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The red-clothed leader Zhou Hongyi recently made public his decision to change cars on social platforms, which detonated the car circle.
Some netizens speculated that Zhou Hongyi's move was to invest in the Nezha bus platform for 360. Later, Zhou Hongyi said, "I do the recommendation and collection activities of new energy vehicles, and I definitely not want to carry a sedan chair for Nezha." ”
According to 360 related sources, some people suggested that Zhou Hongyi choose foreign brands such as Tesla, but he refused.
In 2023, domestic cars will become the mainstream
Zhou Hongyi said that China's intelligent connected car and new energy vehicle industry has risen and will soon become the world's first echelon. I hope to set an example so that people no longer take buying BBA for granted, because when more people start to choose domestic brands, support domestic products, and support the new energy vehicle industry with their own practical actions, the market will be at an inflection point.
In fact, the year 2023 that has just passed is an important turning point for China's own brand cars: the domestic market share of China's own brand cycling has surpassed that of foreign brands and joint venture brands.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the market share of China's own brands will reach 52% in 2023, an increase of 4.6 percentage points compared with 2022. China's automobile production and sales exceeded 30 million for the first time, and the sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 9 million, and China's own brands almost surpassed it in an all-round way.
From January to March 2024, the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars reached 59.6%, an increase of 7.4 percentage points, and the sales volume was 3.392 million units, a year-on-year increase of 26.4%, leaving only the "last mile" to break through the market share of 60%.
Source: China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
The strong rise of independent brands has become an indisputable fact. Independent automakers, including BYD, GAC Group, Great Wall Motor, Chery, etc., will see an increase in sales in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Especially in the new energy vehicle market and export market, independent brands have achieved significant increases.
Under Zhou Hongyi's related blog post on changing cars, some netizens said, "The luxury of the new era is: safer, smarter, more energy-saving and environmentally friendly" and "China's new energy has a long way to go"...... Lei Xiying, a current political commentator, said that "the era of domestic cars has arrived".
Zhou Hongyi posted on Weibo to comprehensively analyze the five advantages of China's intelligent networked vehicle development:
First, after decades of development, the manufacturing process and manufacturing capacity of domestic cars have caught up with joint venture cars and imported cars.
Second, China is the country with the most complete industrialization and the most complete industrial categories in the world.
Third, in terms of the core technology of car manufacturing, new energy vehicles have given China a huge opportunity to overtake in corners, at least standing on the same starting line as foreign manufacturers.
Fourth, China has abundant intelligent networked vehicle driving data, rich scenarios and national policy support. In terms of autonomous driving, China's progress will be very rapid.
Fifth, China is in the first echelon in the world in terms of digital technology needed for the development of intelligent connected vehicles, especially in terms of application technology, which is not inferior to the United States.
Source: Zhou Hongyi's personal Weibo
Optimal configuration at the same price point
In the past, the vast majority of the market share of the domestic automobile market was occupied by joint venture cars and imported cars, and domestic cars could only survive in the cracks due to their late start and poor technology, leaving many car owners with the impression that domestic cars had low configuration and poor quality, and could only rely on "price wars" to attract customers.
Source: Kuniyoshi no Light
Nowadays, with the rapid development of China's automobile industry, domestic cars have begun to win a good reputation and are recognized by more and more car owners. At the same price, joint venture cars are basically entry-level or low-end models, but domestic cars can provide mid-to-high-end models with complete configurations. Some people in the industry believe that the main reasons for this are:
1. The joint venture car has a brand effect
In the 80s of the 20th century, after entering the Chinese market, the joint venture car seized the opportunity with its excellent technical strength, laying a solid audience foundation in China and having great brand influence.
Specifically, if you put Audi A3 and Geely Emgrand together, the first thing you see is definitely Audi A3, not Geely Emgrand, which only sells more than 50,000 yuan. Because the influence of the two brands is not on the same level.
Audi is a luxury car brand originating from Germany and has been born for decades. Although Geely Automobile is one of the best among its own brands, many people think that Geely is just an ordinary domestic brand, and compared with Audi, not only is the product power a lot worse, but the brand power related to the "face" issue is not comparable. If Geely raises the price of Emgrand by more than 100,000 yuan, it is estimated that it will not be able to create more than 2 million sales.
2. Production costs
The obvious local advantages of domestic cars allow automakers to save costs to the greatest extent, and in terms of pricing, they are positioned as "small profits but quick turnover", so the price is lower than that of imported models or joint venture vehicles. On the other hand, the joint venture vehicles rely on imports for the production of automobiles, and they have to pay a large amount of tariffs every year, which increases the cost and leads to an increase in the selling price.
3. Lack of core technology
Many domestic independent brands are slightly inferior to joint venture cars in terms of core technology.
The three core parts of a car include the engine, chassis, and transmission. Due to the late start of the independent brand, it lags behind the joint venture brand in technology. In recent years, the independent research and development capabilities of independent brands have improved by leaps and bounds, even though SAIC has developed many domestic engines such as "Blue Core" and Changan has developed "Blue Whale" in recent years, many of the three main components of independent brands rely on imports, and there are also problems in the matching of engines and transmissions.
Source: Kuniyoshi no Light
In addition, domestic brands have taken advantage of the "latecomer advantage" to mimic the existing technology of joint venture vehicles, greatly reducing R&D costs. In terms of vehicle configuration, domestic cars use a large screen with a multi-functional center console, panoramic sunroof, LED headlights, rear images, and leather seats with heating and ventilation functions, while the joint venture car only installs these configurations on high-spec vehicles to increase the selling price of the car.
Due to brand power, many consumers used to only look at imported cars or joint venture cars, and came to the conclusion that imported cars or joint venture cars were more advanced. However, since around 2015, some consumers have found that the configuration of domestic cars at the same price is almost one era ahead of imported joint venture cars, and the price of imported cars or joint venture cars with the same configuration is almost 2 to 3 times that of domestic cars. Under the diversified choices, netizens are becoming more and more rational consumption, and domestic cars are rising day by day, which is further conducive to the rapid development of Chinese automobiles.
Hidden champions emerge in the automotive industry chain
Behind the high-profile performance of domestic cars, it is inseparable from China's increasingly perfect automobile industry chain, which is no longer subject to foreign imports, and the monopoly of foreign companies in the Chinese market has also been broken, and many hidden champions have emerged in the domestic automobile industry chain.
Take, for example, suppliers of Xiaomi Auto and Huawei Auto.
1. Sensor provider - Kaite shares
Kaite is a well-known provider of automotive thermal system products in China, and is another important company on the Beijing Stock Exchange in 2023 after Jinbo Biotechnology and Dingzhi Technology. The main products include temperature sensors, light sensors, speed control modules, etc., and its sales revenue of automotive series sensor products ranks among the top three in the industry, serving more than 200 customers, including BYD, SAIC, Guangzhou Automobile Group and other automobile OEMs, Xiaopeng, Gaohe and other new energy vehicle companies, Guangzhou Denso, Valeo Group, Songzhi Co., Ltd. and other well-known domestic and foreign automotive thermal system manufacturers.
2. Automotive glass manufacturer - Fuyao
At present, Fuyao's main business is automotive glass and float glass, which is mainly produced and sold by itself and is the raw material of automotive glass. The company's automotive glass revenue accounts for more than 90%, and its customers include Bentley, BBA, General Motors, Cialis and other well-known automobile brands.
There are four major suppliers of automotive glass in the world, and Fuyao Glass is the most concentrated and professional in business. The company's automotive glass revenue accounts for more than 90%, which is significantly higher than its competitors Asahi Glass (21%), Plate Glass (46%) and Saint-Gobain (6%).
In 2021, the company's automotive glass revenue will be 21.38 billion yuan, successfully surpassing Asahi Glass and becoming the largest automotive glass company in the world. In 2021, Fuyao Glass ranked first with a global market share of 31%. The market share of other automotive glass companies is 26% for Asahi Glass, 17% for Plate Glass, 15% for Saint-Gobain, and 8% for Xinyi Glass.
At present, Fuyao has a national market share of about 65% in the domestic automotive glass OEM field. This means that out of every 3 cars in China, 2 cars have glass produced by Fuyao.
3. Aluminum alloy wheel manufacturer - Hongxin Technology
At the beginning of its establishment in 2006, Hongxin Technology chose the aluminum alloy forging process to produce automobile wheels, which was still very scarce in China at that time.
After years of hard work, Hongxin Technology has successfully broken the monopoly pattern of foreign brands on forged aluminum alloy wheels in the commercial vehicle market. The products are sold in dozens of countries and regions such as the United States, Australia, and Canada.
From 2020 to the first half of 2023, Hongxin Technology's overseas revenue accounted for 38.41%, 45.39%, 51.27% and 51.28% of its main business income, respectively. Its sales revenue to the United States accounted for 56.61%, 65.67%, 70.83% and 59.98% of its overseas sales revenue respectively, that is, most of the exported products were sold to the United States.
At present, Hongxin Technology has successfully mastered a number of core technologies such as surface stress relief technology, mirror polishing technology, thermal spraying energy anti-wear technology, and covering film forming technology. The product performance indicators not only far exceed the national standard, but also exceed the level of the same industry. At the same time, Hongxin Technology's products have also passed the strict product testing and certification in Europe and the United States. With these technical advantages, Hongxin Technology has successfully accumulated a number of high-quality and stable customer resources.
Source: Hongxin Technology Company's official website
At present, Hongxin Technology's products have successfully established direct supporting relationships with Haomet, Dongfeng Liuzhou, Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck, BYD, CRRC Times, etc. In addition, through J.T. Morton, Superior and other well-known distribution agencies, it has also successfully matched the giants in the field of new energy vehicles in the United States, Rivian and Lucid, and further integrated into the supply chain system of Paccar (USA).
In addition, in the new energy vehicle industry chain, such as servo motors, bearings, etc. are gradually provided by Chinese enterprises, the global electric vehicle servo motor is almost produced by a company in Ningbo, Zhejiang, Mercedes-Benz and BMW bearings are also provided by a company in Ningbo, if the two purchasers can meet in the factory, they can also drink a cup of coffee or eat the canteen of the factory.
The autonomous automotive industry chain is on the rise
In 2023, Chinese automobiles will go abroad, beating traditional automobile powerhouses Japan and Germany, and winning the global auto export championship for the first time.
According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to November 2023, China's automobile (including chassis) exports totaled 4.762 million units, a year-on-year increase of 59.8%, and it is expected to exceed 5.2 million units for the whole year, making it the world's largest exporter. From surpassing South Korea to become the third in global exports in 2021, to surpassing Germany to become the world's second in 2022, and then to becoming the world's first in 2023, Chinese automobiles have maintained a leapfrog development speed.
Source: Cha Yan said the car
It is worth noting that while Chinese automobiles are rapidly occupying the world market, they are not taking the low-price route, but the volume and price are rising together, and the average unit price of automobile exports has increased from 85,000 yuan in 2018 to 122,000 yuan in 2022, and has now risen to 143,000 yuan; Chery Xingtu Lanyue, which is only priced at about 200,000 yuan in China, is sold at about 500,000 yuan in the Russian market, and Chery Tiggo 8, the Brazilian president's car, is sold for more than 400,000 yuan in Brazil and only about 100,000 yuan in China.
In terms of market development, Chinese automobiles are no longer overly dependent on developing countries and regions such as Asia and Africa, but are exported to the Middle East, Central Asia, Australia and New Zealand and other markets, and Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom in Western and Southern Europe have also become export highlights in the past two years. Hongqi H9 has become the car of many Middle Eastern princes in Dubai, and BYD looks up to the video of the U8 floating in the Dubai flood, which has received more than 3 million views at once.
The professional technology of Chinese automobiles will also advance by leaps and bounds in 2023, entering a new stage of "from market to technology" to "technology for market". Throughout 2023, with breakthroughs in technology, manufacturing, and sales, China's own auto brands will shine in the global market.
From self-developed chips, to large-scale model empowerment, to the implementation of urban NOAs, the level of intelligence of new energy vehicles is getting higher and higher, from rapid iteration, to manufacturing, to timely delivery, the organizational efficiency and execution capabilities demonstrated by independent brands have left many American and European companies in the dust.
Chinese automobiles are no longer a single learner and imitator, but a collaborator and leader. In 2023, a number of joint venture brands such as Mazda, Volkswagen, Audi, Ford, and Nissan have reached cooperation with Chinese independent brands, and the "reverse joint venture" has finally become a reality, and China's own brand cars have finally entered the era of leading the progress of global automotive technology.
Source: Cha Yan said the car
In the view of Guanfu Asset, the total output of China's auto industry chain will soon exceed 60% of the world's total. The ultra-low-cost whole industry chain model represented by BYD is very aggressive, forcing Chinese mainland auto companies to evolve collectively, Huawei Wenjie M7 directly filled the configuration, and at the same time started a price war, which was 20% lower than the expected price, forcing Chinese auto companies to increase investment in technology to achieve a comprehensive breakthrough in scale, cost and process.
If Chery's export sales soar and the release of automobile ro-ro shipping capacity will begin in 2024, or let Chinese mainland's automobile exports accelerate to 10 million in the next two or three years, the cars sold in Europe in the future will largely be supplied by China's industrial chain, because China's automobile industry chain has incomparable scale, technology and cost advantages, while the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea do not have.
For example, Volkswagen's ID4 CROZZ compact new energy vehicle is priced at 145,900 yuan, and if it is supported by the European industrial chain, it will continue to lose money. Volkswagen itself claims that the cost of China's industrial chain is currently one-third lower than that of Europe, and according to the inflation level of both sides and the rate of iterative price reduction, and then considering the reverse trend of the scale of independent brands and European car brands, the cost of China's local industrial chain will be reduced to less than half of that of Europe in two or three years.
The rise of China's automotive industry is the rise of the whole industry chain, and the competitive advantage is all-round and crushing. With the exception of Japan, South Korea, and the United States, the rest of the world is almost in full swing. For example, Chery Automobile will export more than 100,000 units in September 2023 alone, covering more than 80 countries, of which the Tiggo 8 is a global model, and the overseas price is significantly higher than the domestic price, with a price of 286,000 yuan in Mexico and 120,000 yuan after domestic discounts. However, its sales of more than 3,000 units in a single month in August 2023 are enough to see the fact that its products are becoming more and more popular with consumers.
Entering a new year in 2024, as the global automotive industry continues to focus on transformation and upgrading and green development, and consumers' recognition of new energy vehicles is increasing, China's first-mover advantage of new energy vehicles will continue to be highlighted, leading the development of the global automotive industry to a new stage.
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