Automotive filter market competition toward high-end
November 29, 2022
The filter is one of the most fragile parts in auto parts, and the replacement frequency is very high. With the rapid development of the automotive industry, the annual increase in the number of new automobiles and the increase in social ownership has directly driven the demand of automotive manufacturers and consumers for filters, which has also contributed to the prosperity of China's filter market. However, while the economic growth rate has slowed down, the automotive structure has undergone profound changes, the focus of vehicle procurement has shifted to “low emission, lightweight,” and foreign component giants have invaded in large numbers, while driving the competition in the filter industry to the high end, It also poses serious challenges for the survival and development of filter manufacturers with small scale, single product, and insufficient technology investment.
At present, China’s vehicle ownership has exceeded 130 million vehicles, and China’s automobile production and sales will continue to grow rapidly by 2020. At least 5 replacements per vehicle (2 oil filters, 1 air filter, 1 gasoline filter and The demand for an air conditioning filter) is based on the vehicle ownership base of 120 million vehicles in 2012. In 2012, the market demand for automotive filters in China was more than 600 million. Calculated in accordance with the total consumption of 120 filters for 5 filters, the filter market in China in 2012 was close to 15 billion yuan. According to foreign authoritative agencies, China's auto production and sales will still maintain a growth rate of over 13% by 2020, which means that China's auto ownership will increase further. According to the current growth rate of car ownership, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts that by 2018, the demand for car filters in China will reach 1.2 billion. Still, according to the demand for five filters per vehicle and the consumption amount of 120 yuan per year, the market size of China's filter will be close to or even more than 30 billion yuan by 2018.
The huge filter market has attracted the attention of many manufacturers. Large and small filter companies have sprung up. At present, there are more than 1,000 filter manufacturers, especially foreign filter giants. China's enthusiasm has made the filter industry increasingly fiercely competitive, forming a competitive situation in which self-owned brand companies and joint ventures compete with each other and independent brands compete. The main brands of self-owned filter companies include Iridium Gold, Ruian Xinghao, and China Aviation Plains. The joint venture companies mainly include Sophiemar, Fleetguard, Man Hummel, Freudenberg, and Mahler.
In terms of geographical competition, filter bases in Shanghai, Wenzhou, Guangdong, and Hebei have also flourished in addition to filter filters. For example, most of the filter companies in Shanghai are dominated by multinational companies. Sofitel Automotive Filters Co., Ltd. is an Italian-owned enterprise invested by the Italian International Universal Filter Group (UFI Group) and officially operated in 1996. , The company mainly produces air filters, oil filters, fuel EFI filters and other products, has advanced air filter, machine filter and fuel filter test stand and the eleven most advanced production lines, for the red flag of FAW , FAW-Volkswagen, Shanghai GM, Shenyang Gold Cup, Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi, Hunan Changfeng, Nanjing Iveco, Hainan Mazda and other facilities. Wenzhou's filters are inexpensive, and Ruian Global Filters, Okaijia Group and Yibema Group have performed well. The filter companies in Guangdong mainly include Yifeng, Leopard King, Shenglian and Sanli.
From the perspective of scale competition, at the same time as the development of domestic filters, joint ventures have placed the scale of expansion at the forefront of the market and have stood at the forefront of the market. In 1998, the first production base in Freudenberg China was put into operation, and a total of 1.8 billion yuan was invested in the Chinese market. On March 16 this year, the new plant of Chengdu Keyou Baodi Filter Co., Ltd. was opened. The company was founded in March 2012 by Freudenberg Filtration Technology Group and Japan Breeze Co., Ltd., which mainly produces filters for the Chinese automotive industry. Shanghai Fleetguard Filter Co., Ltd., jointly invested by Dongfeng and Cummins, was established in 1994 in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. It specializes in the production of automotive engine filters. The products include air filters, fuel filters, and oil filters. Cleaners, oil-water separators, cooling additives, etc. On July 23 this year, Shanghai Fleetguard Filters Co., Ltd. Wuhan plant was officially put into operation. The new plant covers an area of 53,900 square meters, and the total construction area of the first phase is 22,570 square meters. The plant is 14,580 square meters, and the auxiliary building is 4,536 square meters. The planned construction area of the second phase is about 9,500 square meters. After the completion of the entire project, it will reach an annual output of 20 million filters (cores). On September 27th, German filtration expert MANN+HUMMEL announced that its new plant in Changchun MANN+HUMMEL Favi Filters Co., Ltd., a joint venture in China, was officially completed and put into use. The new plant covers an area of 4.5 hectares. Invested more than 100 million yuan.
Judging from the competition means, targeting the domestic filter industry, the market entry threshold is low, the competition is getting more and more intense, and the reality of the brand is mixed. The MANN brand filter, which ranks first with 4.1% of the market share, will comprehensively increase the after-sales soft power as a market share. The sharp weapon advocates improving the market space with good after-sales service quality. The MANN brand filter brand shop built for the Chinese after-sales market has become a major highlight of the brand, with over 250 brand stores in China. Guangzhou Yifeng Auto Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd. strives to surpass product quality, and at the same time, pursues the business philosophy of “creating products first and building high-quality products”. Through replicable sales and fitting practical service marketing, we have always taken the international route. A number of Fortune 500 companies made OE support and won the "2012 Top 10 Filter Brands for Auto Parts" and "Top 10 Most Influential Brands for the 2012 Auto Parts Industry" award.
Judging from the changes in competition, more and more original domestic filter manufacturers have put on joint ventures and cooperation coats to become new competitive forces. In addition to MANN+HUMMEL Filters Co., Ltd., China’s largest One of the filter manufacturers Clark Filter (China) Co., Ltd., formerly known as Weifang Baowei Filter Co., Ltd., became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US Clark Group on March 24, 2009. Changchun Keybao Baodi Filter Co., Ltd., formerly known as Changchun Automotive Filter Co., Ltd., was established in December 2002 in Changchun MANN+HUMMEL Favi Filter Co., Ltd., by the German MANN+HUMMEL Group. Established in a joint venture with Changchun FAW Fuwei Automobile Parts Co., Ltd., with a focus on commercial vehicles and industrial markets. It is also a core supplier of FAW Jiefang Trucks and FAW Jiefang Wuxi Diesel Engine Factory.
Filters in the auto parts industry are low value-added products, product extension cords, quality stability directly affect the brand life cycle, in order to maximize win the market, the filter industry is through product innovation, technological innovation, optimization of production time, Save production costs, and do everything possible to increase product competitiveness.
Green environmental protection is the development direction of filter products. With the increase of emission regulations, the requirements of the fuel filtration system for the engine are higher, and higher oil-water separation and filtration effects are required, placing higher requirements on the filter material. Filters with all-plastic cartridges, compared to traditional spin-on cartridges, have no metal part in the middle, which ensures maximum freedom from swarf entering the engine system and thus better protects the engine. The Parker Hanniq Filtration System (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., which mainly manufactures Racor brand filters, DomnickHunter brand freeze dryers and filters, and hydraulic filters and process filters, can meet Euro III, Euro IV, Euro V, and Euro. The diesel engine of VI emission requirements provides filtration solutions. It also provides filtration solutions for alternative energy engines such as biodiesel engines and natural gas (CNG/LNG) engines. The fuel filter series uses green filter cartridges that can be directly incinerated after use. The use of the filter cartridge can be seen during the replacement. Compared with the traditional structure, there is no filter housing, which can significantly reduce the user cost. The particle filtration efficiency and oil-water separation efficiency are higher than similar standards in the industry, and can meet more stringent fuel filtration requirements.