From "imported products" to "sea tide" Chinese cars overseas expeditions

"Quality is the 'stepping stone' of China's automobile exports, and technology is the 'passport' to the international market." A few days ago, at the "20th Anniversary Summit Forum of Chery Automobile's Overseas Departure" with the theme of "Technology Chery Global Love", Yin Tongyue, chairman of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Chery"), said.

As one of the representatives of China's auto independent brands going overseas, Chery has been "going to sea" for 20 years and has made a series of achievements. For example, it has maintained the first place in the export of Chinese brand passenger cars for 18 consecutive years; became the first Chinese passenger car brand to export more than 200,000 units per year; and won the top 20 enterprises of "Best Overseas Image" for 5 consecutive times.

Chery is just a microcosm of the overseas expedition of China's own auto brands. In recent years, traditional mainstream car companies such as Jiangqi Group, Geely Group and SAIC Motor Group, while the domestic market continues to develop upwards, are also actively entering overseas markets and becoming the "main force" of automobile exports.

"China Business Daily" reporter learned in the interview that in addition to the traditional mainstream car companies, Weilai Automobile, Aiways Automobile and Xiaopeng Automobile in the "new car-making forces" have also extended their tentacles to overseas markets, of which the European market dominated by Norway is the focus of the layout.

In the view of Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, all automobile powers have a high market share in overseas markets, while the share of China's automobile exports has only risen from 4% last year to 8%. Therefore, compared with other developed countries in the world, China's automobile export space is vast.

Sail out to sea

Before the founding of New China, cars were mostly "imported products". It was not until the formal establishment of the first automobile factory in 1953, and then the final assembly of the "Liberation" brand car in 1956, that China's automobile industry began to take off.

For China's own brand car companies, the beginning of overseas expeditions can be traced back to 1957. At that time, 3 Jiefang brand trucks drove out of the country, achieving a "breakthrough of zero" in automobile exports. Today, China's own brand car companies have gone through a 64-year history of overseas expeditions.

The products, technologies and services of China's own brand car companies have gradually matured and are actively transforming from "Made in China" to "Made in China". This also provides a more sufficient confidence and strength for Chinese car company Yang Fan to go to sea.

According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in November this year, China's automobile exports were 200,000 vehicles, an increase of 59.1% year-on-year, and the export growth contribution of new energy vehicles was 32.9%; and from January to November this year, China's automobile exports reached a total of 1.793 million vehicles, an increase of 1.1 times.

Traditional independent car companies, including SAIC, Chery Automobile, Dongfeng Company, Geely Group and Jiangqi Group, as well as "new car-making forces" such as Weilai and Aiways, have become the main force in fighting overseas markets and dreaming of overseas opportunities. In this regard, Yin Tongyue said: "Strong exports are also a sign of China's transition from a big automobile country to an automobile power, and the vast overseas market contains huge opportunities for Chinese auto brands. ”

"From the very beginning of its establishment, NIO has been committed to becoming a global brand and providing good products and services for users around the world." The relevant person in charge of Weilai Automobile said. The relevant person in charge of SAIC-GM-Wuling said that entering the overseas market has always been a major vision of SAIC-GM-Wuling.

The relevant person in charge of Geely Group also told reporters: "Our original intention has always been to 'make the world full of Geely', and to take users as the center to bring users a travel experience that exceeds expectations." With the continuous development of overseas markets, Geely's strategy is also adjusting, but the original intention has always been to bring users a travel experience that exceeds expectations. ”

The export history of Jiangqi Group began in May 1990, with the export of 36 light trucks to Bolivia, the prelude to the sea of Jiangqi Group was officially opened. "At that time, the 'going out' strategy began to be implemented, and the state encouraged domestic enterprises to use both domestic and foreign markets and resources to actively participate in regional economic cooperation and the global multilateral trading system, and to show their skills on the international economic stage." The relevant person in charge of Jiangqi Group said.

The relevant person in charge of Aiways Automobile said that from the domestic market, in 2018, China's automobile consumer market suffered the first negative growth in 28 years, and China's automobile market is changing from an incremental market to a stock market, and internal competition is becoming more and more intense. In this context, Chinese auto brands want to continue to become stronger and bigger, and "going out" to carry out global transformation has become the only way.

"After years of industrial accumulation, Made in China has long been rid of the cognition of 'low price label', Chinese products have won wide recognition from consumers in various countries with their outstanding performance and cost-effective advantages, and the influence of Chinese brands in the world is constantly improving; coupled with the positive impact of the state-led 'Belt and Road', it provides a good external environment for Chinese car brands to 'go global'." The above-mentioned person in charge of Aiways Automobile told reporters.

Overcome the puzzle

"Independent brand car companies are mainly facing two major obstacles to overseas markets: one is technical regulations, and the other is user demand. For example, in the Us market, the quality and applicability of German, American and Japanese cars are very good. Du Fangci, an adviser to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told reporters that it is obviously not enough to rely on the advantage of low price, and quality, reliability and so on must be guaranteed.

In this regard, the relevant person in charge of SAIC Maxus told reporters: "In terms of price, in the markets of the United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, most Chinese brands have previously used 'low prices' as the main means to open overseas markets, and low-end markets as a 'pass'. However, at present, the price of SAIC Maxus MAXUS products has long been in line with the local mainstream international brands. ”

Over the years, many independent brands have been actively expanding overseas markets, of which product strength is one of the most important factors. The relevant person in charge of SAIC Passenger Vehicle told reporters: "With years of technical research and development, the level of car manufacturing of independent brands has improved significantly, and more and more models have obtained five-star safety ratings in overseas crash test sites, with 'hard power' to make a name for China." ”

"Exploring overseas markets is not all smooth sailing. When Jiangqi Group was just starting its exports, there were fewer products that could be exported, a single export product, not enough understanding of the use of foreign customers and the market of the place of export, and there were also certain problems in the reliability of the products. The above-mentioned person in charge of Jiangqi Group said, "While continuously improving products and enhancing product reliability, the company is also actively sending sales personnel and technical service personnel in the process of opening up the international market and product 'going out', and doing a good job in tracking product services in a timely manner." ”

The relevant person in charge of SAIC-GM-Wuling also admitted that the company did encounter many difficulties in the early stage of overseas development, and one of the important problems was the logistics problem. At the beginning of the establishment of the Indonesian subsidiary, a large part of the parts and materials needed to be shipped by sea, and the whole process took at least 2-3 weeks, which had a relatively large impact on the organization of production work. "To solve this problem, SAIC-GM-Wuling has adopted a two-pronged approach of local production and improved logistics."

For the "new car-making forces" that export electric vehicles, they are also facing similar problems, including the adaptability of charging. The above-mentioned person in charge of Aiways Automobile told reporters: "There are differences in the natural situation and technical standards of different countries, and to enter the overseas market, especially the European market, it is necessary to complete complex charging adaptation work. ”

In addition, a number of car company leaders also said that the entry threshold is also one of the problems. "The EU car access threshold is very high, and the EU WVTA access involves a total of 43 vehicle test items including motor vehicle noise, mileage, collision safety, pedestrian protection, etc., and the indicators are higher than the domestic regulatory requirements." Meeting eu access regulations in its entirety does not happen overnight. ”

With the changes in overseas markets, it has also brought new challenges to Chinese car companies. The relevant person in charge of Jiangqi Group said: "Countries have required automobile companies to achieve local manufacturing and procurement, which has brought challenges in terms of capital, technology, management and cultural integration. The connection between production, supply and marketing, the tight supply of core components such as chips, the rise in raw material and labor prices have led to rising production and manufacturing costs, the shortage of containers, and the high cost of logistics, which have also limited the faster growth of China's automobile export scale. This is the 'short board' that we need to further make up. ”

Success

After more than 60 years of development, China's independent brand car companies have become an important force that cannot be ignored in the world's automotive industry. Especially since 2017, China's auto export market has performed relatively strongly. From January to November this year, China's automobile exports reached a total of 1.793 million units, an increase of 1.1 times year-on-year.

The report cards handed over by various car companies are also quite eye-catching. Taking Jiangqi Group as an example, from January to November this year, Jiangqi Group exported 68,000 vehicles, an increase of 112.8% year-on-year, better than the average growth rate of the industry. It is estimated that Jiangqi Group will export 70,000 vehicles in 2021 and have sales revenue of 5.2 billion yuan.

"This year, despite the shortage of chips and the pressure of market competition, SAIC passenger cars still achieved good results in overseas markets." The relevant person in charge of SAIC Passenger Vehicle also told reporters. According to the data, from January to November this year, savoy's total exports of passenger cars have reached 245,000 units, exceeding the total export sales of last year, and sitting firmly on the throne of China's automobile export champion.

The relevant person in charge of SAIC Maxus also said that from January to November this year, SAIC Maxus's sales in overseas markets reached 46,400 vehicles, an increase of 105% year-on-year, and made innovative breakthroughs in many markets. Up to now, SAIC Maxus has global business in 51 countries and regions overseas, and its cumulative sales have exceeded 130,000 units.

The progress of the "new car-making forces" entering overseas is also quite smooth. According to the data, as of November this year, AIWAYS has exported 2705 vehicles, of which 1676 have been exported this year, and it is expected that the delivery volume in Europe will exceed 3000 units by the end of the year.

"Compared with the same period last year, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal and Spain have been added, achieving key coverage of the markets of Southern Europe, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries, becoming the first and most successful Chinese electric vehicle start-up to sell cars in continental Europe." The relevant person in charge of Aiways Automobile told reporters.

Nio Said: "In September this year, NIO opened up reservations and deliveries in Norway, and all aspects of the work met expectations. More than a quarter of Norwegian users who have test-driven NIO models will subscribe, and 92% of Norwegian users have chosen the BaaS battery rental service. ”

"No diamonds, no porcelain work." Technological progress is becoming a powerful underpinning for independent brand cars to go to sea. Yin Tongyue described technology as chery's "root", and deep roots can only be leafy. Chery's technological innovation adheres to the principle of "standing on top of the sky", making traditional automotive technology solid and thorough, and making new technologies such as chips, software, and batteries high and sharp.

According to reports, Chery has been carrying out vehicle tests in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Russia and other countries around the world all year round, covering extreme working conditions such as extreme cold and extreme heat, meeting the all-weather test standards of different regions and meeting the needs of local users.

"The technical underpinning not only makes Chery's products more reliable, but also gives the company the strength to carry out adaptive development of products that are 'adapted to local conditions' according to the different environments, market conditions and consumer behavior habits of overseas markets, so as to better meet the needs of local markets, regulations and consumers." Chery said.

Adapt to local conditions

"If you want the brand to really 'go up', you must really understand the users in overseas markets, understand them, and become friends with them." This is the experience summed up by Zhang Guibing, deputy general manager of Chery and general manager of International Company.

It is understood that Chery has experienced the "three-step" of internationalization in the past 20 years, upgraded from the initial product "going out" to the current brand "going up", deeply integrated into the overseas market, and achieved win-win cooperation with the local government through localization development.

In Russia, for example, Chery has conducted thousands of face-to-face customer surveys and one-on-one telephone interviews this year alone, and the proportion of old customers in the local market has reached 40%, and 20% of new users have come from referrals from friends. In Brazil, Chery has promoted China's anti-epidemic experience by launching new online listings, door-to-door car delivery/test drives and other services.

"Geely, as a latecomer in the field of auto brand internationalization, has summed up a lot of operations in terms of exports, such as respecting consumers and the rules of each market; products should be adapted to local conditions and meet local market environment and needs; marketing should also respect local regulations and tolerate cultural diversity." The relevant person in charge of Geely Group said.

Jiangqi Group is also formulating expansion strategies according to local conditions, and selecting different strategies according to different markets. For example, in the South American market, as the dominant market of Jiangqi Group, it has basically achieved full coverage of light vehicles, and the strategy adopted is to cultivate deeply; in emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Kazakhstan, Russia and other regions, Jiangqi Group is seizing the opportunity and operating hard.

"It is worth mentioning that in key markets and emerging markets, Jiangqi Group not only exports products, but also achieves market consolidation and radiation through cooperation in technology, brand and production capacity." Said the head of the above-mentioned enterprise.

The relevant person in charge of SAIC-GM-Wuling also said: "Consumers' demand for travel is diverse, and SAIC-GM-Wuling also responds with multiple types and multi-level products in overseas exports. Taking Indonesia as an example, SAIC-GM-Wuling Indonesia subsidiary produces three products, including "Confero", "Cortez" and "Alamaz", covering a variety of models from MPV to SUVs, which can meet the various needs of users for travel.

The "new car-making forces" have also combined their own direct operation model with the local market. The relevant person in charge of Weilai Automobile told reporters: "In the European market, Weilai adopts the idea of direct operation to establish a sales and service network. In terms of details, it is necessary to pay more respect for local conditions and user habits, etc., and better integrate into the local environment. ”

"Combined with the advantages of its own overseas layout, AIWAYS adopts the mode of combining direct operation and distribution overseas, unites local partners with strong local partners, and does a good job in local service sales localization experience according to local conditions." The relevant person in charge of Aiways Automobile said.

The reporter learned that Aiways Automobile in Europe headquarters in Germany to use the advantages of geographical resources, the pilot direct operation model is different from the traditional dealer model, AIWAYS and European electronic retail giant Euronics to create an online light operation sales model, facing users, to provide better and thoughtful services.

In addition, AIWAYS has also established cooperation with ATU, Germany's leading auto repair chain, to achieve the goal of one service outlet every 10 kilometers, providing users with a series of after-sales service solutions such as maintenance, roadside assistance and parts supply.