Code Moment | KH Automotive Technologies Co., Ltd. Hits New Domestic Heights with 100,000th Air Spring Assembly Delivery

On February 23, KH Automotive Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "KH Automotive Technologies") celebrated a major milestone at its Huzhou Nanxun New District facility — the mass production and delivery of its 100,000th air spring assembly, marking both a pivotal moment in the company's growth and significant progress for China's automotive air suspension industry.

(Scene from the 100,000th unit delivery)

100,000 Units Delivered:

KH Automotive Technologies Sets a New Benchmark for Domestic Air Suspension

Due to complex system architecture and high technical barriers, the air suspension market had long been dominated by international giants.

As China's first frontline supplier of passenger vehicle air suspension systems, KH Automotive Technologies achieved a breakthrough in June 2021 by successfully developing and supplying an air suspension system for Voyah's FREE model — ending the historical absence of domestic frontline air suspension suppliers for passenger vehicles and launching the company into a new phase in this sector. On January 18, 2022, KH Automotive Technologies completed delivery of its 10,000th air suspension system for the Voyah FREE. Since then, leveraging its leading technical capabilities and reliable production systems, the company has secured supply contracts for multiple production models including the Voyah Dreamer, Li Auto L9, and Li Auto L7, achieving diversified business growth. Through continuous improvements in R&D and supply chain capabilities, KH Automotive Technologies reached the 100,000th air spring assembly delivery in just 15 months. As the first domestic company to achieve this milestone in passenger vehicle air spring assemblies, KH Automotive Technologies' 100,000-unit delivery marks the evolution of China's previously nonexistent passenger vehicle air suspension industry to an entirely new level. Of course, reaching 100,000 units in mass production is both a new milestone and the starting point of a new journey.

(KH Automotive Technologies production facility) Currently, KH Automotive Technologies has an annual production capacity of 600,000 air spring assemblies, employs over 400 people, and holds more than 68 intellectual property rights. To date, the company has received supply nomination letters from 14 automakers including Voyah, Li Auto, BYD, and Changan Automobile, covering over 30 vehicle models for air suspension systems or air spring assemblies. According to reports, in 2023, KH Automotive Technologies will begin mass production and supply for six additional new vehicle models, with projected deliveries exceeding 400,000 air suspension system units to relevant automakers.

Continuing to Fill Domestic Gaps:

First-Ever Dual-Chamber Air Suspension to Enter Mass Production in First Half of 2023

KH Automotive Technologies' rapid advancement in the passenger vehicle air suspension sector owes much to the booming new energy vehicle market and domestic brands' push into premium EV segments, which have gradually brought air suspension — once a high-end feature — down to passenger vehicles priced below 300,000 RMB. Yet the more critical factor has been the company's own technical strength.

Records show that KH Automotive Technologies was established in Huzhou, Zhejiang in October 2018, with origins tracing back to Changchun Konghui, founded in Changchun in June 2007 by Academician Konghui Guo. The predecessor company focused on technical consulting with vehicle dynamics as its core expertise.

Building on years of accumulated expertise in vehicle dynamics and forward-looking electronically controlled suspension systems, KH Automotive Technologies has maintained a leading position in core technical domains including passenger vehicle electronically controlled suspension system control algorithms, critical component adaptation and design, system integration and matching, testing and validation, chassis tuning, and manufacturing of key components. Notably, the company's "new energy passenger vehicle high-performance electronically controlled suspension system (dual-chamber structure) assembly" was recently certified by the Zhejiang Provincial Economic and Information Commission as a domestic first-of-its-kind (set) equipment, having now passed its public announcement period.

(Dual-chamber air spring; image source: KH Automotive Technologies) According to available information, KH Automotive Technologies' dual-chamber air spring works by varying the air spring's chamber volume to adjust suspension stiffness, enabling on-demand switching between ride comfort and sportiness. Throughout the product development process, the KH technical team resolved key technical challenges including master/auxiliary chamber volume matching and leakage control, as well as solenoid valve vibration and noise — generating multiple intellectual property assets while establishing complete testing specifications and evaluation methodologies for dual-chamber air spring assemblies. "The overall technology reaches internationally advanced levels, with high-frequency small-amplitude vibration isolation technology at an internationally leading level," industry experts assessed of KH Automotive Technologies' next-generation dual-chamber air suspension system. According to KH Automotive Technologies' management, the product has already secured supply nominations from multiple mainstream domestic passenger vehicle manufacturers and will enter mass production and delivery in the first half of 2023. At that point, the dual-chamber air spring assembly will represent another domestic product gap filled by KH Automotive Technologies, following its status as China's first passenger vehicle air suspension system supplier.