Top 10 Annual Events in the Global Automotive Industry in 2021: "10 Top Ten Inventory (10)"

Looking back at 2021, the car market is bustling and bustling: lack of cores, price increases, and the epidemic have repeatedly impacted the market, the energy revolution has profoundly affected the industrial pattern, and the iteration of new and old technologies has reshaped the automotive ecology. For the global automotive industry, this year has been full of ups and downs and ups and downs, and what important events are worth talking about. Here, "Automotive Vertical" sorts out the top ten annual events in the global automotive industry in order to seek to see the micro-knowledge and feed the readers.

1 Competing for carbon neutrality, global car companies are also "rolled in"

On November 10, 2021, during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow, England, byd, Ford, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, six major car companies promised to stop selling fuel vehicles before 2040, and only sell zero-emission new energy vehicles. At the same time, traditional car companies such as Volkswagen, Toyota, BMW, Nissan and Stellantis refused to sign the pledge. Although there are obvious differences in the attitude of participating car companies to climate commitments, the industrial transformation caused by "zero carbon" has attracted enough attention in the automotive industry, and the world's major automakers have successively formulated long-term plans to achieve "decarbonization". In order to win the protracted battle of "decarbonization", 21 major car companies and parts manufacturers have announced the "decarbonization" timetable.

Quick review

More and more companies are beginning to incorporate climate risks into their long-term strategies. Under the wave of global carbon neutrality, green transformation has become an inevitable choice for automakers. Carbon neutrality is both an opportunity and a challenge for the automotive industry. Although the action force is not uniform, global car companies are still steadily transforming in accordance with their respective carbon neutral strategies and gradually achieving carbon emission reduction.

2 The global automotive industry is "panicked" due to "core shortage"

Since the beginning of 2021, the global shortage of automotive chips has affected many manufacturers, and car giants such as General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, and Toyota have been affected, and many of its factories have stopped production to varying degrees. According to research institutions, the shortage of chips has led to a reduction of about 11.3 million global car production in 2021. Production in North America was reduced by approximately 3.4 million units in the whole year, and in Europe, where there were many automakers, production was reduced by about 3.35 million units.

The shortage of chips caused by factors such as the epidemic has made the chip industry more concerned than ever by governments, industry stakeholders, manufacturers and even end consumers. However, the epidemic has not stopped the pace of electrification and intelligence of the global automotive industry, and based on different development goals, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in various countries has continued to increase. The shortage of chips has become an important problem restricting the development of the automobile industry.

3 Rising raw material prices make the automobile industry "under pressure"

In 2021, the global automotive industry will experience a wave of price increases. In May 2021, the Bloomberg Commodities Spot Index rose to its highest level since 2011, with the Metals Index up 21 percent. The cost of steel required for automotive chassis, engines and wheels has skyrocketed. In addition to steel, copper, aluminum, magnesium and other essential basic raw materials for automobile manufacturers are touching or approaching historical highs. In fact, automotive raw materials have been in a price increase channel in recent years, and the outbreak of the new crown epidemic has exacerbated this trend.

The soaring price of bulk raw materials is breaking the balance of the entire automotive industry chain, triggering a series of chain reactions. Factors such as supply-demand mismatch and loose monetary liquidity are still heating up the expected possibility of driving commodity prices, and it is still "under pressure" for the auto industry, which emphasizes lean production and a longer chain.

4 Global auto giants "blood exchange"

In 2021, the Volkswagen Group has already involved more than 4,000 employees in layoffs at its German factories, and the Q3 earnings meeting said that if the transformation progress is too slow, it may cut 30,000 jobs. Honda Motor began soliciting early retirees for the first time in nearly 10 years, accounting for about 5% of Honda's regular employees in Japan. Nissan's 10,000-person layoffs are still ongoing. At the same time, software, algorithms and smart cockpits are becoming popular positions in the talent battle for car companies. Ford added about 600 software designers and data scientists in the past year. Renault will hire 2,500 people in data science and battery chemistry while planning to lay off 4,600 people.

Accelerating the transformation to electrification has become an important strategic development direction for many traditional auto giants in the future, but the "ship is difficult to turn around", traditional technical talents have become a heavy burden for enterprises to turn around, and layoffs have become measures that have to be implemented to achieve their goals. On the other hand, the demand for new technology talents in smart electric vehicle outlet vehicles is constantly rising, and the input of "fresh blood" has become a standard way to match the transformation of electrification.

5 Whether the US electric vehicle policy can "rebuild a better future"

On November 6, 2021, the U.S. Infrastructure Package Act, the Rebuilding a Better Future Act, was finally passed by the House of Representatives. The bill includes a number of new spending on transportation facilities and electric vehicles, of which $110 billion is spent on the rehabilitation of roads, bridges and other infrastructure across the country; $7.5 billion for electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure; $2.5 billion for zero-emission buses; and $2.5 billion for low-emission buses. In addition, another $65 billion will be dedicated to providing clean and renewable energy to the U.S. power grid. At the same time, several provisions in the bill propose production subsidies for the electric vehicle industry, with subsidies of up to $12,500 per electric vehicle, much higher than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, and as a key to stimulating consumer demand.

Overall, this is a big positive for the development of the U.S. electric vehicle market, which will prompt its infrastructure providers to expand production to support the upcoming wave of electric vehicles. However, due to the "infighting" of US political parties, the future of when the bill will land is uncertain.

6 When the global squabble is fully electrified, Norway laughs and says nothing

Looking at the global car market, the Norwegian market is not large, but it is a thriving place for electric vehicles. In 2020, the penetration rate of the Norwegian electric vehicle market was 74%, compared with 91% in January-November 2021. On December 6, 2021, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) announced the sales of cars in November of that year, and new energy vehicle sales accounted for 94.9% of total sales. Norway has set a goal of a complete ban on the sale of fuel vehicles by 2025. Now it seems that this plan is expected to be completed ahead of schedule. At that time, Norway will become the first country in the world to sell only electric vehicles.

The Nordic country, with a population of only 5.37 million, is just around the corner after becoming the country with the highest number of electric vehicles per capita in the world. At the same time, although some European countries have identified the node of electrification, most of the time is set for 2035, and its full electrification still has a long way to go.

7 Toyota motor electrification is 180° steering?

Among the many car companies moving in the direction of electrification technology, Toyota's performance has always been unique, betting on hydrogen energy, and even "not optimistic" pure electric vehicles. However, on December 14, 2021, Toyota Motor announced its electrification strategy, announcing that it will invest 4 trillion yen (about 223.9 billion yuan) to develop electric vehicles by 2030, with the goal of selling 3.5 million electric vehicles worldwide by then. Among them, the Lexus brand will be 100% electrified in China, the United States and Europe in 2030, and 100% electrified globally in 2035.

Previously, Toyota was "not cold" to electrification, which was not unrelated to its large volume and investment in the field of fuel vehicles. However, with the rapid increase in the global market share of electric vehicles, the absence of electrified models has caused Toyota to lose a lot of sales. This full embrace of electrification is a new choice that Toyota has created for itself in the face of future development trends.

8 Stellantis illuminates PSA and FCA with "stars."

On January 16, 2021, the dust settled on the huge merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) worth US$52 billion, and the two sides merged to form a new group, Stellantis. The combined company became the fourth-largest automotive group in the world by sales and third in terms of revenue, with 14 car brands including Peugeot, Citroën, Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, with overall annual sales of 8.7 million units and consolidated revenues of nearly €170 billion, with an estimated annual operating synergy of approximately €3.7 billion.

Merger is for symbiotic coexistence. The combined Stellantis Group's brands and products cover all key segments of the ultra-luxury, luxury, SUV, truck and light commercial vehicles, complementing each other in terms of market share and product portfolio. Previously, whether it was PSA or FCA, it could only rank second-rate or third-rate in the world, and only occupied an advantage in their respective local markets. The new giant will compete with auto manufacturing giants such as Volkswagen and Toyota. The global automotive market may usher in a new "reshuffle".

9 LG and SK compete, and the global battery competition pattern changes

In February 2021, South Korean power battery manufacturer SK received a "big gift" from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), that is, ITC announced that it would ban the sale of SK battery business in the United States for 10 years, and the "assist" was also from South Korea's LG. Since 2019, LG Energy accused the former of poaching core technical personnel and stealing relevant trade secrets, the "enmity" between the two has a long history and has been "hit" from the court to the global market. Although the two sides finally chose to shake hands and withdraw all lawsuits against each other in South Korea and overseas, LG received $1.8 billion in compensation, SK did not have to worry about losing business in the US market, and the ending seemed to be "everyone's happy", but the market share lost by both sides during this period was "never looking back".

The battery dispute between LG and SK is reflecting the intensification of competition for global power battery dominance today. In recent years, THE NINGDE era has repeatedly ranked first in the global power battery market, bringing more pressure to other head battery manufacturers. During the litigation between the two parties, BYD's market share surpassed Samsung SDI and SK, and directly chased LG. Latecomers are threatening, forcing LG and SK to put aside their preconceptions and focus on the market.

10 Tesla's market value is over a trillion, which makes the automotive industry hungry

On October 25, 2021, Tesla announced that its third-quarter financial report exceeded market expectations, achieving profitability for nine consecutive quarters, with excellent performance in multiple core figures such as revenue, profit and production capacity. Reflected in the financial markets, the next day, Tesla's market value exceeded trillion US dollars for the first time. It became the seventh company in the global trillion-dollar market value club and the only automotive company. Tesla's performance is staggering, and the market has become accustomed to surpassing the major traditional car companies one after another. Inadvertently, its market capitalization has exceeded the sum of Volkswagen, Toyota, Daimler, BMW, Ford and Honda, and may rise further.

Tesla has become the "profit cow" of the entire automotive industry, with a staggering gross margin of 30.5% and 29% even if carbon credit revenue is excluded. In addition to making money by selling cars, the biggest difference between Tesla and traditional manufacturers is positioned as a technology company that combines hardware + software. In the new round of scientific and technological revolution and automobile industry transformation, Tesla has created a phenomenon-level intelligent electric product based on electrification and intelligent business ecology, which to a certain extent represents the evolution direction of the future automobile industry. So it's no surprise that the capital market gives Tesla such a high premium.