The latest statistics released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that in June, auto companies exported 249,000 vehicles, hitting a record high, an increase of 1.8% month-on-month and a year-on-year increase of 57.4%. In the first half of the year, my country's automobile exports totaled 1.218 million units, a year-on-year increase of 47.1%. China's automobile exports are entering the fast lane.
China's auto industry has entered a new stage of globalization
A few days ago, Melody Bass, a potential Australian consumer, had a two-week in-depth experience of the MG ZS pure electric vehicle produced by SAIC. She was very satisfied with the car's long cruising range and five-star safety crash certification, and was even more impressed by the powerful intelligent safety features.
"The handling of this car is really good, the acceleration is fast, the shifting is smooth, and the direction is precise... I really hope that more Chinese cars will run on German roads." A Chinese user who has lived in Cologne, Germany for many years, test drive After the plug-in hybrid version of Lynk & Co 01, the user experience was shared on local social platforms, and a single video received tens of thousands of likes.
With new car brands such as NIO, Ideal, Xiaopeng, AIWAYS, WM Motor, and Lantu entering the European market one after another, overseas users are paying more attention to Chinese new energy vehicles.
"The era of Chinese cars has come." Yu De, assistant to the president of SAIC Group, general manager of SAIC International Business Department, and general manager of SAIC International, introduced that SAIC's products and services have entered more than 80 countries and regions, with a cumulative sales of 697,000 last year. vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 78.9%. In the first half of this year, SAIC has withstood various challenges, and its cumulative overseas sales have reached 381,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 47.7%.
"In the past 10 years, the annual export volume of China's automobiles has been hovering around 1 million vehicles, and it will exceed 2 million vehicles for the first time in 2021, achieving a historic leap." Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said that China The automobile industry is entering a new stage of globalization.
——The total volume and the export volume of major enterprises both increased rapidly. In 2021, among the top ten companies in terms of export volume, 9 Chinese brand auto companies will show rapid growth, and 4 of them will have an export growth rate of over 100%. In the first half of this year, most companies' overseas orders were in good condition.
—— Achieve breakthroughs in developed markets. With the great strides of new energy vehicles going abroad, Europe is becoming a major incremental market for China's auto exports. According to customs data, last year, China's auto exports to Europe increased by 204%. Among the top ten exporters of new energy vehicles in China, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and other developed countries are at the forefront.
——The direct investment model plays an important role. Chinese auto companies such as SAIC, Changan, Great Wall, Geely, and Chery have set up factories overseas, supporting Chinese brands to take root overseas and laying a solid foundation for future growth. "At present, Changan Automobile is promoting the construction of a number of overseas base markets, and the future growth momentum will shift from 'external' to 'internal', and gradually move to an overseas self-operated model." Xiao Feng, deputy general manager of Changan Automobile's Overseas Business Development Department, introduced, In the first half of this year, Changan Automobile exported more than 100,000 vehicles, and its operating income exceeded 6.5 billion yuan, nearly doubling year-on-year. Among them, the sales of Master Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. established in Pakistan in 2019 increased by 102% year-on-year.
China's auto product power and brand power have steadily improved
In recent years, Chinese brand cars have entered the developed markets and have been recognized by more and more users, which is inseparable from the steady improvement of product power and brand power.
"The domestic market share of Chinese brand passenger vehicles continues to increase, reaching 44.4% in 2021, an increase of 6 percentage points over the previous year. In the first half of this year, the market share reached 47.2%, an increase of 5.3 percentage points over the same period last year." Zhu Huarong, the rotating chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, pointed out that after years of market tempering, Chinese brand cars have made great progress in terms of quality, technology, supply chain system construction, and brand building, which have greatly enhanced their competitiveness in overseas markets.
——The product quality reaches or even exceeds some international brands. The 2021 China Automobile User Satisfaction Evaluation Report of the China Association for Quality shows that the user satisfaction of Chinese brands has continued to improve, the product quality has reached or even surpassed joint venture brands of the same level, and the gap between product prices and joint venture brands has gradually narrowed.
——Technical innovation continues to accelerate. China's mainstream car brands have completely independent development capabilities in the fields of complete vehicles, chassis, engines, transmissions, etc.; the world's leading power battery technology, the average driving range of pure electric passenger vehicles has increased to more than 400 kilometers; passenger vehicles equipped with combined driving assistance systems Cars account for 20% of the new car market. In 2021, Chinese enterprises will obtain more than 30,000 patents related to new energy vehicles, accounting for 70% of the global share.
——The supply chain is gradually improving. The layout of the automobile industry chain is becoming more and more perfect, forming the world's largest industrial system with complete categories and complete supporting facilities. It is deeply integrated into the global supply ecology and has become an important production and supply base.
"Chinese mainstream brands will further enhance their competitiveness in the Chinese market and even in the world. In the next 10 years, world-class Chinese brands will be born." Zhu Huarong said.
Innovative marketing service model to enhance differentiated competitiveness
"Thanks to the SAIC French team for rushing to the scene four times and completely solving the problem of battery power loss. The customer is very satisfied with the company's serious and responsible attitude."
This is a letter of thanks from Nicolas Huber, the after-sales director of the French Marquis Auto Dealer Group, to SAIC International Europe. The problem of battery loss mentioned in the letter occurred in Strasbourg. In August last year, there were successive accidents in the area where vehicles could not start after being left for several days. SAIC’s French after-sales team conducted on-site investigations 4 times, which took 21 days, and finally detected abnormal static power consumption of the vehicle at a customer’s home. After investigation, it was found that the digital broadcasting module could not sleep.
Liu Xinyu, CEO of SAIC MG Europe, explained that because there are too many local radio stations, the car digital radio will occasionally have software mismatches when searching for stations and storing them. As a result, the radio cannot sleep after the vehicle is turned off, resulting in a battery loss and the vehicle cannot be started. After discovering the cause, they quickly worked with the in-house software team to optimize and completely solved the problem through a software refresh.
The solution to the problem of battery power loss this time not only interprets the necessity of localization of automotive products, but also demonstrates the importance of improving the overseas after-sales service system and enhancing user trust from the side.
For different markets, Chinese car companies have formulated different product and service strategies. For example, in the face of uneven roads in some countries, SAIC’s engineers increased the ground clearance of vehicles; in order to ensure the acceleration performance and fast charging performance of electric vehicles in extremely cold conditions in high latitudes, Changan developed a "Superset" electric drive and "high-frequency pulse heating technology" can allow the battery to heat up to 20 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes at minus 30 degrees Celsius.
Qiang Sunbing, vice president of Great Wall Motors Europe, told reporters: "The user-centered product design in the domestic market and the ecological construction based on the full life cycle of vehicles are another tool for Chinese automobiles to develop overseas markets." Over the past few days, Wei brand In Germany, a number of direct-to-consumer activities were held, and the participating car owners generally said that they liked the user operation ideas of Chinese car companies.
Since entering the European market in September 2020, the cumulative export volume of the Lynk & Co brand has exceeded 20,000, and the number of fans who have experienced Lynk & Co products has reached 116,000. "This is due to the company's innovative 'subscription-based' business model." Lin Jie, senior vice president of Geely Automobile Group, said that the car idle rate in Europe is high. Subscription methods such as direct purchase of membership and free membership allow consumers to experience Lynk & Co’s products and services in an all-round way with a low threshold, which is loved by local young consumers.
Seize the first-mover opportunity of new energy and intelligent network connection
"NIO's battery swap technology has brought a good experience, and I want to try other NIO models in the future." Birkenfeldt is the first ES8 user to be delivered by NIO in Oslo, the capital of Norway in September 2021 One, Weilai's battery swap design and service impressed him.
Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that since last year, my country's new energy vehicle exports have shown explosive growth, with an annual export of 310,000 vehicles, a three-fold increase year-on-year. In the first half of this year, my country exported 202,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 1.3 times.
"Last year, Australia sold more than 5,000 electric vehicles, and MG accounted for 27%." Yu De said that after years of deep cultivation in the three technical routes of pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cells, SAIC now has Complete product spectrum of new energy vehicles. "New energy and intelligent connectivity are becoming the 'accelerators' for Chinese automobiles to expand overseas markets."
"The first-mover advantage of Chinese automobiles in the field of new energy and intelligent networking is making European consumers change their original perception of Chinese brands." Qiang Sunbing said that many European consumers and partners believe that in electrification And in the field of intelligence, China is leading the development trend of new automobiles. "This is very beneficial for us to enhance our brand competitiveness."
However, according to Qiang Sunbing, policies such as the carbon border tax to be introduced by the EU industry will increase the cost of entering the EU for complete vehicles and parts. "Chinese brand car companies can only lay a solid brand foundation in the high-end market if they continue to practice their internal skills and strive to achieve the ultimate in quality and compliance."
"Chinese automobiles still face many challenges in going global." The relevant person in charge of Changan Automobile said, first, overseas investment is easily affected by factors such as geopolitics, economic fluctuations, industrial policies, social customs and other factors, and the risks are relatively high; secondly, Chinese brand automobile bases Operational experience and capabilities such as construction, brand acquisition, and joint ventures and cooperation are still insufficient. Third, the current contradictions in international maritime logistics capacity are prominent, the number of spaces is unstable, and the price fluctuates greatly, which seriously restricts the overseas transportation of Chinese automobiles during critical periods.
"Seizing the opportunity of the global auto industry reform and building a Chinese auto brand image is a test of the wisdom of Chinese auto companies." Lin Jie said that at the beginning of the establishment of the Lynk & Co brand, it positioned itself to bring consumers more choices and provide A global high-end new brand with new aesthetics and user experience. In terms of sales model, enterprises will make different choices or even combinations of distribution system, agency system, direct sales system, etc. according to the national conditions of the country where they are located, but the brand is always operated by itself.
"In the first half of this year, China's auto exports accounted for about 10% of the total sales. When this proportion increases to 20%, China will not be far from the goal of becoming a powerful auto country," said Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
