Making cars in China is not an easy business, every foreign car company that wishes to build in China has to partner with a local company. Early arrivals such as Volkswagen snapped up the best with First Automobile Works and Shanghai Auto Industry Corp, other later arrivals such as BMW had to make do with smaller regional players such as Brilliance Auto, then there are those such as Subaru and Renault who have been unable to find a willing partner.

30 years ago, when China opened up to the foreign car makers, the former China National Automobile Industry Corporation made it a rule that every foreign car maker has to found a joint venture with Chinese partners and the latter must hold no less than 50% shares. China wanted to learn from foreign partners and beat them in the future. Thanks to this rule, China has not been another Brazil or Argentina, although Chinese car makers still have too much to learn.

However, foreign suppliers are not fettered by the rule. Bosch owns 17 companies in China, but only 10 are joint ventures. Even Honda, a partner of Dongfeng-Honda and Guangqi-Honda, is operating a single proprietorship which produces automatic transmissions for the two joint ventures. Thus, even though many Chinese local car makers are growing rapidly, they depend on foreign suppliers to acquire some key parts or systems. Chinese local suppliers cannot rest easy in the firm competition.

This scene will not repeat in new energy vehicle industry. The Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (a draft document which is still under discussion) was published by China Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council in April, 2011. According to this draft, foreign companies are encouraged to invest the manufacturing industry of key parts for new energy vehicles, but foreign investments shall not exceed 50%. This is the first documentation to rule foreign suppliers’ shares in China.

The key parts include high-capacity batteries, cathode materials for batteries, separators for batteries, battery management systems (BMS), electric motor management systems, EV controlling integrated circuits, EV driving motors, DC/DC converters, insulated-gate bipolar transistors, PHEV electromechanical coupling systems, electric air conditioners, electric brakes, electric power steerings, start/stop motors, wheel hub motors, fuel cell stacks, hydrogen storage systems, onboard chargers, offboard chargers, etc. In a word, they are all key parts for BEV, PHEV and FCV you can imagine. Because these parts are not in mass production in China today, global suppliers’ existing factories are not heavily involved as of yet.

This restriction provides Chinese local suppliers with more chance to develop, but can they hold it? Only time will tell.