Chaohuache | Beyond the United States and Germany, Chinese automotive supply chain companies are rewriting the global industrial landscape

As the changes in the global automobile industry accelerate in 2026, a list published by the authoritative American automotive media has triggered heated discussions. China has 17 auto parts companies collectively on the list, leaving the United States, Germany, South Korea and other countries behind, and only temporarily falling behind Japan.

In the latest "2026 Top 100 Global Auto Parts Suppliers" released by the American "Automotive News" website with a history of more than a century, the total number of Chinese companies on the list has reached 17, an increase of 2 from last year, surpassing the United States and Germany for the first time, and second only to Japan, which ranks first. In 2013, there was only one Chinese company on the same list.

The Chinese companies in this list can be divided into three categories: CATL, Joyson Electronics, Guoxuan High-tech and other companies focus on power batteries and three-electric systems; some companies focus on automotive chips, representing core suppliers that have grown up on the new energy track; while companies such as Yanfeng produce interior parts and smart cockpits, which can be used in both fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles, and there is great room for development.

Jia Xinguang, an expert on the Chinese automobile industry, analyzed that to a large extent, the strength of a country's automobile industry depends on the strength of its own parts industry. In the past, the list of the top 100 global auto parts suppliers was basically occupied by companies from Japan, the United States and Germany. The changes in this list show that with the rise of China's new energy vehicle industry, China's automotive supply chain is also rapidly rising. This change is rewriting the original pattern of the global automotive industry.

Faced with the innovative vitality and rapid iteration cycles gushing out of the Chinese market, those multinational giants who once dominated the world took the initiative to seize opportunities. Since the beginning of this year, executives from European automotive supply chain giant Valeo and other companies have come to China intensively. Their purpose is only one - to get a "new ticket" to join hands with China's supply chain in the global automotive industry revolution.

The relevant person in charge of Valeo China said frankly that China's vehicle market is iterating quickly and has rich scenarios, and many demands for electrification and intelligent connectivity first broke out in China. Valeo's China R&D Center develops new technologies and new architectures based on local needs, and first completes large-scale mass production verification in China; after market testing, mature technologies and platforms are then deposited into the group's global technology library for the global market to select as needed.

Bosch Group, Germany's largest automotive supply chain company, has also experienced strong growth in its business in China. Its revenue in China increased to 15 billion euros in the last fiscal year, accounting for more than a quarter of its global automotive business revenue. Stefan Hartung, then chairman of the board of directors of Bosch Group, revealed in an interview with the media in the first half of this year that about 70% of the company’s smart travel business in China currently comes from cooperation with local Chinese car companies. "China is no longer just a manufacturing base, but also an important innovation base for us. In the development of new fields such as assisted driving and software, our Chinese team plays an increasingly central role," Hartung said.

The relevant person in charge of Eberspächer, a German auto parts supplier with a history of 160 years, recently admitted that the company’s “hope for turning around” lies in China. Eberspächer CEO Steins said that the company is not only in in-depth discussions with Chinese customers about its electric vehicle business, but also that the innovative technologies brought by its approximately 100 engineers in China will be "reversely imported" into the German local market in the future.

This wave of moving closer to China's supply chain goes far beyond the foreign giants deeply involved in China. It has also become an irreplaceable overseas cooperation option for some traditional automobile powers.

Japanese car companies have invested intensively in India, trying to build it into an electric transformation base, while China's supply chain has become a "rigid need" for Japanese car companies.

Chen Yan, executive director of the Japan Enterprise (China) Research Institute, who recently went to Japan to investigate manufacturing trends, said that Japanese companies are betting on India, but China's supply chain is still an important factor that cannot be avoided. Take Honda as an example. Its global procurement system has long purchased parts from China and supplied parts made in China to other production bases in Asia.

Similar stories are playing out in Europe. The French auto market delivered a good answer in August this year—pure electric vehicles historically surpassed traditional fuel and hybrid vehicles and topped the list of new car sales. French local brands’ share of pure electric vehicles has jumped significantly.

Behind the story of this "local rise", European automobile giants represented by Renault are deeply symbiotic with Chinese companies in the core fields of batteries and supply chain. Wang Songtao, executive vice president of global sales and solutions for Envision Dynamics EV, said: "We have completely moved China's mature battery intelligent manufacturing system to the local factory in the 'Battery Valley' in northern France. Many of Renault's best-selling electric vehicles have chosen the batteries we provide."

Renault Group CEO Foran has also publicly stated that the company's electric vehicles can have extremely competitive pricing and excellent performance entirely due to the stable and high-quality delivery of Chinese factories.

As Chinese auto parts companies rise, what new requirements do the complex overseas markets place on Chinese companies?

Zhou Xiaoyang, president of Guangdong Xinjuneng Semiconductor Co., Ltd., said that currently, both developed economies such as the European Union and emerging markets such as Brazil and Southeast Asia are increasingly emphasizing the local assembly and manufacturing of new vehicles and the localization rate of parts. For Chinese automobile supply chain companies, true global competition is not just about selling cars around the world, but also about establishing localized manufacturing and service capabilities in key global markets.

Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor at the School of International Economics and Trade at the Central University of Finance and Economics, believes that currently global industrial trade protectionism is on the rise, and many industrial chains are shrinking towards regionalization and stratification. The large-scale deployment of multinational parts and components companies in China to dock orders from domestic car companies constitutes a realistic example of the deep integration of Chinese and foreign supply chains, hedging against the pressure of decoupling and fragmentation of industrial chains. China's huge market demand not only maintains the ties of global industrial collaboration, but also provides irreplaceable and important support for the stable operation of the global automobile industry.

China's new energy automobile industry is ushering in a broader international market, which will strongly feed back the growth of Chinese auto parts companies. In the future, the strength of enterprises in electronic control, automotive chips and other fields will continue to increase. However, drastic changes in the global supply chain have also brought about practical challenges. How Chinese companies continue to expand overseas business despite geographical barriers will be a long-term issue they need to face.

The future competition in the global automobile market will no longer only depend on which car company's logo is hung on the front of the car, but on innovation and efficiency. It must complete technological iteration and ecological reconstruction before being surpassed by competitors.