Crushed by millions of sales, FAW Toyota's dangerous moment in 20 years
FAW Toyota recently held a grand 20th anniversary celebration, and the quasi-official announced that three new cars, including the Crown Sedan, the all-new Prado and the bZ Crossover, are expected to be released one after another.
However, this unprecedented celebration shows us that FAW Toyota is suffering from an extremely severe and critical moment in history.
Without any Chinese festive colors, it is more like a Japanese-style celebration stage background, and the Chinese and Japanese bilingual is specially set up for the few Japanese people at the scene, as if it brings people back to the hot past of joint ventures.
Under the background of accelerated localization of major joint ventures, FAW Toyota is still attached to Toyota of Japan, as if it has no intention of becoming a more independent car company.
As the predecessor of FAW Toyota, Sichuan Toyota was founded in 1998, Tianjin Toyota was established in 2000, and Toyota's history in the first 5 years of the Chinese market has been erased in terms of FAW Toyota's 20th anniversary.
I don't know what it is like to be in the hearts of the "Sichuan Automobile People" and "Tianqi People" who still exist in FAW Toyota.
If the production and sales of one million vehicles is a heavy burden, FAW Toyota is unable to break through in the face of the challenges of electrification in the Chinese market and the excellent performance of GAC Toyota.
Volkswagen's successful strategy in China, two joint ventures and one car twins, although inevitable, has also allowed Volkswagen to sit on the leading position in the Chinese auto market for many years.
Toyota follows the same strategy, Corolla and Leiling, Lufang and Highlander and other twin models together to make the market cake, but at the same time let users see that even if it is the same brand, the performance of different joint ventures can be very different.
From the most convincing sales point of view, although FAW Toyota's sales have continued to grow in recent years, GAC Toyota's growth rate is even more amazing.
The sales volume of FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota in 2018 was still 720,000 units to 580,000 units, and by 2022 it will become 820,000 units to 1 million units, and the comparison of sales scale has been reversed, and GAC Toyota's sales quality and profit level are far ahead.
On the various celebration posters for the 20th anniversary, we can see a number of celebrations of FAW Toyota's main body, and on the official poster of FAW Toyota, images such as FAW Toyota Chengdu, FAW Toyota Changchun and FAW Toyota Sales also appear.
With such a complex brand perception in an event, FAW Toyota may be the first person in a joint venture car company.
Even though the operating system and organizational structure have been adjusted and streamlined several times, although there are historical reasons, we can still see that the relationship between FAW Toyota's various business units is extremely complex, and even the official account can have multiple windows such as TEDA plant, new factory and sales company.
For GAC Toyota, in addition to automobile manufacturing, in addition to the independent company GAC Toyota engine, from R&D, manufacturing to sales, GAC Toyota is the only one.
From the difference in the organizational structure of Toyota in the north and south, we can see to a certain extent the reasons for the different performance of the two car companies, and GAC Toyota, which came out on top, showed the success of the operating system, which can not be compensated for by one or two models.
Looking back at automobile manufacturing, the five factories of GAC Toyota's million-vehicle manufacturing system are concentrated in Nansha District, Guangzhou, while FAW Toyota is from Changchun, Tianjin to Chengdu, and there is no need to say who has higher management efficiency under the same scale.
Looking closely, GAC Toyota has achieved extreme production efficiency between plants, such as a third plant that produces small cars such as Leiling and Fenglanda, and a fourth plant that produces medium and large cars such as Highlander and Xena.
On the other hand, FAW Toyota, Crown Land Fang and Corolla Rui are produced in the new plant, while the medium and large MPV Grivea is produced in the new energy plant with bZ4X, I don't know what to consider!
GAC Toyota, which has successfully reached the top of one million units, has completed the power and intelligent upgrade of existing models such as Leiling and Fenglanda in 2023, and fully launched the localization innovation of "intelligent electric hybrid dual engine".
For GAC Toyota, the production and sales of one million vehicles is still the goal, but it is no longer the goal that needs to be exhausted and must be guaranteed.
As for FAW Toyota, it has set a goal of one million vehicles from manufacturing to sales at the beginning of the year, and it seems that it is going to give everything and fight a battle.
According to the retail sales data released by the All-China Passenger Association, GAC Toyota sold 80,000 units in August and 580,000 units in eight months.
However, even if FAW Toyota's August sales reached the highest of 76,000 units this year, and the cumulative sales in eight months were less than 510,000 units, even if it had to achieve its latest target of 900,000 units, the average monthly sales would reach 100,000 units, which even GAC Toyota did not dare to imagine.
FAW Toyota's 2023 is very similar to GAC Toyota's 2022, production has resumed, and all models are also a brand new sales full year.
However, the market situation has become more serious, because all car companies have resumed production, and the overcapacity of the entire automotive industry has essentially triggered a large-scale and high-intensity price war.
GAC Toyota's 2023, the three high-end models of Camry, Highlander and Xena can still maintain sales and profits, and Leiling, Fenglanda and Veranda support the sales base.
FAW Toyota's 2023, in order to sell more profits, will have to give up existing models for more profits, and even let bZ3, a pure electric model using BYD's three electric technologies, fully enter the operation market such as ride-hailing.
Under the goal of one million sales must be achieved, GAC Toyota paid a heavy profit price in 2022, and FAW Toyota wants to achieve the same production and sales scale in 2023, and the price will far exceed GAC Toyota, depending on whether FAW Toyota really has enough courage to fight to the death.
What makes people feel helpless is that even if FAW Toyota wants to reduce the price and run volume, the market may not accept it all, not to mention that there are more powerful independent car companies, as well as joint venture car companies that also have to desperately ensure quantity.
FAW Toyota is facing an extremely dangerous moment in 2023, not once again unable to complete the production and sales of one million vehicles, but overwhelmed in the face of rapid market changes.
For FAW Toyota, it is imperative that it should not only become FAW Toyota, but also FAW Toyota
In any case, with GAC Toyota in 2022 and FAW Toyota in 2023, the myth of maintaining the value of the Toyota brand is also over?
End of full article!