ZF Services (China), the aftermarket division of German automotive components supplier, ZF Friedrichshafen, has recently opened a 7,500 sq.m facility in Shanghai that includes its new headquarters, along with an expanded logistics warehousing centre and remanufacturing base.
The company said the base will coordinate all of ZF Services’ business in China and support the sales and service network, which comprises 130 dealers and a further 40 authorised partners.
“The Asia-Pacific region, especially the Chinese market, is one of the most important markets for ZF,” said Alois Ludwig, chairman of the board of directors at ZF services. “We absolutely believe in the great potential of the Chinese automobile aftermarket in the next three to five years.”
Based in the Xu Hui district of China, alongside all management functions, the centre also includes laboratories and a training centre.
Sales of ZF services in China in 2013 amounted to RMB 2.84 billion ($462m), a 12.6% increase on the previous year, and the company said it expected the business to see a similar increase for figures in 2014.
“We have faith on the development of ZF services in Chinese market.” said managing director of ZF Services (China) Dr Shih-Jen Yeh. “The particularity of Chinese automobile aftermarket, for example, the current distribution of automobile ownership and the regional discrepancy of automobile structure, raises special demands for maintenance, and technical supporting compared to that in mature markets.”
He went on to say that these demands would be met by ZF Services and the advantages it gleaned as a global technology provider.
