Auto components major Magneti
Marelli has inaugurated two production
sites in China the field of lighting and electronic systems, in two key regions
for the Chinese automotive scenario - Xiaogan and Guangzhou. The actual total
investment is worth about 36 million Euros
On April 15, 2015 a manufacturing
plant was inaugurated in Xiaogan (Hubei province), born of the Joint Venture
called Hubei Huazhong Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting Co. Ltd. . The JV
resulted from the partnership between Magneti Marelli and China South
Industries Group Corporation (CSI), through the subsidiary Hubei Huazhong
Photoelectric Science and Technology Ltd, aimed at the manufacturing of
lighting systems for the automotive sector.
On April 16, the enlarged Magneti
Marelli Electronics Systems plant in Guangzhou - Guangdong province – was
inaugurated, with a total investment of 22 million Euros.
CSI is one of the most important
Chinese industrial groups (with a yearly turnover of over 55 billion Euros),
with a vast perimeter of assets – from cars to motorbikes, from defence to
energy – and which includes also China Changan Automotive Group (CCAG) – a
strategic partner of some among the most important JVs in the Chinese automotive
market (Ford, Mazda, Suzuki, PSA), and the fourth most important Chinese
manufacturer.
The surface of the industrial
plant in Xiaogan is of more than 44 thousand square meters, 28 thousand of
which are covered. Inside the plant an important R&D centre has been
created (of about 4 thousand square meters): it is highly structured inorder to
work in close contact with the car makers present in the area. The capacity of
Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting to design, develop and produce locally
hi-tech products with a high added value, accordingly to the needs of the
Chinese market and carmakers, is strategically increased with CSI.
In the start-up phases, the plant
may count on a staff of over 160 people in 2015, with the expectation of a
progressive people increase over the next five years. The initial manufacturing
capacity shall be of 500 thousand headlamps (made initially for the Ford Taurus
in the halogen version and the Full-LED version with E-light adaptive system –
a world first) to achieve 2.5 million headlamps and 2.5 million rear lamps in
2019.
With the new plant, Magneti
Marelli further widens the footprint of Automotive Lighting, locating in an area strategically close to
the clients part of the Changan Group in the Xiaogan area, such as Changan Ford,
Changan Suzuki, and Changan own brand as well as others customers such as DPCA
(a Dongfeng & PSA joint venture) and Dongfeng Honda
The initial total investment for
the plant is worth 14 million Euros, with a plan of nearly tripling the
investments in the next five years, in order to enable a growth according to
market requirements.
“With these two new facilities,
we keep on expading our presence in China, which for Magneti Marelli is
becoming more and more important” stated Eugenio Razelli, CEO of Magneti
Marelli. “We accelerated this process in the last five years, following the
Chinese market growth and the consequent needs of our clients. And that’s the
key element of Xiaogan plant opening for the lighting business and the
Guangzhou plant enlargement for electronics:
bringing and localizing in China the capability to design, develop and produce locally key
products and automotive technologies, accordingly to the needs of the Chinese
market and key- carmakers”.
The new Magneti Marelli
Automotive Lighting plant in Xiaogan will complement the one inaugurated in
2013 in Foshan and the structures already existing in Wuhu and Shanghai
(Headquarters and Research Centre). The goal is to achieve, in the medium term,
a 10% market share, progressively enlarging the industrial presence in all the
strategic areas for the automotive sector in China.
Recently, Magneti Marelli
Automotive Lighting has been awarded two Red Dot Awards 2015, one of the most
prestigious international recognitions in the field of design and industry: in
particular, the first award has been conferred to the intelligent Full LED
headlamp, developed with Audi for the Audi TT3, MY 2015 – award “Red Dot Best
of the Best” – for the high quality of the design and the innovative project;
the second award has been assigned to the prototype of rear light with OLED
(organic LED) technology – “Red Dot” award – for the quality of the design.
Meanwhile, the Guangzhou plant
has been the first Magneti Marelli installation in China in 1996. The first
product was the instrument cluster of the Peugeot 505. Now, four business area
operates in the Guangzhou plant: instrument clusters, powertrain electronics,
lighting and body electronics, infotainment and telematics
The plant is strategically
located in the close neighbour of the Guangzhou airport and close to the
automotive and electronics plants of the Huadu district.
The total surface of the
industrial installation is of 50 thousand square metres (41 thousand of which
are covered) and includes an R&D centre of 3,500 square metres. Presently
650 people work in the plant, with a
plan of almost doubling the number by 2019.
The current manufacturing
capacity is of 3.5 million automotive electronic modules, which will reach 10
million in 2019.
The enlargement has been made
necessary by the progressive growth of the Chinese car market, with a
consequent need of enlarging the products portfolio and increasing at the same
time the capability of research, development and design, aimed at improving competitiveness. The main clients – local and global - are CAPSA, DPCA, PSA, FAW-VW (First
Automotive Works- Volkswagen Auto Co., Ltd.), Geely, GAC (Guangzhou Automotive
Co), GAC-FIAT, SGMW (Shanghai GM Wuling), Qoros Automotive Co., Ltd., SAIC
Motor and SVW (Shanghai Volkswagen), Suzuki, SGM e BYD.