The Development History of China's Wiring Harness Industry: a Magnificent Journey from its Early Stages to becoming a Global Leader
The inception of China's wiring harness industry can be traced back to the 1950s, resembling a new sprout in early spring, growing slowly under the planned economy system. State-owned enterprises such as Changchun FAW and Shanghai Volkswagen, as complete vehicle manufacturers, took the lead in establishing supporting wiring harness workshops, adopting Soviet technical standards to produce bundled wiring harnesses with simple structures. During this period, production equipment was rudimentary, akin to a handmade workshop, and the process remained at the primitive stage of scissors and tape. The annual output was less than one million sets, yet it sowed the first seed for the industry.
The spring breeze of reform and opening up (metaphor) has invigorated the soil for industrial development. In the 1980s, international giants such as Delphi and Yazaki, like migratory birds (personification), flocked to set up factories in China, bringing advanced technologies such as fully automatic crimping machines and 3D wiring design software. Under the guidance of the "market for technology" policy, local enterprises such as Tianhai Electric and Huguang Shares gradually mastered core processes such as ultrasonic welding and laser marking through technology introduction, digestion, and absorption. By 2000, China's annual production capacity of wire harnesses had exceeded 100 million sets, forming three major industrial clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Bohai Rim, which, like three legs of a tripod (metaphor), supported the industrial framework.
However, the path to growth is not smooth. During the financial crisis in 2008, raw material prices fluctuated violently like a roller coaster, with copper prices rising by 40% in a single month, forcing companies to embark on a material revolution by switching from copper to aluminum. In 2015, the EU's ELV directive erected technical barriers, compelling the industry to tackle environmental challenges such as halogen-free flame retardant and degradable insulation materials. These challenges, like a tempered steel blade, forged the resilience of local enterprises. For example, AVIC Optronic successfully developed aviation wiring harnesses that can withstand high temperatures of 200°C, breaking the technological monopoly of the West. Deren Electronics developed a 48V mild hybrid system wiring harness that reduces energy consumption by 15%, gaining recognition from top global automakers.
Today, China's wire harness industry has become one of the leading players globally. In 2022, its global market share reached 34%, surpassing Japan and Germany to become the largest exporter. In the new energy sector, CATL's high-voltage wire harness system boasts an energy density of 250Wh/kg, which is 8% higher than Tesla's V4 Supercharger cable. In the field of intelligent and connected vehicles, Huawei's in-vehicle Ethernet cable transmission rate has exceeded 10Gbps, providing a high-speed channel akin to a "neural network" for autonomous driving.
Looking ahead, technological evolution presents three major trends: in terms of lightweighting, carbon fiber conductive materials can reduce the weight of wiring harnesses by 60%; in the direction of integration, BYD's "blade wiring harness" integrates power, signal, and data lines into one; in the field of intelligence, the self-diagnostic wiring harness developed by Suzhou Ruikeda can monitor insulation aging in real time. Driven by the wave of the "new four modernizations" in automobiles, China's wiring harness industry is transitioning from "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing". It is expected to achieve full industrial chain autonomy and controllability by 2030, becoming a global standard-setter in technology.
