The German automotive suppliers remain dominant worldwide. But especially Chinese companies are on the rise.
Bosch remains the largest automotive supplier in the world. In the ranking of the management consultancy Berylls, the Stuttgart 2020 came in ahead of Denso and Continental in terms of sales. ZF took fourth place, Magna came fifth. According to the experts, the growing importance of Chinese companies is striking: With Weichai Power in tenth place, a supplier from the Middle Kingdom landed in the top 10 for the first time. In total, eleven of the 100 suppliers with the highest sales are Chinese, including the cell and battery manufacturer CATL and the drive system supplier China Fast Gear.
Corona was only good for automotive suppliers in the e-mobility sector
The Chinese companies as well as other groups with strong Asian business benefited from the local economy, which picked up early in the Corona year. Overall, however, 2020 was not a good year for the industry, the sales of the 100 largest suppliers were 12,7 percent below the previous year's level. Only eight companies were able to increase their sales - including mainly representatives from the e-mobility sector.
According to the study, batteries, electric motors and the like are likely to continue to be growth drivers in the future. Some suppliers have therefore already adapted their strategies: BorgWarner wants to continue growing in this area through acquisitions, LG wants to concentrate on components for electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, and Infineon is strengthening its core business with semiconductors and other acquisitions. German companies such as Dräxlmeier, Webasto or Elring-Klinger could also benefit greatly from the e-car trend in the future. All three are already acting as suppliers of battery technology.