Automechanika Shanghai 2004

News from the Chinese auto sector continues to be positive heading into 2005, and the market has never looked more attractive for overseas manufacturers and suppliers of parts and aftermarket products. With this in mind, a total of 235 exhibitors from 26 countries & regions took part in the first Automechanika Shanghai, which ran from 2 - 4 December 2004 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

A total of 9,138 buyers from 60 countries were counted on-site at the show, and the high proportion of foreign buyers was noticeable. Impressive for a debut event, almost 1,400 of the visitors were from overseas. Japan was the most strongly represented buying country, with 107 visitors, followed by Taiwan (103), Korea (98), USA (86), and Austria (72).

Focused primarily on parts & components, repair & automotive services, accessories, tuning equipment, re-fuelling & care products, Automechanika Shanghai has been positioned as an international, quality trading platform for the automotive aftermarket trade in China.

With a specialist fringe programme which included supplier-buyer match-making and market seminars at the Automechanika Academy, the show provided a well-rounded and comprehensive overview of the Chinese auto industry, as well as a good sample of the products available in local and international markets.

Exhibitors at the fair included market-leading names such as Volkswagen, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Denso Corp, Beissbarth, Wuerth, ZF Friedrichshafen, Launch Tech, Shanghai Baolong, Hermann Zerver and Heyco Werk Heynen, plus group pavilions from Austria, Germany, Italy, Taiwan Region, and Slovenia.

Feedback from participants in the show, both exhibitors and visitors, was positive overall and many were focused on making new contacts for medium- and long-term business. Regardless of whether manufacturers were new to the market or have well-established business in China, most felt it was important to be present for product exposure and gathering market intelligence.

"Shanghai is our main point of business in Mainland China, and that, coupled with the more prestige image of this fair in Shanghai, was a factor in our decision to come to this show," said Michael Frolich, Vice President of FAW-Volkswagen. "We are very happy about our presentation here. The first day was great, we had lots of visitors and were happy to find many willing participants for our stand activities, such as the tyre-changing competition. It was definitely the right decision for us to come to Automechanika Shanghai. It is a relatively small show now, but from small things great things grow! It has lots of potential."

"We joined this fair initially to collect market information, but having come to Shanghai and seen the market first-hand, I realise our products can compete with those available locally," said Eric Leong, Manager of United Everco Industries of Malaysia. "We have met a few potential distributors. It is the quality of the visitors that is important - and that is what I've seen here."

One of the unexpected bonuses of the event was the high proportion of foreign buyers present, creating further opportunities for export business and adding a strong international flavour to the fair.

"We came to Automechanika Shanghai to find Chinese agents for our starters and alternators. However, we've also met buyers from Australia, Austria, Dubai, and Argentina!" said Ms Abby Renoo of T.S.K. Automotive Co of Thailand. "I would say at least one-third of these contacts are genuinely interested in our products, so I am very happy with the results here."

Buyers too were impressed with the range and quality of products available at the show. Pawel Ignatowicz, Purchasing Manager for WSOP of Poland came to Shanghai looking for workshop equipment. "This is our first time to make a sourcing trip in China, and we have made many interesting contacts at Automechanika Shanghai. We usually do our sourcing in Germany, France and the USA, but now might be able to open a new Chinese sourcing channel, which provides cheaper products that still meet EU standards."

Automechanika Match-Making Forum

In a market of over one billion people, one of the biggest challenges for suppliers new to the China market is finding the right buyers or dealers for their products. The Automechanika Match-Making Forum allowed manufacturers and buyers to line up tailored business meetings in advance of the show, allowing them to make best use of their time at the fair and meet only visitors who fit their business criteria.

"We've just started building our own production plant in Ningbo, and are considering how to sell in China ahead of factory readiness," said Mr Henk Gheysen, General Manager of SIMA SA of Belgium. "China is a very important market to us. As the European market becomes saturated, this huge and growing marketplace in the east is naturally the most important place for investment. We've made 10-15 good contacts throughout China, and I am particularly happy about the Match-Making Forum, which gave us excellent contacts. The meetings were very helpful, the people I met asked all the right questions, knew the products and were willing to give me market information."

"We currently export to all continents except China, and this is our first time here. China's economy is growing very quickly, and we don't want to miss this chance!" said Mr Piotr Muszkieta of Multichem of Poland. "Our aim here is to look for good contacts to work with us for long term business. The Match-Making Forum is a great idea for 'beginners' in this market, it's very professional and it guarantees good contacts. We've met some high level executives during the Forum. Our time and money here are well spent."

Automechanika Academy

The Automechanika Academy has become synonymous with quality market information and industry networking. An audience of around 150 people joined the Academy at Automechanika Shanghai 2004, to hear six auto industry professionals discuss the latest developments in and current influences on various auto markets around the world.

One topic of vital relevance to the auto parts market in China and around the world is that of anti-counterfeiting and brand protection. The Quality Brands Protection Committee - or QBPC - have undertaken this mission in China, and their Automotive Industry Working Group (IWG) had a large stand at Automechanika Shanghai 2004.

At QBPC's stand, four of the Automotive IWG's members, DairnlerChrysler, General Motors, Denso and Shanghai Volkswagen, illustrated the importance of using genuine spare parts in relation to the safety of consumers and the general public by demonstrating the serious risks and damage caused by fake parts, as well as checking correct usage of their brands.

Automechanika: Young Inventor & Essay Competition

Under the heading "Auto Safety: Challenges Ahead" students from three prestigious Chinese universities; Jiaotong

University, Shanghai, Tongji University, Shanghai, and Tsinghua University, Beijing, submitted their ideas and innovative designs for China's automotive future.