“Buyers are attracted to product-based halls for easy sourcing,” says Jason Cao, senior general manager at Messe Frankfurt, Ltd., “and more and more domestic manufacturers are now on a par with their global competitors in both technology and quality.”
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Organized by Messe Frankfurt and the China National Automotive Industry International Corp. (CNAICO), the event at Shanghai’s vast International Expo Centre covered nearly 590,000 square feet spread over 17 halls – marking a four-hall, 33 percent increase over 2011’s edition of the show. The tally for exhibiting firms headquartered in China was up 13.5 percent.
In 2012, China’s overall auto repair and maintenance market rose 26.9 percent, amounting to $80 billion. Demand for accessories, now an $87 billion industry in China, posted a 29 percent increase.
“As well as the largest-ever exhibitor turnout, we have attracted more country and regional pavilions than ever before, including a first-time pavilion from the U.K.,” Cao reports. Many of the returning supplier pavilions increased their allotted space “to cope with the demand from exhibitors who want to be part of the world’s second-biggest Automechanika show.” (Germany’s Automechanika Frankfurt is the largest of 12 Messe Frankfurt-produced auto expos held in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa; the next Automechanika Frankfurt show is set for September 2014.)
“As Automechanika Shanghai continues to gain a solid reputation among repair and maintenance companies, more key domestic and international brands are participating at the show. As a result, the Tool Zone at the Repair & Maintenance Hall has increased by a staggering 91 percent compared to last year (2011),” says Cao.
Other channels represented included Parts & Components plus Accessories & Tuning. “Each sector complements the other to attract professional buyers,” Cao explains, “and this is one of the unique and important reasons why the show continues to see strong growth every year.”
“Automechanika Shanghai is an excellent platform for us to meet with professional buyers from around the world as it takes our business to a global level,” says Li Chang Yu, a divisional general manager with Spacekey Auto Electronics Co., Ltd.
Exhibiting space for the Parts & Components category experienced a 15 percent rise in participating vendors; Accessories & Tuning accelerated by 62 percent.
“The automotive aftermarket is highly competitive,” observes Zhang Jinbo of China’s Guangzhou Botny Chemical Co., Ltd, which specializes in car care and “chemical decoration hardware.”
“However,” Zhang continues, “this environment is good for the development of the automotive Repair & Maintenance and Accessories industries, especially for those involved in car care products. We have been in the accessories market for many years and have stable dealers. Now we are planning to explore new channels to find dealers from auto Parts & Components, and Automechanika Shanghai covers both of these two target markets – which is an ideal platform for our business development.”
“The show is a good opportunity to grow worldwide business through expanding our manufacturing and distribution networks,” concurs Gary Turner, export manager for Australia’s TJM Products Pty, Ltd., a producer of 4WD accessories.
Promoting brand awareness
Hajime Hayashi, executive officer for the overseas division of Japan’s Meiji Sangyo, says his company exhibited at the event “to establish a Chinese business base and to promote our new Shanghai office. We are expecting to improve our brand awareness for Seiken hydraulic brake/clutch parts as well as promoting the NSK bearings brand to the China market.”
Midtronics, Inc., based in Illinois, was a first-time Automechanika Shanghai exhibitor as it debuted its newest Battery Management Information System (BMIS) and displayed its line of testers and chargers. “We hope to improve the company’s image and branding popularity, and enhance awareness for preventative maintenance and warranty management,” says product manager Tiny Xu.
Having a Midtronics plant located Shenzhen, China, additional goals cited by Xu include boosting sales to Chinese repairers, meeting and greeting with OEMs and seeking business relationships with other battery manufacturers and dealers.
Another vendor venturing into exhibiting for the first time at Automechanika Shanghai was Valeo. “As China is the second-biggest car population country, its aftermarket provides us with big growth potential together with $753 million (EUR) in Valeo China OEM sales in 2011,” says general manager Daniel Tung. “We are concentrating on providing China’s aftermarket with more premium products and better value-added service, as well as raising brand awareness for Valeo.”
Officials from Federal-Mogul Corp. were also on the scene with a booth in Shanghai, reporting that its line of Ferodo braking pads and shoes “has achieved the most comprehensive vehicle coverage in China, covering more than 85 percent of all the light vehicles on the road. The focus now will be on increasing coverage for the Chinese domestic OEMs, mainly for the economical vehicles comprised of minivans, and to maintain a minimum of 98.5 percent coverage for all the light vehicles on the road year after year,” according to the company.
“Because more than 400 OEM vehicle platforms in the world and 25 OEM vehicle platforms in China have chosen Ferodo as their OE braking pads and shoes provider, Federal-Mogul is in a unique position to offer the best OE quality replacement option for every vehicle on the road in China.”
Engaging the attendees
Among the 13 pavilions at Automechanika Shanghai was a debut display area hosted by the United Kingdom’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Ltd. (SMMT). India expanded its space by 75 percent, and Korea and Malaysia by more than 30 percent. Taiwan’s pavilion presence was up by 40 percent.
Nations making first-time booth appearances at the show included Bulgaria, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan. A buyer’s group from Fuji was 25 percent larger than what the island nation had dispatched for 2011’s event in Shanghai.
Attendees also gathered at a record-breaking array of 30 “fringe” programs, consisting of seminars, conferences, a matchmaking forum and buyer presentations that covered topics such as Parts & Components, Repair & Maintenance, Accessories & Tuning, Aftermarket, OEM, Supply Chain Services, New Energy and Remanufacturing.
The premiere of the NextGen Auto International Summit China forum featured presentations about China’s governmental policies, plans and priorities for developing a sustainable and competitive automotive industry.
Those attending the event also benefitted “by hearing first-hand from industry pioneers from around the world” who shared their experiences in obtaining sustainable new business opportunities, generating new revenue streams and achieving cost reductions. Speakers discussed “the latest industry thinking” from Europe, North America, Japan and other Asia-Pacific nations.
For more information, visit www.automechanika-shanghai.com.
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