China Automotive Systems Registered Record High Monthly Shipments to Commercial Vehicle Market in China

- Reached monthly run rate of 70,000 steering units shipped to leading Chinese OEMs and North America aftermarket  -

- New steering product and production line are ready for autonomous driving trucks and buses -

WUHAN, China, Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- China Automotive Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAAS) ("CAAS" or the "Company"), a leading power steering components and systems supplier in China, today announced that it shipped approximately 70,000 commercial vehicle steering systems to leading Chinese truck OEM producers and the North America aftermarket in the month of November. 

As Chinese industrial production accelerated its recovery after the pandemic, the leading Chinese truck producers such as Beiqi Foton, Shaanxi Auto, SinoTruck, FAW and Dongfeng Motor have significantly increased their orders to CAAS in recent months. In the month of November, total shipments of commercial vehicle steering systems has reached a Company monthly historical high, and the monthly sales run rate of 70,000 units is expected to continue into the first quarter of 2021.

In addition, a brand-new assembly line for intelligent RCB steering systems ("iRCB") for commercial vehicles has been installed and is currently undergoing testing.  Specifically designed for autonomous-driven commercial vehicles, CAAS' proprietary commercial vehicle iRCB systems feature electric motor assisted power steering to provide maximum assistance in parking, and in lane keeping at highway speeds.  While the Company plans to officially launch the product in 2021, more than 10 major domestic OEMs have already expressed strong interest in this product. This new product is expected to be produced on this new dedicated production line.

Mr. Qizhou Wu, chief executive officer of CAAS, commented, "To keep up with the surging demand from the robust growth momentum in the Chinese commercial vehicle market, our steering production lines are running at nearly full capacity with two shifts.  Our new assembly line will arrive at the right moment to help strengthen our production capacity for our next generation product.  We are very excited to be part of the upcoming autonomous driving supplier ecosystem. Being the first home-grown steering producer for the Chinese commercial vehicle market, we have extended our 20-year industry leadership by adding to our domestic market share in 2020 even as we also increased penetration of the international markets. As Chinese commercial vehicles are among the most competitive offerings in the world, we believe that we are well positioned for future growth."

About China Automotive Systems, Inc.

Based in Hubei Province, the People's Republic of China, China Automotive Systems, Inc. is a leading supplier of power steering components and systems to the Chinese automotive industry, operating through ten Sino-foreign joint ventures. The Company offers a full range of steering system parts for passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles. The Company currently offers four separate series of power steering with an annual production capacity of over 6 million sets of steering gears, columns and steering hoses. Its customer base is comprised of leading auto manufacturers, such as China FAW Group, Corp., Dongfeng Auto Group Co., Ltd., BYD Auto Company Limited, Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd. and Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. in China, and Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Company in North America. For more information, please visit: https://www.caasauto.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the qualitative and quantitative effects of the accounting errors, the periods involved, the nature of the Company's review and any anticipated conclusions of the Company or its management and other statements that are not historical facts. Our actual results may differ materially from the results described in or anticipated by our forward-looking statements due to certain risks and uncertainties. As a result, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2019, and in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the outbreak of COVID-19 is not effectively and timely controlled, our business operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected as a result of the deteriorating market outlook for automobile sales, the slowdown in regional and national economic growth, weakened liquidity and financial condition of our customers or other factors that we cannot foresee. Any of these factors and other factors beyond our control, could have an adverse effect on the overall business environment, cause uncertainties in the regions where we conduct business, cause our business to suffer in ways that we cannot predict and materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. A prolonged disruption or any further unforeseen delay in our operations of the manufacturing, delivery and assembly process within any of our production facilities could continue to result in delays in the shipment of products to our customers, increased costs and reduced revenue.  We expressly disclaim any duty to provide updates to any forward-looking statements made in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information, please contact:

Jie Li
Chief Financial Officer
China Automotive Systems, Inc.
Email: jieli@chl.com.cn

Kevin Theiss
Awaken Advisors
+1-212-521-4050
Email: Kevin@awakenlab.com

Related Links :

https://www.caasauto.com