Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
A Ro-Ro vessel is waiting to ship a domestically produced car at the dock of the Oriental Company in Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu Province. Photo by Wang Jianmin (People's Vision)
On February 14, workers in the digital workshop of Qihang Automobile Co., Ltd., located in moganshan High-tech Zone, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, were preparing new energy commercial cars and parts products for export. Photo by Xie Shangguo (People's Vision)
In 2021, China's auto industry handed over a brilliant answer - China's automobile production and sales both exceeded 26 million vehicles, an increase of 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, respectively, ending the decline for three consecutive years since 2018. At the same time, China's automobile exports exceeded 2 million units, doubling from the previous year, achieving a historic breakthrough; the export of new energy vehicles showed explosive growth, an increase of 304.6% year-on-year
From hovering 1 million vehicles all year round to exceeding 2 million in one fell swoop, why are Chinese cars selling well overseas? Can the good momentum of exports continue?
A big breakthrough in China's auto industry
——Marking that China's brand car exports have entered a period of rapid development, passenger car and commercial vehicle exports are growing rapidly, and Chinese car companies have set up overseas factories
According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers), according to the export statistics of vehicle enterprises, in 2021, the export of automobiles will be 2.015 million units, an increase of 1 times year-on-year, accounting for 7.7% of the total sales of automobiles, an increase of 3.7 percentage points over the previous year.
It doubled in one fell swoop, achieving a breakthrough that has been hovering around 1 million vehicles for many years. Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told this reporter: "This shows that China's auto products have been recognized by overseas consumers. ”
Specifically, China's auto exports in 2021 show the following highlights -
The export of Chinese brand automobile enterprises has grown rapidly. In 2021, SAIC Motor achieved a sales record of 697,000 units in overseas markets, setting a new record with a year-on-year growth rate of 78.9%, Chery Automobile exported 269,000 units, a record high, and Chinese brand automobile companies such as Great Wall and BYD also achieved good results overseas.
Both passenger cars and commercial vehicles are growing at a high rate. According to the China Automobile Association, passenger car exports will increase by 1.1 times in 2021, with SUVs occupying an absolute dominant position; commercial vehicles will increase by 70.7%, and buses and trucks will show rapid growth. Last year, BYD cooperated with Keihan Bus and Kansai Electric Power to create Japan's first pure electric bus ring line. At present, BYD's pure electric bus market share in Japan has reached 70%.
Exports of new energy vehicles have exploded. In 2021, 310,000 new energy vehicles will be exported, an increase of 3 times year-on-year. The European market has become a major incremental market, mainly concentrated in Developed Countries such as Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Norway, reflecting the international competitive advantage of China's new energy vehicles.
The direct investment model has played an important role. In recent years, Chinese brand automobile companies have laid factories overseas, laying a solid foundation for the sustained growth of exports. In June last year, Great Wall Motors started production of its second overseas plant, the Rayong plant in Thailand, to achieve localization production and further deepen its cultivation in the Thai and even ASEAN markets. BYD has 6 overseas production bases in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Hungary and India, and has set up more than 30 industrial parks around the world, covering pure electric buses, pure electric trucks, power battery pack assembly, solar modules and automotive molds, etc., and continues to provide new energy solutions for local and neighboring countries and regions.
Looking at the world, the world economy continues to recover, and automobile consumption is gradually recovering. Looking at China, the automotive industry chain is relatively complete, which can provide competitive products for global consumers. At the same time, countries represented by Europe and the United States have increased the promotion of new energy vehicles, and new energy vehicles have become a new driving force for China's export growth. These factors have jointly promoted a historic breakthrough in overseas sales of Chinese brand cars.
Exports of new energy vehicles have exploded
——The scale and industrialization of the supply chain have been continuously improved, the competitiveness of products is strong, and the export price has been greatly improved
In 2021, the export of new energy vehicles increased by 304.6% year-on-year. Among them, new energy passenger vehicles exported 300,000 units, an increase of 329.5% year-on-year; new energy commercial vehicles exported 10,000 units, an increase of 59.6%.
In 2021, SAIC Motor exported 54,000 units through the joint efforts of new energy passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles, becoming the vanguard of the export of new energy vehicles of Chinese brands; by BYD, Jiangqi Group, Geely Holdings and other independent brands achieved rapid growth in the export of new energy vehicles in 2021.
It is worth noting that the achievement of good results no longer relies on low prices. Xu Haidong said that the price of Chinese brand new energy vehicles in the European market is about 30,000 US dollars / unit. Customs data show that in the first three quarters of 2021, the export value of pure electric passenger cars reached 5.498 billion US dollars, an increase of 515.4% year-on-year, and the growth of export value was greater than the growth of export quantity, which intuitively reflected that the export price of China's new energy vehicle products was greatly improved. Today, China's new energy vehicles have strong competitiveness.
In terms of technology, China's new energy vehicle power battery technology has reached the international leading level, the battery cell energy density continues to increase, basically solving the battery safety problem; the drive motor technology is basically synchronized with the foreign level, most of which are close to the international advanced level; motor control has also basically mastered some of the key technologies of core components.
In terms of products, Chinese brand cars have made comprehensive progress in terms of appearance, interior, mileage, environmental adaptability to vehicle performance, quality, energy consumption, intelligent applications, etc., and have advantages in competition and have won the favor of overseas customers.
Look at the external environment. The rapid expansion of the global electric vehicle market has provided opportunities for China's new energy vehicle exports. In order to achieve the goal of carbon reduction, in recent years, many European governments have increased subsidies for new energy vehicles, activating the European new energy vehicle market, and China's new energy vehicle products have been recognized by European consumers, and sales have continued to grow.
According to the data of the General Administration of Customs compiled by the China Automobile Association, in 2021, the top ten countries in China's new energy vehicle export volume are Belgium, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, India, Thailand, Germany, France, Slovenia, Australia and the Philippines. Among them, export growth to Slovenia, Australia and Thailand is the most pronounced. In 2021, the above ten countries exported 424,000 new energy vehicles, accounting for 77.8% of the total exports of new energy vehicles. China's new energy vehicles are welcomed by more countries.
Xu Haidong introduced: "New energy vehicles are new products, and foreign traditional automobile companies are relatively slow in the development of new energy vehicles and cannot provide competitive products. China's new energy vehicle products can meet the needs of overseas consumers, and the cost also has advantages, so it has strong competitiveness. At the same time, foreign auto companies cannot make full use of the original strong brand barriers in new energy vehicle brands, and consumers in developed countries are also willing to accept Chinese new energy products, providing a good environment for the export of Chinese brand new energy vehicles. ”
The good momentum of automobile exports is expected to continue
——Compete head-on with world-renowned brands, accelerate the implementation of localization strategies, and tap the export potential of new energy vehicles
Can the good momentum of exports continue?
Xu Haidong analyzed that there are some accidental factors behind the good results of China's automobile exports in 2021, such as the insufficient supply capacity of overseas suppliers and the low base affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2020, but more importantly, the growth of the hard power of Chinese brand cars has played a supporting role. "The competitiveness of Chinese brand automotive products is constantly improving, and it has been recognized by overseas consumers. At the same time, the direct investment model is conducive to the sustainable development of Chinese automobiles overseas, which are all long-term positive factors. Therefore, the good momentum of China's automobile exports will continue in the future. ”
As exports reach a new level, Chinese car companies are facing head-on competition with world-renowned auto brands overseas. Xu Haidong said that the frontal competition is hard power, relying on its own product strength, brand building, overseas layout, etc., on the same stage to compete.
At present, Chinese brand cars have strong competitiveness in terms of technology and quality, but there is still room for progress in brand building. At the same time, with the establishment of overseas factories by Chinese car companies, hiring and managing overseas employees, passing on brand values, and adapting to local culture are also difficult problems that Chinese car companies need to face in the future overseas development. Xu Haidong said: "Only by paying attention to the construction of their own overseas brands can Chinese brand automobile companies ensure the continuous growth of overseas sales. The symbol of an automobile power is to have a well-known automobile brand in the world. ”
The establishment of overseas factories and the implementation of localization strategies are becoming the common choice of Chinese car companies. "Only by having their own overseas factories can the development of Chinese brand automobile companies overseas be sustainable." Xu Haidong said that the direct investment model can not only drive local employment, but also help to improve the recognition of local consumers' brand culture, thereby increasing overseas sales, which will be the future development direction of Chinese brand cars "going out".
To maintain the good momentum of exports, we must continue to tap the export potential of new energy vehicles. The relevant person in charge of SAIC Motor said that in 2022, it will target the European new energy vehicle market, launch new products and expand marketing service outlets. According to the analysis, in the next step, China's new energy vehicle exports need to make further efforts in cross-border transportation of electric vehicles, the protection of intellectual property rights of China's own brand new energy vehicles, the better cultivation of overseas brands of new energy vehicles, and the implementation of localization strategies. Xu Haidong said: "We believe that the export of New Energy Vehicles of China's own brands is promising, and eventually a world-renowned Chinese automobile brand will be born. ”
The China Automobile Association said that it will cooperate with Chinese brand automobile enterprises to actively carry out work in terms of regulatory certification, tariffs, overseas finance, logistics and transportation, intellectual property protection and brand cultivation, pay close attention to the main problems encountered by enterprises in exports, and put forward suggestions and measures to solve common problems. At the same time, CAAM will also give full play to the role of industry exchange platforms and international exchange platforms such as OICA (World Automobile Organization), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Automotive Dialogue, and China-Russia Equipment Working Group to help the overseas development of Chinese brand cars. (Reporter Xu Peiyu)
People's Daily Overseas Edition ( 2022-02-22 Issue 06)