In the past two years, Chinese automobiles have risen rapidly, and the most direct impact of competition is still Japanese automobiles, because China's car-making concept is the most similar to Japan. Recently, the Japanese media have collectively reflected, why are Japanese cars not selling?
Is it really the defeat of Chinese cars? I'm afraid the Japanese will find it difficult to accept. Some people say that they are defeated by the times, and the times are a vague excuse, and I am afraid it is not so simple.
Recently, a number of Japanese media reported the news of the sales avalanche of the three major Japanese car dealers, and fell into a collective reflection, why are Japanese cars not selling well?
On May 10, Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported that the sales data of Japan's three major car dealers in China in April were released. Toyota saw a year-on-year decline of 27.3% to 118,200 units. Honda fell 22.2% to 73,831 units, while Nissan Motor fell 10.4% to 54,921 units.
The decline in sales of joint ventures in China was even more pronounced, with FAW Toyota down 31.2%, GAC Toyota down 32.1%, and GAC Honda down 44.6%. There are other reasons for the increase in sales of Lexus and Dongfeng Honda, which are not for reference.
Japanese cars are not selling well in China, but are they selling well in the global market?
According to data released by Toyota, sales in the first quarter of 2024 will be 2.4 million units, a year-on-year increase of 0.1%, which is very weak.
If you look at the regional data, you will find that Toyota's real data is even more bleak. Because Toyota is selling like crazy in North America and Europe, the rest of the world is falling miserably.
Toyota sold 658,000 units in North America in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 20.9%; Among them, the United States sold 565,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 20.3%, Canada sold 57,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 28.5%, and Mexico sold 28,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 25.4%.
At the same time, Toyota sold 309,000 units in Europe, up 11.2% year-on-year.
Toyota's sales in Southeast Asia and Latin America, where Toyota has traditionally strong, fell sharply, with Thailand down 21.7%, Vietnam down 45.1%, Brazil down 2.6%, and Argentina down 12%.
In another strange phenomenon, Toyota's sales in Japan fell by as much as 29%, which reflects the real state of the Japanese economy and consumption.
Looking at these data, you will find a very special phenomenon, Japanese cars are still selling well in the North American and European markets, where automobiles are traditionally developed, but in emerging markets, almost all of them are falling.
Other Japanese automakers are following a similar trend, why?
In the reflection of the Japanese media, they do not admit that they lost to China, but believe that Chinese cars do not respect the accumulation of hundreds of years of automobile technology, do not play cards according to routines, and collectively play hooligans, which is difficult to sustain.
At the same time, the Japanese believe that the decline in sales in the first quarter was due to economic fluctuations, with the economies of North America and Europe being relatively stable, while Latin America and Southeast Asia were experiencing a sharp decline.
Is there any truth to this claim? It sounds reasonable, but if you look at the export data of Chinese cars, it will not be so calm.
From January to February 2024, the top 10 countries for China's auto exports are: Russia, Mexico, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the Philippines, Australia and Thailand.
So, basically, there can be a conclusion that today's global automotive market, the traditional automotive markets in North America and Europe, are more receptive to traditional automobiles, while emerging markets are more receptive to new things.
We can almost certainly assume that Japanese car sales will continue to decline in the coming years. So, where do Japanese cars lose?
Some say that it is because Japan has chosen the wrong direction of innovation, and they insist on investing in hydrogen energy.
In fact, first of all, it seems that hydrogen energy is not necessarily the wrong direction; Second, investment in the future direction is not the reason for the current decline in Japanese car sales.
The rise of Japanese automobiles stems from two important opportunities for the development of global automobiles.
The first is that since the 1990s, oil prices have risen wildly, and Japanese cars have taken the right route to save fuel; The second is that since the 1980s, the global car has been rapidly popularized, and it is no longer a luxury product, and Japanese cars have taken the right route of good quality and low price.
After the 2020s, the global automotive industry once again faced two major transformation opportunities.
The first is the new energy transformation represented by fuel vehicles to electric vehicles; The second is the transformation of the car from a traditional means of transportation to an experiential driving toy role. Many people drive, in addition to transportation, more and more focus on experience and "playing with cars".
At this important juncture of transformation, Japanese cars have taken two wrong paths.
First, Japanese automobiles are not inactive in the transition to new energy, let alone take the wrong path of hydrogen energy, but choose to innovate in small steps on the basis of sticking to traditional advantages, and miss major opportunities.
What are the traditional advantages of Japanese cars? It is fuel-efficient and lightweight, so they make trams, usually the idea of changing oil to electricity. What they don't realize or don't pay attention to is that electric vehicles are completely different modes of driving and driving.
Second, Japanese automobiles have neglected autonomous driving and human-vehicle experience, and have missed more important opportunities.
While Chinese cars play with autonomous driving and experience in a cool way, Japanese cars are still cold means of transportation.
Of course, none of this is a technical problem, and as long as you change your mindset quickly, it will not be difficult for the Japanese to catch up.
However, in the face of transformation, it is often ideas, not technology, that imprison innovation.