Auto exports gradually recover
Affected by factors such as the epidemic, my country's auto exports have slowed down since March.
According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, in April, my country exported 171,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%. Compared with the high growth rate of 57.2% in the previous March, it has slowed down significantly.
Industry insiders believe that with the gradual resumption of work and production by enterprises and the stabilization of the industrial chain and supply chain, China's overseas auto market is gradually returning to normal levels.
Exports slow down due to multiple factors
In 2021, my country's auto exports will exceed 2 million units, making it the third largest auto exporter in the world.
After entering 2022, my country's automobile exports hit a new monthly high in January, reaching 231,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 87.7%.
However, data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that my country exported 200,000 vehicles in March, a year-on-year increase of 33.6%; in April, it exported 171,000 vehicles, an increase of 10.3% year-on-year, and the growth rate has narrowed for two consecutive months.
The main reason for the slowdown in exports is the spread of the epidemic, which has hindered the industrial chain and supply chain.
Since March, many OEMs and parts manufacturers in Shanghai and Changchun, two important domestic auto production bases, have reduced or stopped production.
For example, FAW Group's five vehicle factories in Changchun, BMW Brilliance's factory in Shenyang, as well as many factories in Shanghai under SAIC Group, and Tesla's Shanghai factory have all announced the suspension of production.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Joint Association, said that due to the impact of the epidemic, there was a shortage of imported parts, and domestic parts and components system suppliers in the Yangtze River Delta region could not supply in time, and some even stopped work completely, coupled with reduced logistics efficiency and The transportation time is uncontrollable, resulting in a prominent problem of poor vehicle production.
In April, the production of the five major car companies in Shanghai dropped by 75% from March, the production of major joint venture car companies in Changchun dropped by 54%, and the overall decline in other regions was 38%. The national radiation effect of the parts system in Shanghai is prominent.
Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, also said that since April, the industrial chain and supply chain of the automobile industry has experienced severe tests.
In addition to production and logistics pressures, the complex international environment has also impacted auto exports.
The internationalization research team of the Automobile Industry Policy Research Department of China Automotive Political Research Institute pointed out that the current situation in Russia and Ukraine is complicated and volatile, and Western sanctions are intensifying, resulting in many problems such as logistics delays, raw material price hikes, and parts supply cuts, which have affected domestic auto products. Exports and industrial chain development have caused shocks.
The advantages of new energy are still prominent
On May 24, the rail-sea intermodal train carrying 24 complete sets of new energy vehicle parts left the Liuzhou South Logistics Center in Guangxi, and was shipped to Jakarta, Indonesia via Qinzhou Port.
Since last year, my country's automobile exports have increased significantly, especially the export volume and price of new energy vehicles.
In 2021, my country's new energy vehicle exports will be 588,000 units, and this year's exports will continue to strengthen.
According to customs data, in the first quarter, the export of new energy vehicles reached 179,700 units, a year-on-year increase of 278.7%; the export value was 4.621 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 252.9%.
With the first-mover advantage of electrification and intelligence, my country's new energy vehicles are much smoother than traditional fuel vehicles to develop into developed countries.
In 2021, the growth rate of my country's new energy vehicle exports to Europe will exceed 200%, and the growth rate of exports to North America will exceed 100%.
China's new energy vehicles go overseas, not only in sales and services, but also in global layouts such as overseas factories.
A relevant person in charge of BYD told reporters that as of now, BYD has 6 production bases overseas and more than 30 industrial parks around the world.
Zhang Yongwei, vice chairman and secretary general of the China Electric Vehicles Association, said that the explosive growth of new energy vehicle exports is the result of a combination of factors.
First of all, my country attaches great importance to coordinating the enthusiasm of traditional automobile enterprises and electric vehicle enterprises, and fully balances the relationship between the government and the market, which greatly promotes the development of the electric vehicle industry in different fields such as management, scientific research, and energy.
Secondly, on the basis of properly handling various technical route issues, self-owned brand car companies have not only achieved breakthroughs in key technologies for electric vehicles such as power batteries, but also leveraged on the advantages of domestic smart chip companies such as fast product development and close contact with users. In the field of autonomous driving, it has successfully achieved "change lanes and overtake".
Thirdly, thanks to the timely response of major auto companies to the diverse demands of consumers, Chinese independent brands have focused on different segments in order to meet consumers' diverse needs for electric vehicles, and developed various diversified and multi-functional products. product.
Maintain stability and improve quality and insist on "going out"
"In the future sales of Changan, the overseas market share will exceed 30%." Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile, expressed his determination.
In the first four months of this year, Changan Automobile's export sales accounted for 13% of total production, compared with 5% last year.
Cui Dongshu said that at present, enterprises in the automobile industry chain are gradually changing from "fire-fighting" emergency response to normalized high-resilience supply chain management.
It is necessary to rebuild confidence in the supply chain, stabilize policy expectations, and establish a stronger information sharing system, so that China's auto supply chain system will remain at the core of the world's auto industry, and Chinese autos will have a larger share in the world.
Mastering the core technology has added confidence to the "going out" of Chinese automobiles.
In terms of new energy vehicle parts, the current drive motor technology of Chinese car companies is basically in sync with the foreign level, and most of them are close to the international advanced level; in terms of motor control, they have basically mastered the key technologies of core components; in terms of power batteries, Chinese companies have Even more at the forefront.
New energy vehicles are a major opportunity for my country to become a powerful country in the automobile industry.
Cui Dongshu believes that domestic auto companies should strengthen the resilience of the supply chain and improve the strategic planning, management and execution capabilities of the supply chain; they should establish effective risk monitoring capabilities in the existing supply chain system to quickly and accurately assess the impact of major risks on corporate sales and profits. It is necessary to improve the corresponding core capabilities, including supply chain strategy design, dynamic integrated supply chain planning, end-to-end supply chain data transparency and collaboration, and operation model optimization.
Cars "going out" also need to maintain stability and improve quality.
Zhang Jianping, director of the Regional Economic Cooperation Research Center of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, said that in an open and competitive environment, the competitiveness of the auto industry will also increase.
The automobile industry should further enhance the brand reputation, increase the added value of technology and products, and strengthen the capability of independent innovation.
It should be noted that in the process of expanding overseas markets, auto companies should fully combine investment and trade, make good use of domestic foreign trade policies, especially in the field of parts and components, and make full use of the high-level agreements agreed between my country and some countries and regions. Policy support for standard free trade agreements.
Our reporter Liu Jin