Hella have launched a new joint venture for electronic components with BHAP, a part of the BAIC automotive group. It’s Hella’s first JV for electronic components in China, and their second JV with BHAP—joining the lighting JV in place since 2014.
The two partners will hold equal shares. The production facility is to be located in Zhenjiang, where a new electronics plant is being currently set up. The plant will initially comprise a production area of 7,000m2 and will provide work for more than 200 employees.
It is planned to commence series production at the beginning of 2020, with the first product groups being a variety of electronic control units for BAIC customers. The intent is that the product portfolio will be extended to include components concerned with energy management and driver assistance.
Hella CEO Dr. Rolf Breidenbach, noting that China is one of the fastest-growing automotive markets in the world, said “Because of automotive market trends such as autonomous driving, digitisation and electrification, we expect a continuously increasing demand for our electronic components. With BHAP we have a reliable partner by our side who will enable us to serve the demand in an optimal way and with whom we have already coöperated in the past with the utmost confidence”.
During the signing ceremony of the contract, BHAP Chairman Cai Suping said the new JV will profit by “integrating both the market access of the BAIC group and the technological expertise of Hella in the field of sophisticated electronics components…we will further enhance our internationalisation and strengthen the production and development capabilities in order to become a global automotive supplier”.
Hella have over 6,000 employees working in the Asia-Pacific region, where China is the biggest single market. In the fiscal year 2016-17, the supplier’s sales there exceeded €1bn.
