Text | Zuo Maoxuan, Song Doudou
Video | Shi Xinran
Stepping into 2022, Chinese automobiles have entered the post-joint venture era.
After 40 years of the joint venture, China has completely abolished the restriction on the joint venture share ratio of automobiles and further fulfilled its commitment to opening up.
More open is not only China, but also the automobile industry in a period of change, very fortunate, we can witness an open and cross-border automotive era.
Openness and cross-border are undoubtedly important keywords for the automotive industry in the future of 2021, 2022 and even longer.
In 2021, the first wave of new Forces of Internet car manufacturing - Weilai, Xiaopeng and Ideal gradually gained a foothold, and the size of their respective markets approached 100,000 units, proving the value and significance of their existence.
At the same time, the new cross-border car-making force is coming, Baidu, Xiaomi, Huawei "jumped into the game", the automobile industry is also welcoming these new outsiders with a more inclusive attitude, some car companies hope to enhance their strength through new cooperation opportunities, but some car companies are afraid of losing their "soul" because of strong partners.
These external forces have made Chinese cars more dynamic and at the forefront of the times. Today's Chinese cars are closer to dreams than ever before.
Of course, change doesn't just come from the stimulus of external forces. Similarly, under the profound stimulation of the new forces to build cars, traditional automobile companies painfully and happily dismantle the "copper wall and iron wall" in their inherent thinking within the scope of their own control, trying to find a path suitable for their own "rebirth from the cocoon", ARCFOX, Lantu, Aian, Zhiji, Avita, Extreme Krypton, Salon... Go with the flow.
Looking back at 2021, even in the face of many uncertainties, Chinese cars still show strong vitality.
This year, chip tension throughout the year, the industry feels unprecedented supply chain pressure;
This year, independent cars collectively upward, technology and brand promotion show stronger competitiveness;
This year, the fuel vehicle market continued to decline, but new energy vehicles broke out beyond the expected potential;
This year, capital once again flocked to electric vehicles, and the Ningde era and BYD created a market value myth.
However, whether it is the market or technology, There is still a certain gap between China's new energy vehicle companies and Tesla, and foreign brands will increase the electric transformation, which will also bring greater impact.
The future of the automotive industry is full of uncertainty, smart electric vehicles are the "sure future" of the automotive industry, which has become a consensus, and who can really touch this future, is still full of unknowns.
2022 will be a year of continuous vigorous development of smart electric vehicles, in the process of development, who can maintain the concentration of all the way forward, who will be defeated by a stronger opponent, it is worth looking forward to.
"Parting Ways" After Crossing the Line of Life and Death
"I don't understand at all, why are people still buying gas trucks now?"
At the end of 2021 NIO DAY, Li Bin's sentence, although quite controversial, but the era of intelligent electric vehicle marketization has come to a real time.
After experiencing the tragic moments of 2019 and the blessing of Hefei in 2020, Weilai, the head of China's new power, finally achieved the life and death line of "100,000 new cars" in 2021, with the annual delivery volume reaching 91,429 units, doubling year-on-year.
However, the first position in the sales volume of new car manufacturers also changed hands in 2021, and the total delivery volume of Xiaopeng Automobile reached 98,155 units, 3.6 times that of 2020. In addition, the ideal car with only one ideal one car delivered a total of 90,491 units throughout the year, which is the best-selling model among the new forces.
"Selling 100,000 cars a year is a prerequisite for all future possibilities." He Xiaopeng, chairman of Xiaopeng Motors, has said publicly.
It is only one step away from 100,000 units, but the future of the new car-making forces has just begun.
2021 is a year when the new forces of head car manufacturing are gradually stabilizing the heel of the market, and the rise in sales has also allowed the new forces to have more energy to reorganize strategic ideas and lay out a more long-term future. Of course, at the moment of approaching the scale of 100,000, Weilai and Xiaopeng have also begun to "part ways" for the future.
A map that resembles a "compass" clearly shows NIO's understanding of system capabilities: in addition to the dotted core of human resources, manufacturing, research and development, and business model innovation, NIO has focused on four aspects of system capacity building, including cars, services, digital experiences and lifestyles, which is the overall layout of WEILAI for the automobile ecology, and Weilai also very clearly states that it does not do flying cars and Robotaxi so far.
Xiaopeng is not. In this regard, He Xiaopeng is more like Musk. In 2021, although the brand of Xiaopeng Automobile has been renewed, there has been no change in the brand name that has been "spit on", behind the positioning of "explorer of future travel", it is Xiaopeng that extends from intelligent car capabilities to three-dimensional travel products, he Xiaopeng has planned flying cars, robotic horses, and involved in the Robotaxi business.
Ideal Cars continues to focus on the concept of home-built cars, while accelerating the development of pure electric models. However, "Geng Zhinan" Li Xiang also admitted that compared with Xiao Pengweilai, the ideal is making up for the lesson of intelligence and automatic driving.
The new forces of the second echelon have also gradually found their own positions through market differentiation.
Nezha Automobile quickly broke through, ranked among the head camp of the second echelon, and held hands with 360, so that the outside world began to look forward to more possibilities under the blessing of the Internet.
Zero Run and Weima are on the road to IPO, but surviving is still an important issue they are currently facing. As a representative of traditional auto people devoting themselves to new cars, Weima, which was previously optimistic about the outside world, gradually fell behind, even if it cooperated closely with Baidu, but the gap with the first three was constantly widening.
More companies are still struggling with life and death. After holding hands with Geely and Zhuhai, FF is ready to return to China, and Jia Yueting and FF are eager for a counterattack. Can marriage with Foxconn bring Byten back to life? After the real estate explosion, where will Evergrande Automobile go?
As more and more powerful opponents enter the game, there is really not much time left for them.
Soul and ecology
"It is difficult for SAIC to accept a single supplier like Huawei to provide us with a holistic solution, which will become 'he is the soul, I am the body', which we cannot accept." The soul must be in your own hands. ”
In 2021, Chen Hong, chairman of SAIC Motor, put the game of traditional car companies and the Internet in competition and cooperation to the front of the stage.
In 2021, Internet giants represented by Huawei, Baidu, Xiaomi, Didi, 360, etc. have poured into the automotive industry, stirring up a pool of spring water.
AI, big data, and cloud computing are becoming the core competitive points of smart cars. The entry of tech giants into the smart car space offers great business prospects, and they will undoubtedly be important players in the future of the automotive industry.
Judging from the strategy and planning shown to the outside world in 2021, the path for technology giants to participate in "car building" has been very clear, and the models are different.
1, millet - build their own car
Lei Jun's last venture, Xiaomi car manufacturing has become one of the most concerned projects in the automotive circle in 2021, and various local governments have actively competed, and finally Xiaomi automobile has also fallen.
But overall, the substantial progress of Xiaomi cars in 2021 is not much, and in the next two or three years, Xiaomi cars need to speed up the pace to achieve.
2. Huawei's two-line operation - a special "incremental supplier"
Huawei's smart car business is mainly in two ways. On the one hand, Huawei adopts the traditional Tier1 and Tier2 parts supply model, which is not much different from the traditional solution; on the other hand, the other is the "Huawei Inside" (HI) model that is deeply bundled with car companies, with partners Changan and GAC.
In addition, the cooperation between Huawei and Xilix is more in-depth, and the two sides jointly released a new brand AITO, the brand's first car on the M5, the Hongmeng system for the first time, and has entered Huawei's sales network.
Under Huawei's model, traditional car companies are responsible for the definition, modeling, and manufacturing of the whole vehicle, while Huawei is responsible for providing the "soul" of smart cars such as some parts and overall software solutions, and has even been involved in the field of sales.
Although Huawei has repeatedly stressed that "no car", Huawei is indeed getting closer and closer to its own "car building".
3, Baidu "three legs" walk - supplier + personally built car + Robotaxi
As the first technology giant to enter the automotive industry, Baidu has re-planned three business models in the field of smart cars.
Apollo cooperates with car companies to supply them with intelligent software; Jidu Automobile, jointly launched by Geely, will enable Baidu's self-driving technology to be deployed for many years; expand the demonstration operation of robotaxi, thereby promoting its commercialization.
4. Didi - customized online car-hailing
On the one hand, the customized electric ride-hailing car developed by Didi and BYD has been invested in some markets; on the other hand, Didi is also developing a robotaxi autonomous driving layout.
5, 360 - from Nezha to intelligent car safety
Through an investment of 2.9 billion yuan, 360 became the second largest shareholder of Nezha Automobile, thus entering the intelligent automotive industry. In the field of smart car safety, it will be the larger business direction of 360.
In the era of software-defined cars, Chinese Internet companies want to redefine the rules of the game of car building.
The competition in the automotive industry will also shift from the competition of products and technologies to the ecological struggle. The division of labor in the automotive industry chain has changed from the bottom-up hierarchy of OEM, tier1 and tier2 to an ecosystem, you have me, I have you. Cooperate in competition, compete in cooperation.
Will the voice of the future car be in the hands of technology companies? What role should traditional car companies play, and the evolution of the industry pattern, will become more and more exciting.
The high-end road
Driven by new car-making forces such as Weilai, Ideal, and Xiaopeng, the dream of Chinese local car companies sprinting to high-end in the field of new energy vehicles is still continuing. Similarly, this group of traditional car companies, under the profound stimulation of the new forces to build cars, painfully and happily dismantled the "copper wall" in their inherent thinking within the scope of their control, trying to find a path suitable for their own "rebirth through the cocoon".
BAIC ARCFOX, Dongfeng Lantu, GAC Aean, SAIC Zhiji and Changan Avita are carrying the banner of state-owned enterprise autonomy and launching a counterattack against emerging forces.
Geely, the leader of its own brand that has previously encountered a wall in the field of new energy, has also restarted with Extreme Krypton Automobile and Haohan Architecture. The Great Wall's salon cars and BYD's new high-end brands are also on the road.
The price ceiling of self-owned brand models that was once out of reach will be broken in the era of new energy vehicles, and the difficult road for China's independent brands to move up has a new opportunity.
For these car companies, the real test is the core level of product strength, channel power, brand power, etc., and in the new era of intelligent electric vehicles, service power will also become a new point of competition.
It is foreseeable that in the following years or even longer, there is still good room for growth in the high-end intelligent electric vehicle market at home and abroad, and competition will also tend to be white-hot.
Of course, building a brand is not an easy task.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi after a hundred years of wind and rain to get to today, the market position and brand influence is difficult to shake. Even if the existing electric vehicles have not achieved good market response, with the advancement of pure electric platform technology and the reinforcement of intelligence, it will still be the dominant party in the future competition.
In the era of traditional fuel vehicles, there are only about 10 high-end car brands with a certain scale in the world, and now only the domestic brands positioned in high-end intelligent electric vehicles have exceeded 10, and those who come out are destined to be a minority, and someone will eventually be eliminated in the future.
Volkswagen and Toyota fought back
Giant wheel steering, never easy. As the world's largest automotive group, Volkswagen is staging a power struggle in 2021.
From the contradiction between Dies and the Volkswagen union organization and Dies' "forced palace behavior" to renew the CEO contract as soon as possible, to the final Diss was deprived of some of its powers in disguise, and Volkswagen China changed coaches.
With the change of management, Volkswagen's self-revolution in the era of electric vehicles is accelerating. Whether it is the layout of the battery business or the development of the software business, Volkswagen needs to adjust the track more urgently.
In 2021, Volkswagen launched 5 ID. series electric vehicles in the Chinese market in one go, although the volume is not as good as the new forces of car manufacturing, but it has found a certain market position, and the monthly sales have quickly climbed to more than 10,000 units, showing that Volkswagen is still a strong brand appeal. However, Volkswagen's promotion of the agency system is not smooth, and the innovation of business models is still a difficult hurdle that traditional car companies cannot overcome.
Volkswagen's old rival Toyota, also completed its turnaround in 2021. Standing in front of 16 pure electric vehicles, Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda announced to the world that this Japanese car company, which has always been considered strategically conservative, will also lead the industry in the era of electric vehicles.
In order to promote the electrification strategy, Toyota will invest 4 trillion yen (about 225 billion yuan) in the next 10 years to develop pure electric technology and products. Toyota plans to introduce 30 pure electric models by 2030, with global annual sales of pure electric vehicles planned to reach 3.5 million units, and Lexus will become a pure electric brand by 2035.
Nissan also released the "Nissan Motor 2030 Vision" in 2021, planning to invest 2 trillion yen in the next five years to accelerate the layout of electric drive products and technological innovation, and plans to achieve carbon neutrality in the operation and product life cycle of the entire enterprise by 2050.
GM Group has also entered the field of new energy with a new attitude, and the vital Ultium platform will cover the electrification layout of its three major brands. Ford, which has developed unfavorably in China in recent years, has also entered the market by creating a domestic electric Mustang Mustang Mustang.
The traditional German luxury three Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, but also increasing investment in the field of electrification and digitalization, their respective EQ series, e-tron, i series, but also continue to improve the product matrix.
These traditional car companies have made up their minds to fight the era of electric vehicles, and they are also destined to be opponents that need to be taken seriously by Chinese electric vehicle companies, with the strength and confidence of late strikers.
Greater openness
Entering 2022, the adjustment of the joint venture share ratio of automobiles will be a huge variable, stirring the nervous nerves of Chinese car companies. The game between China and foreign countries will become more intense.
Although it is only a matter of time before BMW Brilliance officially adjusts the stock ratio, and the rumors of the adjustment of the share ratio of Beijing Benz have been circulated many times, a higher level of opening up often means greater development opportunities.
In the traditional era of automobile joint ventures, foreign parties provide technology and products, and Chinese parties are responsible for manufacturing, which is the main mode of cooperation. Although the effect of "market for technology" in the past 40 years is inconsistent, the joint venture car companies have indeed played an important role in promoting the development of China's automotive industry chain and driving the progress of independent car companies.
However, in the era of new energy vehicles, the positioning of Chinese car companies is changing. Chinese car companies may become technology exporters and grasp a certain right to speak in joint ventures and cooperation with foreign car companies.
In the cooperation between BYD and Denza, BYD is the main technology provider, although the development has not been smooth for a decade, and finally by the end of 2021, BYD has become a major shareholder with 90% of the shares. In 2022, the joint venture car cooperated by BYD and Toyota is about to enter the market, and according to the plan, the first car will be bydier responsible for technology and production, and Toyota will be marked.
Under China's continued expansion of high-level opening up, China's automobile has made progress in technology and products and has a certain degree of international competitiveness.
Under the unfavorable factors of the global epidemic spread, in 2021, China's automobile export volume hit a record, close to 2 million vehicles, almost double the previous one. Among them, the export of new energy vehicles is even more eye-catching.
The first-mover advantage of China's automobile industry in the field of new energy vehicles has also begun to appear in the international market. In addition to Southeast Asia, West Asia, South America, Russia and other places, some Chinese brand cars have been exported to Belgium, Britain, Germany and other developed countries, becoming the main driving force for the growth of Chinese brand car exports.
It is worth mentioning that Chinese brand new energy vehicles have not adopted the strategy of exchanging low prices for market space in overseas markets. On the new energy vehicle track, Chinese brands already have the ability to face off with international first-line brands in overseas markets, and the dream of globalization of Chinese automobiles has become closer and closer.
All the past is the prologue. At this moment, the China Automobile 30 Think Tank has sorted out the top ten weather vanes of China's automotive industry in 2021.
Through the change in the direction of the industry, we hope to find more "certainty" in this uncertain era, in this era of openness and cross-border, and remove the "copper wall and iron wall" in the inherent thinking of the automotive industry, in 2022, together with light loading.
Incident 1, cross-border car manufacturing has resurfaced
1. Huawei Automotive Bureau
On April 17, 2021, the alpha S Huawei HI version jointly created by BAIC BJEV's high-end brand ARCFOX And Huawei and ARCFOX opened pre-sale, and is expected to start delivery in the fourth quarter of 2021. (Ultimately failed to materialize, only small-scale in-house deliveries by the end of 2021)
On April 20, 2021, Huawei's offline stores and Huawei's official website began to sell the first car, the Xilis SF5, and Huawei entered the field of automobile sales.
In May 2021, Yu Chengdong became ceo of Smart Vehicle Solutions BU, Wang Jun was the president of Smart Vehicle Solutions BU, and Yu Chengdong directly managed Huawei's intelligent vehicle business. In September 2021, Wang Jun's position was adjusted to the intelligent car solution BU COO, from Wang Jun, who is more technical, to Yu Chengdong, who is more focused on market operations, Huawei's car BU completed the transfer of power.
On December 23, 2021, Huawei's first mid-size luxury SUV of the high-end AITO brand, the Q&I M5, was officially released, which is the first model equipped with Huawei's latest HarmonyOS cockpit, which is crucial for Huawei to ask for directions in the automotive industry.
From the production and manufacture of smart car parts, to the new business model of joining hands with BAIC, Changan, and GAC to create HUAWEI inside, to Huawei using its own channels to sell cars, Huawei's automotive bureau is getting deeper and deeper. Huawei does not build cars, Huawei car BU helps car companies build good cars, and Huawei smart choice helps car companies sell cars. Huawei's automotive business needs to do both 2B and 2C. Huawei has deeply involved in the key areas of smart cars and is trying to grasp a higher industrial discourse power and dominance. Huawei's car dream is not just to become a "Bosch in the era of intelligent cars", but to build a complete ecosystem with itself as the center.
For smart cars, Huawei is ambitious, what does the Huawei model bring to the automotive industry? How should car companies view and deal with cooperation with Huawei, will car companies lose their souls and just become a "body"?
2. Xiaomi car
On March 30, 2021, Xiaomi Group officially announced the construction of cars, with an initial investment of 10 billion yuan and an estimated investment of 10 billion US dollars in the next 10 years. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun will concurrently serve as the CEO of the smart electric vehicle business and personally lead the team to build cars.
After Xiaomi officially announced the car, although the wheel hub did not move, Lei Jun has visited a number of vehicle and automobile supply chain enterprises such as the Great Wall, BYD, and Ningde Times, and from time to time with Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Hefei, Xi'an and other local governments to spread "gossip", "seize that millet" has become an important task of many local governments.
In September 2021, Xiaomi officially announced that its headquarters was settled in Yizhuang, Beijing. On November 27, Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone signed a cooperation agreement with Xiaomi Group, Xiaomi Automobile Project will build Xiaomi Automobile Headquarters Base, Sales Headquarters and R&D Headquarters in Yizhuang, Beijing, and build a vehicle factory with an annual output of 300,000 vehicles in two phases, of which the first and second phases of production capacity are 150,000 units, and the first car is expected to roll off the production line and achieve mass production in 2024.
3. Baidu walks on three legs
On January 11, 2021, Baidu announced the formal establishment of a smart car company to enter the automotive industry as a vehicle manufacturer, and Geely Holding Group will become a strategic partner. Baidu Auto Company is independent of the parent company system and maintains independent operation, and the new car will be developed based on the Geely SEA Haohan architecture.
On February 22, Baidu announced that Xia Yiping, former co-founder and CTO of Mobike, will become the CEO of the new company.
On March 2, Jidu Automobile Co., Ltd. was officially registered and established, with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan Baidu and Geely held 55% and 45% of the shares respectively. Jidu Automobile's first new car will be unveiled at the 2022 Beijing Auto Show and is scheduled to officially enter the market in 2023.
In addition, Baidu founder Robin Li redefined the three business paths of Baidu's automotive business at the first quarter of 2021 earnings report: A. provide Apollo autonomous driving technology solutions for host manufacturers; B. Baidu car manufacturing, through the integration of Baidu automotive innovation in Baidu automotive vehicles, the most advanced technology to the market for the first time; C. Robotaxi.
4.360 Invest in the logic of Nezha
In May 2021, 360 Group announced that it would invest 2.9 billion yuan in Nezha Automobile, becoming its second largest shareholder. Zhou Hongyi promised: 360 will be a strategic investor, long-term, sustained and all-round empowerment of Nezha Automobile. Investing in Nezha Automobile is the first step taken by 360 Group in the field of intelligent vehicle safety.
5. Didi car valuation first
After cooperating with BYD to launch the custom ride-hailing car D1, Didi plans to further explore the customized ride-hailing car. Didi will most likely not build cars independently, and may choose the OEM + supplier model to further deepen cooperation with vehicle companies.
6. Foxconn's road to automobile "OEM"
On January 4, 2021, Foxconn signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Byton Automobile and Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone to promote the mass production of Byton's first model, M-Byte, and on January 13, 2021, Foxconn signed a strategic cooperation agreement and established a joint venture with Geely Holdings to provide OEM production and customization consulting services for global automobile and mobility companies.
In February 2021, Foxconn announced a partnership with The Us-based electric vehicle company Fisker to manufacture Fisker-branded electric vehicle products, which are expected to be officially mass-produced in the fourth quarter of 2023, with an annual production volume of more than 250,000 units. In May 2021, Foxconn and Stellantis announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture called Mobile Drive with a 50:50 vote.
On October 18, 2021, Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai Technology officially released the pure electric vehicle brand Foxtron, and brought three new cars: pure electric car Model C, pure electric SUV Model E and electric bus Model T.
Foxconn's road to car building is rapidly rolling out.
Incident two, the new power pattern has been initially determined
1. NIO's "Compass"
On January 3, 2021, NIO launched the official used car NIO Certified to carry out the official used car business in a self-operated manner. After patching up the last piece of the puzzle, the closed loop of vehicle life cycle service that Weilai is trying to create has basically been formed.
On April 7, 2021, the 100,000th NIO rolled off the production line.
On April 15, 2021, WEILAI joined hands with petrochemicals and began to lay out the second generation of replacement power stations.
On April 29, 2021, NEO Park, a smart electric vehicle industrial park jointly built by NIO and Hefei, began construction, with a planned production capacity of 1 million vehicles.
On May 6, 2021, NIO released its Norwegian strategy to expand overseas.
In 2021, Weilai encountered successive storms such as seat and battery fires, and on August 12, a noo ES8 that enabled NOPs had a traffic accident, and the owner of the car died, pushing Weilai to the cusp of the storm.
On December 5, 2021, NIO released a new battery upgrade service. A "compass"-like diagram displayed by Weilai President Qin Lihong clearly shows NIO's understanding of system capabilities: in addition to the dotted core of human resources, manufacturing, research and development, and business model innovation, NIO has focused on four aspects of system capacity building, including vehicles, services, digital experiences and lifestyles, which has also become THE OVERALL LAYOUT OF WEILAI FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE ECOLOGY.
On December 18, 2021, NIO released its second sedan ET5 on NIO Day, and after the ET5 was listed, NIO not only had a more complete product spectrum, but also touched more consumer groups through price exploration. The direct competitor of the ET5 is the Tesla Model 3.
2. The ecology of Xiaopeng
On July 7, 2021, less than a year after the U.S. stock market was listed, Xiaopeng Motors (NYSE:XPEV, 09868.HK) became the first new car-making force to return to Hong Kong stocks, and the first Chinese stock listed in Hong Kong and the United States in three years.
On October 24, 2021, Xiaopeng Motors released the layout of the second half of the intelligent field at the Science and Technology Day, including super energy, intelligent driving, intelligent robots and flying cars. Among them, super energy and intelligent driving are still focusing on the automotive business, and intelligent robots and flying cars point to more ambitious technologies: robotic horses will undergo two iterations next year, and the sixth generation of flying cars will be mass-produced in 2024, and the price will be controlled within 1 million yuan.
3. Ideal make-up lessons
On May 25, 2021, Ideal Auto released the 2021 Ideal ONE. Although the ideal ONE sells well, there are always doubts about the development prospects of the ideal car. The birth of the new Ideal ONE plays a more important role in the future development of the Ideal Car. The ideal car needs to make up for the lesson of autonomous driving, and it needs to speed up the pace of make-up lessons, so as to enhance the sustainable competitiveness of the company.
On August 12, 2021, one year after the US stock IPO, Ideal Automobile (02015.HK/LI.NASDAQ) officially landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the second new Internet car-making force to achieve dual listing of US stocks and Hong Kong stocks after Xiaopeng Motors.
4. Tesla is moving forward in controversy
On January 1, 2021, Tesla's domestic Model Y was officially put on sale, and Tesla's market size in China expanded rapidly, driven by two hot-selling models. Globally, Tesla achieved more than 936,000 deliveries in 2021, an increase of 87.4% year-on-year, and won the first electric vehicle sales.
However, Tesla has also a lot of negative information this year, but it does not seem to have affected its fundamentals. In the Chinese market, Tesla and some consumers are caught in controversy about vehicle quality, autonomous driving safety, etc. In the US market, Tesla has also been investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for autopilot accidents, in addition, Tesla has also launched a large-scale recall due to insufficient knuckle strength and other parts.
5. Weima is left behind
WM Motors, which was once optimistic about the outside world, has been expanding the gap with "Wei Xiaoli". The IPO plan has not progressed for a long time.
6. The second echelon survives in the cracks
Through differentiated competition, the new forces of the second echelon such as Nezha and Zero Run will also perform well in 2021, but more second-echelon new forces have been on the verge of elimination.
7.FF depart again
In January 2021, FF held hands with Geely and Zhuhai respectively, FF prepared to return to China, and on July 22, FF, who had struggled several times in the life and death line, landed on the NASDAQ. Jia Yueting and FF, eager to counterattack.
8. Evergrande Automobile is in crisis
Evergrande real estate thunderstorm, encountered a huge crisis, no time to split, where the automobile business will go next.
Incident three, independent brands collectively rushed higher
1. Geely problem to be solved, electric pole Kr departure
On March 23, Geely Automobile (0175. HK) officially announced the establishment of a new intelligent electric vehicle company, Extreme Krypton, and the first new car, Extreme Kr 001, will be delivered in October.
2. After the tank, Sharon rose again
On June 28, 2021, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, officially released the Great Wall Motor 2025 strategy. According to the plan, Great Wall Motor's cumulative R&D investment in the next 5 years will reach 100 billion yuan, which will be concentrated in the fields of pure electric, hydrogen, hybrid and other new energy, and will impact the global annual sales of 4 million new vehicles by 2025, of which new energy vehicle sales account for more than 80% and operating income exceeds 600 billion yuan.
In 2021, the best-selling of tanks makes the Great Wall the darling of the capital market. Great Wall Motor, which tasted the sweetness, released a new high-end brand salon at the Guangzhou Auto Show.
3. Dongfeng's Blueprint and Blueprint
On September 26, 2021, Dongfeng Company's "14th Five-Year Plan" target. The comprehensive market share reached more than 16% and took the lead in the international market; continued to improve the sustainable development ability of the autonomous passenger car business, with the overall scale spanning 1 million units and the sales volume of new energy vehicles reaching 1 million units; the main commercial vehicle enterprises to create high-quality industry TOP1 enterprises, independent passenger car main enterprises ranked first in the industry; the operating income of strategic emerging businesses reached more than 30% of the group's total revenue.
By 2025, Dongfeng's high-end electric vehicle brand Lantu Automobile production and sales target has increased from the previous 150,000 to 200,000 vehicles, and the high-end electric off-road brand M brand that has not yet appeared has also appeared in the "14th Five-Year Plan". It is understood that the M brand is aimed at the high-end off-road vehicle market. Similar to the Lantu brand, the M brand will operate as an independent company in the future.
4. The embarrassment of the polar fox
On the evening of April 17, the second new car Alpha S under the high-end brand ARCFOX Jihu under BAIC BJEV was officially launched. At the same time, the Alpha S Huawei HI version jointly created by Huawei and ARCFOX, which has attracted much attention from the outside world, has also opened pre-sale.
BAIC hopes to join hands with Huawei and Magna to create a high-end image, but there is a big gap between the market response of Jihu and the new forces of car manufacturing.
5. SAIC's own brand is reorganized
SAIC's transformation has recently begun. SAIC's transformation has two keywords, one is user-oriented, and the other is high-tech. Under the wave of development of intelligent electric vehicles, SAIC motor focuses on the launch of zhiji car and R car, as the ultimate chip for its own brand to fight new energy, in these two brands, SAIC will implement the new to C concept, and apply the group's top electric platform and intelligent network technology.
6. Acceleration of GAC Aeon
At the beginning of 2021, the graphene battery of GAC Group was a gimmick or a real force, which caused great controversy. In July, the long-rumored cooperation between GAC and Huawei landed - Huawei joined hands with GAC Aeon to jointly develop the next generation of intelligent electric vehicles - the project was implemented. The first car to be a medium- to large-sized smart pure electric SUV is scheduled for mass production by the end of 2023.
7. Avita's logic
On November 15, 2021, Avita, a new brand jointly built by Changan Automobile, Huawei and CATL, held a press conference in Shanghai. The first new car, the Avita 1, will be delivered in large quantities in the third quarter of next year.
8. BYD waits for the high-end
In May 2021, BYD's 1 millionth new energy vehicle officially rolled off the production line, and BYD became the first Chinese brand to enter the "Millions Club" of new energy vehicles, and also became the third brand in the world after Toyota and Tesla to achieve a cumulative sales of 1 million new energy vehicles. In 2021, BYD's stock price and new energy vehicle sales will fly together, but brand power is still facing a test. BYD will launch a high-end pure electric brand in 2022.
Incident four, traditional car companies accelerated their turnaround
1. The game of thrones for the masses
On March 15, 2021, Volkswagen Battery Day announced its layout in the battery field, which will deploy six battery factories in Europe and will develop standard batteries.
On July 13, 2021, the Volkswagen Group announced its 2030 NEW AUTO strategy, accelerating its transformation into a software-driven mobility service provider. The Volkswagen Group plans to invest 73 billion euros, or 50 percent of the total investment, in the development of future technologies between 2021 and 2025. At the same time, the cost of fuel vehicles will be gradually reduced, and Volkswagen will continue to improve efficiency, realize a 5% fixed cost and 7% material cost reduction plan in the next two years, and optimize the fuel vehicle business by optimizing the model, powertrain combination and price combination.
Under the game of wolf castle's treacherous interests, Volkswagen completed a new personnel adjustment at the end of 2021: Dis was stripped of power and the Chinese region was replaced. Id. sales were less than expected, which was cited as one of the reasons for Feng Sihan's departure.
2. Toyota turns to electrification
On December 14, Toyota released 16 pure electric vehicles in one go, and the latest comprehensive electrification strategy. Toyota is expected to introduce 30 electric models by 2030, and the annual sales of pure electric vehicles are planned to reach 3.5 million units worldwide. It is expected that by 2030, Lexus will achieve a comprehensive lineup of all its models to provide pure electric versions, and achieve 100% pure electric model sales in China, North America and Europe, reaching the goal of global sales of 1 million units. By 2035, 100% of all-electric models will be sold worldwide.
Toyota will invest 4 trillion yen over the next 10 years to develop pure electric technology and products. In addition, 4 trillion yen will be invested in the development of technologies in the fields of hybrid, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
3. Audi's new chess game in China
In 2021, SAIC Audi finally landed, how to balance the north and south Audi, is the key for Audi to return to the first luxury car in China. This task was entrusted to the shoulders of Wen Zeyue, the newly appointed head of the Chinese region.
Event five, the ideal and reality of automatic driving
1. The first year of high-level autonomous driving?
In 2021, many car companies such as WM and Jihu launched models with high-level automatic driving functions, and "Wei Xiaoli" has launched pilot auxiliary driving functions.
2. Excessive publicity and safety controversy
The frequent occurrence of safety accidents related to automatic assisted driving has been pushed to the "cusp" of public opinion, and domestic car companies have generally begun to be cautious in the publicity of intelligent assisted driving.
3. The big stick of data security is coming
On 12 May 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China (IAIA) issued several provisions on the security management of automotive data (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft for Solicitation of Comments").
With the development of automobile intelligence, every car has become an important data collection carrier, car manufacturers, automotive software developers, etc. attach great importance to data mining, through mobile phone data to improve algorithmic capabilities and accelerate the iteration of products and related technologies. At the same time, car users are beginning to realize the importance of personal privacy protection.
As a key enterprise, Tesla has repeatedly stated that the data of China's business is stored in China.
4. The commercialization contradiction of Robotaxi
In 2020, AutoX and Didi have launched driverless taxi business in Jiading, Shanghai, volkswagen group autonomous driving service pilot officially landed in Hefei, and obtained the first autonomous vehicle test license in Hefei; since 2021, the commercialization of the field of automatic driving has advanced rapidly, especially in the Robotaxi scene close to C-end users, start-ups are competing fiercely.
Event six: "Crazy" power batteries
1. Trillion NINGDE Times Investment Bureau
In 2021, CATL is highly sought after in the capital market, with a market value of more than 1.5 trillion yuan, becoming the well-deserved leader of the ChiNext board. For the development of business, CATL is expanding its production capacity while also increasing its business investment in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.
2. Battery collective expansion shockwave
The rapid growth of new energy vehicle sales has led to the expansion of demand for electric vehicles, and in 2021, a number of power battery companies have expanded their production capacity planning.
3. The battery goes to sea, and the crisis is everywhere
The competitiveness of China's power battery enterprises has been greatly improved, and they seek to go to sea.
Incident seven, the supply chain is full of crisis
1. China's car market under the "core shortage"
The pressure of tight chip supply has run through 2021, which has brought a huge test to car companies, and car companies have begun to think about new ideas to ensure the safety of the supply chain.
2. Looking for a "China Solution"
Autonomous driving chips will be the high point of industrial competition in the era of intelligent electric vehicles, and the self-sufficiency rate of China's automotive chips needs to be improved.
3. High-speed charging anxiety outbreak
During the National Day, new energy vehicle users queued up on the highway for 4 hours to charge for 1 hour, some car owners fought hard for the charging pile, some car owners did not dare to open the air conditioner in order to save electricity, obviously they were friends who set off together, some people arrived at home, and some people were still charging in the middle of the road...
The prominence of the problem of charging difficulties is behind the blowout of electric vehicle sales. What needs to be considered is that the outbreak of high-speed charging contradictions staged cars in the "囧" way, how will the fast-growing new energy vehicle market respond? What is the solution to the amplified anxiety of electric vehicle owners?
Event Eight: The Evolution of Auto Marketing
The cross-border marketing of enterprises such as Wuling, which borrows the concept of "Magic Boy Nezha" and "Transformers" concept marketing, and Wuling, which "what the people need, we will produce", can be described as a boom, and Euler also wins the favor of the market with female marketing... In the marketing of intelligent electric vehicles, many companies are exploring and practicing a lot based on their own positioning and user perspectives.
If Tesla, Weilai, and the ideal car direct operation model subvert the traditional car marketing and force the traditional car companies to transform into user-oriented enterprises, then Huawei's "car sales" has put forward another challenging topic for the automotive industry.
At the same time, what is the logic behind the new way of playing a variety of electric vehicle marketing; whether the new marketing will fall into the situation of "applauding but not calling", how to effectively convert high traffic; from "co-creation with users" to "user definition", how to maintain effective communication with users after the future sales growth by an order of magnitude, etc., has also become a problem that smart electric vehicle marketing must face.
Event 9: New opportunities for the dual-carbon strategy
On July 16, 2021, the national carbon emissions trading was launched. Although the automobile and transportation industries, which are major carbon emitters, are not included in the list of carbon emissions trading, there is no doubt that the automobile industry will play an important role in the dual-carbon strategy. In addition to promoting the application of new energy vehicles, the next step is to achieve carbon reduction throughout the life cycle of automobiles.
Event 10, the game of stock ratio liberalization
In 2021, with the intensification of competition in the automotive industry and the adjustment of the pattern, some joint venture car companies will withdraw, some will complete business integration, and some Chinese car companies will withdraw from joint venture companies. The auto joint venture share ratio will be fully liberalized in 2022, and the mountain rain is about to come and blow all over the building, in addition to BMW Brilliance, the adjustment of the stock ratio of many joint venture companies may only be a matter of time.