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"The new energy vehicle industry has put pressure on us and also brought opportunities. For Meta, we are committed to seizing the development opportunity during the outbreak period of the European new energy vehicle market and maintaining a stable position in the forefront of the industry. For DEREN Electronics, if it enters the new energy vehicle industry through the acquisition of Meta, its revenue will reach 10 billion." Recently, Tian Nanlyu, head of Meta System S. p. A (Italian Meta Electronics Co., Ltd.), shared in detail the development process and future plans of Meta's landing in China in an exclusive interview with the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital.
DEREN Electronics Chongqing Industrial Park
In 2015, Shenzhen DEREN Electronics Co., Ltd. (002055), an A-share listed company, acquired Meta, a company specializing in R&D, production and sales of on-board chargers and on-board sensors for new energy vehicles. Thanks to this opportunity, Meta, an Italian company with a history of more than 40 years, has officially become acquainted with China and invested in the construction of a production base in Chongqing in 2016. In 2017 and 2019, Meta successively introduced Yuanzhi Fuhai, an investment company with state-owned background in Shenzhen, and Sichuan Gangrong Group, an investment company with state-owned holding investment in Yibin .
After just four years of rapid development, Meta has not only realized its production in China, but also continuously expanded its two major markets in Europe and China, which has achieved remarkable results in helping its parent company DEREN Electronics in the globalization process of the automotive sector.
Technical Strength Determines Future Development
"The logic of the manufacturing industry is not complicated. After all, it depends on technology, quality and cost control. Finally, it depends on the industrialized production capacity and scale to support the enterprise to go on. If these aspects can be done well, the development prospect of the enterprise will not be bad." Tian Nanlyu, who has a technical background and is well versed in the laws of industry development, shows a strong sense of confidence and firmness when talking about Meta's future development. In his view, Meta, which has accumulated for many years, has leading technological advantages, which is the most fundamental basis for its continuous expansion in the industry.
It is understood that Meta, headquartered in Italy, was established in 1973. Through years of independent innovation and technological precipitation, Meta has accumulated rich experience in R&D and production of on-board chargers, and is the first enterprise in the world to research and develop and produce 22kW high-power on-board chargers.
In fact, the new energy vehicle on-board charger industry has high technical barriers. Only high-efficiency power electronic technology and reasonable thermal design can reflect the core competitiveness of the enterprise. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the vehicle factory has strict screening criteria for the selection of suppliers and has a long review period.
In 2010, the first on-board charging equipment designed and developed by Meta entered the new energy vehicle market and became BMW's supplier. Subsequently, Meta successively became the supplier of PSA, Volkswagen, Porsche, Dongfeng, Geely and other well-known domestic and foreign automobile manufacturers, obtaining sufficient orders from many customers including PSA.
Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times·Vehicle Capital that as a small company, it can become a designated supplier of luxury brands such as BMW and Porsche, which fully demonstrates the excellent strength of Meta products, and this is also mainly due to Meta's continuous deep cultivation of technology.
"The current new energy vehicle market is very hot, and all forces are gathering, which is also very much like a troubled time. In troubled times, only enterprises that really have technical power and continuously control quality and cost can stabilize their position in the industry."
Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital that Meta has already reaped good market opportunities, but the scale is not large enough. Next year, it will ensure a production capacity of more than 300,000 sets to meet the delivery requirements of customers. If the annual shipment volume can reach the level of one million sets, it will gain a higher level of market recognition and the development space of the enterprise will be more predictable.
Grasp the Opportunities in European Market
When companies in the upstream and downstream of the automobile industry focus on the domestic new energy automobile market, Meta has firmly aimed its main business at the European market and its joint-venture brand automobile market in China, and has become a component supplier for international first-tier automobile enterprises such as Porsche, BMW and PSA.
Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital that there are several considerations in putting the main business in the European market.
At present, the domestic new energy vehicle market has not yet formed a stable industry pattern, so Meta will be more cautious in customer selection. As an enterprise with leading technological advantages, Meta will keep close attention to the domestic market and expand China's market share at an appropriate time.
"Meta was born in Italy and has natural advantages in the layout of the European market. For many companies, they may have to complete the process of" upgrading and cracking down on monsters "from the domestic market to the international market, but Meta was born to face an international market, so for the current Meta, the company will give priority to grasping its advantages in the European market." Tian Nanlyu said.
According to the latest EU requirements on vehicle emissions, the average emission of new vehicles sold by 2021 shall not exceed 95 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilometer, and a fine of 95 euros will be imposed for each gram in excess. On the basis of 2021, the emissions per kilometer of new vehicles will be reduced by 15% in 2025. New vehicle emissions per kilometer will be reduced by 37.5% in 2030.
In fact, at present, all major automobile manufacturers are at a certain distance from the emission standards. In addition, since 2016, a number of European countries have successively announced timetables to ban the sale of fuel-fired vehicles, further accelerating the transformation of vehicle companies to electrification.
Among them, Daimler Group expects to launch 25 electric vehicles in 2022, all of which will be available in electric models. BMW Group expects to realize the layout of 25 new energy vehicle models by 2023. Volkswagen Group expects that by 2025, about a quarter of the new vehicles sold by the Group will be electric vehicles. Audi expects to launch more than 30 electric vehicle models by 2025, accounting for 40% of the total sales.
Tian Nanlyu predicts that the European new energy vehicle market will soon erupt in 2020 and will continue to grow strongly.
"Even we didn't expect that customers, including PSA, would have such a rapid layout in new energy vehicles, which fully demonstrates the great potential of new energy vehicles in Europe. As long as there is no great adjustment to EU regulations, it is a very good opportunity for Meta to develop."
Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital that from past experience, the European market is relatively stable, which will have better protection and strong certainty for the company's revenue, and Meta has obvious advantages in technology, so it will naturally firmly grasp the European new energy vehicle market.
However, Tian Nanlyu said that grasping the European market does not mean abandoning the Chinese market. At present Meta is also cooperating with Geely Motor and Dongfeng Motor. In the future, it will accelerate its layout in the domestic market in due course and expand the Chinese market in depth.
"We believe that enterprises with leading technologies and those that can enter the first-line luxury brand supply list will not have no market to do. We are just waiting for a better opportunity to expand our market share in China." Tian Nanlyu added.
It is understood that Meta has settled in Chongqing as a demonstration enterprise. It will not only make some achievements in the Chinese market in the future, but also promote the construction of China-EU Smart Energy Industrial Park.
Integration and High Power Will Become the Main Trend
"Any industry, as long as it can be in the forefront of the industry, is not short of opportunities. The same is true for Meta. In the on-board charger industry, our goal is to maintain the leading position in the industry." Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital that after years of training in the manufacturing industry, he summed up the most fundamental law of enterprise development, which is "To be in the top 3 if you want to do it".
According to the report of Industrial Securities, the market size of the domestic on-board charging industry is expected to reach 35 billion by 2020, 10 times of the current size. With the upgrading of new energy products, the increase of electrified capacity and electric power consumption in vehicles, the demand for on-board chargers will become larger and larger and the market will be vast.
Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital that as the market demand expands day by day, the power requirements for on-board chargers in the industry will also be improved, and integrated and high-power products will become the main trend.
It is understood that the on-board charger is an essential part of the electric control system in the new energy EIC system, i.e. Battery, motor and electric control. It provides power energy for the continuous running of the vehicle, mainly including DC/DC converter, on-board charger and high-voltage junction box.
"For the company, after running through one field and the market matures, it is necessary to consider its own product structure and customer structure so as to enrich its own product system and achieve sustainable development." Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital that Meta will also involve other market segments in the industry after it has thoroughly subdivided the fields.
In fact, Meta's products go far beyond on-board chargers. Its business has laid out the core areas of automotive electronics, involving automotive power control and on-board charging modules for electric vehicles, safety and alarm sensors and control units, and the module of Internet of Vehicles.
Tian Nanlyu revealed that at present, Meta's on-board charger project is only settled in China in stages, and suppliers still need to be sorted out. China and Italy still have many details to communicate and adjust, especially in the management mode, which needs to be further improved due to the cultural differences between the two countries. After all these are straightened out, Meta's comprehensive efficiency will be further improved and its market scale will be further expanded.
"A lot of people say that the manufacturing industry is very bitter, but I think the manufacturing industry is neither very easy nor very difficult. Although the era of" lying to make money "has passed, this is the time to test the concentration and real strength of enterprises." Tian Nanlyu told the reporter of Securities Times· Vehicle Capital that he has been in the manufacturing field for many years and has been involved in various fields such as household electrical appliances and automotive electronics, but the new energy enterprise field attracts him the most.
In his view, in the future, with the coming of the outbreak period of electrification in the European market, Meta's development will enter a new stage, and DEREN Electronics' overall revenue scale will also enter the 10 billion level. The on-board charger business of new energy vehicles will undoubtedly become the key point for the company's revenue growth and overall performance improvement.
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