Have cross-border car "track" home appliance digital enterprises scrambling for traffic entrance?

On the morning of February 16, midea group new energy auto parts strategic new base signing and groundbreaking ceremony was held in Anqing. It is reported that the total investment of Midea's new energy auto parts strategic new base project is about 11 billion yuan, becoming the largest total investment project in the group's history.

Looking back at 2021, many home appliance digital companies have announced that they have entered or increased the number of car "tracks". The cross-border layout of these manufacturing giants, in the view of relevant industry insiders, on the one hand reflects the development anxiety of industry giants and the urgent demand for transformation after the traditional industries enter the stage of stock competition; on the other hand, it shows that these companies are actively creating their own new entrances to future traffic.

Text, photo, table / Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Xu Xiaofang

Self-developed? cooperate? Enterprises "cross-border car manufacturing" have their own magic

In recent years, the new energy vehicle track has continued to be hot, and cross-border car manufacturing is no longer a new thing. Among them, digital companies took the lead in "starting" in 2021: in March 2021, Xiaomi officially announced its entry into the field of intelligent electric vehicles, officially kicking off the prelude to the "cross-border" car manufacturing of various industry giants; on April 19 of the same year, Cyrus Huawei's smart SF5 model was officially released at the Shanghai Auto Show, announcing the launch of Huawei's first cooperative model.

In May 2021, OPPO applied for the registration of the "OCAR" trademark, and the market believes that from the perspective of trademark composition, it is related to OPPO's new energy vehicle business. According to incomplete statistics, the number of patents applied for by OPPO for automobiles has exceeded 60.

Home appliance companies are also not willing to show weakness. In March 2021, Hisense became the controlling shareholder of Japan's Sanden Holdings. Hisense, which has completed the acquisition, also officially announced its plans to enter the field of automotive electronics; in May 2021, Midea Group parts company Welling Auto Parts held a product launch conference in Hefei, announcing that three major production lines such as motor drive systems, thermal management systems, and auxiliary/automatic driving systems have entered production.

On August 31, 2021, Gree Electric Appliance announced that the company won 30.47% of the equity of Yinlong New Energy Co., Ltd. by participating in the judicial auction public bidding, and after the completion of this transaction, Yinlong New Energy will become a holding subsidiary of the listed company, and Gree is one step closer to realizing the "car dream".

Although Brands such as Midea, Gree, Xiaomi, and Huawei have stepped up their layout and released relevant development strategies, their layout methods are different. Judging from the current situation, each car-making scheme is mainly divided into two categories. The first type is represented by Xiaomi, directly creating its own vehicle factory. The second category, represented by Huawei, insists on "not building cars", but chooses to cooperate with car companies.

Behind the transformation: the main business of digital home appliance enterprises is under pressure

Why are manufacturing companies "grabbing" the "cake" of new energy vehicles? People in the industry generally believe that this is inseparable from the fierce market competition in the manufacturing industry.

According to AVC data, from January to November 2021, the cumulative retail sales of the mainland home appliance market were 702.2 billion yuan. But compared to the same period in 2019, it is still down 7.4%. As the traditional home appliance industry enters the stage of stock competition. Among them, the operating income of Gree Electric Appliances in 2020 fell by 14.97% year-on-year; its net profit attributable to the mother in 2020 fell by 10.21% year-on-year.

Similarly, competition from major digital manufacturers has become increasingly fierce in recent years. According to data released by canalys, in the fourth quarter of 2021, China's smartphone shipments increased by 3% year-on-year, compared with 333 million units in 2021, a slight increase of only 1% from the same period in 2020 and a contraction of more than 10% from the same period in 2019.

The vast market for new energy vehicles has allowed many manufacturing manufacturers to see a breakthrough in development. According to the data disclosed by the Federation of Passenger Vehicles, the sales of new energy passenger vehicles in 2021 were 2.989 million units, an increase of 169.1% year-on-year.

The Association predicts that in the whole of 2022, new energy passenger car sales will reach 5.5 million units, while the penetration rate will further rise to 25%. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also believes that in 2022, the sales volume of new energy vehicles will reach 5 million, an increase of 47% year-on-year.

In the view of Major General Ding, an observer of the Industry and Economy, on the one hand, the "new four modernizations" of automobiles are a big outlet, which is beneficial to subsequent earnings; on the other hand, for many companies that ultimately seek to be listed or have already been listed, it also makes sense to use the new story of the outlet to pull valuations or stock prices. Therefore, the "cross-border car manufacturing" of manufacturing enterprises has its important significance.

He also stressed, "From the necessity analysis, on the one hand, in the context of the in-depth digitalization of survival, enterprises are expanding the boundaries and striving for follow-up competition initiatives, as long as there is a possibility of getting involved, the travel field will not be abandoned; on the other hand, the related big data and the AI field are also the outlet, by allowing more car terminals to be used in the field of travel, it is also expected to improve the scale of data and AI capabilities." ”

"Cross-border" is risky, and competition should not be underestimated

For the feasibility of manufacturing enterprises to build cars, Ding Shaojian believes that automobile manufacturing itself is constantly standardized, from terminals to systems, services are gradually emerging "universal" solution providers, which makes it relatively difficult to build cars compared with the past, which is like many brands have invested in mobile phones and TVs a few years ago. In addition, some analysts pointed out that the current automotive market is not limited to the traditional mechanical part, but also pays more attention to software and technology, and home appliance companies have rich applications in the field of electronic products and software.

However, the transformation of digital home appliance companies is not an easy task. "From the perspective of industry characteristics, the field of vehicle manufacturing is a very complex system engineering, from the system integration in the early stage, including parts integration to assembly, to finished product testing, to the follow-up warehousing logistics, after-sales service, etc., are very complex and huge system engineering." In the view of Luo Lei, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, from the perspective of industry competition, the newly entered "cross-border" enterprises "have blocking in front and chasing soldiers in the back".

"The interception comes from traditional car manufacturers, they have strong financial strength and a huge supply chain system, if they grasp the core of new energy vehicles and change the traditional car-making thinking, the competitiveness should not be underestimated." Luo Lei also stressed that the pursuit of soldiers comes from the new forces of car manufacturing, and it is not easy for new entrants to catch up with new energy vehicle companies such as Tesla, Weilai, and Xiaopeng.

(Guangzhou Daily)