Grupo Antolin has built a huge presence in China over the past two decades. In 2022, the Spanish supplier’s sales revenue in Asia Pacific, where China is its key market, rose 24 percent to top 730 million euros ($806 million).
Ramon Sotomayor, CEO of Antolin, talked to Automotive News China during the Shanghai auto show on how the company is positioned in the Chinese market. The questions and answers during the interview were condensed and edited for clarity.
Q: What kind of presence has Antolin built in China?
A: We entered the Chinese market in 2003. So, it will be 20 years this year. We currently have a strong presence thanks to 25 plants, three technical centers, and more than 3,600 people working in China for Antolin.
For Antolin, China is a key market considering the relevant role that this country plays in the automotive industry. Our strength in China is that we have the technological capability to deliver the most complete and state-of-the-art portfolio of products and solutions for vehicle interiors on the market.
Q: What products does your company supply in China?
A: Basically, we supply all our products and solutions here in China such us headliners, doors, instrument panels and lighting. So, for some customers we make the headliners, for others, the doors, and for many of them we make the instrument panels, a business which is very strong in China. We have an extensive technology range that we are honing with new capabilities in electronics, lighting, and HMI (human-machine interface) solutions.
Q: What kind of products are generating strong revenue for Antolin in China?
A: For us a very important business is the whole cockpit and consoles in China. We see a lot of growth in the cockpit and IPs (instrument panels) but also in our electronics and lighting business. Lighting, electronics and HMI solutions are very strong in our product portfolio. We see that lighting and electronics for HMI are very much in demand by customers so we will see the biggest growth in that area.
Q: Who are Antolin’s main clients in this market?
A: We work with basically all the players, Chinese brands and also international brands. We have premium brands (in our clients), but we also supply volume brands. There is at least one of our products in 23 percent of the vehicles sold in China.
Q: What is the biggest trend in the development of automotive interiors these days?
A: The integration of technology has accelerated amazingly. Our traditional products are the IPs, the doors and the headliner. Now all these traditional products are supported by technology. We are developing solutions that integrate all the technology. We're taking those products even further. For example, the center console is gaining a big role in the car and is also integrating a lot of technology. And then electric vehicles also give us more opportunities because the central console can move. You don't have the shaft so you can move the central console back and forward. You can see it here in our booth at the auto show.
Q: Compared with other markets, do you see any trends which are especially strong here in China?
A: We see a very strong trend which is the inclusion of technology within the car. The introduction of technology in the interiors of cars in China is higher than anywhere else. When we do a program for a Chinese brand, we have to develop it much faster than elsewhere.
And the Chinese market is incredibly receptive to anything new that might be happening elsewhere. On top of that, a lot of new things are being developed in the Chinese market. So, for us, we have the perfect combination of bringing experience and learning from this market at the same time.
In addition, our knowledge in the development of sustainable solutions is an opportunity for clients in China. They can take advantage of all the developments we do in other markets seeking to reduce the weight of our products or increase recyclability.
Q: How big is China in your global operations, if you look at the revenue?
A: At this moment, Asia is 16 percent of our global revenue and we expect this region to represent 20 percent of our total sales in the near future. And China is key to that growth. As part of our transformation plan, China is the market with higher potential in terms of future growth. We believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities here as a result of our existing footprint of high-quality production facilities in the region.
