"Some independent car companies have achieved a huge breakthrough in the export of small electric vehicles." Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Automobile Market Research Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association (Car Association), on September 29, sponsored by Phoenix.com and Huanqiu Automobile "Let the World Falling in love with Chinese cars" - this new trend was shared at the first China Auto Brand Overseas Summit.
"We can see that small electric vehicles, especially foreign brands that are OEMs in China, have made great breakthroughs in both domestic and foreign markets." It is fully recognized by the carmakers and European car companies. "
Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of Automobile Market Research Branch of China Automobile Dealers Association (Passenger Association)
Cui Dongshu pointed out that it is more difficult for other countries in the world to create similar products. However, my country has the first-mover advantage in the industrial chain of such products, and has taken a step towards the globalization of households. Therefore, this means that there is huge potential for the sustainable export of small electric vehicles in my country.
At the same time, the mid-end products of Chinese automobiles have also started a new trend of all-round export. High-end B-class and A0-class electric vehicles have been well recognized by the market.
"China's auto exports to Europe and other countries benefit from the strong breakthrough of high-end products, including the contributions of wholly-owned enterprises such as Tesla, and the contribution of state-owned enterprises such as SAIC Motor for the export of new energy vehicles. Strong pulling effect." Cui Dongshu said that industrial technology and the high-end extension effect of the domestic market played an important role. In other words, the structural pattern of auto products in the domestic market has emerged.
Cui Dongshu said that there is a phenomenon worthy of attention: for the consideration of industrial safety, China's automobile industry chain has shown a trend of transformation from globalization to regional self-control.
"The advantages of regional sectors will further contribute to the huge advantages of complete vehicles." Cui Dongshu believes that in the future, Chinese automakers will focus more on the export of complete vehicles, so as to realize the trend of exporting Chinese products to the world, fully developing vehicle brands and their own product systems.
Cui Dongshu emphasized that facing the current situation of the world's large-scale but slowing new energy transformation, Chinese car companies should establish a top-level global brand layout. Although the road of globalization for Chinese car companies will not be smooth sailing, the combination of advantages in the industry chain will consolidate the strength of Chinese products on a global scale. Car companies should show an open attitude and insist that the whole vehicle is the king.
The following is a transcript of Cui Dongshu's dialogue at the summit roundtable forum "How to Get rid of Path Dependence when Brands Go Overseas":
Phoenix.com Auto: In 2021, my country's auto export growth will double. Continuing to grow this year, what is the reason for such rapid growth in auto exports? Is the boom sustainable? How long do you expect it to last?
Cui Dongshu: China's auto exports are currently showing a super good trend.
In 2021, China's auto exports will reach 2.14 million vehicles, and customs data will explode. This year's auto exports still maintain a strong growth trend. In the difficult environment of the world, China's auto export is an opportunity. If Chinese car companies seize this opportunity, they will achieve leap-forward development in exports.
This export growth has benefited from the accumulated reserves of the industry in the past ten years. The overseas market and the entire product system have a good foundation, and there is now an opportunity for explosive growth. This good growth is still maintained this year, and the cumulative export from January to July achieved a super-strong growth of 43%.
Fenghuang.com Auto: China's new energy vehicle sales account for more than 60% of the world's total. Do you think new energy is going to be an outlet? What are the advantages to take advantage of?
Cui Dongshu: At present, China's new energy overseas market has accounted for more than 60% of the world's share, becoming the world's largest new energy vehicle market, and the industry chain is relatively complete, which means that China's automobile overseas has a good industrial foundation.
On the whole, China's new energy vehicle product category is complete and rich, covering from high-end to entry-level, especially in markets such as Europe, America and Southeast Asia, and has better technical support, as well as batteries, motors and other technologically advantageous industrial chains to support.
This is the result of years of policy accumulation for the new energy vehicle industry. Especially in the past two years, under the influence of the new crown epidemic, the whole world has been improved in terms of product structure and environmental protection awareness, and the demand for new energy vehicles is also in a continuous strong stage.
In addition, due to the impact of the European industrial chain, such as the previous chip impact and the recent global geopolitical conflict, all of which have a certain impact on European supply. In contrast, China's strong industrial scale and better product structure are great advantages.
At the same time, the attractiveness of Chinese auto products to the European market has continued to increase. With the support of the export strategy, China's auto exports have shown a good trend.
Fenghuang.com Auto: At present, most of the new energy vehicles exported from China to the European market are high-end models with relatively high prices. Can this high-profile route succeed? Are there opportunities for mid-to-low-end products? How can we gain a firm foothold in high-level markets such as Europe and the United States?
Cui Dongshu: The export of Chinese cars to Europe and other countries depends on the strong breakthrough of high-end products. This includes the contributions of wholly-owned enterprises such as Tesla, and the export of new energy vehicles brought by state-owned enterprises such as SAIC Motor. Powerful pulling effect.
The huge breakthrough in the current high-end export of Chinese automobiles depends on the extension effect of industrial technology and high-end domestic market. In other words, the structural pattern of auto products in the domestic market has emerged. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, B-class, high-end electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid models performed relatively well.
This excellence is not only recognized in the domestic market. Due to the strong product strength and better industrial chain guarantee, the automobile industry has advantages in terms of cost, design and intelligence. The high-end trend is improving, which proves that our products have established a certain brand image in Europe and are recognized by local consumers, which is a good trend of sustainable development.
Under the influence of this trend, middle and low-end products have also started a new trend of all-round export. At present, an obvious phenomenon can be seen in China: the high-end B-class and A0-class electric vehicles perform well and gain good market recognition.
As the second car of the family, small family cars and other mid-to-high-end small cars, the so-called boutique pure electric cars, such as GAC Passenger Car AION V, BYD Yuan, BYD Dolphin, and some other products have won super strong Domestic market recognition. Due to the relatively high cost performance, this type of product is a relatively advantageous product designed by a pure electric platform, with low power consumption per 100 kilometers and excellent appearance design. Therefore, there is a certain development potential in the European market.
Since this month, some independent car companies have achieved a huge breakthrough in the export of small electric vehicles. In particular, international brands such as Dongfeng's Easyjet and Renault, which are made in China and then sold to Europe, have also received a great response. According to statistics from the Passenger Federation in August this year, 16 companies sold more than 10,000 units. For example, Dongfeng Easyjet has exported 8,000 units, and sold more than 2,000 units in the domestic market. We can see that small electric vehicles, especially foreign brands OEM in China, have made great breakthroughs in both domestic and foreign markets.
This proves that China's manufacturing industry capabilities, especially product quality assurance and other aspects, have been fully recognized by European consumers and European car companies. This means that there is huge potential for the sustainable export of my country's small electric vehicles in the future.
European consumers have a strong awareness of environmental protection. They do not care about a particularly large space, they pursue relatively environmental protection, and prefer to use small products that are more flexible. Therefore, like A0-class small electric vehicles, especially the models with high cost performance, such as a little more than 100,000 models, and products with better comprehensive performance in terms of battery life and other aspects, the future export potential is even greater.
In fact, it is still relatively difficult for other countries in the world to create similar products. At present, my country has the first-mover advantage in the industrial chain of such products, and at the same time, it has taken a step towards the globalization of households. Therefore, small electric vehicles that have made breakthroughs in the domestic market will have further space to explore in Europe or other countries in the world in the future.
Fenghuang.com Auto: In the era of the epidemic, the international business environment has become more complex. What kind of transformation do you think car companies need to make to go overseas? What new changes are there in the current trend of going overseas? What are the risks? What should companies do?
Cui Dongshu: After the epidemic, the situation of international shipping has deteriorated, resulting in a trend change worthy of attention in China's automobile industry chain: the transition from globalization to regional self-control.
This is for industrial safety reasons. Globalization and comprehensive adjustment of product resources will actually bring certain risks to China's auto exports. In this case, we are faced with a diversified choice of whether to rely on the export of complete vehicles, CKD exports, or rely on the industrial chain to break into the local system to contribute to the development of the local auto market.
Chinese car companies have made attempts in these directions. At present, the integration advantages of China's automobile industry chain are extremely obvious, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. According to statistics, the Yangtze River Delta of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai accounts for the vast majority of China's new energy exports. For example, Shanghai's electric vehicle exports accounted for 34% this year, Zhejiang accounted for 18%, and Tianjin accounted for 9%. In other words, Shanghai and Zhejiang account for more than 50%.
This means that China's auto industry chain has formed a regional plate advantage. From the perspective of internationalization, the advantages of regional sectors will further contribute to the huge advantages of the whole vehicle. Therefore, when car companies consider the export of complete vehicles, CKD exports or parts to the sea, they will focus more on the perspective of vehicle exports.
Because the overall export, first, can give full play to our advantages. Second, it will be more conducive to the stability and security of the industrial chain. At the same time, for problems encountered overseas, effective plans can be made in advance (including improvements in product design).
Considering the many uncertainties that may be faced in Europe, the relevant industrial chains of most European countries cannot provide the industrial layout required for the rapid development of new energy vehicles in the short term.
Like Tesla's new factory in Europe, its construction progress and production capacity are far below the plan and design. This brings about relatively high costs, as well as relative deviations in market satisfaction.
To sum up, under the geopolitical conflicts and complex international relations, Chinese car companies still need to increase the export of complete vehicles, realize the export of Chinese products to the world, and realize the trend of full development of the complete vehicle brand and its own product system.
Under this system, China's auto industry has gradually established a marketing system overseas. In the era of fuel vehicles, the biggest shortcoming of Chinese car companies is that they cannot effectively protect the interests of European consumers in the entire life cycle of vehicles in terms of products, services, and lifetime guarantees. In the era of electric vehicles, due to the simplified after-sales service, the overall consistency of products will become better and better.
Looking at it now, exporting complete vehicles and establishing a local after-sales service system can basically meet the needs of Europe. While the development of new energy vehicles in the world is still relatively slow, we will take the whole vehicle export of the industrial chain first, and then drive the battery companies to do international matching after branding. The development space will be huge.
Fenghuang.com Auto: For car companies, will they shift from "going overseas" to "building a global brand" in the future? In the process of going overseas, in the face of external complex variables, how to establish a sustainable strategy with top-level thinking and systematic design?
Cui Dongshu: Chinese car companies should establish a top-level global brand layout.
The world market is currently facing huge opportunities for new energy transformation. According to the statistics of the Association of Passenger Transport Associations, the global auto sales volume was about 89 million (units) last year, which is generally characterized by a large scale but a slowdown in development.
Under the characteristics of slowdown, the accelerated transformation of electrification is the general trend. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to establish an electric vehicle or a global brand layout and consider the globalization strategy. The scale of world auto trade is at least 15 million vehicles, including about 5 million vehicles in Japan, about 3 million vehicles in South Korea, and about 4 million vehicles in Germany. However, in the past two years, Germany and South Korea have a certain downward trend.
Therefore, in the face of a huge market of more than 10 million vehicles, what China needs to think about is how to make up for the blank gaps in the world electric vehicle market brought by slow transition countries such as Japan, Germany, and South Korea after electrification transformation. We need a global layout to effectively make up for the electric vehicle market, which has a relatively large opportunity.
We have to be aware of our obvious shortcomings. In the era of traditional fuel vehicles with a relatively complete industrial chain, China's auto industry has a certain level of system construction in after-sales service and other aspects, and there is a certain gap between Japan, South Korea, Germany and other countries. Now that we have entered the era of electric vehicles, Chinese auto companies already have the obvious first-mover advantage of changing lanes and overtaking, and this advantage is gradually strengthening.
Therefore, enterprises should take advantage of the fast-growing new energy vehicle track to develop a globalization strategy for themselves, and then define the layout of a global brand, so that the brand can be effectively accepted by the international market. For example, MG of SAIC, which was originally a traditional European brand, but after 20 years of cultivation and development, has become a new global brand that we can control the core value of the brand. Today, it will be turned into a new electrified brand to enter Europe and the world. I think that, like SAIC MG, using an international brand and China's strong product strategy to make a comprehensive configuration to achieve an effective layout in the plug-in hybrid, pure electric and other markets, there is a relatively large room for development in this regard.
However, the road of globalization for Chinese car companies will definitely not be smooth sailing. A big problem at the heart is that we move other people's cheese along this path. If many traditional international car companies are affected, they will inevitably form a chain reaction in various aspects that is not good for us.
In order to avoid and eliminate unfavorable situations, we should also preset some effective response plans. First, we must not be too aggressive. We must maintain a good image as a participant in the international community, and especially, we must face consumers with a sustainable and moderate attitude, so that the local society can accept our brand. At the same time, we must effectively integrate into international systems such as intelligence and international standards.
European consumers' full recognition of China's intelligent electric vehicles means that our comprehensive industrial chain advantage has achieved an international breakthrough. China is the only country in the world with the strongest industrial chain recognized by the United Nations. We have the advantage of being an intelligent Internet company. Outside the United States, Internet companies in China are the world's leading Internet companies. And in terms of basic industries, such as chips, have also achieved certain development.
This combination of industrial chain advantages will make our product strength more difficult to shake. Therefore, we need to combine these advantages into products to achieve international development. At the same time, auto companies should also have an open attitude. For example, parts and components companies within OEMs also need to make forward-looking overseas layouts. The current development trend is that in some aspects, battery companies are stronger than vehicle companies, as are some lithium mining companies, but we still have to adhere to the attitude of vehicle as king.
This means that we must fully control the entire automobile industry chain, and at the same time guide the participants in the chain, such as battery, mining and other companies to make effective global layouts, and reach an industrial chain community with car companies, and let the community go to the world. Specifically, it is possible to make batteries and other companies deploy in Europe and the United States in advance. When Chinese cars are exported to Europe and the United States, they can immediately support the local parts system, and then gradually develop from the local CKD, which will achieve better integration.
We serve people first, and ultimately benefit ourselves. This will lead to a good trend of coordinated development of the industry, and will eventually lead to the whole industry chain as a vehicle enterprise, and achieve the effect of replacing the traditional fuel vehicle industry worldwide.
However, the replacement of the industrial chain is a huge transformation. From an international perspective, the transformation of the entire industrial chain and the leadership of the manufacturing core are all in the automotive field. And for several industrial revolutions and industrial development, the core leadership has relied on the development of automobiles. From the beginning of the 20th century for Ford to lead the world, to European cars, Japanese cars, and Chinese cars, the core position of the auto world trade in the past 100 years and the all-round layout of the industry are of great significance.
We believe that no matter from the national level or other aspects, we will make relevant top-level design considerations and support for automobile export. Enterprises should promote effective cooperation from their own low-key economic perspective, and then help Chinese automobiles to go global. It is important to form the image of a "good citizen" in other countries or regions and contribute to the electrification transformation of the entire world market. For enterprises that are caught in the passive situation of electrification in the local area, we should not fall into the trap and should provide more support to promote coordinated development. In addition, from an industrial perspective, under the current changes, going overseas is a huge opportunity, and car companies should fully consider their social relations with overseas companies from a strategic perspective.
