2024-05-31
Recently, BWI Group won the next-generation pure electric large SUV high-end electronic suspension project from Dongfeng Mengshi Technology, including air supply units, air tanks, air springs, etc. The order amount is several hundred million yuan. According to the plan, BWI Group will carry out 100% localized mass production of the project in 2025.
The cooperation between the two parties began in 2021. Previously, BWI Group supplied air suspension systems for Dongfeng Mengshi M917. In August 2023, Dongfeng Mengshi M917 was put into mass production and launched on the market.
Dongfeng Mengshi's electronically controlled suspension project is only part of BWI Group's many projects. Zheng Jieliang, director and CEO of BWI Group, once said that BWI Group's global new orders in 2023 will amount to 19.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of nearly 300%, most of which came from wire control and electronic control projects.
BWI Group originated from Dayton Engineering Laboratory, which was established in 1909. Later, Dayton Engineering Laboratory was acquired by Delphi, a global parts supplier. In 2009, Jingxi Group acquired the former Delphi Chassis Systems Company. In 2022, BWI Zhixing Zhangjiakou Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., jointly established by Zhangjiakou Industrial Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Zhangjiakou Financial Holding Group Co., Ltd.), Ningbo Younuo Yunshi Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) and Shenzhen Kunpeng Bopu Technology Co., Ltd., acquired 55.45% of the shares of Beijing BWI Heavy Industry Co., Ltd.
It was also at this time that Charlie Zhou, a partner of Nuoyan Capital, participated in the investment in BWI Group. When talking about the reason for investing in BWI Group, Mr. Zhou said that on the one hand, he had contacted BWI Group in 2009 and had a deep understanding of it, and on the other hand, he was optimistic about the automotive parts industry in which BWI Group was located and its business development.
Mr. Zhou has been observing the automotive industry for more than ten years, and he found that both OEMs and parts companies are developing towards Tier 0.5.
Tier 0.5 is a new phenomenon brought about by the era of automotive hardware and software integration. OEMs hope to strengthen their R&D, manufacturing and control capabilities for parts, and parts companies also use their influence and technological advantages to influence OEMs' choices of other parts solutions.
In Mr. Zhou's view, in the next 3-5 years, after the parts departments of domestic OEMs become independent, the two sides will still maintain a deep cooperative relationship, and a Chinese version of Toyota, Denso, Hyundai and Mobis will emerge.
When Denso was first founded, it was Toyota's electrical parts department. After becoming independent in 1949, it continued to cooperate with Toyota in various businesses, and Toyota has long been Denso's largest customer.
With the trend of automotive hardware and software integration, Mr. Zhou pays more attention to companies with integrated hardware and software capabilities and strong software and hardware capabilities when investing. Especially when investing in automotive parts companies, Nuoyan Capital has higher requirements for the company's software capabilities than most other industries, and even higher requirements for hardware than companies in the military and aerospace industries.
He explained that higher requirements are placed on component hardware because it is necessary to achieve high safety while maintaining cost advantages.
The parts of BWI Group are able to maintain normal operation at temperatures between -40 and 120 degrees Celsius, which basically covers the requirements of the military and aerospace industries for parts. At the same time, BWI Group can also achieve an annual output of one million parts, proving that its products have high safety, consistency and durability.
Mr. Zhou predicts that the intelligentization of automobiles is an inevitable trend in the next 5-10 years, or even longer. Currently, BWI Group is also developing products such as magnetorheological suspension systems and intelligent integrated wire-controlled brake systems, which can further accelerate the development of intelligent automobiles.
BWI Group has predicted that it will achieve global revenue of US$1.1 billion in 2024 and US$2.1 billion in 2028, of which China will account for 42%. With the surging wave of automotive intelligence, Jingxi Group will face more opportunities and challenges.
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