Carlos Ghosn’s dramatic escape from Japan and landing in Lebanon brought a perfect end to the automotive industry in 2019. Netizens joked that Ghosn must have used Mr. Bean’s passport to escape Japan. 2019 is definitely an unforgettable year for Ghosn, who has been "fighting" with the Japanese judicial department throughout the year. At present, the winner is "Bean". In fact, 2019 in the automobile industry is not so dramatic. Everything is running step by step. It wasn't until the arrival of 2020 that I realized that 2019 had gone far away and would never come back. Some people say that 2019 will be the best year in the next ten years, and the decline of the industry has been mentioned in various forums and occasions. 2020 is the last year of the 13th Five-Year Plan. The country has stabilized from a period of rapid economic growth and entered a period of stable development. Let's review the sensational events in 2019, the people and moments that people will remember and have contributed to the development of the automotive industry.
1. Reduction of new energy subsidies
On March 26, 2019, the Ministry of Finance and four other departments issued the "Notice on Adjusting and Improving Fiscal Subsidy Policies for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles" . Compared with last year, subsidies for pure electric passenger cars have generally been reduced, and the technical threshold has been raised accordingly.
The cruising range threshold has been raised to 250 kilometers, but the battery energy density has been relaxed. Although the threshold has been raised (the minimum standard has been raised from 105Wh/kg to 125Wh/kg), the calculation coefficient has been reduced.
It will be implemented on March 26, 2019, and the transition period will be from March 26, 2019 to June 25, 2019.
During the transition period, vehicles that meet the technical indicator requirements in 2018 but do not meet the requirements in 2019 will be subsidized according to 0.1 times the 2018 subsidy standards. Vehicles sold and registered that meet the technical indicator requirements in 2019 will be subsidized according to the corresponding 2018 standards. Standard 0.6 times subsidy.
The reduction of new energy subsidies is not sudden news for car companies. Before the official release of the "Notice", relevant departments had frequently hinted. In contrast, car companies have been relatively calm about the reduction of new energy subsidies.
During the Shanghai Auto Show, Niuche.com editors talked to many senior car companies. The mainstream view was that the decline will certainly have a certain impact on the sales of new energy, but the initiative still lies with the car companies. In response to the decline, car companies can absorb part of it by reducing profit margins. Overall, on the market side, sales prices have not adjusted significantly due to the withdrawal of subsidies, and consumers' car buying habits have not changed much. For the consumer side, even when there is a subsidy, consumers do not experience the subsidy process. What they enjoy is the directly subsidized terminal selling price. The reduction of subsidies still has a certain impact on car companies. Especially for car companies like BYD and BAIC, which mainly focus on cheap small cars and entry-level models, and the quantities are relatively large, the reduction of subsidies will reduce a considerable part of the government's income, which has also led to the decline of BYD and BAIC this year. Performance is very inconsistent. BAIC New Energy's sales from January to November this year were 114,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 11.2%, of which November sales were 7,005 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 62.6%. In the first half of 2019, BYD's new energy vehicle sales reached 146,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 96.5%, and its market share increased from 20% in 2018 to 24% in the first half of 2019. However, BYD's new energy vehicle sales began to decline in July and have continued to fall. Sales in November were 11,000 units, a steep decline of 62.7%. 2. Clearing the inventory of National V emission models? An excellent time to buy a car. In June 2018, the State Council issued the "Three-Year Action Plan to Win the Blue Sky Defense War", which clearly stated: "Starting from July 1, 2019, key areas, Pearl River Delta The Triangle and Chengdu-Chongqing regions will implement the National VI emission standards in advance and promote the use of gas-fired vehicles that meet the National VI emission standards (hereinafter referred to as the "National VI Standards").
Screenshot of online Moments
The early implementation of the National VI standards has brought great pressure to many car companies and dealer terminals. To this end, the China Automobile Dealers Association even issued a document to the five relevant departments, requesting to strengthen the publicity, interpretation and guidance of the implementation of National VI; launch an automobile market boost plan as soon as possible and do a good job in switching to National VI standards; urge manufacturers to immediately stop National V products Supply and handle inventory well. The inventory clearance of National V models is indeed a carnival for consumers.
Cadillac can be said to have become famous in the National V Clearance War. Cadillac has reduced the prices of many models by around 100,000, with prices as low as 40% off on many models. When SAIC employees buy cars, the employee price of the ATS-L starts at only 180,000, and the XTS only starts at 210,000.
The Cadillac ATS-L is priced at 27.38w-42.88w. The 2.0T turbocharged engine has 279 horsepower and 400N/M torque. It is not bad in terms of configuration and power, but it just cannot be sold. move. Taking advantage of the opportunity to clear inventory, Cadillac has really become popular. Regardless of the brand's reputation, a good car is only a car that can be sold. After selling these, change the name, restore the price and sell again, it is easy for consumers to forget.
The Cadillac sale brought about a wave of false prosperity. In June 2019, Cadillac sales exceeded 20,000 units again, reaching 21,210 units, a year-on-year increase of 51.5%.
3. New energy car companies have begun to deliver cars. According to data from the China Automobile Association, in November this year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 110,000 and 95,000 respectively, a year-on-year decrease of 36.9 and 43.7 respectively. Although in the first 11 months, the production and sales of new energy vehicles increased by 3.6 and 1.3 respectively, they also bid farewell to the previous substantial growth.
Weima’s new models
From January to November, NIO, Weima and Xpeng’s car deliveries exceeded 10,000 vehicles. This is also the current trend among new car companies. of the troika. In contrast, other new car companies are in the stage of making small efforts. Although there are only three car companies with more than 10,000 deliveries, there is still progress compared to only one last year. At the same time, a more obvious feature is that many chasers have also started vehicle deliveries. NIO delivered 2,528 new cars in November 2019, and the cumulative delivery volume in the first 11 months reached 17,395. Calculated based on NIO’s previous annual sales target of 40,000 vehicles in 2019, the completion rate was 43.48. WM Motor delivered a total of 15,355 vehicles from January to November this year, and the target is not optimistic. Xpeng's sales target this year is 40,000 vehicles, and the cumulative delivery volume in the first 11 months has reached 12,960 vehicles, with a completion rate of 32.40. In addition to the above-mentioned new brands with relatively good sales, there are other new brands that are trying to enter the market from a mid-to-high-end perspective and have also begun to go on the market or deliver goods this year. For example, Chehejia Lili, Tianji Automobile and AIWAYS Automobile have been launched successively. The Ideal ONE, Tianji ME7 and AIWAYS U5 models are all in compliance with their previous plans in terms of overall timing. However, it is indeed not easy to break into the mid-to-high end in one go. 4.? Chinese car companies go overseas? Second quarter
Since the car market declined in 2018, Chinese car companies have begun to look for new footholds overseas. Why is it called the second quarter? In fact, around 2010, Chinese car companies had already launched a wave of overseas markets. In the past two years, Chinese car companies have taken a slightly more high-end route. This year's Frankfurt Motor Show finally became a show of affection between German and Chinese car companies. In the entire auto show, only German and Chinese car companies were showing off, while Japanese and French car companies were not even willing to take part in the show.
Hongqi concept car at Frankfurt Motor Show
Great Wall Motors, China FAW Hongqi brand, Byton and AIWAYS have become representatives of this wave of car companies going overseas. The largest and most substantial move is Great Wall Motors, which has established a factory in Russia and expanded its territory to more countries around the world.
Compared with Hongqi, which only displayed concept cars and brand concepts in Frankfurt, Great Wall is much more pragmatic. Although the vehicle has not yet been sold in Europe, judging from the short-term strategy, it is only a matter of time before it deploys in Europe. With the Tula factory as a base, I believe that Great Wall Motors' European campaign will soon begin.
5. Fancy rights protection in the new media era
The girl who sat on the hood of a Mercedes-Benz to defend her rights has become a big V and finally no longer has to cry over a Mercedes-Benz. She has even started to do business placement for a certain car company.
In an era of fragmented information and socialization, a popular event goes viral faster than you can imagine. The girl who sat on the hood of a Mercedes-Benz to defend her rights became headlines in major media overnight. To this day, I still don’t understand why it’s so popular. There are so many rights defenders, and all kinds of tricks have been used, but sitting on the top cover is an innovation.
There is another incident worth remembering, which is Tesla’s price reduction and car owners holding banners to protect their rights. In March this year, Tesla launched its largest price cut since entering the Chinese market. The model with the highest price drop, Tesla Model X P100D, is a full 341,100 yuan cheaper.
Some car owners found out that the price was reduced by hundreds of thousands of yuan just two days after buying the car, and the sales were not notified in advance. The more they thought about it, the more frustrated they became. Tesla owners who suffered a loss put up banners, approached TV stations, and even wrote an open letter online. Tesla is asked to consider protecting the rights and interests of old car owners by refunding the price difference. Under pressure, Tesla said that all owners who purchased Tesla before the price adjustment on March 1 can enjoy a half-price discount for automatic assisted driving or fully automatic driving function upgrades. However, this solution was not recognized by all car owners, who believed that Tesla’s compensation method was a disguised way to promote products. But Tesla said it currently has no other solutions. Later, nothing happened. Throughout 2019, the automobile industry is stable and orderly. Although it faces relatively large downward pressure, most car companies and car people are well prepared to continue to stimulate the Chinese market with various new products and marketing. No matter what, the Chinese automobile market is still the largest market in the world, and we have always been proud of this. 2019 is over and 2020 is here. Come on, Chinese car people!
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.