Nowadays, on the track of new energy vehicles, there are not many who are qualified to challenge BYD.
Some time ago, the official statement on the substantial expansion of the new energy automobile industry was required to not recommend further expansion in the case that the existing production capacity could not be saturated. But this seems a little late for BYD's production bases, which are already expanding and awaiting completion in Shenzhen, Xi'an, Changzhou, Changsha, and Wang Chuanfu's hometown of Wuhu.
Unlike other domestic car companies, BYD started with electric vehicles at the beginning. Other domestic new energy vehicle companies such as Xiaopeng, Weilai and Ideal, which are also on the lithium-ion power battery track, are different from BYD in terms of brand, production capacity, technology, and industrial chain.
But there is a car company that BYD has not been able to get rid of, which is Geely.
First, the auspiciousness of the wild chase
Li Shufu once said: "The car is just four wheels on the sofa", judging from the report card delivered by Geely in 2021, it seems that this is not a big word. In 2021, Geely Automobile sold 1.328 million units, winning the first place in China's own brand passenger car sales for five consecutive years. Achieved revenue of 102.6 billion yuan, an increase of 10.3% year-on-year.
On the new energy vehicle track, although Li Shufu, the first person in China's private cars, proposed the "Blue Geely Action" as early as 2015, wanting to transform Geely from a traditional fuel vehicle company to a new energy vehicle company, it was ultimately declared a failure due to the overly idealistic goal and the mistaken choice of hydrogen energy. But this does not hinder Li Shufu's determination to enter the field of new energy.
In 2021, Geely invested 5.5 billion yuan in research and development, an increase of 16.1% year-on-year, and launched a new power exchange brand - Ruilan Automobile, with the intention of opening a new pattern of Geely power exchange. In order to benchmark BYD's new energy vehicle ecology, Geely has been building a strong hard-core technology ecosystem for many years. This car system not only has new energy technology and the Internet of Vehicles, but also emulates Musk's SpaceX and invests in low-orbit satellites and other services. Building high walls, accumulating grain and "claiming the king" as soon as possible are the only goals of Geely's running into new energy.
But will BYD give Geely this chance?
Due to the surge in sales, 2021 is also known as the "first year of China's new energy vehicles", but there is also a crisis in the opportunity, and 2021 is also a very serious shortage of automotive chips. Many new energy vehicle companies fell in the cold winter of chip shortage, of course, there are also car companies rushing forward and continuing to expand their territory in the new energy vehicle market.
In 2021, the growth rate of the domestic car company market is only 3.8% of the single digits, while BYD leads the industry with a growth rate of 20 times higher than the market, with an increase of 75.4%. Among them, the sales volume of new energy vehicles increased by 231.6%, ranking first. Sales for the full year of 2021 were 730,000 units, of which the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles were 593,700 units. In addition to a small number of commercial vehicles, new energy vehicles have become the mainstay of BYD's automobile sales, with sales exceeding 80%.
Geely is the king in the field of domestic fuel vehicles, BYD is the king in the field of domestic new energy vehicles, and the competition between Geely and BYD has just begun.
Second, BYD's technology, can Geely catch up?
In the field of domestic cars, the most important thing to prove the strength of an independent car brand is to be recognized by overseas markets. In 2021, Geely sold a total of 115,000 new energy vehicles overseas, an increase of 58.2% year-on-year. After the successful acquisition of volvo for $1.8 billion in 2010, Geely gained not only a high-end trademark, but also the key to the European market.
But sales are on the one hand, and technology is on the other. BYD's technology, can Geely catch up?
As an important partner of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Geely previously officially announced that it will provide 1800 new energy vehicles, and the protagonist of this car show is not the car, but the NOA (Navigate on Autopilot), that is, the pilot assisted driving technology, which may achieve a real automatic driving experience.
So, in the face of The Menacing of Geely, can BYD calmly face it?
The car originated in Germany and has a history of nearly 200 years, but in terms of engine technology, model design, and vehicle control cars, the mainland has lagged behind developed countries. In order to break through the technical bottleneck of these traditional fuel vehicles, in 2004, Wang Chuanfu, an engineer, chose to start from the new energy vehicle track, taking the lithium iron phosphate battery produced by BYD as the technical foundation at that time, and invited lian Yubo, the industry technology master, to join BYD, and made efforts in pure power batteries and hybrid models.
In 2008, BYD launched the first plug-in hybrid new energy vehicle, the FD3M. In 2010, the e6 pure electric vehicle equipped with ET-POWER batteries was launched. 2020 super lithium iron phosphate battery - "blade battery" came out, and with the listing in BYD Han, won 12 world's bests in one go, not only passed the industry's most demanding needle prick test, but also obtained the most stringent American UL2580 safety certification.
Therefore, in the face of Geely's "attack", BYD only needs to continue to adhere to the "mastery of core technology".
Third, together to break the automobile industry "lack of core and less soul"
Some time ago, the official statement on the production capacity of new energy vehicles was mainly because domestic new energy vehicle companies blindly increased automobile sales, but they have not been able to make breakthroughs in the core components of automobiles, especially the vehicle-grade chip IGBT technology. In the official words, it is four words - lack of core and soul.
Vehicle-grade chips are important control chips for automobiles, which are divided into TWO kinds: AI chips and MCU chips, and now the automotive industry is in short supply for chips in the field of MCUs. At present, foundries with vehicle-grade MCU chip production capacity in the world are more willing to prioritize production capacity to mobile phone chips and computer chips with higher profit margins. For the MCU chips required for automobiles, they have been controlled by several semiconductor companies in Europe and the United States, such as Bosch and Infineon, in the upstream and downstream of the entire industrial chain, and it is difficult for Chinese chip companies to cut in. But among these companies, there is one exception – BYD.
BYD's earliest research and development of IGBT can be traced back to 2005, and built the first domestic IGBT industry-wide production line. After more than 10 years of development, not only to meet their own chip needs, in the context of the global "chip shortage", but also sold chips to Dongfeng, GAC and many other car companies, exported to more than 50 countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan.
In 2021, 1,500 new Tang EVs equipped with BYD IGBT chips will be exported to Norway, marking the official entry of Chinese local car brand BYD into the Nordic market, and together with Geely, to help domestic car brands expand overseas.
4. Summary
If "electrification" is the first half of the automobile revolution, then the interconnection and interconnection of all things with the chip as the protagonist will become the "race point" of the second half of the automobile industry transformation.
Although BYD's sales in the field of new energy vehicles are currently in the dust, the cake of the market will never be enjoyed by only one person, and The Geely, which cannot be shaken off, will always follow and overtake at any time.