10 Major Events In Motor Industry

10 Major Events In Motor Industry

01 The Global Motor Manufacturing Giant was Attacked by Blackmail

On October 17th, Nidec Corporation, a global motor manufacturing giant, confirmed that it suffered a ransomware attack in August 2024, and more than 50,000 documents were stolen, including internal documents such as commercial contracts and procurement documents. After refusing to pay the ransom, the ransom gang disclosed the stolen data information.

The Japanese electric giant said: The threatening actors tried to blackmail the company and decided to disclose information after their requirements were not met. The file was not encrypted in this attack, and the incident has been fully remedied. However, Nidec employees, contractors, and partners should be aware that the leaked data may be used for more targeted phishing attacks. The cyberattack targeted the Nidec Precision division in Vietnam, which specializes in manufacturing optical, electronic, and mechanical equipment for the photography industry. According to an ongoing internal investigation, the hacker obtained valid VPN account credentials of Nidec employees and accessed a server containing confidential information. The investigation also showed that the attacker stole 50,694 documents, including: internal documents; letters from business partners; procurement-related documents; labor safety and health policies (business and supply chain, etc.); business documents (purchase orders, invoices, receipts); contracts.

02 Equipment Updates Drive the Trillion Motor Market

During the two sessions in 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission announced that with the in-depth advancement of China's high-quality development, the demand for equipment updates will continue to expand. Preliminary estimates show that the demand for equipment updates is a huge market of more than 5 trillion. Specifically, equipment updates have promoted the upgrading of motor products and promoted the promotion and application of high-efficiency and energy-saving motors. With the continuous improvement of the requirements for energy conservation, emission reduction and green development in the industrial field, old and inefficient motors have gradually been eliminated and replaced by new types of high-efficiency, energy-saving, intelligent and green motors. This not only improves the operating efficiency and energy efficiency level of the motor, but also reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions, helping to achieve the dual-carbon goal. In addition, equipment updates have also driven the development of motor-related industrial chains. The prosperity of the motor market has promoted the rapid growth of motor manufacturing, maintenance, recycling and other links, forming a complete industrial chain system. At the same time, with the continuous innovation and progress of motor technology, the application field of the motor market is also constantly expanding, providing a broader space and opportunities for the development of the motor industry.

03 Copper Prices Broke Record

In 2024, copper prices broke through a 14-year high, causing motor companies to increase prices one after another. Since copper is an important raw material for motor products, its price increase directly increases the cost of raw materials for motor companies, which in turn has an impact on product prices and profits. In order to maintain normal profit levels, many appliance manufacturers have begun to issue news of price increases. Among them, well-known companies including ABB, Inmonda, TECO Electric, CLP Electric, Shanghai Electric and others have announced price increases one after another, with increases generally around 10%.Although price increases are an inevitable reaction to market changes, the price increase strategies of motor companies also need to be operated cautiously. When deciding whether to increase prices, enterprises need to comprehensively consider various factors such as market competition, consumer acceptance, and long-term development of enterprises. At the same time, price increases also need to be avoided excessively, so as not to lead to consumer loss.

04 The Largest Single M&A Case in History

KPS Investment Company acquired Inmonda for a transaction price of 3.5 billion euros. In May 2024, KPS Capital Partners, LP (KPS for short), through its newly established affiliated company, reached a final agreement with Siemens AG to successfully acquire Innomotics GmbH at a corporate valuation of 3.5 billion euros.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens, Inmonda is the world's leading supplier of motors and large-scale drive systems, with about 15,000 employees worldwide and 16 factories in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. However, with the changes in the market environment and the intensification of industry competition, Siemens chose to sell Inmonda to focus more on its core business and release resources to support other areas with more growth potential. As the world's leading supplier of motors and large-scale drive systems, Inmonda has strong technical strength and market position. Its product portfolio is rich, including low-voltage motors, high-voltage motors, medium-voltage drivers and other components, to provide services to large-scale, high-tech end markets. This comprehensive product line enables Inmonda to meet the needs of different customers and occupy an important position in the global market.

05 Golden Motor Rotor, Customs Cracked a Large Fraud Case

On March 27th, based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis, the Airport Division of the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong inspected a batch of air cargo exported from Hong Kong to Japan and reported to be carrying air compressors at the airport customs inspection yard. During the X-ray inspection, it was found that the density of some parts of the machine was unusually high, so the customs took it apart for a thorough inspection. The two different types of air compressors in the wooden box are blue and green. The surface of the machine is brand new and there are no obvious traces of modification. The customs officers disassembled the interior and took out the motor shaft core. After removing the motor shaft core, they saw unusual glue marks on both sides of the metal parts. After gently tapping with a small hammer, obvious dents appeared, indicating that the metal parts were soft in texture. They scraped off the silver paint on the surface of the metal parts, revealing the golden inside. They disassembled and inspected, took out the axis of the motor, scraped off the silver surface of the metal parts, and found that it was gold. About 146 kilograms of gold were seized.