In fact, as early as 2017, there were reports that the second plant of Dongfeng Honda automobile would be transferred to Dongfeng Honda, and in the future, Dongfeng Honda would transform this factory and "strip" the embrace of Dongfeng Honda from then on.
At that time, although DPCA responded that it did not make any decision to sell or lease the Wuhan Second Factory, there was no wind or waves, and judging from the wording of the response, it was more like some kind of "confirmation" of the rumors.
After five years, this rumor was confirmed recently. Recently, it has been rumored that the second plant of Dongfeng Honda in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone has been taken over by Dongfeng Honda, and after taking over, Dongfeng Honda plans to transform the factory into a new factory specializing in the production of pure electric vehicles, and the production capacity of Dongfeng Honda will be greatly improved.
In this regard, the relevant people have contacted the relevant responsible persons of DPCA Automobile and Dongfeng Honda, and have also been confirmed by Dongfeng Honda. In other words, the second plant of DPCA will be "transformed".
"Rich in production capacity" DPCA No. 2 Plant
According to sales data, in 2014, DPCA sold 3.803 million units, an increase of 7.57% year-on-year; of which 3.243 million passenger cars were sold, an increase of 11.75% year-on-year. Since the peak of sales in that year, sales have gradually declined, and in the first half of 2020, the combined revenue of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Sales Co., Ltd. was 386 million euros, a decrease of 58% year-on-year.
Although after the launch of many new cars such as Versailles, the new 4008, 5008, and the new Tianyi C5, it has made great contributions to the sales of DPCA, the wholesale sales of DPCA in 2021 will be 100567. In the face of DPCA's four domestic production bases (production capacity of 300,000, 150,000, 300,000 and 360,000 vehicles respectively, with a total production capacity of 1.11 million units), the capacity utilization rate of DPCA is very low. In this way, for the second plant to meet the production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, it is indeed a bit "redundant", which is far greater than its actual sales, and the rest is handed over to the three factories to meet its current needs.
According to public information, Dongfeng Honda and Dongfeng Dongfeng Automobile are both brands of Dongfeng Company. Compared with DPCA, Dongfeng Honda's sales in China are completely different, but more is the performance of insufficient production capacity. As can be seen from the sales data, Dongfeng Honda's cumulative sales in the first three quarters were about 523,000 units, an increase of 31.48% year-on-year, from the annual sales target of 650,000 units, to the middle of the year, it was raised to 680,000 units, and finally 76.9% of the new sales target was completed. In the face of "overcapacity" DPCA, it is best to integrate resources into Dongfeng Honda.
Dongfeng Honda's second plant is the most ideal choice for Dongfeng Honda
According to the data, DPCA is a joint venture company jointly funded by Dongfeng Motor and PSA Group in 1992, in fact, in 2019, there was news that Dongfeng Group and the then PSA Group reached a consensus, one factory was acquired by the government, and the second factory would be sold as a whole with the equipment, and the potential buyers at that time were Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Honda.
While Dongfeng Honda was dealing with the problem of "overcapacity", Dongfeng Honda had insufficient production capacity, and in general, Dongfeng Honda had an urgent need to expand production capacity. According to official information, Dongfeng Honda currently has three factories with a planned annual production capacity of 768,000 units, but in 2019 and 2020, the annual output reached 791,000 units and 840,000 units, respectively, and the cumulative sales of terminal new vehicles in 2021 are still close to 800,000 units.
With the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the huge domestic new energy vehicle market is like a "big cake", in this context, it has become the main position of the electrification transformation of major car companies. Of course, Dongfeng Honda will not miss this opportunity, in order to strengthen competitiveness, Dongfeng Honda announced that all new models launched in China after 2030 are pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles and other electrified models, no longer put new fuel vehicles, and in the face of the DPCA Plant, which has been in a state of "shelving", it is a better choice to take over the electrification transformation.
Transferring factories between companies is actually a good thing
On the one hand is the overcapacity of DPCA, on the other side is the demand is greater than the output of Dongfeng Honda, DPCA at this time to transfer the second plant to Dongfeng Honda, this operation is actually a good thing for everyone.
It can be seen that in recent years, Dongfeng Group has frequently attacked joint venture brands. For example, a series of operations such as the dissolution of Dongfeng Renault, infiniti's ownership of Dongfeng Nissan, the withdrawal of Yueda Kia, and Dongfeng Yulon's application for bankruptcy liquidation can be seen that Dongfeng Group is making contraction adjustments and resource integration.
For the current Dongfeng Honda, the current main business is undoubtedly gasoline, oil and electricity hybrid plate, has always been, Dongfeng Honda although has a lot of consumer support, but as the market moves towards the new energy field, Dongfeng Honda has to explore more ways out, in product planning, October 13, 2021 Tian China released the electrification strategy, the launch of a new pure electric brand "e: N", it is understood that taking over the Shenlong second factory is to transform the cost of the world's first new energy benchmarking factory, At the same time, it will provide strong support for Dongfeng Honda's transition to electrification, and plans to have an annual production capacity of 256,000 units, where the "e:N" may be produced.
For DPCA, the sale of "inherent assets" is bound to alleviate the pressure in the short term, and at the same time, it can also devote more energy to researching new products. It can be seen that the recently launched Dongfeng Citroen Versailles C5 X has become the main force of Dongfeng Citroen Versailles C5 X, which has become the main force of Dongfeng Citroen Automobile sales after only 4 months, so the potential of Dongfeng Citroen Automobile is still very huge, and in the face of Dongfeng Honda taking over the second factory, in fact, it is not a bad thing for everyone and Dongfeng Group.
summary
In fact, not only Dongfeng Group, FAW, Changan and other car companies have been shrinking and adjusting their business in recent years. As can be seen from the side, the development direction of car companies is becoming more and more clear, and gradually began to intelligent, electrified, and young transformation, of course, the days of holding one or two "old cars" to eat the old money in the past have long since faded, after all, market competition is cruel, and no one is willing to pay for your feelings. Finally, do you think Honda is right to take over the second plant of DPCA? Feel free to leave your insights.