South Korean cars are declining at home, but they are selling well abroad.
This phenomenon is like Korean mobile phones, Chinese do not buy, foreigners buy crazy. South Korea's Samsung mobile phone, which has few sales in China, has so far firmly held the throne of the world's first.
So, what kind of charm does Korean cars have that make foreigners fall into it and find it difficult to extricate themselves?
According to the latest data, in 2021, South Korea's Hyundai Kia Group sold 6.67 million vehicles worldwide, jumping to become the world's third largest automobile group after Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen. Among them, more than 80% of sales are overseas, and South Korea's local sales account for only 20%. This achievement can be said to be far more than any car group in China.
Why are Korean cars so popular overseas?
The reason is actually not complicated, the main thing is that the performance is better and the price is cheaper.
The Path traveled by the Korean auto industry is basically the same as that of the Chinese auto industry. First do joint venture assembly, and then do domestic independence. However, after South Korea has completed these two steps, it takes less time, goes to sea earlier, and develops more rapidly.
In 1962, South Korea enacted the Automobile Industry Protection Act, which began to integrate The Auto Parts Industry in Korea. Under the leadership of the South Korean government, South Korea has established four major automobile companies, Nameu, Shinjin, Asia Minor and Hyundai.
Because South Korea does not have automobile manufacturing technology, it can only choose to introduce foreign technology, establish a joint venture with Italian and American automobile companies, introduce foreign core components, and then make some scrap materials, assemble it, and sell it in South Korea.
It can be said that the development of China's automobile industry has also borrowed from South Korea's practice to a large extent. Under the policy protection of the local national automobile industry, local automobile state-owned enterprises are allowed to set up joint venture factories with foreign capital, build joint venture brands, import core components, and assemble and sell them in China.
In this process, Chinese auto companies have not learned advanced foreign technologies, but have instead lay in the arms of joint venture brands and made a lot of money. This is because China's automobile market is very large, the profit margin is very sufficient, and the joint venture can also eat and drink enough.
But South Korea is different, the Korean market is very small, only by assembly, can not make much money. The development of joint venture automobiles in South Korea has created a relatively complete automobile industry in Korea. But 10 years later, in 1972, the Korean automobile company launched a full localization under the government's coercive leadership.
With a whip in one hand and a reward in the other, authoritarian President Park Chung-hee has pushed South Korean auto companies to independently design, develop and produce localized cars. In 1974, Hyundai Group launched South Korea's first "Xiaoma brand" pure domestic car, making South Korea the 16th country in the world to produce cars independently.
The first domestically produced car in South Korea, Hyundai Pony, is the first generation
As a result, South Korea's own brand cars began to replace joint venture cars and foreign cars on a large scale. Strongman Park Chung-hee did not give these car companies the opportunity to steal chickens and fish, quickly promoted the development of South Korean automotive independent technology, and also vigorously guided The Korean people to buy their own brand cars. Just 5 years later, Local cars in South Korea replaced foreign cars and occupied the local market on a large scale.
By 1976, South Korean cars had begun to be introduced overseas, successfully exporting 1,042 cars to 13 countries, including South America and the Middle East. Although the volume of exports is small, south Korean automobile export ambitions are large.
In 1979, South Korea's automobile production exceeded 200,000 units, and more than 30,000 units were successfully exported. In order to open up overseas markets, the South Korean government has once again played the role of a leader. The South Korean government divides the main business of Korean automobile companies with executive orders, requiring Hyundai and Daewoo to focus on cars, Kia and East Asia to focus on fire trucks and trucks under 5 tons, and Asia Minor to focus on jeeps.
This administrative division reduces the internal friction of Korean cars, and joint mergers and acquisitions in their respective fields, big fish eat small fish, forming five major head car groups. By 1986, South Korea's automobile production reached 592,000 units, of which 292,000 units were exported, accounting for 50% of exports.
At this time, the Korean Automobile Group has begun to take shape to become internationally competitive, and the Korean government no longer needs to implement protection policies for the automobile industry. In 1987, South Korea completely abolished the protection policy for the automobile industry, and Korean automobiles entered a comprehensive marketization stage, which also indicates that the industrial technology of Korean automobiles has not lost to the international level.
From 1962 to 1987, the Korean automotive industry completed the process from scratch and from existence to strength in only 25 years. Korean automobiles have become a new synonym for Korean industry, and Hyundai Kia Group has become another world-class top company in South Korea in addition to Samsung Group.
But why are Sales of Korean cars in China getting worse and worse?
Many people believe that the rise of domestic cars has formed an alternative role for Korean cars. This perception is biased. The largest market for Korean cars is in North America, covering high-end, mid-range and low-end three markets, and they are very capable of fighting in the face of car companies such as Virtue and Virtue.
Especially in the face of Japanese cars, the competitiveness of Korean cars is very strong. The quality of Korean cars is not worse than that of Japanese cars, but the price is cheaper than Japanese cars. Americans have a deep car culture, and buying a car is more pragmatic, unlike the good face of the Chinese. When Korean cars with similar quality and cheaper prices appeared, Korean cars selling well in North America were basically a matter of course.
Moreover, South Korea's automobile industry is very perfect, pure electric system, hybrid system, hydrogen combustion power, vehicle specification chip, transmission, chassis and other manufacturing technology of the whole industry chain, South Korea has mastered. The chip has Samsung, SK Hynix, the power battery has LG, and the Korean automotive industry does not have the problem of core technology card neck.
The Korean automobile industry is very similar to the Korean mobile phone industry, the chaebol group takes the lead, the whole industry chain covers, the firepower is fully open, and it sells well all over the world.
But why are Korean cars not selling well in China?
Because the South Koreans did not take the Chinese market as their home field at all, but cut corners in the Chinese market. Korean cars listed in the United States are rich in configuration, excellent quality and cheap price. However, the same is Hyundai Kia's car, listed in China is to reduce the allocation and reduce the price, long-term in the image of a low-end car, play a price war, and finally lose.
Good cars are sold to the United States, bad cars are sold to China, can Chinese buy it?