The newly crowned "top province in the automotive industry" has taken action again.
A merger has once again pushed Anhui's state - owned assets into the spotlight.
On the evening of February 8th, Shanshan Co., Ltd. (600884.SH) announced that its controlling shareholder, Shanshan Group, and its wholly - owned subsidiary, Pengze Trading, had signed a "Reorganization Investment Agreement" with the reorganization investors, Anhui Wei Group and Ningbo Jinzi.
According to the agreement, Anhui Wei Group will achieve voting rights control of 21.88% of Shanshan Co., Ltd.'s equity or reach a concerted action with relevant parties at a total consideration of no more than 7.156 billion yuan. If the subsequent reorganization process is successfully completed, the controlling shareholder of Shanshan Co., Ltd. will change to Anhui Wei Group, and the actual controller will change to the State - owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Anhui Province.
In the eyes of the outside world, this is another effort by Anhui's state - owned assets to "promote production through investment", and a strategic industrial integration of the new materials industry chain is also expected to kick off -
On one side is Anhui Wei Group, whose main business is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and its derivatives. On the other side is Shanshan Co., Ltd., with lithium - ion battery anode materials and polarizer business as its core assets. They happen to form a complementary relationship. Their synergy is aimed at Anhui's booming automobile industry.
Last year, Anhui's automobile production exceeded that of Guangdong for the first time, ranking first in the country. Entering a new stage, the problems of the lack of leading auto parts enterprises and insufficient self - supply of some key auto parts have increasingly restricted the value improvement of Anhui's automobile industry. In addition to Shanshan Co., Ltd., Anhui's state - owned assets also acquired several auto parts enterprises last year to accelerate the filling of short - board gaps.
In the rapidly changing automobile industry, Anhui has already started the "second half" competition.
Make Another Effort
Last year, mergers and acquisitions became the "key word" for Hefei's state - owned asset investment.
Against the backdrop that in 2024, a series of national - level policies encouraging mergers and acquisitions, including the "Nine National Policies", the "Eight Policies for the Science and Technology Innovation Board", and the "Six Policies for Mergers and Acquisitions", were introduced, kicking off a new wave of mergers and acquisitions.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency
Anhui quickly followed up. In December of that year, it took the lead in the country by issuing the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting Enterprises to Carry out Mergers and Reorganizations" and several policies in the name of the provincial government.
Anhui's state - owned assets, which have always been at the forefront, also became the "leader" in this round of mergers and acquisitions. Data shows that from January to November last year, Anhui's local state - owned assets participated in 8 acquisitions of listed companies, ranking first in the country.
The automobile industry is precisely the "explosive area".
As early as July 2024, Huangshan's state - owned assets indirectly acquired the actual control of Guangyang Co., Ltd. (002708.SZ) for about 1.157 billion yuan, marking the beginning of Anhui's current wave of mergers and acquisitions.
Almost at the same time, the company signed a "Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement" with the Huangshan High - tech Zone Management Committee in Anhui to promote the establishment of a "long - term and in - depth strategic cooperation relationship".
Guangyang Co., Ltd. believes that the agreement is conducive to the company's improvement of the upstream and downstream industrial chain layout of new energy vehicle parts, and at the same time, it will jointly layout the new energy industry chain with the local government in Huangshan to promote the development of the new energy vehicle industry.
Three months later, Guangyang Co., Ltd. quickly completed the work of leasing factories and establishing production capacity, and simultaneously promoted the construction of the Huangshan Guangyang base. After the project is completed and reaches production capacity, it is expected to achieve an annual output value of over 1.6 billion yuan and annual tax payments of over 50 million yuan.
Behind the mergers and acquisitions lies the in - depth need for industrial layout.
A relevant person in charge of the Anhui Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology once pointed out in an interview with the media that compared with the wave of mergers and acquisitions from 2014 to 2016, this round of mergers and acquisitions has shifted from mainly capital - operation - based mergers and acquisitions to mainly industrial mergers and acquisitions, and from "scale expansion" to "value reconstruction". It mainly focuses on strengthening and supplementing the industrial chain, and realizes the improvement of added value through multi - dimensional integration, thus producing a synergistic effect of "1 + 1>2".
One detail is that the office for the coordination mechanism to support enterprises in carrying out mergers and reorganizations is also located in the Anhui Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology rather than the financial department, which clearly shows the intention to promote the growth of enterprises through industrial mergers and acquisitions and enhance the competitive advantages of key industries.
After Guangyang Co., Ltd., state - owned assets in many prefecture - level cities in Anhui have also "increased their bets" on the automobile industry.
In August last year, Huangshan Investment Group obtained control of Tianjin Ruixin Technology (300828.SZ) through "agreement acquisition + waiver of voting rights". The latter's main products include automotive lightweight and automotive thermal management system components, which once again promoted the strengthening of Huangshan's automobile industry chain.
Ma'anshan Jiangdong Industrial Investment acquired Landai Technology (002765.SZ), also focusing on the core supporting links of new energy vehicles, forming a synergy with the local automobile manufacturing industrial cluster.
At the end of last year, Chuzhou's state - owned assets took control of Yichang Technology (002420.SZ), the "first stock in China's industrial design", achieving a "zero breakthrough" in the acquisition of listed companies in the industrial chain by Chuzhou's municipal - level state - owned assets. The aim is to enhance its core competitiveness in the field of new energy vehicle liquid - cooling structural parts.
Make Up for Short - Boards
Recently, Anhui has held a series of meetings, and promoting the high - quality development of the automobile industry is the core topic.
Wang Qingxian, the governor of Anhui Province, emphasized that it is necessary to accelerate the construction of an internationally competitive innovation ecosystem for the automobile industry, and promote the quality improvement, upgrading, and stable development of Anhui's automobile industry.
With Anhui becoming the province with the highest automobile production last year, its automobile industry is entering a new stage.
As Zhong Zhihua, the director of the Strategic Advisory Committee for the Construction of the New Energy Vehicle Industry Cluster in Anhui Province, previously said, "To develop the automobile industry, of course, scale is necessary, but then quality improvement, brand building, and capacity enhancement should be emphasized."
For Anhui, the focus is on the industrial chain.
Local media pointed out that compared with Guangdong, although Anhui has surpassed Guangdong in the number of complete vehicles, when focusing on the specific industrial chain, Anhui still has obvious short - boards. While achieving a "closed - loop of automobile manufacturing", Anhui lacks well - known and influential parts manufacturers, and there is even a risk of being "strangled" in key areas such as chips.
Conversely, the industrial chain is precisely an important reason for the development of Anhui's automobile industry. Figures show that in 2024, auto parts enterprises accounted for 60% of the total number of enterprises in Anhui's automobile industry chain and contributed 48% of the industrial chain's revenue.
In a sense, for Anhui to promote the high - quality development of the automobile industry, it is inseparable from the improvement of the quality and efficiency of the auto parts industry. The model of state - owned assets leading industrial development "verified" in Hefei is quite suitable for the vertical division of labor pattern of automobile manufacturing in Anhui's prefecture - level cities.
Looking at Anhui's automobile manufacturing map, it is not difficult to find a network - like ecosystem of "dual - core leadership - multi - point support". In the overall situation of automobile manufacturing in the whole province, each city has its own ecological niche:
Xuancheng is one of the three major auto parts production bases in Anhui Province; Tongling and Ma'anshan focus on battery materials; Anqing focuses on "three - electric systems" and special vehicles; Chizhou specializes in magnesium - aluminum light alloy parts and automotive electronics; Bozhou cultivates "three - electric system" accessories; Bengbu focuses on in - vehicle displays, automotive glass, and sensors; Huaibei explores ceramic - aluminum new materials; Lu'an lays out hydrogen fuel cells...
Under a clear and differentiated division of labor, it is also convenient for each region to mobilize resources, concentrate efforts, and implement precise policies.
For example, Huangshan, which has been relatively quick in state - owned asset mergers and acquisitions, has identified sub - industrial tracks such as automotive electronics and electrical appliances, brake pads, automotive steering systems, IGBT copper baseplate radiators, and automotive seat frames. New projects including Guangyang Co., Ltd. are not only expected to enhance the visibility and technological level of key industries but also expand new fields such as automotive bearings, axles, intelligent connected vehicle parts, and special vehicles for Huangshan.
A relevant person in charge of the Anhui Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology once pointed out that local platform companies' mergers and acquisitions can introduce high - quality assets for local industrial development. Through the path of "targeting the track, precise layout, collaborative empowerment, and ecosystem construction", they can accelerate the upgrading and expansion of local industries.
Build an Ecosystem
More importantly, the entire automobile industry is at a new leap - forward "juncture", and Anhui also needs to reserve resources and build up momentum in advance.
Previously, the suggestions for Anhui's 15th Five - Year Plan proposed to focus on strategic emerging industries such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, promote the construction of innovation facilities, technological research and development, and product iteration and upgrading in an integrated manner, and accelerate the cluster - based and large - scale development of emerging industries.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency
At the beginning of last year, at the 2025 China Electric Vehicle 100 - Person Forum, Wang Chuanfu, the chairman and president of BYD Auto, predicted that if the electrification in the first half was an improvement, the intelligence in the second half would be subversive.
In the eyes of the outside world, the competition in the "second half" of the automobile industry will focus more on core technologies, system integration, and ecosystem construction.
Automobile manufacturers have already taken action.
A month ago, NIO held a ceremony for the offline production of its 1 millionth mass - produced vehicle in Hefei Economic Development Zone. In the eyes of Li Bin, the founder of NIO, this is a "new starting point". NIO, Chery, and Jianghuai Automobile, the three major automobile manufacturers in Anhui, gathered together and signed an agreement on industrial collaborative innovation, aiming to actively build an open, collaborative, and internationally competitive industrial ecosystem and promote the automobile industry to leap from "scale leadership" to "value leadership".
For Anhui's "scattered" automobile manufacturing system, this also means that a new round of ecosystem construction needs to be promoted as a whole, and the driving force for transformation needs to be transmitted to the upstream of the industrial chain.
Some people have also turned their attention to Guangdong again.
One view is that compared with Anhui, Guangdong still has a leading edge in terms of the core of intelligent connectivity, luxury automobile enterprises, and the thickness of the value chain. High - end elements and global brands are the foundation supporting its industrial transformation.
Data shows that as one of the earliest cities in China to explore autonomous driving, Guangzhou has opened 1,298 test roads for autonomous driving, ranking first in the country. This year, Guangzhou also became the first city in China where the application of vehicle - networking in - vehicle terminals exceeded 10,000. In the eyes of the outside world, Guangdong is expected to transform from the "province with the highest automobile production" to the "province with the most developed automobile industry".
In contrast, Ren Linjie, the executive secretary of the Anhui Automobile Strategy Advisory Committee and the director of the Anhui Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Innovation Center, once pointed out in an interview that the northern part of Anhui, which is accelerating the construction of the auto parts industry cluster, still has problems such as insufficient penetration rate of intelligent connected technologies and relatively imperfect industrial layout.
Yin Tongyue, the chairman of Chery, once said that automobile manufacturing is a marathon. When accelerating, you must master the rhythm and adjust your breathing so that you can run longer. Facing this far - from - ending game, Anhui still needs to continuously update its strategies and maintain its focus.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Urban Evolution Theory", author: Yang Qifei. Republished by 36Kr with permission.