Affected by the epidemic, domestic automobile production and sales declined to varying degrees in March. According to the statistics of the Association of Passenger Vehicles, retail sales in the narrow passenger car market in March were 1.579 million units, down 10.5% year-on-year. In this environment, the retail sales of most of the leading joint venture car companies in March have declined to varying degrees.
Retail and wholesale sales in the passenger car market in March, chart source: Passenger Car Association
The epidemic and lack of core have seriously restricted the development of the automobile industry
Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, pointed out that the decline in retail sales of narrow passenger cars in March was mainly due to the reduction in logistics efficiency caused by the spread of the epidemic. Since the beginning of March, the new variant of the new coronavirus, Aomi Kerong, has broken out in Shanghai, Jilin and other places, in order to curb the spread of the epidemic throughout the country, all localities have adopted a social zero epidemic prevention and control strategy, which has affected dealers in many regions, including Shanghai and Jilin, to enter stores and transactions. At the same time, with the upgrading of epidemic prevention and control strategies in various places, the transportation and logistics industries have been suppressed, which will undoubtedly bring a serious blow to the automotive industry with a long industrial chain.
In addition to the epidemic, the tense geopolitical situation has also brought more uncertainties to the automotive industry chain, starting with the chip shortage that has lasted for more than a year. According to the latest data from AutoForecast Solutions, a data forecasting company for the automotive industry, as of April 10, the global automotive market has reduced production by about 1.4378 million units this year due to chip shortages, of which the Chinese market has reduced production by 70,900 units this year, accounting for 4.9% of the global automotive market.
Analysts pointed out that due to the severe form of epidemic prevention and control and the continuous chip shortage factor, the sales volume of the joint venture head car company in the terminal market has been seriously suppressed. According to the data, the retail sales volume of mainstream joint venture brands in March was 590,000 units, down 30% year-on-year, of which the daily share of Japanese, German and American brands fell to varying degrees year-on-year.
Under the background of specific environment, the terminal sales volume of car companies in the short term does not have reference significance
Combined with the factors affecting the terminal retail volume of the automobile industry in March, one of the important reasons for the decline in SAIC Volkswagen's sales in March is the commercial shutdown caused by the epidemic. Since entering March, Shanghai, Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Henan and other places have been more or less affected by the epidemic, and these areas are the main sales areas of SAIC Volkswagen, especially the epidemic situation in Shanghai, the base camp of SAIC Volkswagen, is the most severe, affected by the epidemic in Shanghai, most areas have improved the level of epidemic prevention, which is manifested in the terminal market is a sharp decline in the flow of dealers around the world, which also has a direct impact on the volume of transactions.
In addition to the serious impact of the commercial shutdown caused by the epidemic on SAIC Volkswagen, the factors restricting the growth of SAIC Volkswagen's terminal sales in March are also the reasons for the insufficient terminal shop volume. In the first quarter of this year, SAIC Volkswagen launched a number of new cars, including Lingdu L, 2022 Weiran, the new Tuon family, etc., these new cars were affected by the logistics inefficiency caused by the spread of the epidemic at the beginning of the listing, so it also affected the terminal shop volume of new products, so to a certain extent, it has inhibited its terminal sales.
New Weiran, image source: SAIC Volkswagen
The above factors have inhibited the release of SAIC Volkswagen's terminal sales, but its wholesale sales are still relatively strong. According to the data, SAIC Volkswagen's wholesale sales in March were 110,000 units, and in the first quarter of this year, its cumulative sales have reached 331,000 units, an increase of 32.97% year-on-year.
Analysts at the Gaz Automotive Research Institute pointed out that the reason why SAIC Volkswagen's wholesale sales rose sharply in the first quarter was mainly related to the steady advancement of the production rhythm. From January to February this year, although there were sporadic outbreaks of epidemics in China, they were far from reaching the level of lockdown, which also provided a relatively stable environment for the steady production of most car companies.
At present, affected by the epidemic prevention and control and the continuous shortage of chips, the terminal sales of most car companies have fluctuated greatly, in addition to SAIC Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, Dongfeng Nissan, the retail sales of joint venture head car companies in March have also declined sharply. Therefore, if the terminal sales in this special period are used to judge the development status of car companies, it is inevitable to be biased.
Products and marketing go hand in hand, and SAIC Volkswagen has great potential for future growth
Measuring the growth potential of a company from the perspective of sales volume also needs to focus on the long-term dimension. For example, although its terminal sales declined in March, its future market performance will have great growth potential with the blessing of a variety of new products and innovative marketing.
As mentioned above, in the first quarter of this year, SAIC Volkswagen launched a number of new products, such as Lingdu L, ID.family 2022 model, the new Tuon family, etc. It is understood that in the second quarter, the "double front face" shape of Langyi will be officially listed. These products cover most of the main sales models sold by SAIC Volkswagen, so the listing of these new products will not only arouse widespread concern in the industry and outside, but also play a role in boosting savoy Volkswagen terminal sales after experiencing a ramp-up in production capacity.
Lingdu L, image source: SAIC Volkswagen
In fact, at this stage, the terminal market has reacted to the new products launched by SAIC Volkswagen, such as Lingdu L, which received 18,000 orders in one week after its listing, but due to the impact of the epidemic and production capacity, the driving effect of new products on sales has not yet been reflected.
In addition, since entering the first year of electrification last year, SAIC Volkswagen's marketing strategy has also been actively transformed. In order to cater to the consumption preferences of the new generation of young users after 90 and 00, SAIC Volkswagen connects with young users in a more direct, updated and interesting way. For example, in January this year, SAIC Volkswagen ID.3 joined hands with the glory of the king and recruited e-sports enthusiasts to carry out the ID. Cup King Glory Competition, cutting into the field loved by young consumers and winning the attention of this consumer group. At the same time, in order to quickly reverse the business model to the C-end and young users, the SAIC Volkswagen brand is also based on the SAIC Volkswagen super APP, deeply cultivating private domain user operations, and playing with users by creating a live content matrix, building a self-built social platform, and creating ID.Day. These novel and fun marketing measures, on the one hand, have narrowed the distance between the brand and the user, and on the other hand, the brand image of SAIC Volkswagen has become more lively and close to the people.
At a time when the automotive industry is deeply transforming into an electric intelligent direction, whether it can quickly switch products and marketing strategies has become one of the indicators to measure whether traditional joint venture car companies have a keen sense of smell. The response speed and execution of the Volkswagen brand to electrification are second to none among the head car companies, and under its influence, SAIC Volkswagen is also increasing its product and marketing efforts. Next, with the blessing of a variety of new products and innovative marketing, after a smooth passage through the epidemic, it is believed that the joint venture head car companies represented by SCO Volkswagen will usher in a new round of growth.