ZF and Chinese Automotive Manufacturer BAIC Form Joint Venture

Page 1/3, October 9, 2014
ZF and Chinese Automotive Manufacturer BAIC
Form Joint Venture
Joint venture in chassis technology for development and
assembly of chassis systems
New plant with 200 employees will be located south-east of
Beijing
Beijing/Friedrichshafen. ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Beijing
Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC Group) have for the first
time founded a joint venture for developing and assembling
passenger car chassis systems. Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF,
and Xu Heyi, Chairman of the BAIC Group as well as its
passenger car division BAIC Motor, signed the joint venture
contract in Friedrichshafen on Thursday.
“We are very pleased the BAIC Group trusts our products,” said
ZF’s CEO Sommer during the signing of the contract. “This
cooperation is another major step forward in the Chinese market,
which is extremely important for ZF.” ZF has been conducting
business with Beijing Benz Automotive (BBAC), a joint venture of
BAIC Motor and Daimler AG, for several years. Specifically, ZF
supplies complete front and rear chassis modules for the current
Mercedes C Class, E Class, and GLK models produced in China.
The joint venture, in which ZF holds a 51-percent share, will be
located in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development
Area (BDA) to the south-east of China’s capital, Beijing. Starting
next year, engineers and plant planners will kick off development
work and prepare the installation of production equipment; the
launch of chassis module assembly is scheduled for the next years.
Then about 200 employees will assemble front and rear chassis
modules with a starting capacity of 200 000 units for just-insequence delivery. The customers will be the various car brands of
the BAIC Group. The two partners are investing more than
€10 million in the new plant, which will cover an area of 16 000
square meters.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
Konzernkommunikation
Corporate Communications
88038 Friedrichshafen
Deutschland · Germany
Page 2/3, October 9, 2014
“ZF is an important and reliable partner for us,” said Xu Heyi,
Chairman of the BAIC Group as well as its passenger car division,
BAIC Motor. “The new joint venture means we will cooperate with
an experienced automotive supplier in the passenger car chassis
technology field.” He also stated that both companies wanted to
examine whether there is scope for cooperation in further areas.
ZF in China
In 2013, ZF generated sales of €3 billion in the Region of AsiaPacific, with 7 500 employees at 37 locations in 14 countries. This
was an increase of 15 % compared to 2012. ZF has been active on
the Chinese market since 1980 and has been producing locally
since 1994. In China, as part of the Asia-Pacific market region, ZF
generated sales of some €2 billion last year, with 5 700 employees
at 23 locations. This year, ZF again expects significant growth in
China and the Region of Asia-Pacific together with a further
increase in staff. The R&D Center in Shanghai established in 2005
is one of the technology company’s eight main development
locations worldwide.
The BAIC Group
With more than two million vehicles supplied in 2013, the Beijing
Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC Group) is China’s No. 5
automotive manufacturer and ranks among the “Fortune 500”
largest companies worldwide.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
Konzernkommunikation
Corporate Communications
88038 Friedrichshafen
Deutschland · Germany
Page 3/3, October 9, 2014
Caption:
ZF CEO Dr. Stefan Sommer (on the left) and the Chairman of the
BAIC Group, Xu Heyi, in Friedrichshafen, Germany, during the
initial contract signing for a joint venture for chassis system
assembly.
Photo: ZF
Press contact:
Dr. Jochen Mayer, Business Press, phone: +49 (0) 7541 77-7925,
email: jochen.mayer@zf.com
ZF is a global leader in driveline and chassis technology with 122 production
companies in 26 countries. In 2013, the Group achieved a sales figure of €16.8
billion with approximately 72 600 employees. In order to continue to be
successful with innovative products, ZF annually invests about 5 % of its sales
(2013: €836 million) in research and development. ZF is one of the ten largest
automotive suppliers worldwide.
For further press information and photos please visit: www.zf.com
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
Konzernkommunikation
Corporate Communications
88038 Friedrichshafen
Deutschland · Germany