Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone, an emerging NEV-focused auto base

The BYD Explorer No. 1, a roll-on/roll-off ship, docks at the Xiaomo International Logistics Port in Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone in this Jan. 14 file photo. Photos by Xinhua

A view of the BYD Automobile Industrial Park in the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone.

AN industrial investment and promotion conference was held at the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone on Monday, attracting representatives from 170 firms and investment institutions in intelligent connected vehicles, new energy, high-performance materials, and high-end electronic chemicals.

At the conference, a total of 19 projects involving over 10 billion yuan (US$1.38 billion) in investment were signed.

BYD agreed to invest 6.5 billion yuan in Phase III of its automobile park — battery pack lines and the production of core components for new energy vehicles (NEVs) — in the zone. The estimated annual output value of the project is 10 billion yuan.

Since the establishment of the Shenzhen Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone in 2018, the GDP of the zone has seen an average annual growth rate of over 26%. The average annual growth rate of fixed asset investment exceeded 40%. In the first quarter of this year, the GDP growth rate reached 70%.

The zone, an enclave district of Shenzhen located 60 kilometers to the east of the city, is set to become a world-class auto production base focused on the NEV sector and supported by the new energy storage, new materials, and intelligent manufacturing robotics industries.

Auto sector

In 2021, BYD invested 5 billion yuan to build Phase I of the BYD Automobile Industrial Park in the zone, which now carries out research and development (R&D) and production of auto parts and core products of supporting industries. In 2022, BYD invested another 20 billion yuan to construct Phase II. Once completed, the annual output value of the two phases is expected to exceed 110 billion yuan.

Phase I, which focuses on the development of the NEV parts and components industry, had 16 factories in full production by December 2023.

Phase II, a production base for complete NEVs, is a strategic hub for BYD’s capacity expansion in southern China and coordinated operation with the Xiaomo International Logistics Port.

Vehicles manufactured at the Phase II production base can be transported to the Xiaomo port in five minutes and driven onto roll-on/roll-off ships for export. This factory-port linkage model has significantly reduced the company’s logistical costs.

The Xiaomo port is Shenzhen’s only port that runs roll-on/roll-off vehicle export businesses. In 2023, 20,000 vehicles were exported from the port, accounting for nearly 30% of Shenzhen’s total vehicle exports.

Focused on developing international trade businesses for automotive components and complete vehicles, the port aims to become an automotive trade and logistics base in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and help Shenzhen become a world-class automobile city.

Since opening, the vehicle export businesses based at the port have seen a significant surge. In the first quarter alone, a total of 14,415 NEVs were exported, accounting for 72% of total annual vehicle exports in 2023.

The port aims to export between 70,000 and 100,000 vehicles by the end of the year. Over 300,000 vehicles are expected to be shipped to overseas markets annually through the port by 2025, with the number rising to more than 1 million by 2030.

Supporting industries

With BYD as the leading firm, more than 20 NEV companies, such as BWI, Lear-DFM Automotive Seating, Faurecia, and Gecko, have settled in the cooperation zone, accelerating the formation of an NEV manufacturing hub in the area.

Operating at an impressive pace of one set of seats rolling off the production line every 1.5 minutes across seven production lines, the Lear-DFM Automotive Seating plant can achieve a maximum capacity of 400,000 seat sets in a year.

Shanghai-based Yanfeng Corp., a cabin system service provider for automobiles, has established a factory in the zone located 2 kilometers away from BYD’s Phase II plant. The factory has secured major model orders, catering particularly to high-end models from BYD.

Statistics show that Shenshan has attracted a total of nearly 100 billion yuan in industrial project investment, promising an annual output value of nearly 300 billion yuan upon all projects reaching optimal production capacity. At present, 40 projects are under construction, with a collective investment totaling 45 billion yuan and an anticipated total output value of 130 billion yuan.

“The enhancement of the business environment, coupled with favorable policies for enterprises, has instilled a greater sense of confidence, strength, and motivation among companies to develop in Shenshan,” He Long, vice president of BYD, said at Monday’s promotion conference. (Shenzhen Daily)