Although the market demand is strong, car companies are expanding faster. In addition to BYD and Tesla leading the way, there are nearly 10 brands in the first echelon. Everyone's production capacity planning is more radical, and the new energy vehicle market has begun to transition from the blue ocean to the red ocean.
Text / "Autobot" Zhang Heng
According to the data of the Federation of Passenger Vehicles, the cumulative daily retail sales of passenger cars in mainland China in January 2022 were 67,426 units, down 4% year-on-year and 1% month-on-month; the cumulative daily sales of passenger cars in January were 66,829 units, an increase of 2% year-on-year and 12% month-on-month.
If the impact of the Spring Festival holiday in the last week is fitted, January is even growing, showing a trend of not fading in the off-season.
A number of listed companies have released production and sales in January 2022, of which new energy vehicles have performed particularly prominently. BYD delivered 93,000 units in January, an increase of 362% year-on-year; GAC Aeon delivered 16,000 units in January, an increase of 118% year-on-year; Xiaopeng Automobile delivered 12,922 units in January, an increase of 115% year-on-year; Ideal Automobile delivered 12,268 units in January, an increase of 128% year-on-year; WEILAI delivered 9,652 vehicles in January, an increase of 34% year-on-year, confirming the high prosperity of the head new energy vehicle company.
In 2021, the mainland will sell 3.52 million new energy vehicles, with a growth rate of 157.5%, which is a new high in the past six years, while the overall sales growth rate of the automobile industry in the same period is only 3.8%. Car companies' investment in new energy is also unprecedentedly hot, and the entire industrial chain is undergoing a great leap forward expansion.
From the facts, the market has not let them down. In January 2022, on the basis of a 30% decline in subsidies, the sales volume of new energy vehicles increased unabated.
Overall, the new energy vehicle market presents a situation of "a hundred schools of thought" and "two superpowers and many strong". The so-called "two superpowers" are BYD and Tesla; and "how strong" is the enterprise represented by Great Wall, Changan, GAC, SAIC and "Wei Xiaoli".
In 2021, BYD sold 594,000 new energy vehicles; Tesla sold a total of 936,000 units worldwide, of which 322,000 units were sold in China, accounting for 1/3 of the global share. As the leaders of new energy vehicles, the two car companies are far ahead of other brands in sales.
The "Wei Xiaoli" among the new forces of car-making has become a force to be reckoned with. In addition, brands such as Nema, Weima and Zero Run are not to be outdone.
Traditional automobile brands with Great Wall, Changan, GAC and SAIC motor are the representatives of the development of new energy vehicles. Among the top 15 car companies in terms of new energy vehicle sales in 2021, traditional car companies occupy 10 seats. Through the splitting and independence of new energy vehicle sub-brands, they hope to have a different positioning with fuel vehicle brands, and realize the reconstruction of brand power and valuation system.
Among the best-selling models, the SAIC-GM-Wuling Hongguang MINI EV has the highest sales volume by virtue of its people-friendly price advantage, with cumulative sales of 389,800 units in 2021; the second and third places are Tesla's Model Y and Model, respectively 3, the same period of sales of 110,600 units and 151,200 vehicles; ideal ONE is the best-selling model of the new forces, the annual sales of 91304 vehicles ranked fourth; the fifth and sixth place is BYD's Qin PLUS and Han EV, with annual sales of 88695 units and 78715 units, respectively.
"Automan" believes that according to the statistics of the past few years, the growth rate of new energy vehicles will stand on a new level every three years, and achieve more than 150% growth in 2021, accounting for a new level. Although 2022 can maintain a high degree of prosperity, it is difficult to make such a large leap again.
The production capacity and models of the head brand are expanding rapidly, and it is foreseeable that the field of new energy vehicles will enter the era of competing for deer.
At present, traditional car companies are in the stage of preparation and gradual improvement of new energy vehicle sub-brands, and their new energy vehicle sub-brands are split, hoping to be independent of fuel vehicle brands, carry out differentiated positioning, achieve independent listing through the capital market, and finally complete the reconstruction of brand power and valuation system. Among them, it is represented by brands such as GAC Aean, Changan Avita, and Great Wall Euler.
The top six companies in terms of brand sales of the new forces, followed by Xiaopeng, Ideal, Weilai, Hezhong (Nezha), Zero Run, and Weima, sold a total of 438,000 vehicles in 2021, which has become a non-negligible part of the automobile market.
Among them, Xiaopeng Automobile has become the monthly sales champion among the new forces for 4 consecutive months; Nezha Automobile has a bright growth rate, and the sales volume has a tendency to squeeze into the echelon of the first district; Weilai is still the company with the highest market value among the new forces due to the highest unit price of the whole vehicle.
With more diversified marketing strategies, the new car-making forces have gained a firm foothold in the market. At present, according to the expansion capacity of the new forces, the total production capacity under construction has reached 2.33 million units. This figure is already comparable to BBA's sales in the Chinese market in 2021, which shows its ambition.
To sum up, although the market demand is strong, car companies are expanding faster. In addition to BYD and Tesla leading the way, there are nearly 10 brands in the first echelon. Everyone's production capacity planning is more radical, the new energy vehicle market began to transition from the blue ocean to the red ocean, and product strength will become the key to survival. 【Copyright Notice】This article is the original manuscript of Automan Media, and may not be reproduced without authorization.