China is one of the world’s largest automotive consumer market, by late 2015 car ownership in the country reached 172 million cars, and the volume is accelerating. It can be projected in the next few years, Chinese market demands for automotive components and after sales services will increase, the automotive lighting market possesses huge market potential.
Currently, international automotive lighting companies that have formed joint ventures with Chinese manufacturers have claimed the largest market shares for LED components, modules, and finished automotive lights. Local Chinese companies have fallen far behind.
Chinese LED package manufacturers still primarily entering lighting for the automotive aftermarket sector
The LED component market is mostly led by large international manufacturers including Osram, Nichia and Lumileds. Majority of headlight manufacturers are using these big LED brands components, additionally Everlight and Dominant Opto Technology are actively expanding their market shares in the taillight sector.
Automotive manufacturers high automotive lighting quality and technical certification standards has made core automotive lighting technologies a closed sector, hence only a few Chinese LED component companies have been able to enter automotive OEM. A strong contrast compared to top international competitors. Still, Chinese LED package manufacturers are trying to develop products to enter the automotive lighting market, and gradually break up the monopoly.
Anrui Opto, is a joint venture formed by San’an Opto and Chery in 2010. Anrui Opto and BAIC Yinxiang (Yinxiang), a subsidiary of Baic Motor Corporation, signed a partnership agreement. Yinxiang mostly manufactures automotive LED lights, including rear compound lights (RCL), signal lights, and interior decorative lights. Anrui Opto supplies about 70% of LEDs for the above listed lights to Yinxiang. Additionally, Anrui Opto’s main clients include Chery, Beiqi Foton Motor and Zotye Auto. In 2014, Anrui Opto’s revenue reached RMB 80 million.
FordaLite became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hongliopto in 2013, and entered the automotive LED market. FodaLite’s main product portfolio includes signal lights, headlights, where some of the products uses Hongliopto’s LED components. Currently, the company’s major clients are still oversea automotive aftermarket sector, and has not entered the entire automotive supply chain yet.
Additionally, Chinese component manufacturers including Refond and others are also gradually developing automotive LED products, but are still mostly focused in the aftermarket, and have relatively small market shares. It will take some time before the companies are able to enter automobile market’s OEM sector.
Chinese and local Taiwanese manufacturers grab automotive module market shares
There are only a few large Chinese LED module manufacturers, BYD Auto for instance has a comprehensive supply chain, enabling most of its automotive lighting modules to be manufactured in-house. Additionally, Felio Acoustic has more than 90% stake in automotive lighting manufacturer Shanghai Sunlight Enterprise, its wholly owned subsidiary Shanghai Sunlight Opto Device is one of the largest domestic automotive LED module manufacturers. The group’s lighting revenue reached RMB 442 million (US $67.12 million) in 2014.
Shanghai Sunlight Opto Device was founded in 2004 as a subsidiary of Shanghai Sunlight Enterprise, and currently all its products are supplied to the OEM market. It is closely collaborating with big automotive lighting clients include Guangzhou Automobile Group Component (GAC), Magna, Stanley, Automotive Lighting Wuhu, Changzhou Xingyu Automotive Lighting System, Hella, Tianchong Vehicle Lamp Group, Fuzhou Koito Lamp and others. The products are being applied in FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen, Audi, SAIC-GM, Guangqi Honda, Changan Ford Mazda, Chery, FAW Car Company, Chinese Motors Corporation (CMC), Great Wall Motor, JAC Motors and other car brands. Sunlight Opto Device main product portfolio include rear lights, stop lights, fog lights, turn lights, interior decorative automotive light modules. The company is also an OEM of Osram automotive LED bulbs, and has sold and manufactured more than 80 million bulbs since 2014.
