning of the year; the number of loan holders increased by 92.86% compared to the beginning of the year." Data provided by the Anhui Branch of ICBC shows.

New Engine Driving: Manufacturing Value Added Exceeding Trillion

Large scale, long chain, and strong driving force are significant characteristics of the automotive industry. The booming development of new energy vehicles has created a large amount of new demand, driving related enterprises and industries to achieve new development. In fact, this kind of "driving" is more like a "win-win" situation.

Power battery companies are undoubtedly the biggest and most direct beneficiaries.

Guoxuan High Tech Cell Production Line. Photo by Zhao Guang

Benefiting from the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, our power lithium battery business revenue in the first half of the year was 10.478 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of nearly 60%. In the power battery industry, Guoxuan High tech in Hefei ranks first in the world in terms of installed capacity. Chery and JAC are prominently listed on its customer list.

According to the semi annual report of Guoxuan High tech, the increase in shipment volume has produced a scale effect, and during the reporting period, the company's net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 223.75% year-on-year.

Not only power batteries, but also one of the top ten emerging industries vigorously developed in Anhui during the 14th Five Year Plan period - high-end equipment manufacturing. The intelligent forging industry, which focuses on the development of complete sets of high-end forming machine tools and equipment, is a representative of this industry.

At BYD's Hefei base, multiple "progressive die mechanical presses" supplied by Heforging Intelligence operate stably. The automotive parts they produce are applied to the body of BYD's new energy vehicles.

"The manufacturing of automobiles and components is one of the largest application scenarios for forming machine tools. The explosion of new energy vehicles has brought new opportunities and challenges to the machine tool industry." Wang Lei, General Manager of Heforging Intelligence, told reporters that the main challenge is that new energy vehicles have higher requirements for safety and economy.

"We are actively responding to this," he said, taking the high-speed indirect hot forming hydraulic press production line independently developed by the company as an example. "With it, high-strength steel parts for vehicles can reduce weight by 30% while increasing strength by twice."

With its unique skills, Heforging Intelligence has conquered almost all mainstream new energy vehicle manufacturers in China.

Heforging Intelligent Supply of BYD Hefei Base's "Progressive Die Mechanical Press". Photo by Wang Haiming

New materials are also one of the top ten emerging industries in Anhui.

"New energy vehicles focus on the aesthetics, environmental friendliness, and functionality of interior materials, which provides us with a starting point for expanding our market," said Liu Songxia, Secretary of the Board of Directors of Amway. At present, the products of this global leader in polyurethane synthetic leather and composite materials are frequently appearing in new energy vehicles.

"Compared with traditional materials such as leather, textiles, and PVC, polyurethane synthetic leather and composite materials are more beautiful, environmentally friendly, and functional, making them more suitable for automotive interiors. Their market acceptance is also increasing day by day." Liu Songxia revealed that Anli Group has cooperated with new energy vehicle companies such as BYD, Jianghuai, Changcheng, Xiaopeng, and Jidu. "In the future, this will be an important growth pole for the company's business."

Driven by new energy vehicles, Anhui's emerging momentum is becoming increasingly strong: the added value of the manufacturing industry has reached a trillion yuan level; In 2022, the added value of high-tech manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, and industrial strategic emerging industries all achieved double-digit growth.

New engine driving: GDP ranking in the top ten, Jianzhi 7 trillion yuan

Driven by the manufacturing industry represented by new energy vehicles, Anhui has achieved leapfrog development. In 2022, GDP will rank among the top ten in the country; In the first half of this year, we still maintained this historic best performance

The driving effect of the new engine is not only reflected at the provincial level.

County economy is the fundamental unit of economic and social development in a province, and plays a crucial role.

Ningguo City, located in the southeast of Anhui Province, is a county-level city known as "Eight Mountains, One Water, Half Field, Half Road, and Half Manor". Once, with its deep cultivation in the field of fuel powered vehicle components, this small town with few resource endowments held an important position in the economic map of Anhui County. Today, new energy vehicles have brought new development dividends to it.

August is a relatively off-season for the automotive market, but Detweiler Sealing Technology Co., Ltd. in Ningguo is still operating at full capacity.

The busy Detweiler production line. Photo by Chen Hao, a journalist from People's Daily Online

"Our rubber seals for braking systems account for 40% of the national market share. It can be said that we have reached the 'ceiling'. Xu Jiayong, General Manager of Detweiler, bluntly stated that the rise of new energy vehicles has provided new markets for enterprises.". "This year, the output value of new energy vehicles' products is 100 million yuan, accounting for 20% of our total output value. It is expected to reach 30% -40% by 2025."

The story of Detweiler is not unique. "At present, 20% of the industrial output value of automobile parts in Ningguo is contributed by new energy vehicle related products," said the person in charge of Ningguo Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.

In Anhui, the development of new energy vehicles is still an important means to support the revitalization of northern Anhui and the development of the Dabie Mountains revolutionary old area.

Huaiyuan is a traditional agricultural county in northern Anhui. Since 2022, a total of 8 automobile parts production enterprises have been negotiated and signed in the county, with a total investment of 3.78 billion yuan. Currently, the enterprise's products are widely used in the fields of motorcycles, new energy vehicles, and so on.

Another area that has played a good role in attracting investment is Lu'an in the hinterland of the Dabie Mountains. In the past two years, Lu'an Jin'an Economic Development Zone has attracted nearly 50 new energy vehicle parts projects, and has now formed a new energy vehicle industry cluster with a total investment scale of 35 billion yuan.

The production line of new energy vehicle parts enterprises located in Jin'an Economic Development Zone, Lu'an. Photo by Jiang Guoting

New engine, still an important carrier for Anhui's opening-up: In 2017, Volkswagen settled in Hefei and established its third joint venture in China; In 2020, Geely Commercial Vehicle Group officially became the controlling shareholder of Han Ma Technology... Such cases are countless.

Start a new engine and unleash a new momentum.

Looking towards the future, Anhui has set the goal of sprinting towards a GDP of 7 trillion yuan by 2027. On the way forward, the new engine needs to release more abundant kinetic energy.

From an industrial perspective, this is also the trend. In July this year, China's 20th millionth new energy vehicle was taken offline. It took 15 years for China to produce the first new energy vehicle to reach the 10th million vehicles; The second 10 million vehicles only took 17 months.

"Accelerate the construction of a new energy vehicle industry cluster with international competitiveness." Anhui has clearly stated that by 2025, the automobile production will reach 4.1 million units, with new energy vehicles accounting for 50%.