The development of auto industry certainly will promote auto mold industry to develop in China and provide a wide market.
Data show that in the U.S., Japan and other
auto manufacturing developed countries,
auto mold represented by auto panel mold accounts for about 50% of the whole mold industry market share while in China, auto mold accounts for only one third of market share. Although the development of auto industry drives technical level of auto panel mold to high improve and the scale is also expanded in recent years, China still falls behind that international advanced level.
With market demands of mold in china increasing gradually, on the base of original large state-owned enterprises such as FAW, Dongfeng, Tianjin Auto Ind. Group and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, some private enterprise, joint ventures or even foreign enterprises are entering into mold market in succession, making annual sales of mold reaching to about 3 billion RMB in China. It is known that more than 50% of molds and fixtures required by more than 10 new sold auto model in China are developed by Chinese enterprises in recent 3 years. Some Chinese key enterprises undertake development of the most complicated auto mold used for part of B-class autos, having realized transition from partial components and low-end auto mold to the whole auto parts and high-end auto mold.
Mold industry is considered as mother of manufacturing. As mother of auto industry, auto mold industry began to develop around 2000, with explosive growth of auto industry in China. Industry scale is formed gradually.
In fact, the establishment of auto mold industry can be originated from the early of Chinese auto industry developing. FAW, Dongfeng and other auto manufacturers established matched mold factory. However, manufactured mold was just only for meeting autarky of enterprises. Besides, it was introduced that before 2000, the old models (Santa, Jetta and Citroen ZX) occupied Chinese auto market for several years, which limited the updating footstep of auto enterprises. The development of auto mold industry was also limited. In the time of auto excessive profit, the developing cost of auto mold can be almost neglected. Therefore, transnational corporations are more willing to import auto mold.
But to tight connection between auto and mold, and the large auto market in China, Toyota, Volkswagen and other transnational auto manufacturers are attracted to set up their own mold factories in China, which can not only reduce cost significantly, but also can maintain higher requirements for mold.
According to international developing situation, auto mold has already entered into period of specialization and standardization. Auto mold in developed countries is basically supplied by professional manufacturers and commercialization rate exceeds than 70%. Moreover, there are amounts of professional enterprises manufacturing standard parts for mold, which can supply as much as hundreds of categories of standard parts. At present, mold production capacity in China is mainly concentrating in mold factories established by auto factories. Some are even directly set up in auto factories. Autarky rate is still higher than 70% and standard parts are supplied by only one mold enterprises. Improving commercialization rate of mold as soon as possible and accelerating supplying of standard parts will be priorities for Chinese mold development in the future.
Besides active development, transnational corporations also promote the whole level of mold to highly develop objectively. In terms of trends of international auto market, auto depreciation is still continuing and touching the nerve of every auto manufacturer. Although technical level of auto mold industry in developed countries is very high, profit margin is constantly decreasing due to auto price declining, which resulting in insufficient motivation of the development. In recent years, auto manufacturers show the trend of declining. To reduce cost as much as possible, European, American and Japanese enterprises begin to transit mold development abroad for further development.