In the case of continuous "core shortage" and supply chain examination, the domestic automobile market handed over the answer sheet for the first quarter of this year. On April 11, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as "CAAM") released data showing that domestic automobile production and sales in the first quarter of this year increased slightly by 2% and 0.2% year-on-year, respectively. This year, the China Automobile Association gave a new sales growth forecast of 5%, but the first quarter did not "open the door", production and sales were only the same as the same period last year, of which production and sales in March this year showed a double decline.
Although, affected by multiple factors, the performance of the automotive industry in the first quarter of this year did not meet expectations, but the new energy vehicle sector, which continued to grow in market penetration, provided the "bottom" for the auto market. Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Association, said: "Affected by the macro-economy, the task of stabilizing growth is very arduous, and the growth rate of the automobile market in the first quarter of this year has dropped significantly year-on-year. However, the production and sales of new energy vehicles continued to grow rapidly, exceeding one million units, and the leading role was further highlighted. ”
Sales of SUVs and MPVs declined
According to the data, domestic automobile production and sales in the first quarter of this year were 6.484 million units and 6.509 million units, respectively, an increase of 2% and 0.2% year-on-year, and the growth rate fell by 6.8% and 7.3% respectively compared with the previous two months. Production and sales of passenger cars increased by 11% and 9% year-on-year, respectively, to 5.499 million units, and 9% year-on-year, respectively, while production and sales of commercial vehicles decreased by 29.7% and 31.7% year-on-year, respectively, to 985,000 units. Among the main varieties of commercial vehicles, the production and sales of buses and trucks have declined significantly.
Compared with the previous two months, the slightly sluggish production and sales in March this year have become an important reason for slowing down the growth of the car market. According to the data, domestic automobile production and sales in March this year were 2.241 million units and 2.234 million units, up 23.4% and 28.4% respectively month-on-month, and down 9.1% and 11.7% year-on-year, respectively. Relevant people of the China Automobile Association admitted that due to the epidemic, tight chip supply, raw material price increases and other factors, the overall performance of domestic passenger car sales was less than expected.
At the same time, in the passenger car sector, data show that passenger car sales in March this year were 1.864 million units, down 0.6% year-on-year. Specifically, production and sales of sedans and crossover passenger cars increased year-on-year, but SUV and MPV sales showed a downward trend, of which MPV sales fell by 23.7% year-on-year and SUV sales fell by 0.1% year-on-year. It is worth mentioning that compared with passenger cars, the decline in sales in the commercial vehicle sector is more obvious, with commercial vehicle production and sales of 360,000 units and 370,000 units in March this year, down 38% and 43.5% year-on-year, respectively.
It is understood that in March this year, due to the tight supply chain and the impact of the epidemic, the production capacity of car companies has been reduced to a certain extent, and some car companies have reduced production or stopped production, which has largely led to domestic automobile production and sales in March being lower than the same period last year. In March this year, due to the impact of the epidemic, FAW Group urgently issued a factory shutdown announcement. According to sources, since March 13, FAW Group has decided to stop all planned productions at the five major vehicle plants in Changchun. Until April 11, Sun Jian, director of the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Jilin Province, said that China FAW has fully resumed work today, while the first batch of 47 parts and components companies are resuming work in an orderly manner.
"In March this year, due to the impact of the epidemic and other factors, the production and operation activities of domestic enterprises were affected to a certain extent. At the same time, the shortage of chips has not improved significantly, which also affects the sales situation in the terminal market. Chen Shihua told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that the task of stabilizing growth this year is very arduous, and local governments should refine the national policies and measures on stable growth as soon as possible, and enterprises should continue to actively take effective countermeasures. At the same time, the China Automobile Association also suggested that government departments introduce policies and measures to promote automobile consumption, including policies such as halving the purchase tax.
New energy vehicles contribute to millions of sales
It is worth noting that behind the 9% sales growth rate of domestic passenger cars in the first quarter of this year, new energy vehicles have become an important driving force.
In the first quarter of this year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China exceeded one million units, surpassing the sales volume in the first half of last year and closer to the sales volume in 2019. According to the data, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China in the first quarter of this year reached 1.293 million units and 1.257 million units, respectively, an increase of 1.4 times year-on-year, of which the production and sales of pure electric vehicles were 1.036 million units and 1.007 million units, respectively, an increase of 1.3 times year-on-year.
Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Association, believes that new energy vehicles have a strong demand for just-needed consumption, although some models have price increases at present, but at present, car companies are mostly digesting orders that have been locked before the price increase, so the price increase has not affected the sales of new energy vehicles in March this year.
While sales continue to rise, the market share of domestic new energy vehicles is also increasing. According to statistics, the market share of new energy vehicles in the first quarter of this year has reached 19.3%. In the view of Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Automobile Association, at present, new energy vehicles have become the biggest highlight of the automotive industry, and their market performance has shifted from policy-driven to market-driven stage, and presents a good development situation in which the market scale and development quality are double-improved.
However, the recent rise in the price of raw materials for power batteries has also made the new energy vehicle market uncertain. The data shows that from June 2021 to March 2022, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate rose from 88,000 yuan / ton to 502,000 yuan / ton, an increase of 470%; the price of battery-grade micronized lithium hydroxide rose from 98,000 yuan / ton to 485,000 yuan / ton, an increase of 395%. "Due to the rising price of key materials for power batteries, cost pressure has been transmitted from the battery end to the price of the whole vehicle." Ma Xiaoli, deputy secretary-general of the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, said that the new energy automobile industry ushered in a new round of price increases in March this year.
While raw material prices have led to an increase in the cost of car manufacturers, some car companies are facing delivery problems due to factors such as the epidemic and supply chain. On April 9 this year, WEIO said on its official App that since March this year, due to the epidemic, the company's supply chain partners in Jilin, Shanghai, Jiangsu and other places have stopped production one after another, and have not yet recovered. Affected by this, vehicle production has been suspended. Weilai Automobile said that due to the above reasons, many users' vehicles will be delayed in the near future. Not only Weilai Automobile, beijing business daily reporter learned that the current Tesla car pick-up time has reached more than 10 weeks, and BYD has a difficult situation to find a car. Beijing Business Daily reporter Liu Yang liu xiaomeng
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