In the first three weeks of March, the average daily retail volume of the domestic passenger car market gradually increased
Favorable policies help the car market to pick up (Sankei Observation)
Our reporter Wang Zheng
"People's Daily" (18th edition on April 08, 2020)
"Only the new energy vehicle license plate will be listed next year, I did not expect to enjoy subsidies!" On the evening of March 31, after seeing the good news that the State Council executive meeting extended the new energy vehicle purchase subsidies and purchase tax exemption policies for two years, Mr. Zhang, who works in an Internet company in Beijing, quickly forwarded it to his circle of friends.
The favorable policy for new energy vehicles is one of the three measures just released to promote automobile consumption. The central government will also take measures to substitute awards to support the elimination of diesel trucks with emission standards of National III and below in key regions such as Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. For used car dealers selling used cars, from May 1 this year to the end of 2023, VAT will be reduced by 0.5% of sales.
Affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the Chinese auto market experienced a decline. The three measures announced by the State Council Executive Meeting brought a warm spring to the auto market.
Positive policies such as vehicle replacement subsidies received positive response from the market
"I have made an appointment with the 4S shop to watch the car this Saturday, scrapping and replacing the train, government subsidies plus corporate subsidies, a total of more than 50,000 yuan can be saved." Ma Yunqiang, who works in a construction company in Beijing, planned to change Beijing Hyundai Sonata, which has been in operation for 13 years, was replaced by a seven-seat SUV of the same brand. However, the evaluation price of the old car, worth only 4,000 yuan, dispels his idea of replacing the new car.
On March 30, the Beijing Municipal Government issued a new policy of 3,000 yuan to 22,000 yuan for scrapped bicycles in advance of National Motor Vehicles, and the more affordable corporate subsidies that Beijing Hyundai has followed up, rekindling his enthusiasm for changing cars.
"The automobile industry is an important pillar industry of China's national economy. The total retail volume of automobiles accounts for the total retail sales of social consumer goods, the relevant taxes account for the total tax, and the proportion of related employees in the total number of urban employees is about 10%." Deputy of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Minister Xin Guobin said that with the joint efforts of all parties, the overall start-up rate of enterprises in the automotive industry has increased from about 60% on February 19 to 97% on March 30, and the return rate of employees has increased from about 50% to 82%. The overall productivity has reached the level of the same period last year. If the automobile consumer demand is sluggish, the market will show a relatively large negative growth, resulting in an increase in the company's inventory, and the final productivity after the resumption of production will also be affected.
The problem of insufficient effective demand in the automobile market has attracted great attention from all quarters. Up to now, Guangdong, Shandong, Jilin, Hainan, Beijing and other cities and Shenzhen, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Nanchang and other cities have introduced policy measures such as car purchase subsidies, vehicle replacement subsidies, and relaxation of purchase restriction indicators to boost car consumption and help the car market recover.
The strong willingness of government departments to drive automobile consumption, coupled with the coordinated preferential measures of major brand car companies, has played a role in activating popularity and driving sales. According to statistics of Guangzhou Automobile Honda, since March 4th, the average daily sales indicators of Guangzhou's designated stores have been greatly improved compared with the week before the introduction of Guangzhou's new policy to boost automobile consumption. Among them, the number of registered customers of distributors in Guangzhou increased by about 60%, and the order volume increased by about 31%.
However, for Ms. Liu, who lives in a certain city, the local measures still made her feel that she was not "quenching her thirst." "A few days ago, I participated in the live broadcast held by the SAIC MG brand on Douyin, and I took a fancy to an SUV. Only locally produced models can be enjoyed. "
Nowadays, subsidies ranging from 1,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan for each new car issued in some places are often aimed at cars that are locally produced, sold locally, and licensed locally. Industry experts pointed out that in order to boost the demand, they will provide valuable financial funds, give priority to supporting local manufacturing and retail enterprises, and encourage residents to buy cars and use them locally. The good intentions of some places can be understood. However, such a car purchase subsidy is easy to breed local protection, and it is expected that there will be more places in the future to introduce inclusive expansion of consumption policies to give consumers more purchasing options.
Promote consumption policy should focus on industry sustainable development
"Automobile production and sales are expected to decline by about 45% in the first quarter of this year and about 25% in the first half of the year. After the epidemic, the suppressed consumer demand will be released in the short term, and the car market will usher in a short-term consumption peak." China According to Ye Shengji, deputy secretary general of the Automobile Industry Association, despite the high probability of restorative consumption, due to factors such as the slowdown of income of some residents, the development situation of the auto market throughout the year is still not optimistic. It is a matter of urgency to introduce encouraging policies as soon as possible to stimulate consumption potential .
Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the National Passenger Car Federation, pointed out that according to the 2019 China Statistical Yearbook data, the current penetration rate of major consumer products such as color TVs, washing machines, and refrigerators in Chinese households exceeds 95%, while the number of cars per 100 households is 40 Not only the potential demand is large, but also the contribution to consumption is large. Encouraging policies to pull up car demand is one of the viable options for expanding consumption. However, what policies and measures should be introduced not only to quickly drive automobile consumption, but also to benefit the long-term development of the industry, it is worth serious scrutiny.
Wu Songquan, chief expert of the China Automotive Technology Research Center and director of the Policy Research Center, believes that there are three ways to boost the car market. The first is to focus on sustainable development and promote the consumption of new energy vehicles, such as delaying the decline of subsidies, continuing to implement tax relief, and improving infrastructure. The second is short-term encouragement policies to stabilize traditional automobile consumption. Such as the use of fiscal and taxation methods to stimulate the consumption of energy-saving and environmentally-friendly vehicles and encourage scrapping and renewal, increase the purchase of city license plate quotas and phasing out of car purchases, and give a transition period to the implementation of China VI emission standards. The third is to reform the system and mechanism that restricts automobile consumption and stimulate consumption vitality. Such as speeding up the reform of second-hand car circulation, modification of in-use passenger cars, electric vehicles "separation of vehicles and electricity", pickup trucks into the city and other unreasonable institutional mechanisms.
"Supporting new energy vehicles, speeding up the elimination of China III commercial vehicles with awards, and loosening up second-hand car transactions, the three policy measures announced by the State Council Executive Meeting are at the core of new vehicle purchases or updates to improve vehicle environmental standards and improve the environment. Under the premise of promoting automobile consumption upgrade. "Cui Dongshu said, this is obviously conducive to promoting the sustainable development of the automobile industry.
Do not wait for policies to save the market, rely on innovation to boost the market
"Due to the epidemic situation, Dongfeng Nissan's sales in the first quarter fell by about 40% year-on-year, but the terminal orders in March have returned to about 70% in the same period last year, and terminal sales have increased significantly compared with February." Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Chen Hao, deputy general manager of the car company, said that at present, domestic epidemic prevention and control have achieved important results, and consumer confidence is gradually recovering. It is expected that some sales will be covered in the short term. In the long run, the demand for auto consumption in China is still there, and government departments have also introduced favorable policies to stabilize and expand auto consumption. Dongfeng Nissan is still optimistic about the overall auto market.
Also optimistic is Tang Shikai, a member of the Daimler AG board of directors and responsible for business in Greater China. "At present, most auto dealers have resumed work, and the number of outlets is gradually picking up. Daimler is still optimistic about the Chinese market. No matter in the past, present or future, Daimler's long-term commitment to the development of the Chinese market will not change. Continue to increase investment and continue to contribute to the steady development of the Chinese economy. "Tang Shikai said.
Of course, being optimistic about the auto market does not mean waiting for policies to save the market, and winning consumers through product innovation, marketing innovation, and service innovation is becoming the action of auto companies.
——Pedestrians wear masks when driving, and have an “antivirus cockpit” when driving. Through the standard configuration of air-conditioning filter elements, negative ion generators, and AQS air quality management systems with N95-level protection capabilities, GAC Chuanqi quickly gave N95-level virus protection capabilities to all its models. "In March, the sales of our store were better than most of the group's joint venture brands and other independent brands. Chuanqi's technical reserves and emergency innovation capabilities are indispensable." Zhao Hong, general manager of Guangzhou Automobile Chuanqi Foshan Changxing Store.
—— Offline marketing activities are difficult to carry out, and online live broadcasting has become a new channel for communication. As of March 23, there are 801 Dongfeng Nissan franchise stores nationwide planning to carry out live broadcasting, with a planned total of 4445 games, of which 3248 live broadcasting has been completed. The “Warm Spring Action” online activity launched by the company at the end of February, as of 24 March 30, had a cumulative customer participation of nearly 65,000 and a cumulative number of clicks and reads of nearly 2 million, which not only promoted sales, but also effectively enhanced brand recognition Awareness and favorability.
——There are concerns about looking at the car and choosing a car at the store. A “zero-touch” car purchase came into being. Online real-time 3D car viewing and car selection; professional customer service 24 hours online to accompany car selection; "financial calculator" online planning of car purchase financial solutions, online pre-approval, immediate results; online completion of insurance plan customization and insurance renewal During the epidemic, as early as 2016, Mercedes-Benz began to explore customer experience solutions in the digital era, rapidly improving platform construction and service response capabilities. Through the official website, WeChat public account, application software and other contacts, consumption Visitors can complete online browsing, booking, and vehicle and parts purchase services with "zero contact".
The increase in the number of business openings at sales outlets and the innovation in product marketing services have driven the auto market to gradually pick up. According to a survey of 8569 4S stores nationwide by the China Automobile Dealers Association, as of March 24, the store resumption rate reached 94.7%, and the passenger flow recovery rate was 61.7%. According to data from the Federation of Passengers, the average daily retail volume of the domestic passenger car market has gradually increased in the first three weeks of March.
"Due to the continuous spread of the global epidemic, Dongfeng Nissan has stopped production of 20 overseas suppliers, and there are supply risks for nearly 60 imported parts (including second-level imported parts of domestic suppliers), but through early shipment, additional orders, and rushed inventory , Localization and other measures, we are confident to ensure a stable supply of overseas parts. "Chen Hao said.