Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
On November 23, at Taicang Port Terminal in Jiangsu Province, a batch of cars will be sent to the European market.
Ji Haixin (People's Vision)
With the recent increase in new energy vehicle orders, the new energy vehicle battery production base in Liuzhou Auto City, Guangxi Province, is busy, and workers work overtime to produce new energy battery packs to supply the market.
Photo by Li Hanchi (People's Vision)
In the Huaihua Hongrui auto parts processing and production workshop in the Huangjiabao Ecological Industry Concentration Zone in Daodong Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province, workers are working. The company is a professional engaged in automotive clutch, bearings, bushings, clamping block research and development, assembly and sales of manufacturing enterprises, all products are exported, sold to Europe, America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other places.
Photo by Li Shang (People's Vision)
In the first 10 months of this year, China's auto market withstood the pressures of core shortages, rising raw material prices, and the impact of the epidemic and moved forward steadily. According to data recently released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to October, China's automobile exports reached a record high of 2.615 million units, of which new energy vehicles exported 109,000 units in October, an increase of 1.2 times month-on-month and a year-on-year increase of 81.2%.
Experts believe that whether it is the guarantee of supply or the increase in the market share of independent brands, there is a credit behind the increasingly perfect Chinese automotive industry chain. Chinese cars are sold overseas, and foreign capital has increased the Chinese auto market, which means that "Made in China" is increasingly recognized.
The pace of global expansion accelerates
"In the past, there were more Nissan and American cars on the street, and now there will be some unfamiliar models. As soon as I inquired, it turned out to be a car made in China. Li Peizhen, who lives in Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, told reporters that her city is more prosperous, and it has been nearly a year or two to see Chinese cars appear more frequently. Mainly based on new energy vehicles, the models are good-looking, I heard friends say that the quality is also good, the price is similar to other imported cars, but relatively speaking, the cost performance is higher. Li Peizhen is very confident in "Made in China", she said that if the budget for changing cars next year is sufficient, she is willing to consider Chinese cars. "I hope Chinese cars can open up the Malaysian market faster."
The gradual recognition of Chinese automobiles among overseas consumers is a direct result of the acceleration of domestic automobiles "going overseas". According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's auto exports hit a new high in October, with auto company exports reaching 337,000 units in that month, up 12.3% month-on-month and 46% year-on-year. From January to October, automakers exported 2.456 million units, up 54.1% y/y. "This figure has surpassed Germany and ranks second in the world after Japan." Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, predicts that China's total auto exports are expected to exceed 3 million this year.
By type, passenger car exports in October reached 279,000 units, up 11.6% m/m and 40.7% y/y. From January to October, passenger car exports were 1.975 million units, up 57.1% y/y. Commercial vehicle exports in October were 59,000 units, up 15.5% m/m and 77.5% y/y. Exports of new energy vehicles in October reached 109,000 units, up 1.2 times m/m and 81.2% y/y. From January to October, exports of new energy vehicles reached 499,000 units, up 96.7% y/y.
In terms of models, fuel vehicles are still the main force of domestic automobile exports. Data show that in the first 10 months of this year, fuel vehicles were exported a total of 1.957 million units, accounting for about 80%. Previously, the exports of Great Wall, Chery and other car companies were still mainly fuel vehicles, mainly for Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Where to export?
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association, told reporters that from January to October this year, the increase in vehicle exports was relatively large in Europe, North America and Asia, including Mexico, Belgium, Saudi Arabia and other places. In October, Chile and Bangladesh saw a large decline in the market, Mexico and the Philippines performed relatively strongly, and Belgium became the focus of the increase.
Which car companies are popular?
According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first 10 months of this year, among the top ten Chinese enterprises in vehicle exports, SAIC Motor exported 684,000 units, ranking first, and Chery and Changan also exported more than 200,000 vehicles in the same period. In terms of growth rate, Geely Automobile's export volume in the same period was 160,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 86%, the most obvious growth rate, and among the car companies not on the list, BYD had a stunning performance.
"It can be seen that the export territory of Chinese automobiles has gradually expanded from the traditional African and Middle Eastern markets to the North American and European markets; The products have been upgraded from low-end models to high-end cars, which can meet the needs of the global diversified market in terms of appearance quality, internal technical quality and brand marketing capabilities. Cui Dongshu said.
The export performance of new energy vehicles is eye-catching
According to the International Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, 20 years ago, the world's automobile exports were 22.1 million units, while Germany and Japan both exported more than one million vehicles, while China's automobile exports were only 43,100 units. Xu Haidong told reporters that in the past 10 years, China's automobile exports have been fluctuating around 1 million units, but last year, automobile exports exceeded 2 million units, doubling, and achieved more than 50% growth in the first 10 months of this year.
Why are Chinese cars favored by foreign consumers?
Xu Haidong analyzed that in the short term, there are two reasons. First, the overseas market is gradually recovering, and the overall environment is getting better; Second, China's supply chain is more complete than that of overseas auto supply chains, which is also a good opportunity for domestic automobiles to explore overseas markets. In the long run, the first is that the competitiveness of China's automotive products has been greatly improved. "We have not only improved our design capabilities, but also paid great attention to customer experience, and the product design, quality control and management have been very good, the technological innovation and integration capabilities have been greatly improved, and the service system is also innovating." Xu Haidong said.
Second, overseas export patterns are becoming increasingly diverse. Chinese auto companies have expanded from vehicle trade in the past to local factory construction, cross-border brand cooperation, self-built sales channels, and customized development of common technologies. The global market-oriented automotive industry chain supply chain system such as R&D, marketing, logistics, parts and components, manufacturing, finance and used cars established by many Chinese enterprises overseas has laid a solid foundation for the overseas development of Chinese car enterprises.
Third, Chinese auto companies are paying more and more attention to brand building. Product price is a direct reflection of brand premium power. Xu Haidong said that from the perspective of the average price of China's automobile exports, the average price in 2018 was 12,900 US dollars, and then gradually increased to 16,400 US dollars this year, reaching 18,900 US dollars in August. Among them, the average price of pure electric vehicles increased even more significantly, reaching 25,800 US dollars in August.
In addition, the outstanding performance of new energy vehicles has become an important force driving the high-quality growth of exports.
"As of the end of October, Great Wall Motor's overseas sales this year have exceeded 130,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 18.55%, especially electric vehicles have become a new growth pole for our exports." Fu Xiaokang, vice president of Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd., told reporters that Great Wall's footprint covers Europe, ASEAN, the Middle East, South America, Oceania, South Africa and other markets, and the company has also established full-process vehicle production bases in Thailand and Brazil, and the global research and development system is gradually advancing.
The European market has become a major new export destination for many Chinese-made electric vehicles. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, in the first half of 2022, the Western European market accounted for 34% of the export of new energy passenger vehicles, of which Belgium was the country that imported the largest number of new energy vehicles from China in the first half of the year.
Since the beginning of this year, China's major ports have witnessed the acceleration of China's electric vehicles and related industrial chains: in the first three quarters, Tianjin's export of electric vehicles increased by 667.7% year-on-year; The export of electric manned vehicles at Ningbo Port surged by 12.3 times; the total exports of electric manned vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells in Shanghai increased by 143.3%......
"China's new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for many consecutive years, and have entered a period of comprehensive market-oriented expansion." Cui Dongshu said, "China's automobile manufacturing from the traditional fuel vehicle era market exchange technology 'imported', to now new energy vehicles 'going out' sold overseas, the huge changes in the past 20 years mean the new rise of China's high-end manufacturing industry." In the future, with the continuous maturity of new energy vehicle technology, domestic car companies represented by BYD, SAIC, Geely, Great Wall, Chery, etc. will further change the original international automobile market pattern. ”
"I believe that the auto market will also stabilize next year"
After the rapid growth of automobile exports, how can the auto industry really "go global"?
Many experts believe that the simple "going out" is no longer suitable for the needs of market development at this stage, and it is necessary to explore a more in-depth and breadth, break through trade barriers between countries, and become more internationalized as soon as possible. "In the past, the model of vehicle export was mainly adopted, and there would be a clear ceiling in sales." Guan Mingyu, global managing partner of McKinsey and head of McKinsey's automotive business in Greater China, said, "Foreign trade exports are switching from a single model to multiple models, such as overseas factory production, such as overseas brand acquisition, and even taking entire Chinese brands abroad." Guan Mingyu suggested that Chinese vehicle companies and parts companies need to find ways to huddle and explore overseas markets together.
In the eyes of consumers, Chinese car brands still have a lot to do in overseas markets. "Searching online for 'China brand car' or 'Made in China car in Malaysia', I can find the most news about Chinese cars entering the market, rather than the brand's official purchase portal in Malaysia, such as the brand's official website." Li Peizhen said, "In this way, in the Malaysian market, Chinese cars still have a lot of room for development. ”
How to see the situation of automobile exports?
"With the improvement of the competitiveness of Chinese auto products, Chinese car companies have begun to go out very confidently, from the brand to the entire system are improving, and China's auto exports have entered a new stage." In Xu's view, the above factors will also support the long-term growth of China's auto exports in the future.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other three departments jointly issued the "Notice on Consolidating the Upward Trend and Strengthening the Industrial Economy", which put forward 17 specific measures. Among them, it is clear to further expand automobile consumption, implement preferential policies such as the phased halving of the purchase tax for passenger cars with a displacement of 2.0 liters or less, and the continuation of the purchase tax exemption for new energy vehicles, and launch a pilot city of full electrification of vehicles in the public sector.
Xu Haidong believes that with the implementation of the above 17 policy measures, it is believed that the auto market can be stabilized in the fourth quarter and next year. He predicts that in the future, China's overseas production will reach about 10 million vehicles, and domestic production and export will reach about 5 million units, and the time to achieve this goal is about 2031. "The basis for achieving this goal is the improvement of the competitiveness of domestic vehicles, brand building and increased long-term direct investment." Xu Haidong said.