Leading Chinese auto parts suppliers have continued to post growth in sales revenue in the past year, with more becoming top ranking suppliers in the global market, said consulting firm Roland Berger at a press conference for the Top 100 Chinese and global suppliers held by the China Automotive News in Beijing on Oct 30.

Based on the sales revenue of more than 500 automobile suppliers in 2017, Roland Berger also released a whitepaper at the event, which focuses on the two lists and the change in the automobile market in 2018.

The two lists provide a clear picture of leading international suppliers and Chinese auto parts companies, and will push the development of the auto industry by case analysis and experience sharing, said Xin Ning, president of China Automotive News.

According to Thomas Fang, global partner of Roland Berger, total revenue of the Top 100 Chinese suppliers in 2017 was 1.15 trillion yuan, up 36.32 percent on a yearly basis. The entrance threshold of the list rose from 1.4 billion yuan in 2016 to 1.88 billion yuan last year, indicating a larger scale of auto parts companies.

Seventeen suppliers in the global Top 100 posted sales revenue of over 1 trillion yuan ($143.7 billion) in 2017, lifting the list's benchmark revenue to 13.13 billion yuan. Bosch, Continental, and Denso grabbed the top three places, while China's Weichai Power and Huayu Auto took the fifth and the 11th posts.

A total of 18 Chinese suppliers are listed in the Top 100 global suppliers, one spot more than that of the last year. Weichai Power, the only Chinese company to post a sales revenue of over 200 billion yuan, jumped five places this year to the fifth place.

Huayu Auto ascended one place to the 11th this year, registering a sales revenue of 140 billion yuan. Another 16 Chinese suppliers ranked from No 37 to No 98 in 2018, according to the ranking list.

Eighty-seven companies were listed in the Top 100 Global Suppliers list for the second year, with around 86 percent of them witnessing revenue increase. Thanks to the rebound of commercial vehicle market last year, a total of 11 companies posted revenue growth of over 50 percent, with most of them supplying transmissions and diesel engines to commercial vehicles.

Sales revenue of 34 suppliers rose over 20 percent last year, with most of them suppliers for transmissions, electrified power systems, on-board information system, and body electronics.

According to Roland Berger, future development of supplier segments is deeply connected to the automobile industry, with electrification, autonomous driving and digitalization three major trends.

Segments such as on-board information system are seeing major opportunities, while certain traditional fuel system such as small-displacement engine will remain steady growth in short to medium term, according to Roland Berger analysis.

The consulting firm also said that as the global auto industry has entered into a new normal of slow growth, auto parts suppliers will face continuous but slow revenue growth at around 3 percent in a short term, with industrial average profit margin stable at 7 percent.

As the high growing tendency is disappearing, local suppliers should find new methods to confronting with intensified competition and avoiding low value-added products, Roland Berger added.