Difficulties in the transfer of core technologies

On November 25, 2008, Zhongfa United Investment Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as "ZF"), which is a joint venture with 12 Chinese domestic automakers, and BorgWarner (China) Investment Co., Ltd. signed a dual clutch (DCT) in Beijing. In the project joint venture contract, the two parties will jointly establish Borg Warner Double Clutch Drive System Co., Ltd.

Six months ago in June 2008, FAW, SAIC, Dongfeng, Chang'an, Chery, Brilliance, Jianghuai, Changfeng, Geely, GAC, Great Wall, Zhongshun and other 12 local auto companies jointly invested in the establishment of China DF. Among them, FAW and SAIC each hold 20%, Dongfeng, Changan, and Chery each hold 10%, Great Wall holds 3%, Zhongshun holds 2%, and the other five companies each hold 5%.

China’s own-brand auto companies are still subject to human control in some core technology areas. Joint ventures for many years have failed to increase the strength and level of domestic manufacturers’ R&D. Independent innovation and independent research and development have re-introduced the agenda of the industry management department. Considering that it is difficult for key technologies to break through, it is still difficult for the Chinese auto industry to abandon the joint venture method of introducing technology and transferring markets.

The original intention of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in setting up the China Development Association was to reduce the cost of the joint venture while reducing the number of duplicate investments in the R&D sector. As China Hairlink has concentrated 12 major self-owned brand companies, its huge market share may serve as a bargaining chip for foreign technology transfer.

According to the conservative estimates of related people of BorgWarner, by 2020, 80% of the automatic transmissions produced by the 12 shareholders of the company will use DCT gearboxes.

Helpless choice

Automatic transmission technology is the last technical blind spot in the Chinese automobile industry. Domestic enterprises have not made substantial progress in R&D for many years, and they have to spend hundreds of billions of yuan each year to import from abroad. Therefore, the National Development and Reform Commission intends to introduce foreign technology and change the situation in which automatic transmissions are completely dependent on imports so as to reduce the purchase costs of enterprises. At the same time, it will be digested and absorbed based on the introduction of technology, and eventually break through the technical barriers of automatic transmissions.

After comparing various technical routes, the NDRC decided to introduce BCD Warner's DCT technology. After the success of the joint venture negotiations, it consulted the franchisees in domestic auto companies and finally determined the list of 12 companies and their respective stock ratios.

The China-Zhuhai-linked model was once sought after by local Chinese auto makers. The first companies that were willing to join were far more than these 12 companies. FAW and SAIC have all proposed to hold 50% of their shares. Finally, under the coordination of the National Development and Reform Commission, 12 companies reached an agreement on the shareholding ratio. They will share revenues in accordance with their respective shares in the company, while purchasing DCT core modules from joint ventures and then assembling their own DCT gearbox assembly.

How are the interests of the 12 shareholders of the China Development Alliance coordinating and how are the company's investment directions and projects determined? The relevant person of the China Development Alliance stated that the company's articles of association stipulate the rights and interests of the 12 shareholders and the seats on the board of directors. All investment projects of the company will be decided by the board of directors. The general principle is to meet the interests of shareholders and meet the needs of the development of independent brands. "When necessary, government departments will also check the company's investment."

At the signing ceremony of the joint venture contract on that day, Zhang Guobao, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the model of the China Development Association could enable Chinese local auto companies to share R&D expenses and share technology, avoid duplication of investment, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. The cooperation between China Development Alliance and BorgWarner will help Chinese auto companies achieve independent production of autonomous transmissions, increase the strength and level of independent development, and help BorgWarner's key technologies expand its market share in China. This is a win-win situation. Cooperation.

This joint venture model is similar to a joint venture between Zhonglian Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. and Bosch more than ten years ago. During the “Eighth Five-Year Plan” period, in order to solve the problem of vehicle exhaust emissions, the relevant national ministries and commissions promoted and supported 10 companies, including SAIC, Wuxi Weifu, FAW, Dongfeng, and Beiqi, to jointly establish Zhonglian Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., and jointly established a joint venture with Bosch. 50% of the shares of the United Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., the introduction of the production of Bosch's precise control of gasoline engine injection and ignition of the gasoline engine control system (EMS), and the matching of the engine and the vehicle calibration.

It is difficult to transfer core technologies

The introduction of BorgWarner is just the beginning of the business chain of the company. The National Development and Reform Commission hopes to use this company, which has gathered 12 major self-owned brands, as an investment entity, through joint ventures with multinationals that have advanced technology, or jointly develop between these 12 companies to form more shares. The technology platform enables all shareholders to share technology, while at the same time improving the overall technology level and R&D strength of self-owned brand companies, lowering research and development expenses, and improving research and development efficiency.

Zhang Renqi, president of China ’s affiliate, also stated that China ’s investment project will not be limited to DCT. Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission have already communicated with China DFDC on the next investment project. However, he refused to disclose which projects were specific and which companies he would cooperate with. Industry analysts believe that China Development Alliance may jointly develop and produce certain technologies in the field of new energy vehicles or set up joint ventures with foreign companies, such as hybrid batteries and power batteries used in electric vehicles.

But the strategic outcome of this "joint platform" depends entirely on whether foreign parties are willing to transfer technology. Although the joint venture between Zhongfa and BorgWarner has similarities with the joint venture between Zhonglian Automotive Electronics and Bosch, the two projects are also fundamentally different.

BorgWarner holds nearly two-thirds of the shares in the joint venture company (Bologna Warner is the chairman of the joint venture company, five directors of BorgWarner and eight members of the board of directors, and three members of the China Development Association), which means that it can be more rigorous. Protect its core technology. In order to protect its own technology and maximize the benefits, Bosch has now fully controlled the joint automotive electronics.

The DCT joint venture project between China Development Alliance and BorgWarner can completely help Chinese local companies master DCT technology, which is a question for many in the industry. The relevant person in the China Development Alliance also admitted that “the transfer of core technology will be very difficult. The original intention of the project or the initial goal is not to allow Chinese independent brand enterprises to learn DCT technology, but to resolve the large number of relying on automatic transmission in China. Import situation."

From this perspective, the joint venture’s role is to achieve localized production of DCT core modules, thereby reducing costs. As for R&D, although the joint venture company also has a research and development department, R&D work will mainly focus on the application level, rather than the development of the DCT itself.

Because BorgWarner has mastered the core technology of DCT, after the core modules purchased by the shareholders of the company, it is necessary to assemble the DCT gearbox or match with the whole vehicle, which also needs the help of BorgWarner. At present, cooperation in this area is under negotiation.

Ma Bende, president of BorgWarner Transmission Systems, said that during the initial stage of the joint venture, some of the three modules will be imported. With the expansion of the scale, all components will be domestically produced. However, there are also shareholders of China Development Alliance believe that the technology "overflow" effect of the joint venture process and the domestic production of core components will still help domestic companies to have a better understanding of DCT technology, thus laying a foundation for breakthrough in this technology.