In April 2011, Joyson Electronics, a Ningbo-based auto parts maker, acquired Preh Group, a German auto electronics leader founded in 1919, creating the largest cross-border acquisition among Chinese companies in the field of auto electronics at the time.

The acquisition has led to mutually beneficial outcomes. Joyson Electronics' annual operating revenue grew from 2 billion yuan ($310 million) in 2010 to more than 60 billion yuan in 2019, becoming one of the world's top 30 multinational auto parts makers. In the same period, Preh's annual operating revenue quadrupled and its workforce grew by 5,000 people.

"Would you be able to build such a factory with just 2 billion yuan and 10 year's time?" Wang Jianfeng, chairman of Joyson Electronics, asked his colleagues a decade ago after first visiting the highly intelligent workshop of Preh Group near the Saale River in Germany.

Boasting promising market prospects in China at the time, Joyson Electronics was determined to make use of Preh's technological strength. It invested heavily in the acquisition and the strategic investment soon paid off.

In 2011, just after the acquisition, Preh launched in Ningbo its first China factory, which achieved 73 million yuan in output the next year. In 2020, Preh generated nearly 2 billion yuan in sales in China.

Joyson Electronics also rapidly upgraded its technologies following the acquisition, expanding into auto security, smart cockpit electronics, new energy vehicle electronics, vehicle networking, and some other areas.

"The cooperation forged 10 years ago has now delivered fruitful results. Preh has managed to enter the Chinese and North American markets, while Joyson was spared a long period of technological accumulation. Both companies have become auto electronics suppliers with a global perspective," Wang said of the acquisition.