China’s auto parts export recession-proof, rises 34.9%.

What slowdown? Parts power ahead. By Bertel Schmitt, CEO Sinamotive Group (HK) Limited.

Despite the global slowdown, the Chinese auto parts industry powers ahead. In the first seven months of 2008, the value of China's auto-parts exports grew by 34.9% year on year (y/y) to $8.88 billion, China’s customs bureau said. From January to July 2008, China exported $ 8.73 billion worth of auto-parts.

Foreign invested companies and joint ventures exported $4.56 billion auto-parts, up 31.6% y/y, accounting for 51.4% of the total.

The three major destination markets of China-made auto parts are the U.S., EU and Japan. Parts for $2.69 billion (+8.8%) were sold to the U.S.A., parts for $1.6 billion (+39.2%) were sold to the EU, and parts for $1 billion (+36.8%) were shipped to Japan. These three markets contributed 59.6% to the total value of China's Jan-Jul auto-parts export.

This validates my company's previous analyses:

1.) The parts market, especially when targeted at after sales, is recession-proof.

2.) After diminishing growth in the U.S.A., more and more Chinese parts go to Europe.

3.) The main drivers of this growth are foreign companies, who use China as a low cost production base and sell the product under their own brand name at high margins. Bosch China for instance reported that their sales are expected to reach 2.3 billion Euros, which would be a 30% increase over last year. Jay K.Kunkel, President Asia Continental AG, said that the only risk is "not investing in China."

4.) With lower raw material prices and lower shipping costs, we expect further increases, especially in the after sales segment. The OEM segment should also grow, because the world’s auto makers try to off-set their lower sales by purchasing lower cost parts in China.
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About the author: After having worked as a Marketing Consultant for Volkswagen AG for three decades, Bertel Schmitt changed sides in 2005 to found Hongkong, Beijing, and Hamburg based Sinamotive, a company specialized in sourcing low cost high quality auto parts in China. The company sells to major wholesalers in Europe.