I remember a wave of car buying between 2011 and 2013, when people who wanted to buy a car even crowded the entire 4S store to hinder sales, which was the birth of the "Di Si Sanbao" models, which were kia K5, Hyundai Sonata and Chevrolet Maribor. Although it sounds unsightly, it is indeed very "optimistic" from the perspective of sales, and among them, Korean brands occupy two positions, which has to be said to be a success.
But as the car buying boom faded, sales of Korean brands plummeted, and by 2021, Hyundai's production and sales in China were only 385,000 units, while the entire Korean car market share accounted for only 1.7% of China's automobile market share. Why did the Korean brand, which was once full of glory, come to the point where it is today, and which step is wrong?
Independent brands are vigorously developed, and joint venture rivals "cut prices" to compete in the market
What needs to be admitted is that in the field of high-end models, domestic independent brands still have a gap in technology and product strength, but at the entry level, especially at the price of 100,000 yuan, domestic cars can safely and boldly say "who else". Taking the recently listed Changan UNI-V as an example, its top price is only 131,900, but the rich configuration and strong power make Changan UNI-V kill the entire market, while the Korean brand Hyundai Elantra at the same price is only equipped with a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated and a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine, which is inferior to its own brand in terms of power and configuration. In addition to Changan UNI-V, other independent brands also have a rich product layout at this price point, and have generally occupied this market.
Let's look at the price of 200,000 yuan, although Korean brands also have a corresponding product layout, but in general, the strength of other brands will be stronger. Take Kia K5 as an example, although its price is not high from 161,800 to 205,800, but rival brands such as Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen and other brands also layout this market, and even the price point has serious overlap, taking the Toyota Camry as an example, the low price is only in the early 200,000s, Kia if you want to fight with Toyota in the brand, I am afraid that it is still "confident", then only by providing richer configurations and lower prices can consumers be impressed. However, the price reduction is a vicious circle, which is equivalent to constantly overdrawing the brand value, as the Korean car continues to explore the price, it will make its brand value forever unable to withstand the Japanese and German rivals, which is equivalent to giving up more than 200,000 markets.
There are domestic independent brands chasing after them, there are joint venture competitors to reduce prices to exert pressure, and the living space of the Korean system has been seriously compressed, so how can sales be good?
Do not attach importance to the Chinese market, arrogant attitude and differentiated treatment
Although it has failed in the Chinese market, in the United States and the European market, Korean brands still have a place, is it that consumers there "don't understand cars", I don't think so. Taking the United States as an example, in 2021, Korean brands Hyundai and Kia ranked seventh and eighth in the SALES list in the United States respectively, while in Europe, the top five brands can still see the figure of Korean Hyundai, and the reason why it can get such "praise" is probably because Korean brands attach importance to the local market.
In the United States, the Hyundai Sonata offers a total of three power types, with a high-performance 2.5-liter turbocharged engine capable of providing power of up to 290 horses, while for economic reasons, a model equipped with a hybrid system can be selected. On the other hand, the top model of the hyundai Sonata is a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, although the data is very eye-catching, but it is obviously better than the US version of 2.5T, of course, there are also displacement policies and fuel regulations, but the problem is that if you really care about fuel consumption regulations, then why does Hyundai not introduce the US version of the hybrid model, is it not more suitable for the Chinese market?
In addition to the difference in configuration and power, there are also obvious differences between the domestic market and overseas in terms of model richness, such as the existence of models with multiple generations in China, and many more models in overseas markets than in the domestic market. From the attitude point of view, Korean brands do not seem to pay attention to the Chinese market, and it is not strange to blame others for falling into such a field as it is now.
Absent from the new energy market, partners "jealousy" between each other
The highlight of the domestic automobile market in recent years is new energy vehicles, and in this field, the Korean system does not seem to have carried out in-depth layout. I remember correctly, the previous generation of Hyundai Sonata seems to have a hybrid model to offer, and after the newer generation, it was cancelled, which is really confusing to the Koreans. At the same time, in the field of pure electricity, Korean brands are only simply adding ordinary gasoline models to motors and batteries, and have not been "born" to turn into pure electricity developed platforms like other brands, even if "conservative" brands like Toyota have joined the pure electricity industry, and Korean brands have not seen the action for a long time, which shows that on the one hand, it does not pay attention to the Chinese market, on the other hand, it is conservative and not far from advancing with the times, and more may be the lack of related technical reserves.
At the same time, there are some contradictions between Chinese partners, as can be seen from kia's recent share buybacks and the transaction between Hyundai and BAIC. According to people familiar with the matter, Kia has always had "objections" to Dongfeng, Dongfeng has only played the role of providing "production licenses" in the entire process of the joint venture, most of the investment and decision-making of Dongfeng Yueda Kia come from the South Korean side, and the two companies of the Chinese side are more like the existence of "drag oil bottles" and "vampires", so the contradictions between the two sides have been intensified for a long time. The future development direction of Korean brands should be to make every effort to obtain full autonomy, so that we may see more excellent products land in the Chinese market in the future.
In general, Korean brands have not perished, Korean brands still have strong competitiveness, as long as a little time can show their strong product competitiveness, let's wait and see.