The industrial shock wave triggered by the 9th-magnitude earthquake in Japan is gradually spreading. This time it was not only Japanese car companies that were involved.

GM became the first U.S. company to shut down overseas factories due to the earthquake in Japan. On March 19, General Motors spokesman Klaus Martin revealed that because the earthquake in Japan affected the supply of auto parts, GM's plant in Spain will be closed on March 21, and the two production lines in Germany will also be It was discontinued on March 21 and 22 respectively.

This is not the first time that GM has made a temporary closure of its factory due to the earthquake in Japan. On March 17, General Motors temporarily shut down a truck factory in Louisiana because it lacked sufficient parts made in Japan. Its two factories in Fuping and Gunsan, South Korea, will also suspend overtime in the week beginning March 21.

The German automobile manufacturing industry has been affected by the slow pace of restart of the Japanese automotive electronics chip factory. At present, Opel’s factory for the production of small Kaulsha cars has been discontinued due to the lack of electronic components. Volkswagen also said that the spare parts of the factory can still be maintained this week, and the situation in Japan next week will determine the production status.

“This is a closely linked automobile industry world!” On March 21, Dong Yang, secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, was interviewed exclusively by the newspaper. He commented on the impact of the earthquake in Japan on the Chinese automobile industry. Behind the unrelated first-tier suppliers, a complex multi-tier supplier network of stakeholders has made it almost impossible for all car companies to stay out of the Japanese earthquake.

“Globalization is a double-edged sword. It allows us to enjoy high-quality models at low prices while hiding another crisis,” said Dong Yang.

The European and American manufacturers went through investigations on March 11. After the earthquake in Japan on March 11, the first thing people thought was that Japanese automakers would be the first to “injury” in the first shock wave of the earthquake. Some even asserted that this earthquake will be a European and American car company. Further seize the Chinese market to create "the secret." While this public opinion was rampant, European and American car companies represented by the general public began to quietly investigate their own parts supply system.

On March 21, Yang Meihong, vice president of Volkswagen China, disclosed for the first time that Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen, including VW joint ventures in China, were troubleshooting their parts and components supply chain.

“The inspection process starts with the first-tier parts suppliers and then gradually recursively pushes them to the second and third levels and pushes them down one level. The results show that we currently have companies that are directly or indirectly related to Japanese spare parts. Tens of thousands of people were affected by the earthquake.” Yang Meihong said that the average localization rate of FAW-Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen has reached 90%. If these two companies are affected by the earthquake in Japan in the supply of spare parts, then all cars in China The degree of impact on the business should not be less than that of the general public.

On March 21, Jiang Jian, deputy general manager of Delphi Automotive Systems (China) Investment Co., Ltd., told reporters that since last week, Delphi began to communicate with other parts suppliers to understand their degree of impact, and to their own inventory. Conduct assessments and, if necessary, find alternative parts suppliers and maintain communication with the vehicle manufacturer.

“In fact, almost all parts suppliers and OEMs have been evaluating the same from the beginning of last week. We want to evaluate the worst case.” Delphi China's distributors in Japan mainly focus on the automotive electronics industry, including electronics. There are Delphi suppliers in the fields of components, semiconductors, and chips. “Japan’s local labor is also more expensive, so some labor-intensive products may not be dominant, but semiconductors and components are technology-intensive and capital-intensive industries, so it is also an important industrial pillar in Japan.”

In fact, China and Japan are in the grip of water, and the latter’s technological advantage in the production of key components has made China’s auto parts supply system more closely linked.

Chinese products imported from Japan are mainly concentrated in electronic components and automotive components. In particular, some key auto parts, including automatic transmissions, are still imported from Japan. According to statistics, China's imports of Japanese parts worth US$10.91 billion in 2010 accounted for 39.9% of China’s total auto parts imports, of which only one engine alone exceeded 400,000 units, accounting for 40% of total engine imports.

Because Chinese manufacturers use mostly punctual production methods, that is, adhering to the principle of putting an end to overproduction to achieve the goal of achieving maximum output with the minimum investment, the drawback of this production method is that the delay of any link will cause the output to decline.

On March 21, experts from IHS, a global market research agency, believed that some automakers may face a two-month production disruption, which would make it more difficult for companies that already could not provide enough cars to meet Chinese demand.

Insiders believe that, to some degree, the disaster in Japan is extraordinary. As a high-end producer of advanced components and advanced materials, this country has opened up an exclusive market. Manufacturers of parts and components for enterprises are often dependent on Japanese imports for their own raw materials or smaller parts. The risk of this hidden supply bottleneck is causing huge global auto parts supply system. test.

The double-edged sword of globalization revives Dong Yang. The auto parts supply crisis triggered by the earthquake in Japan has even more highlighted the dual nature of global economic integration. “Globalization has brought many benefits to the automotive industry, such as the introduction of advanced technology, accelerated production, and reduced product costs, but the issues it raises are also worthy of vigilance.”

At present, the automobile industry is shifting to emerging market countries and low-cost countries. In order to effectively reduce production costs and develop new markets, auto parts companies not only transfer large-scale production and manufacturing links to low-cost countries and regions, but also extend the transfer to R&D. , design, procurement, sales and after-sales service links form a new international division of labor.

Under this background, the relationship between the entire vehicle and the parts and components companies began to adjust, the original supporting system was broken, and global procurement became a wave. This tide has brought both opportunities and hidden dangers to the Chinese auto industry.

Bai Yimin, director of the Chinese Society for Japanese Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, clearly pointed out that the “flying geese form” constructed by the Japanese consortium enabled Japan to control not only the core technology but also the most lucrative link in the industry chain in many areas.

The so-called "geese geese form" means that local companies are the first to acquire the top products and technologies; the second is South Korea and the Taiwan region of China, mainly supporting Japanese technology; and finally it is the "geese tail" played by the Chinese mainland. The role is to assemble for “Made in Japan” and is at the lowest end of the industry chain, earning only the profits from the assembly process.

Therefore, from the viewpoint of supply chain supply, the Japanese auto parts industry destroyed by the earthquake will inevitably spread to the downstream, especially some low-end auto parts factories in mainland China. The high-end manufacturing technology that Japan has mastered in the field of automotive electronic parts also makes it difficult for other vehicle companies to find alternative suppliers.

“Even if the entire vehicle company has the intention of looking for alternative suppliers, it is difficult for Chinese parts and components companies that are manufacturing at low-end to be included in the list of alternative suppliers of European and US auto parts parts. In contrast, they are more willing to Choose suppliers with strong components in other countries,” an industry source who declined to be named told reporters.

Therefore, in the future development, Chinese auto companies will support the local parts suppliers or develop transnational cooperation and introduce advanced foreign technologies. This issue has become the focus of recent discussions in the auto industry.

Dong Yang said in an interview: "In the pursuit of the globalization of the automotive industry, we should properly consider the supply of multiple products and maintain the integrity of the industrial chain in some areas, which is of great significance in maintaining the safety of the automotive industry in a region."

In fact, it is precisely for the purpose of making the Chinese automobile industry more vocal in participating in the globalization process. The China Automobile Industry Association headed by Dong Yang is actively cooperating with the World Motor Organization (hereinafter referred to as OICA) in pursuit of the annual Beijing Auto Show. During the Shanghai Auto Show, it had a comprehensive dialogue with the world's major auto organizations.

“This year, the first OICA China Forum will be held during the Shanghai Auto Show. The component supply crisis triggered by the Japan earthquake will probably become one of the main topics discussed at the forum.” Dong Yang told reporters.