China's auto exports "gorgeous turn"

For a long time, the export of complete vehicles has been difficult for Chinese cars to cross, but this situation has ushered in a turnaround in 2021.

Recently, the data disclosed by the General Administration of Customs of China shows that from January to November this year, the highest proportion of growth in the cumulative export volume and amount of China compared with the same period last year was automobiles (including chassis), and the cumulative export of 1.928 million vehicles from January to November, an increase of 101.9% year-on-year; the cumulative amount reached 202.99 billion yuan, an increase of 108.4% year-on-year.

The reporter of China Business Daily noted that this year, Chinese auto brands such as SAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor, and Foton Motor have achieved good results in overseas markets, and the export volume of many car companies has increased by more than 100%. It is reported that Foton Motor's overseas sales in the third quarter reached 17,000 units, an increase of 80% year-on-year. From January to September this year, Foton Motor exported more than 47,000 units, continuing to rank first in China's commercial vehicle exports.

The rise in China's automobile export volume shows that the acceptance of China's automobile brands in overseas markets is constantly improving, highlighting the international influence of Chinese automobile brands, and also reflecting the new trend that China's automobiles are entering high-quality development.

"Exports are a big growth point of China's auto market this year, China's auto exports have increased significantly, on the one hand, because of the high incidence of overseas epidemics, the supply of other brands of products can not keep up, on the other hand, because China's exports of auto products are much higher in grade than before, and the cost performance has also been further improved." We expect that China's overall automobile export market will reach a scale of about 2 million vehicles in 2021, and automobile exports will also maintain a high growth rate in 2022. Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Association, said.

Double the growth

The data disclosed by the China General Administration of Customs is "consistent", and the data recently disclosed by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as "CAAM") also shows that the process of China's automobile going to sea has been pressed the fast forward button.

According to the data disclosed by the China Automobile Association, in November 2021, automobile companies exported 200,000 vehicles, an increase of 59.1% year-on-year. From January to November 2021, automakers exported 1.793 million units, up 1.1 times year-on-year. Among them, in November 2021, commercial vehicles exported 30,000 units, an increase of 13.0% year-on-year. From January to November 2021, 366,000 commercial vehicles were exported, up 77.0% year-on-year.

Why will China's auto exports double in 2021? Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Automobile Association, believes that in 2021, due to the impact of the epidemic and chip shortages, the supply capacity of overseas automobile manufacturers has declined, while China's epidemic control is better, the production capacity of the vehicle and parts industry chain has recovered rapidly, and it has the ability to provide Chinese auto products to overseas markets, making up for the gap in product supply in overseas automotive markets. At the same time, the explosive growth of China's new energy vehicle exports has effectively promoted the export growth of Chinese automobiles this year.

In addition, the improvement of the quality and competitiveness of Chinese automobile brands has also promoted the rapid growth of China's automobile exports.

"In recent years, Chinese brand cars have been greatly improved in terms of appearance, quality, or intelligent network configuration, etc., compared with the products of joint venture brands, some advanced configurations even surpass joint venture products, and have strong competitiveness overseas." At the same time, the overseas investment model of Chinese auto enterprises has undergone important changes, from the original trade model and some KD models to direct investment models. Factories directly invested by a number of companies have begun mass production abroad and have gradually increased production and sales, which has supported overseas sales of Chinese brand cars. Xu Haidong said.

It is worth mentioning that the rapid growth of China's new energy vehicle product exports since the beginning of this year is the most important factor driving the growth of China's automobile exports.

According to data from the China Automobile Association, from January to November, China exported 291,000 new energy vehicles, an increase of 189.9% year-on-year. Among them, 37,000 new energy vehicles were exported in November, with an increase contribution rate of 32.9%.

According to the data disclosed by the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in November this year, the top car companies in China's new energy vehicle export volume were Tesla China (about 21,100 units), SAIC Passenger Vehicles (6110 units), Great Wall Motors (426 vehicles) and BYD (404 vehicles), and the export volume of new energy vehicles of other car companies continued to strengthen.

It is reported that in the global new energy vehicle market, the demand for the European new energy automobile industry has grown rapidly, which is another important driving force in the global new energy vehicle market. Therefore, Europe has become the first stop for China's new car-making forces to go to sea. At present, in the Norwegian market in Europe, Weilai and Xiaopeng have already delivered models. The competitive layout of Chinese car companies in the overseas new energy vehicle market has driven a greater increase in China's total automobile exports this year.

Industry analysts believe that the reason why China's automobile exports ushered in a "gorgeous turn" is that before, the international fuel vehicle market was occupied by foreign brands for a long time, relying on the first-mover advantage, these brands have built a certain degree of barriers in internal combustion engine technology and business model. Due to the early layout of the new energy vehicle field in China, it has made early efforts in product development and related supporting facilities, so it can enhance the performance of going overseas through the export of new energy vehicles. It can be said that the pace of China's automobile "going out" is accelerating, which is inseparable from the accumulation of technological innovation, and at the same time, with excellent new energy vehicle products, Chinese brands dare to enter the mature automobile market such as Europe.

Car companies are racing to go to sea

At present, "going to sea" has become an important way for Chinese auto brands to participate in global competition, and has also become the only way for almost all Chinese auto brands. Especially in the past two years, as Chinese auto brands continue to exert efforts in new technologies such as electrification and intelligence, and gradually form a leading trend in the world, the overall export scale and influence of Chinese auto brands overseas have also continued to increase.

Moreover, in the process of "going out", Chinese auto brands began to walk on "two legs", attaching importance to export trade and accelerating investment overseas.

Taking Foton Motor, a leading commercial vehicle company, as an example, in September 2017, Foton Motor and Piaggio Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement, planning to cooperate around passenger and freight micro pickup trucks (micro trucks) and micro VAN (micro passenger) products. In May 2018, the two companies signed a joint development agreement for new products for light commercial vehicles and entered the research and development phase of new products launched in Europe. In January this year, after more than two years of cooperation between Foton Motor and Piaggio Group, the first new New Porter NP6 city microcard jointly developed by the two companies was launched in Europe.

The Piaggio Group is an industrial holding company listed on the Italian Stock Exchange and the largest manufacturer of scooters and motorcycles in Europe, with the highest production and sales of two-wheeled locomotives in Europe. At the same time, Piaggio is also instrumental in the field of three- and four-wheeled light commercial vehicles, with the global sales volume of young commercial vehicles reaching 176,800 units in 2017, establishing an important position in this field.

It is reported that the New Porter NP6 is provided by Foton Motor for product development technology, KD parts production, and Piaggio completed assembly in the Italian factory, which is the first micro card in China that meets European standards. At the same time, the project also achieved a breakthrough in the export of technology by Chinese commercial vehicle companies to Europe for the first time. Since its launch, the New Porter NP6 has sold 7,080 units.

"The completion of the delivery of more than 7,000 New Porter NP6 is not only a verification of Foton's lean manufacturing system and process development capabilities that meet European standards, but also another stage of Foton Motor's continuous promotion of globalization strategy, and a solid step towards the European market." Industry insiders analyzed.

It is reported that the commercial vehicle company Foton Automobile export market, which stands at the forefront of automobile exports, is mainly concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region and South Asia, the Americas and Africa. At present, among China's automotive commercial vehicle brands, Foton Motor ranks first in the Philippines, Vietnam and other market shares; in the field of new energy vehicles, Foton Motor has also broken through Chile, Egypt, Pakistan and other markets, becoming a leader in the market share of new energy in Chile.

Among the passenger car companies, the reporter noted that Chinese auto brands, including Great Wall Motors, are also accelerating the "going to sea" layout through overseas investment.

In 2020, Great Wall Motors entered the ASEAN market and even the Australian and New Zealand markets by acquiring GM's Rayong Vehicle Manufacturing Plant in Thailand, and in September of the same year, Great Wall Motors and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation formally signed a Special Investment Contract (SPIC) in Russia to build an automobile manufacturing plant with deep localization capabilities for core components. In November this year, Great Wall Motor's European headquarters was established in Munich, Germany, officially entering the "old nest" of the world's traditional automobile industry, and it will become the center of Great Wall Motor's development of the European mainland market in the future. It is reported that the functions of Great Wall Motor's European headquarters will cover research and development, sales, management and so on.

The commercial vehicle brand Foton Motor and Great Wall Motors in the field of passenger cars are just a microcosm of the acceleration of Chinese auto brands to "go global" under the trend of globalization.

In September 2019, SAIC MG ZS pure electric SUV was listed in Norway; in May 2020, 700 customized European versions of AIWAYS U5 were sent to the European market; in June 2020, SAIC Maxus announced the first batch of 328 SAIC Maxus EV30 shipments to Norway; in September 2020, Xiaopeng Motors exported 100 Xiaopeng G3i models to the Norwegian market for the first time; in July 2021, WEILAI officially realized the export of the Norwegian market and moved its user service system to the Norwegian market In August 2021, BYD officially delivered the first batch of Don EVs to Norwegian users. These data show that the product quality of Chinese auto brands is gradually being recognized by the high-threshold market.

In Xu Haidong's view, the scale and quality of China's automobile exports will continue to increase in the future, with the transformation of the global automobile industry to electrification, the advantages of Chinese enterprises are expected to further emerge, and Chinese car brands will play an increasingly important role in the international market. Caucus china expects that China's automobile export scale will continue to maintain high growth in 2022.