Car remote starter model 168P-04 from Tenon offers turbo engine protection.

Convenient transportation, key industries and accessibility to international buyers are the city's main sourcing attractions.

Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, serves as the province's political, economic and cultural center. Known as China's ‘Southern Gateway', the city is located in the southeast portion of the province, north of the Pearl River Delta, bordering the South China Sea and very near Hong Kong and Macau.

Guangzhou has eight districts and four cities, a total area of 7,434.4sqkm and a population of 10 million. The city's modern transport system allows suppliers and buyers to move within and outside the city easily, enabling faster delivery time and close collaboration between supply partners.

Guangzhou's accessibility makes it an ideal venue for large trade shows and conventions, bringing people from all over the world into China and opening up more import and export channels. New technologies enter the region through foreign partnerships, strengthening the city's R&D capability. Domestic suppliers are also finding limitless export opportunities at these international trade events.

Developments and growth in automobile and automobile electronics enhance Guangzhou's car security R&D, manufacturing and export capabilities. Although considered small-scale in terms of output, makers are export-oriented, and possess the equipment and facilities needed to increase production.

Products made in Guangzhou cater to the low-end and midrange markets, but expensive, top-of-the-line systems are also available. Makers foresee price increases for entry-level units in the coming months.

Guangzhou's modern transport system includes seaports, railways, airports and land transportation networks. The city has the third largest seaport in mainland China (and the largest in South China), with a throughput of 340 million tons per year. The seaport has links with more than 500 seaports in 170 countries/regions. The Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport oversees 50 international and 100 domestic flights. The airport can handle 100 million passengers and 2.5 million tons of cargo per year.

Guangzhou's railway system is connected to most major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau and Lhasa (Tibet). The Jingjiu line, the main artery connecting north and south China from Beijing to Kowloon, passes through Guangzhou.

With its intercity expressways, elevated roads, highway bridges and cross-river tunnels, Guangzhou guarantees ease of movement, whether one is traveling within Guangdong, within China, or from China to other regions. A trip to Hong Kong by express bus takes only three and a half hours, or less than two hours by railway.

In April 2007, Guangzhou launched a water-bus service between Guangzhou and Hong Kong through Zhoutouzui Passenger Port, Zengcheng Xintang Passenger Port, Panyu Lianhua Mountain Port and Nansha Passenger Port.

Trains traveling between Guangzhou and Shenzhen make about an hour's trip, and are available every 15 minutes. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are just two hours away from each other by bus.

With these convenient transport networks, Guangzhou makers can easily deliver products inland or to overseas markets, source raw materials and components from suppliers outside the city, and utilize the manufacturing capabilities of neighboring cites such as Zhongshan, Dongguan and Shenzhen.

	Steelmate's universal car central locking system, model 386, features a water-resistant actuator.

Guangzhou was one of the first two cities in mainland China to open up trade channels and introduce car security products inland. It was instrumental to the growth of the car security industry, which started only in the mid-1990s. The city currently accounts for 20 percent of mainland China's total output and 30 percent of exports coming from the region.

As a highly export-oriented city, Guangzhou plays a very important role in China's economy. According to Customs statistics, the city generated a total import and export value of $81.8 billion in 2007, ranking sixth among cities in China. Of this amount, $45 billion came from exports, a 19.5 percent year-on-year growth.

Because of active trade, Guangzhou has also become a major venue for international trade shows. The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is the largest trade show and is considered one of the most prestigious in China. It has the widest array of products, and the largest attendance and business turnover. The fair generated revenues amounting to $37.45 billion in fall 2007.

The China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition is another important event for the professional car, car parts and accessories industry in China.

Experienced manufacturers/exporters in Guangzhou have ample knowledge of foreign trade policies and procedures; some of them can even communicate with buyers in foreign languages, or in buyers' native tongue. Some players from other regions have set up branch offices in Guangzhou to serve overseas markets.

Steelmate Co. Ltd, the largest car alarm maker on the mainland, has already established its overseas department in the city.

Suppliers mainly export to developing or less-developed countries/regions such as the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia and Africa. A few leading makers have also begun exporting to Europe and North America. Most makers accept OEM/ODM orders, and regularly comply with CCC, CE, FCC or UL standards.

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Guangzhou has three pillar industries, namely, automobile, petrochemical, and electronics and telecommunications equipment. It is the second largest manufacturing hub of automobile and automobile accessories in the region.

Automobile and automobile electronics drive Guangzhou's car security manufacturing/exporting sector. The city has established an extensive network for car security product manufacturing, encompassing solutions development, raw material and component sourcing, molding, plastic injection, auto insertion and SMT. Thus, Guangzhou-based makers can offer products at relatively lower prices, and can produce and deliver the items in a relatively shorter period of time.

Abundant skilled manpower, research institutions, relatively higher wages and timely information from around the world all further strengthen the R&D capabilities of Guangzhou suppliers. The city has 186,000 technical personnel, more than 500 research institutions, 28 colleges and universities (including Sun Yat-sen University and Jinan University), and more than 500 high schools. The local government encourages scientific and technical activities and partnerships among suppliers and more than 200 research institutions in over 20 countries and regions.

Among the leading players in the car security line in Guangzhou are Y.T. Tenon Electronic Technology Co. Ltd, Inwells Technology Development Co. Ltd and Spacekey Auto Electronics Co. Ltd.

Entry-level to high-end models are available from Guangzhou makers. Products range from simple one-way car alarms, to midrange two-way alarms with remote starter and central locking system, to high-end GSM- and GPS-based models with car tracking function.

Some makers also offer other related car electronic products such as parking sensors, car rearview cameras, car GPS and accessories.

Guangzhou makers' production capacities are mostly considered small-scale. The factors that differentiate companies are production capacity, in-house manufacturing and QC facilities, and R&D capability. Most of the key components and raw materials are sourced from domestic suppliers. However, to raise the quality of their products, makers also use imported components such as ICs and shock sensors from Taiwan or Japan.

Only a few large-scale companies conduct 100 percent of this production processes in-house. Medium- and small-sized companies generally subcontract mold making, plastic injection and SMT to other domestic suppliers to reduce overhead costs.

Leading makers normally have more than 40 R&D personnel and monthly capacities of over 500,000 sets. Midsized companies have about 10 to 20 engineers in their R&D teams and churn out 100,000 to 500,000 sets of car security products monthly.

The smaller suppliers perform simple product assembly and invest less on product development. Serving low-end markets, they use cheaper raw materials and components.

Steelmate, which operates an 80,000sqm factory in Zhongshan, manages an overseas department in Guangzhou. The company performs SMT and mold making in-house, and employs 40 people for QC and 100 engineers for R&D. Its factory has a monthly capacity of one million sets. Steelmate exports car security products to Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Tenon has more than 10 years of experience in car alarm and parking sensor systems. The company's 9,000sqm factory in Guangzhou has a capacity of 600,000 sets, and an actual output of 80,000 car alarms and 20,000 parking sensors per month.

The factory has 20 production lines, wave-soldering machines and high-speed SMT machines. It also has 30 engineers working on QC and 40 people handling R&D. Tenon generated $6 million in export revenue last year.

Inwells sspecializes in car and motorcycle alarm systems. The company has a 12,000sqm factory with six production lines and 500 workers. Its maximum monthly capacity is 500,000 sets. In 2007, the company shipped $1 million worth of products to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and North America.

Inwells collaborates with Microchip Inc. on the latter's Keeloq code hopping technology, a patented protocol for encrypting data for unidirectional transmission, where each transmission is unique even if the same button is pressed.

Targeting midrange and low-end markets, Guangzhou-based suppliers sell one-way car alarms for $10 and two-way models for $30. GSM and GPS models are also available.

With price wars shaving manufacturers' profits in recent months, interviewed companies have no choice but to raise quotes this year for some products, especially low-end models. Despite rosy industry forecasts, manufacturers are starting to feel the pressure of product integration and price competition.