Time is running out for Hiromoto
The first batch is expected to lay off more than 1,000 people! Layoffs are the first step in business contraction, but not the last.
The joint venture brand, once a major player in China's auto market, is declining after missing out on the opportunity to develop new energy vehicles. In the case of sluggish sales, the joint venture brand will inevitably adopt a business contraction strategy.
Layoffs are often the first step in business contraction, but not the last step, and these joint venture brands are likely to maintain the traditional fuel fundamentals, because fuel vehicles will not disappear; It is also possible that like Korean car companies, the silence gradually fades out of the eyes of the Chinese people.
This time, the protagonist is the former king, Guangqi Honda.
Layoffs: from labor dispatch to contract, from 900 to 1000.
Since May, Guangqi Honda has launched a large-scale layoff in the form of a step-by-step notice, and the scale is expected to be thousands of people.
Relevant insiders said that this is an overall layoff and involves multiple lines.
As early as December 2, 2023, Guangqi Honda was exposed to the news of "the first layoff since its establishment". However, the last layoff was aimed at more than 900 dispatched workers.
There are many types of layoffs, and Hiromoto is an overall layoff this time, indicating that such layoffs are caused by Hiromoto's strategic contraction. The fundamental reason is the redundancy of Guangben personnel, which cannot be avoided by strategic adjustment.
With the successive losses of Guangben in the Chinese market, it is speculated that there will continue to be layoffs in the future, and it is not ruled out that only a small part of the traditional fuel system team will be retained in the end.
From labor dispatch to contract employees, the number ranges from 900 to 1,000.
It is foreseeable that it is estimated that the subsequent layoffs in Guangben will be more extensive and the number of people will be larger.
There is no way out for Hiromoto
Hiromoto has no chance, Honda still has a chance, but the opportunity is not in China.
New energy vehicles are the trend of future automobiles, so the opportunities and ways out for future development are also new energy.
Guangben's way out of new energy has been blocked.
In terms of internal factors, Guangben's inherent traditional fuel vehicle thinking cannot be designed to meet the image of contemporary people for a new generation of new energy vehicles. Stale conservatism is the main characteristic.
Regardless of the interior or appearance, Guangben's products feel that they are traditional fuel vehicle products, which do not meet the "new" characteristics of most consumers for new energy vehicles, and naturally cannot capture the hearts of consumers.
On the other hand, the mainstream players of new energy vehicles, their products have a cool appearance, even if they are as bold as Gaohe, some people pay for them.
So can't Hiromoto change course now?
It can be changed, but it can't be changed. If you want to change it, you have already changed it.
The current situation of Guangben is a common problem and epitome of all joint ventures. It's not that they don't want to change, it's their nature that they can't change.
In terms of external factors, the fierce domestic market competition is the last straw that blocked Hiromoto and Honda.
The new energy vehicle market has rolled out of the sky, which is obvious to all. No matter which price range, the current new energy vehicle market is flooded with a large number of product choices.
The label of Guangben's traditional oil truck puts it at a natural disadvantage.
Guangben fuel vehicles have done a good job, just like Nokia has done a solid job of making non-smart machines. But if you buy a mobile phone now, you won't choose Nokia, and in the same way, if you buy new energy, most buyers won't stop at Honda.
In view of the fierce competition in China's new energy vehicle market, Honda has returned to the pure electric track of new energy vehicles, and has also avoided the Chinese market and chosen Canada as a rocker to impact the world's new energy vehicle market.
On April 26, Honda announced today that it will spend $11 billion to expand its electric vehicle manufacturing business in North America.
Honda said it has begun evaluating requirements for what it describes as an "innovative and environmentally responsible" EV plant and a stand-alone EV battery plant in Aliston, Ontario, which is already home to Honda's two existing Canadian manufacturing plants.
Honda expects to begin EV production in Ontario in 2028 and says the assembly plant will have the capacity to produce 240,000 EVs per year. At the same time, the battery plant has a planned annual production capacity of 36GWh.
Perhaps, Honda realizes that its electric vehicles have no chance in the Chinese market, and may still be able to struggle in the world market.
The reason for the decline of the Japanese system
The reason for the decline of the Japanese system was that the competition of national strength led to the failure of the competition of routes. The fault is not Honda, Toyota, Nissan, but the emasculated and non-independent Japanese government.
Japanese automobiles are the first explorers and players of new energy. In the era when everyone was still specializing in engines and transmissions, the Japanese launched hybrid technology, and the former Merip was popular all over the world.
In the later selection of technical routes, two technical routes gradually emerged, hydrogen energy and electric energy.
During this period, because of Japan's cleverness, a large number of patent traps were ambushed on the hydrogen energy route, which led to China and the United States (Tesla) choosing electric energy as the development route of new energy for automobiles.
As the two largest automobile consumer markets, China and the United States have chosen to directly determine the route of new energy development of automobiles. As a result, Japanese automobiles that bet on hydrogen energy have fallen across the board.
The battle for the route is about the future, and not an inch of land is conceded; The battle of business is a battle of interests and can be compromised.
In the final analysis, the Japanese government is responsible for the decline of the Japanese system.
Therefore, there may be many kinds of fates for Guangben, but the biggest one may be to stick to the basic plate of fuel vehicles, and coexist with new energy vehicles as a representative of fuel vehicles.
As for whether it will fade out of the Chinese market like the Korean system, it depends on the creation of Guangben.