VDE Global Services: Certified in Cixi

With its own building, three partner companies and an area of 9,000 square meters, the lab in the Chinese city of Cixi has been the largest international VDE test laboratory outside Germany since the beginning of this year. Its location here is no coincidence. The city of Cixi is located on the east coast of the country, south of the metropolis of Shanghai. With a population of 1.8 million, it is also the gateway to the Ningbo metropolitan region. A large number of car manufacturers are based there, and Volkswagen also operates one of its more than 30 Chinese production sites in Ningbo.

VDE chose the city of Cixi after a lab had already been established in Zhongshan, 1,400 kilometers to the southwest, back in 2019 as a joint venture with the China General Certification Center (CGC). That facility was conceived with a strong focus on household appliances, lighting and electromagnetic compatibility. In 2021, a first site was set up in Cixi, which has now been significantly expanded with a new building, increasing the available space sevenfold. The new building was made possible after the German company LABCO GmbH from Loxstedt-Stotel became part of the joint venture. LABCO specializes in testing electrical and non-electrical vehicle components. That makes it a good fit, explains Zhong-Xuan Wu, Managing Director of the new laboratory, since Cixi is looking to expand its range of services for testing automotive components.

Representatives of CGC, VDE, LABCO and the city of Cixi

At the opening of the joint venture lab in Cixi, representatives of the three partner companies CGC, VDE and LABCO met with representatives of the city. From left to right: Marios Constantinou (LABCO), Jonathan Schoo (AHK Greater China), Costakis Constantinou (LABCO), Qin Haiyan (CGC), Xiang Haixia (City of Cixi), Alf Henryk Wulf (VDE), Sven Öhrke (VDE), Huang Lei (City of Cixi) and Wu Zhongxuan (VDE).

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The figures for the Chinese automotive market speak for themselves: 31.4 million vehicles were sold in the People's Republic in 2024, more than a third of which were electric. This figure was partly thanks to the many new automotive companies currently being founded in China. The automotive industry is very aware of the need for testing and certification. While there are already a large number of testing organizations in China, the European expertise in the vehicle industry is still a selling point. “We understand both the German and the Chinese side,” explains Wu. The new laboratory is appropriately named CVL after the initial letters of the partners. The institute enables Chinese companies to market their products worldwide, while at the same time giving non-Chinese manufacturers access to the local market with CB and VDE marks. China is building on the experiences gained in Germany and Europe. After all, the VDE Institute in Offenbach has been one of the most important testing organizations in the world for more than 100 years.

With China leading the world market in electric vehicles for the past decade, CVL has strong expertise in charging infrastructure. The addition of LABCO has also brought a focus on automotive cables and components. Together, the partners want to test charging stations for electric vehicles and other automotive components for compliance with international standards. But the certifications in Cixi extend to many other industries. “Thanks to our collaboration, our partner CGC is already the third-largest CCC certifier in the Chinese household appliance market,” explains Zhong-Xuan Wu. China Compulsory Certification (CCC) is required for many products to enter the Chinese market. The signs are currently pointing to growth, including in other areas. While 30 employees are currently responsible for the service offering, the team will continue to grow in the future.

The new laboratory in Cixi is also an important step for VDE: “China is the second largest market for VDE after Europe,” says Sven Öhrke, Managing Director of VDE Global Services GmbH. He predicts that the collaboration will continue to grow due to the differences with the US government. Zhong-Xuan Wu is certain that there is a willingness on the Chinese side: “Our Chinese customers are very happy that two German companies, VDE and LABCO, are involved in CVL.”