Brake lines are a testament to technical prowess, yet Chinese brake line companies lack core technology. Post-WTO, China's automotive industry policies dictated joint venture equity ratios for complete vehicles, but imposed no restrictions on foreign investment in the parts sector, directly leading to the hollowing out of core technology in China's parts industry. Currently, most domestic independent brake line companies are still at the stage of processing according to provided drawings and mapping out samples. Faced with the fast-paced high demand for new models, varieties, and technologies from整车 manufacturers, many independent brake line companies are merely struggling to meet research and development tasks, with no time to focus on enhancing their fundamental R&D capabilities and supporting capacities. With the development of China's automotive industry in recent years, China became one of the world's leading automotive production and sales countries in 2010. However, the industry widely believes that due to the lack of core technology and independent research and development capabilities, China can only be termed as an automotive giant, not a powerhouse. To truly strengthen, it must start with parts.
During the early stages of the domestic brake line industry, the localization level of brake lines was low. In 1994, the national automotive industry policy was issued, which proposed the requirement for localization and implemented a policy linking localization rates with preferential differential import tax rates, laying a solid foundation for the localization and development of parts. The localization of Santana cultivated a large number of high-level supporting enterprises in Shanghai and other regions across the country, with most new vehicles meeting over 40% domestic parts supply rates at the start. With the rapid development of the Chinese brake line industry and the entry of foreign parts enterprises into China, significant progress has been made in localization. Currently, the domestic parts supply rates for commercial vehicles and mid-to-low-end passenger cars have basically reached 100% at the time of production.
As the national economy deepens its development, China's labor costs will continue to rise, shifting the manufacturing cost advantage to countries or regions with lower labor costs. Small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry face potential issues such as insufficient technical development capabilities, limited production and processing capacity, and inadequate sales capabilities. To address these potential problems, brand-based operation is a path that many soft shaft companies will inevitably face. Industry enterprises should prepare for rainy days in advance, establish brand operation awareness, which will be a major direction for the future of China's soft shaft industry. For the domestic market, most soft shaft companies adopt the OBM business model, although they have their own brands, they lack marketing capabilities and brand awareness. Most companies' brand sales have not been fully utilized, and brand recognition is not high. Only a few soft shaft companies have a clear brand operation awareness and a strong marketing network, bringing better brand premium and recognition to the enterprise.
The new monitoring system will be closely integrated with fault diagnosis technology. During the monitoring process at the flexible shaft controller station, if common pump station operational faults are detected, the system can automatically retrieve stored fault patterns, identify the fault type, and suggest remedial measures, promptly resolving the issue. It also retains fault memories for self-learning, mimicking, and implementing complex human thought processes in monitoring, achieving intelligent control. This will enhance production efficiency, reduce requirements for operators, and realize true full automation of pump station monitoring.
