Companies like Yanfeng Automotive Interiors are important members of the global automotive supply chain. Beyond providing critical components, Yanfeng and its Chinese colleagues may be paving the way for China's auto manufacturers to enter the US, the world's most prestigious auto market.

Chinese car companies have been successful in foreign markets like Brazil, Egypt, Russia and Thailand. Volvo - a unit of Zhejiang Geely Automobile Co - sells vehicles in the US, including the S60 sedan made in China. Sometime this year General Motors' Buick division will begin selling the Chinese-made Envision SUV in the US.

But Chinese auto makers are missing from the American market. Analysts think that Yanfeng and other Chinese auto suppliers may provide the experience and a network of connections to the mainland's auto companies to enter the US.

"By running factories there and hiring local people in the US, it will pave the way for the Chinese to build and sell cars there ultimately," Dong Yang, a vice-president of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told The Wall Street Journal in 2015.

It's another reason why Michigan, the widely acknowledged automotive capital of the US, is now home for several Chinese companies like Yanfeng that produce a wide range of auto parts, including car batteries, seat belts and shock absorbers.

David Wang, vice-president and deputy general manager of North America for Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, is proud that Yanfeng is now a tier-one automotive supplier. Tier-one companies are direct suppliers to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like General Motors (GM) and FCA Chrysler.

"To be a successful tier-one supplier you have to be close to the customer. Auto manufacturers utilize just-in-time manufacturing, which means tier-one suppliers must be able to supply their OEMs in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Having a facility like this (located in Harrison Township, Michigan) means we are close and able to give our customers a quality product," said Wang.

Yanfeng is owned by the in-house supplier to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp - or SAIC - the Chinese partner of GM and Volkswagen AG. Yanfeng began organic growth in the US, and eventually formed a joint venture with Johnson Controls Inc, another major auto supplier, in 2015. The partnership is now the world's biggest producer of instrument panels, door panels and consoles with revenue of $8.5 billion. Yanfeng owns 70 percent of the joint venture; Johnson has 30 percent.

"Before 2010 we were just in China," said Wang. "In 2010 we got the chance to become a tier-one supplier for Chrysler in the Detroit area"

In 2010, Yanfeng established a plant in Warren, Michigan, and successfully began the Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango door trim programs for Chrysler. Later it purchased the plant in Harrison Township, and successfully managed the Buick Regal door panel program for GM. In 2012, Yanfeng secured new business from Chevrolet's plant in Kansas that makes the Malibu. In 2014 that led to the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Riverside, Missouri.

Yanfeng Automotive Interiors' core product portfolio includes instrument panels and cockpit systems, door panels, floor consoles and overhead consoles. The company has more than 90 manufacturing and technical centers and employs over 28,000 people globally.

Today, the Yanfeng Automotive Interiors joint venture has over 10,000 employees in the US. Yanfeng expects to eventually employ more than 300 at a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to produce interiors for the new sport-utility vehicle Volkswagen that will be produced there. It is expected to be operating later this year.

paulwelitzkin@|chinadailyusa.com