Zhongxin Finance, February 23 (Ge Cheng) According to media reports, Beijing Hyundai's factory in Chongqing may have been shut down.

In response to this matter, Zhongxin Finance and Beijing Hyundai have contacted, and as of press time, the other party has not given a clear response.

　　However, the reporter noticed that since 2017, Korean cars as a whole have fallen into a "continuous decline", with sales declining year after year.

The picture shows Beijing Hyundai Motor, which is located in Liangjiang New District, Chongqing.

Photo courtesy of Chongqing Liangjiang Investment Group

　　The reporter noticed that Beijing Hyundai has five factories in China, one of which has been sold.

There are still four factories left in Beijing (two), Chongqing and Cangzhou.

　　Since 2017, sales of Korean cars in the Chinese market have been declining.

Data from the China Automobile Association shows that sales have fallen from a peak of 1.14 million in 2016 to 385,000 in 2021.

Dismal sales have also left Beijing's Hyundai factory facing excess capacity.

　　Korean cars also have a "splendid" record in the Chinese market. Since 2008, the Beijing taxi market has experienced a "modern" and "whirlwind", and Sonada and Elantra have gradually entered the public's field of vision.

Many taxi drivers said that the car they drive has "no major repairs" after millions of kilometers, and the leather is durable and affordable.

As a result, Korean cars have opened the door to the Chinese market with their excellent reputation.

　　However, since 2017, sales of Korean cars have declined year by year.

Compared with Korean cars, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Nissan and other German, American and Japanese car companies have launched long-wheelbase, customized versions and other special models for the Chinese market in China according to the characteristics of domestic consumers. The center is located in Shanghai, and models are tailored for Chinese consumers.

　　On the other hand, Korean car companies such as Hyundai and Kia are relatively slow, and most of them are produced by the introduction of original models.

A senior industry expert once said frankly: "Korean automakers rarely promote local R&D (in China), mainly importing existing models."

This has weakened the competitiveness of Korean cars in the Chinese market to a certain extent.

　　The decline of Korean cars in the domestic market is also related to the strong rise of China's own brands.

In recent years, with the improvement of manufacturing level, Chinese brands have gradually transformed from low-end to mid-to-high-end, while maintaining excellent cost performance, which coincides with the positioning of some Korean cars, triggering a round of market competition.

　　According to public data from the China Automobile Association, starting from 2019, Chinese brands and Korean brands have also shown a situation of "one and the other" in terms of market share.

From 2019 to 2021, the market share of Chinese brands in passenger cars rose from 39.2% to 44.4%, while Korean brands dropped from 4.7% to 2.4%.

As of January 2022, the market share of Korean cars in China is less than 2%.

　　Some consumers told Zhongxin Finance that they were indeed swaying between Korean cars and Chinese brands during the car selection process.

Although Korean cars are really good looking, their cost performance is not as good as that of Chinese brand models. If you choose Chinese brands for the same cost, the engine can be equipped with "T" (turbocharged), the configuration is also readily available, and the car-machine interconnection function is more convenient. , and in terms of brands, Korean cars are not much better than Chinese brands, so in the end, consumers choose to buy a Chinese brand SUV.

　　Indeed, as China's auto market gradually matures, consumers no longer choose sides between "joint venture" and "self-owned" brands, but consider comprehensively based on price, configuration, etc. combined with actual needs.

Therefore, the impact on the Korean brands that focus on cost performance is very obvious, which reflects the overall improvement of the Chinese brand automobile manufacturing level.

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