Export volume continues to increase, and China's independent brand cars achieve "reverse output"

With the promotion of the market and policies, Chinese auto brands have developed rapidly, and their influence in the international market is also increasing. According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, in November, China's vehicle export volume was about 217,000 units, an increase of 69.5% year-on-year. From January to November this year, China's automobile exports reached 1.928 million units, an increase of 101.9% year-on-year. The surge in automobile exports also means that overseas markets have continuously increased their acceptance of China's own brand cars.

Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said: "In recent years, Chinese brand cars have been greatly improved in terms of appearance, quality, intelligent network configuration, etc., compared with the joint venture brand products are not inferior, some advanced configurations even surpass the joint venture products, such products have strong competitiveness overseas." In particular, the price of our export products is not lower than that of foreign brands, which fully reflects the enhanced competitiveness of Chinese brand auto products and enhances the share of Chinese brands in overseas markets in the competition. ”

New energy vehicles have become the main point of force

The doubling of China's automobile exports is greatly related to the outbreak of new energy vehicle products. According to data from the China Automobile Association, from January to November, China's export volume of new energy vehicles reached 291,000 units, an increase of 189.9% year-on-year. Among them, in November, the export volume of new energy vehicles reached 37,000 units, and the growth contribution rate reached 32.9%. In this regard, Xu Haidong said: "After the "Energy-saving and New Energy Automobile Industry Development Plan (2012-2020)", At present, China's new energy automobile industry has gradually developed, the products are becoming more and more mature, widely recognized by consumers in China, and accelerating 'going out'. ”

It is worth noting that due to the rapid development of the European new energy vehicle market as a whole, since last year, China's car companies have begun to actively expand the European market. Up to now, Weilai and Xiaopeng have completed vehicle deliveries in Norway, BYD has also begun to ship electric vehicles to Norway, and China's FAW has also launched car exports to Norway. In addition, from January to November this year, SAIC MG accounted for 1.9% of new car sales in the UK, surpassing Honda and Mazda and becoming the most popular models among young people in the UK.

Xu Haidong said: "Europe now gives a lot of subsidies to new energy vehicles, and after the cultivation of the Chinese market, a large number of excellent brands and products have appeared in China. The European products and technologies are not mature enough, so our independent products can go to Europe. We should take this opportunity to build China's own car brand overseas. ”

Although the export volume of new energy vehicles has increased, from the perspective of the proportion of the enterprise market, the performance of independent brands still needs to be improved. According to the data of china automobile association, in November this year, among the top five car companies in China's new energy vehicle export volume, Tesla's Export Volume in China was about 21,100 units, SAIC Motor's passenger car was 6110 vehicles, and the third to fifth Geely, Great Wall and BYD were all about 400 vehicles. From the above data, it can be seen that Tesla is still the main force in China's new energy vehicle exports.

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the All-China Passenger Transport Association, said: "From the perspective of new energy exports, the proportion of foreign-funded vehicle exports such as Tesla is still relatively high, and although the export volume of independent brand new energy vehicles is also growing, the scale is still small. With the development of foreign brands in the European market, China's new energy vehicles will face greater competitive pressure in overseas markets. In addition, Tesla is also building a super factory in Europe, and with the commissioning of the factory, it will affect the overall export of new energy vehicles in China. ”

Promote the whole industry to go to sea

In order to make products more competitive, in addition to the simple pursuit of overseas sales, independent car companies have also begun to export the whole industry in terms of quality, service, business model, etc., and have built R&D centers and factories overseas to achieve a change from product export to overseas localization mode.

Xu Haidong said: "China's automobile exports mainly relied on the price war in the early days, the product quality was not high, there was almost no after-sales service guarantee, and it was impossible to gain a long-term foothold in overseas markets. In recent years, the quality of Chinese brand models has been continuously improved, and some products do not have much gap compared with foreign brands, and there are also advantages in price. Chinese auto companies no longer simply export complete vehicles, and adopt a variety of methods, including investment and factory establishment, to increase overseas layout. ”

In fact, SAIC motor has built three R&D centers in London, Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv overseas, as well as four production bases and KD plants in Thailand, Indonesia, India and Pakistan. At the same time, 12 regional marketing service centers have been established in Europe, South America, the Middle East, North Africa, Australia and New Zealand and ASEAN.

Different from SAIC Motor, Geely Automobile has acquired overseas brands such as Volvo and Lotus since 2010 to achieve overseas market expansion, and has set up a number of R&D centers around the world. At the same time, using Volvo's influence in Europe, it has promoted the entry of Lynk & Co and The Krypton brands into the European market. In addition, Lynk & Co has adopted an innovative rental and sales model in Europe, where users can subscribe to choose short-term rental, long-term rental or purchase of vehicles. In the future, Lynk & Co will continue to enter the automotive markets of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Israel and other countries.

As the first Chinese passenger car brand to export more than 200,000 vehicles a year, Chery Automobile plans to fully realize the "Double 50" during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, that is, export 500,000 vehicles per year and achieve an export profit of 5 billion yuan, which means that 25% of Chery Automobile's sales in 2025 will be contributed by overseas markets.

In addition to traditional car companies, China's new car-making enterprises have also carried out strategic planning for export overseas. Among them, NIO plans to build four NIO spaces in Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Kristiansand in Norway in 2022. Moreover, in 2022, NIO's products and system-wide services were officially landed in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. At the same time, by 2025, NIO will provide services for users in more than 25 countries and regions around the world.

Xiaopeng Automobile has made a layout on the product side. The Xiaopeng G9 released at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show is a model designed and developed for the global market. In addition, Xiaopeng Motors said that it will continue to lay out other markets in Europe and will improve its sales, delivery and service systems in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands in the future.

With this series of layouts, independent car companies will also harvest better results overseas. The latest research report of CICC believes that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the global mainstream market is expected to break through the 10% critical point in 2022 and enter the steep stage of the S-shaped growth curve. China is one of the world's most important new energy vehicle markets and production areas, and it is expected that the penetration rate of New Energy Passenger Vehicles in China will reach 30%, 61% and 90% in 2025, 2030 and 2050, respectively. From a big automobile country to an automobile power, Chinese car companies are expected to enjoy the dividends of energy transformation, industrial upgrading and technological innovation, and realize the chinese brand to go global.

Responsible Editor: Li Yan'an Editor-in-Chief: Yu Jianping