In the neatly arranged machine array, mechanical arms of various sizes tirelessly grab and rotate, with brand new brake calipers, brackets, steering knuckles, and other components shuttling along the production line... On May 15, the intelligent workshop of Henan Xiangrui Auto Parts Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Xiangrui Company) located in Yuanyang County was bustling with activity. This is the largest production base for electronic parking brake caliper brackets in the province.

"Electronic parking, commonly known as 'electronic handbrake', is referred to as the EPB system in the industry. The core component, the EPB caliper, has been under development since 2013, and in 2021, we invested over 70 million yuan for technological upgrades," said Zhang Wei, general manager of Xiangrui Company. The company currently has an annual production capacity of 4 million electronic parking brake caliper brackets and is a supplier for well-known enterprises such as BYD Auto, GAC Asia-Pacific, and Chen Zhi Technology.

It is reported that with the development of the automotive industry, electronic parking brake systems have become a mainstream trend in the industry. In Yuanyang County, where brake production started early and has strong foundational research and development capabilities, efforts have been made in recent years to accelerate the layout of new production capacities, promote the high-end, intelligent, and green transformation of the manufacturing industry, and drive high-quality development in the Yellow River basin.

"With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy, the sales of new energy vehicles have rapidly grown. In 2019, we shifted our focus to the research and production of new energy vehicle brakes," said Lou Zhixuan, chairman of Henan Wan'an Brake Co., Ltd. The requirements for comfort, safety, and energy conservation in new energy vehicles are gradually increasing, bringing new demands and opportunities for chassis brake control systems. The company's developed forklift brakes have a compact structure and can complete braking over short distances. Currently, all BYD electric logistics vehicles use Wan'an brake products.

In recent years, Yuanyang County has firmly grasped the opportunity of Zhengzhou's construction as a national key research and production base for new energy vehicle key components and complete vehicles. Led by Wanxiang Qianchao Intelligent Manufacturing and Xiangrui Auto Parts, the county aims to consolidate and enhance the advantages of automotive braking and steering systems, expand production capacity, strengthen competitiveness in the automotive parts market, and build leading enterprises in the automotive parts sector. In 2023, an automotive parts industrial park with an investment of 5 billion yuan and covering 1,173 acres was fully launched, with four companies including Ruili Metal, Zhongli Brake, Skat Automotive Technology, and Longhai Engineering Machinery starting construction, and five companies including Shanghai Zhaofeng and Languang Electronic Technology signing contracts to settle in.

To enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises, Yuanyang County encourages companies to increase their efforts in technological innovation. The county's financial expenditure on science and technology has increased by 15.2%, and the added value of high-tech industries accounts for 31.4% of the added value of above-scale industries. 'Gazelle' enterprises and provincial-level manufacturing single champion enterprises have achieved a breakthrough of 'zero', with 22 new national high-tech enterprises and 29 provincial-level innovative small and medium-sized enterprises added. The coverage rate of R&D activities among above-scale industrial enterprises has reached 91.4%, ranking second in Xinxiang City.

Currently, Yuanyang County is fully promoting the construction of the automotive parts industrial park. Four projects including Ruili Metal, Skat Automotive Technology, Zhongli Brake, and Longhai Engineering Machinery are expected to be completed and put into production within the year, while five projects including Shanghai Zhaofeng and Zhongtian Membrane Technology have started construction. At the same time, efforts are being made to actively guide automotive parts companies from outside the region to relocate and settle in, achieving cluster development, with the goal of exceeding 6 billion yuan in revenue for automotive parts companies within the year.