Chinese car companies "counterattack the way": "lack of core" is difficult to suppress sales growth back to positive

2021 is a special year for China's auto industry, this year, the "double carbon" transformation is imminent, the automotive industry actively embraces the future; this year, the rapid development of electrification iteration, digital transformation engine to pry the pulse of the times; this year, the barriers of traditional cars continue to crack and grow, subversion and innovation has become the industry's "must-choose topic" and "accelerator". However, it was also in this year that the disturbance of "lack of core" brought everyone more thinking, and independent innovation and research and development became the present and far away that we had to do and must do well. Standing at the forefront of the revolution in the automobile industry, how to embrace the new ecology of the future with an open attitude has become a topic that every automaker must face.

It's the best of times, it's a better time. Looking forward to 2022, it is expected that the automotive industry will find a new path in exploration and explore a broader path of innovation and upgrading.

The bells of 2022 have already sounded. Looking back at the past year, the "lack of core" wind that began at the end of 2020 is still continuing, and the global automotive industry has gone through an extraordinary year, superimposed on multiple factors such as the repeated outbreak of the new crown epidemic and the rise in raw material prices.

According to accenture (AFS), a well-known listing consulting firm, as of December 19, 2021, the global auto market has reduced production by about 10.232 million units, of which the Chinese auto market has reduced production by 1.982 million units, accounting for 19.4% of the total production reduction. In addition, AFS also expects that due to the shortage of chips, global production will be reduced by 11.31 million vehicles in 2021.

Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as "CAAM"), said that in 2021, due to the shortage of chips, the domestic automobile market sales are expected to decrease by 1.3 million to 1.4 million units. At the same time, Chen Shihua also predicted that the total sales volume of the domestic automobile market in 2021 is expected to reach 26.1 million units, an increase of 3.1% year-on-year.

"Regardless of chip shortage or not, achieving such sales results is already a good result." Domestic automobile production has been increasing, although the increase has been slow and urgent. For the overall performance of the domestic automobile market in 2021, Du Fangci, consultant of the China Automobile Association, told the "China Business Daily" reporter, "As long as China's economic situation is good and the people have money in their pockets, I believe that the domestic automobile market should still be in a long-term good state, and sales are relatively strong." Not only that, with the increase in the income of the people, the domestic automobile market is also developing in the direction of mid-to-high-end. ”

Production and sales increased against the trend

Looking back at the development of the automotive market in 2021, "lack of core" is one of the topics that cannot be avoided.

Since the end of 2020, the chain effect caused by the shortage of chip supply around the world has continued to spread. According to the reporter's incomplete statistics, in the past 2021, there have been a number of car companies such as Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Hyundai due to the shortage of chips, and have to adjust the production capacity of their supporting factories.

For the development of China's auto market in 2021, Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Automobile Association, commented on "strong demand and chip constraints", "Overall, the domestic auto market has turned from negative growth for three consecutive years to positive growth." ”

According to data from the China Automobile Association, from January to November 2021, domestic automobile production and sales reached 23.172 million units and 23.489 million units, respectively, an increase of 3.5% and 4.5% year-on-year, respectively.

Under the background of the industry's growth returning to positive, the report cards handed over by major car companies are frequently highlighted. Taking the domestic independent brand car company Chery Group as an example, the relevant person in charge of the company told reporters that despite the "chip shortage" to contain production capacity, Chery Group still achieved 110281 car sales in November 2021, a sharp increase of 24.8% month-on-month and an increase of 8.2% year-on-year.

According to the data, from January to November 2021, Chery Group sold 849912 cars, an increase of 38.3% year-on-year. The relevant person in charge of Chery Group said: "The company's ability to 'go against the trend' in the cold winter of the automobile market is mainly due to the continuous empowerment of 'Technology Chery', the deepening of the user-centered mechanism, and the acceleration of electrification and intelligent strategic layout." ”

For Jiangqi Group, there is not much suspense in completing the sales target for 2021. It is understood that Jiangqi Group is expected to sell 500,000 vehicles (sets) of various types of automobiles and chassis products in 2021. A few days ago, the relevant person in charge of Jiangqi Group told reporters: "From January to November 2021, the company's cumulative sales have reached 482,000 vehicles (sets), an increase of 15.7% year-on-year, and almost completed the annual sales target of 500,000 vehicles (sets). ”

"The company's future-oriented business layout, vehicle and powertrain layout, technology and resource layout have been completed, and the ability to take the initiative in the competition is stronger." On December 27, 2021, Zhu Yanfeng, chairman of the board of directors and secretary of the party committee of Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dongfeng Company"), said at the 2022 work conference.

It is understood that Dongfeng expects to sell about 3.3 million vehicles in 2021, and the terminal delivery volume will be about 3.4 million vehicles, which is basically flat year-on-year. "The sales and export volume of independent passenger cars and new energy vehicles have outperformed the market, the overall operation is stable and the quality is improved, and the answer sheet of high-quality development is handed over in the big war examination, and the '14th Five-Year Plan' of Dongfeng is promoted to achieve a good start." Dongfeng said.

New energy vehicles continue to improve

Under the big wave of the "new four modernizations", new energy vehicles, as an important part of strategic emerging industries, have also continued to usher in good news for development. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to November 2021, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 3.023 million units and 2.990 million units respectively, an increase of 1.7 times year-on-year, and the market penetration rate was 12.7%.

In addition, the China Automobile Association also expects that the sales of new energy vehicles will reach 3.4 million units in 2021, an increase of 1.5 times year-on-year. In the view of Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of North China University of Technology, the development of the new energy vehicle market in 2021 is hot, on the one hand, driven by policy factors, on the other hand, with the continuous upgrading of technology, the mileage of new energy vehicles is constantly improving, the degree of intelligence is getting higher and higher, and the consumer experience is getting better and better.

"2021 is a year when the new energy vehicle market continues to soar, with policy support, the market supply and demand are booming, new products and new technologies continue to emerge, attracting the attention of many consumers, and consumers' attention and acceptance of new energy vehicles have also increased significantly." Auto analyst Ren Wanfu said.

Under the continuous improvement of the new energy vehicle track, various car companies have also increased their layout efforts. Taking the above automobile Volkswagen as an example, the relevant person in charge of the company told reporters: "As the electrification of automobiles becomes the global industry consensus, on the new track of new energy vehicles, SAIC Volkswagen put forward the proposition of 'All in Volkswagen' in 2021, showing the determination and posture of full investment." ”

The relevant person in charge of SAIC Volkswagen told reporters that in the face of the blue ocean of the domestic new energy vehicle market, SAIC Volkswagen is further deepening the strategic layout of electrification. In 2021, the construction of a new energy vehicle project at the Changsha plant with a total investment of about 8 billion yuan will begin, which is also another electric vehicle production base for SAIC Volkswagen after the Anting MEB plant.

Dongfeng expects new energy vehicle sales to be 192,000 units in 2021, up 2.4 times year-on-year. Dongfeng Company said that Lantu Automobile, positioned as a "leading brand of zero anxiety high-end intelligent new energy", has maintained a month-on-month growth trend for four consecutive months since the launch of delivery of its first model, Lantu FREE, and the annual cumulative delivery volume is about to exceed 7,000 vehicles.

"In 2021, the new high-end brand M business positioned as a 'leader in high-end electric off-road culture' will set sail, product research and development and industrialization will be fully launched, and the new car will be released in the first half of 2022." The new M business will work with Lantu Automobile to promote Dongfeng's autonomous passenger car business to the high-end on the track of new energy and intelligent networking. Dongfeng said.

Chery Group's sales performance of new energy vehicles is also very impressive. According to the data, the sales of Chery Group's new energy products doubled in November 2021, with cumulative sales of 88,911 vehicles from January to November 2021, an increase of 145.2% year-on-year. "In the future, with the official listing of the products of the micro pure electric vehicle Chery QQ Ice Cream, it is expected to drive a new round of growth in the sales of new energy products of Chery Group." Chery Group said.

Caamot predicts that domestic new energy vehicle sales in 2022 are expected to be 5 million units, an increase of 47% year-on-year. "The above prediction is very likely to be realized, because the heat of new energy vehicles is very high, there are many players entering the game, and capital is also very interested, on the one hand, it will promote the iterative upgrading of industry technology, on the other hand, it will also accelerate the survival of the fittest in the industry." Zhang Xiang said.

Accelerate the struggle for overseas markets

While competing for the domestic market, Chinese car companies are also accelerating the pace of entering overseas markets.

"At present, NIO's progress in the Norwegian market is still good, and on average, every four test drivers will have a final booking, indicating that NIO's products and services are very recognized." A few days ago, Li Bin, founder, chairman and CEO of Weilai Automobile, said so.

It is understood that 2021 is the "first year of globalization" of Weilai, and it is also the first year after the company entered the Norwegian market. In 2022, NIO's products and system-wide services will be officially launched in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. At the same time, NIO plans to provide services to users in more than 25 countries and regions around the world by 2025.

Aiways Automobile, a "new car-making force", is also stepping up its layout in overseas markets. The reporter learned that AIWAYS Auto has newly entered the markets of Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal and Spain in 2021, achieving key coverage in the markets of Southern Europe, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries.

In addition to the "new car-making forces", the performance of traditional mainstream car companies in overseas markets is also a frequent success. The reporter learned from Chery Group that the company's automobile export volume in 2021 is expected to exceed 250,000 vehicles. Up to now, Chery Group has accumulated more than 9.9 million global automobile users, including more than 1.9 million overseas users.

According to the data, from January to November 2021, Jiangqi Group exported 68,000 vehicles, an increase of 112.8% year-on-year, better than the average growth rate of the industry. According to the company's forecast, Jiangqi Group will export 70,000 vehicles in 2021 and have sales revenue of 5.2 billion yuan.

"Today, the domestic and foreign market environment has undergone profound changes, and the internationalization strategy of Jiangqi Group has also ushered in a certain adjustment." During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Jiangqi Group set a strategic target of 150,000 vehicles in the international market by 2025. The relevant person in charge of Jiangqi Group told reporters.

How do you achieve this? Jiangqi Group said: "Around this goal, Jiangqi Group will adhere to the three principles of steady operation, strategic focus and multi-party collaboration, give full play to the advantages of comprehensive automobile enterprises, integrate high-quality resources at home and abroad, continue to cultivate core capabilities, establish competitive advantages in international business, and strive to create a new situation in international business." ”

In the opening year of the "14th Five-Year Plan", SAIC Maxus will continue to accelerate the development of overseas markets, continue to build international business, international team, international production, international status, international brand and localization services, and focus on building a strategic highland for overseas regional products.

In addition, the relevant person in charge of Geely Group also told reporters that the products and brand series of Geely Holding Group are mainly based on the Chinese market and also on the global market, "Geely brand cars are mainly based on the Chinese market, but they will also be exported to developing countries such as ASEAN, South America, Eastern Europe and Africa." ”

The reporter learned that the Geely Group's Lynk & Co brand is the first Chinese independent high-end brand to enter the market of developed countries in Europe, and in 2021, Lynk & Co has sold more than 10,000 vehicles in Europe and has more than 27,000 European "subscription system" member users.

"In the future, intelligence will become the winner and loser of the industry competition, and Chinese car companies are expected to continue to expand their leading edges for overseas car companies by virtue of their first-mover advantage and rapid iteration, laying a solid foundation for overseas market expansion." CITIC Securities Research Report pointed out that "Chinese car companies such as BYD, Great Wall, Weilai, Xiaopeng, etc. have begun to export overseas, and it is expected that the overseas sales of Chinese car companies will continue to increase in the future, realizing the qualitative change of China's auto industry from 'supply chain going to sea' to 'going to sea'." ”