Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 12 th: The export has achieved a "good start" and new energy vehicles have "accelerated running" — — Observation on the development of automobile industry in the first quarter
Xinhua news agency reporter
According to the data of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first quarter, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 1.65 million and 1.586 million respectively, up by 27.7% and 26.2% respectively. 994,000 cars were exported, up 70.6% year-on-year.
Recently, reporters interviewed in Anhui, Jilin, Hubei and other places found that since the beginning of this year, with the promotion of consumption policies and the adjustment of the layout of car companies, the automobile industry is steadily recovering and rejuvenating.
China car is busy "going out to sea"
In the past few days, the Khorgos highway port in Xinjiang has been a busy scene, and many domestic cars have been cleared quickly and orderly. Cars from Shanghai, Shandong, Anhui, Henan and other places are continuously sent to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and other countries.
"In the first quarter, more than 580 vehicles were inspected and released for export commodities." Xu Zhiwei, deputy director of the border inspection department of Horgos Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station, said that in the first quarter, the number of commercial vehicles exported at Horgos Highway Port reached 11,200, up 24.2% year-on-year.
"In recent years, the quality and service of domestic cars have been continuously improved, and they have become more and more popular in Central Asian countries." Che Xueling, head of Horgos Chenxi International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd., said that in the first quarter, the company had exported more than 1,000 commercial vehicles, up 30% year-on-year, and the trade volume exceeded 30 million US dollars.
The busy scenes at major ports reflect the strong momentum of China’s automobile "going out to sea".
"Jilin Province has provided important support in port coordination, shipping guarantee and export customs clearance." Yang Dayong, chairman of FAW Group Import and Export Co., Ltd., said that in the first quarter, the group exported 15,000 vehicles, up 125% year-on-year.
It is understood that FAW plans to establish more than 700 Red Flag Experience Centers abroad to fully explore overseas markets focusing on Europe.
Recently, the trend of local automobile brands collectively "going out to sea" is obvious. Chery automobile is exported to some countries and regions in North America; Jianghuai Automobile held the delivery ceremony of 10,000 passenger cars in UAE; BYD leads the pure electric vehicle market in Thailand & HELIP; …
According to the data of China Automobile Association, in the first quarter, Chinese automobile enterprises exported 994,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 70.6%. Among them, 248,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 110%.
Experts said that over the years, Chinese car companies have continued to deepen their overseas markets. Nowadays, export has become one of the important engines supporting the growth of automobile sales.
New energy vehicles "accelerate running"
Walking into the body workshop of Weilai Hefei No.2 Manufacturing Plant, the reporter saw more than 700 yellow robots waving their arms and flying up and down, and hundreds of workers were nervous and busy.
In the first quarter, Weilai Automobile delivered a total of 31,041 new cars, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%. Weilai’s achievements in the first quarter are the epitome of the continuous recovery of the new energy vehicle market.
In March, BYD sold more than 200,000 new energy vehicles, up 97.45% year-on-year; LI delivered over 20,000 new cars, an increase of 88.7% year-on-year; Extreme Krypton delivered over 6,000 new cars in March, a year-on-year increase of 271%… …
The recovery of automobile consumption in the first quarter is inseparable from the continuous release of recent policy dividends: the subsidy for replacing new energy vehicles with passenger cars in Beijing is up to 10,000 yuan; Guangzhou introduced a policy to subsidize the purchase of personal new energy vehicles; Linyi, Shandong Province issued car coupons with a total value of 20 million yuan.
The popularity of new energy vehicles is closely related to the continuous introduction of new marketing methods and the improvement of consumer recognition. The reporter saw many new energy automobile brand experience centers such as Weilai and Ideality in many shopping malls. Shopping and online car purchase have become new consumption trends.
"Low travel cost, many brand choices, rich smart applications and moderate prices." Ms. Zhao, a citizen of Beijing, said that she recently ordered a new energy vehicle on her mobile phone. Due to the surge in orders, the system showed that it would take three to four weeks to pick up the car. Before picking up the car, she could change various configurations of the vehicle at any time with her mobile phone.
"Consumers are paying more and more attention to the intelligent and networked attributes of automobiles." Xia Yiping, CEO of Jidu Automobile, said that the "new four modernizations" of automobiles with the trend of electrification, intelligence, networking and sharing have pointed out a new direction for the transformation and upgrading of automobile enterprises.
Experts in the industry believe that 2023 will be a painful period for the new energy automobile revolution and the deep transformation of the automobile industry. Car companies throw away the subsidy "crutches" that have lasted for many years and really start to "walk independently".
"Enhance the competitive advantage of core technologies, optimize product layout, reduce supply chain costs, and cope with the competitive environment of short-term price-for-quantity exchange." Cao Ting, director of Chery’s new energy brand, said that car companies should actively adjust their layout in response to pressure and have full confidence in the market recovery.
According to Chen Shihua, Deputy Secretary General of China Automobile Industry Association, in the first quarter, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China increased by 27.7% and 26.2% respectively, and the market share reached 26.1%. The new energy automobile industry still maintains vigorous growth vitality.
Potential to be released
In March, the auto market experienced a fierce wave of promotion. According to Chen Suizhou, director of the network and marketing support department of Shenlong Automobile, the recent subsidy promotion activities have promoted the rapid growth of orders, and the orders of brand models of Shenlong Automobile have exceeded 16,000 in less than half a month.
It is in sharp contrast with some car companies’ "opening the door". Some car company leaders have reported that recently, a large number of brands have caused companies to shut down some production lines.
Chen Shihua said that in the first quarter, multiple factors in the auto market were superimposed, and the effective domestic demand has not been fully released, and the economic operation of the auto industry is generally under great pressure.
What is the potential of the auto market under pressure?
According to statistics, in recent years, China’s car ownership has increased by more than 20 million vehicles annually, and the number of cars per thousand people is about 225. This figure is still far from that of developed countries, and China’s car market has great potential.
Some insiders pointed out that the theoretical number of scrapped vehicles in China should be close to 10 million every year, but the actual number of scrapped vehicles recovered every year is far from this number. The motor vehicle scrap recycling industry is developing steadily, or it will promote the warming of automobile consumption.
Car increment, scrap replacement and consumption upgrading are expected to drive car consumption, while the demand for personalized travel of residents is also increasing year by year. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, said that the rural market may become an important growth force for automobile popularization.
"From the market feedback in March, the situation in the auto market in the second quarter is relatively optimistic." Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of China Automobile Association, said.
The relevant person in charge of the China Automobile Association said that with the acceleration of the transformation and upgrading of the automobile industry, car companies are under the dual pressures of stable operation and transformation and upgrading. Car companies should focus on high-quality development and make efforts in product technology, quality and brand power. He suggested that the state should uniformly introduce relevant automobile consumption promotion policies to help the industry achieve steady growth. (Reporter Gao Kang, Wu Huijun, Zhang Jian, Gu Yu, Wang Zichen)
