Chinanews.com, February 23 (Chinanews Finance and Economics Ge Cheng) "If Toyota follows the previous R&D rhythm and system, we will always be just a follower." In the field of energy vehicles, copying the experience of Tesla and new car-making forces will inevitably be a dead end.
However, under the background of increasingly fierce competition in the auto industry, Toyota, as one of the world's largest automakers, is facing challenges in the field of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market.
While Xu Yiming said these words, this car company that has been in China for more than 20 years coincides with an "eventful autumn". Facing the decline in sales, how will the industry giant "turn around"?
Data map: Toyota concept car.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Yin Liqin
Sales in China
decline for the first time in 10 years
According to a recent report released by Toyota Motor Corporation, in 2022, the Toyota Group's global sales will be approximately 10.483 million vehicles, a slight decrease of 0.1% year-on-year.
At the same time, Toyota's new car sales in China also fell for the first time in 10 years.
According to data from the Passenger Federation, in 2022, Toyota's new car sales in China will be 1.9406 million, a decrease of 0.2% from 2021.
Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus, is having the same problem.
According to data released by Lexus China’s official website, in 2022, Lexus’ global sales will be 625,400 units, a drop of nearly 20% compared to 2021; sales in China are 176,100 vehicles, a drop of more than 20%, and the brand has also ended its sales in China. Positive growth for 17 consecutive years.
Entering 2023, the downward trend of Toyota's sales in China will become more obvious.
According to data from the Passenger Federation, Toyota sold 113,800 new cars in China in January, a decrease of 23.5% from the same period last year.
Electrification transformation "a step behind"?
Despite the decline in Toyota's sales in China, China's overall car sales are still growing, and new energy vehicles are rapidly encroaching on the market share of traditional fuel vehicles.
According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's auto sales in 2022 will be 26.864 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%; and in 2021, China's auto sales will be 26.275 million, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%.
Beginning in 2021, China's new energy vehicle industry has started a "doubling" growth model.
In 2022, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China will reach 25.6%, which means that for every four new cars sold, one will be a new energy vehicle.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Passenger Car Market Information Association, said that the current characteristics of self-owned electric vehicles replacing fuel vehicles are obvious, and the competition pattern is changing to a new trend dominated by self-owned brands.
And Toyota is just considered to be "slow in the transformation process on the pure electric vehicle route".
A senior engineer of new energy vehicles told Zhongxin Finance that pure electric vehicles are different from fuel vehicles in terms of structure.
Obviously, established auto companies such as Toyota need to abandon the conservative thinking of the era of fuel vehicles and invest more funds and resources in order to ensure that their products are competitive in the market.
Choice between different new energy routes
In fact, Toyota has already started the pace of transition to new energy sources, but has been focusing on hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in terms of direction, and has not fully entered the pure electric vehicle market.
In 2012, Toyota launched its first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, the Prius, and it quickly gained worldwide acceptance.
After that, Toyota launched a series of new energy vehicles including hybrid power and hydrogen fuel cells, and actively tried different routes for electrification transformation.
However, Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda has always been skeptical about the pure electric technology route, and has repeatedly questioned it in public.
He believes that pure electric vehicles are just a transition to hydrogen energy, and there will only be two driving forms of hybrid and hydrogen energy in the future.
In Akio Toyoda's view, trying multi-route development in the field of new energy vehicles not only meets the needs of consumers, but also conforms to Toyota's style.
"What kind of car to choose is not up to us, but to the markets and consumers in various places. We hope to provide consumers with as many options as possible before the final correct route is clear."
Starting from 2021, pure electric vehicles will usher in an explosion on a global scale.
Take Tesla, a leading company in the electric vehicle industry, as an example. In 2021, Tesla’s global delivery volume will be 936,200 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 87.2%; .
Faced with the rapid development of pure electric vehicles, Akio Toyoda did not take it seriously.
"Participants in the auto industry are basically the silent majority. Is it really okay to go all-in on electric vehicles? But they feel that this is the general trend, so they can't speak out." The above views have also been interpreted by the outside world as Toyota's not rejecting Electric vehicles, but not just pure electric vehicles.
What kind of new answers will Toyota have?
Faced with market changes, Toyota is also making adjustments.
On January 26, Toyota Motor announced that from April 1 this year, Akio Toyoda, who has served as president for 13 years, will step down from this position and take up the position of chairman.
At the same time, Toyota appointed Tsuneharu Sato, chief brand officer of Toyota and head of the Lexus brand, to succeed the new president.
After this personnel adjustment, Hengji Sato, who is about to take over as the new president, clarified Toyota's electrification transformation direction in his first public appearance.
According to the Nikkei news report, Sato Hengji said at a press conference held in Tokyo on the 13th that Toyota needs to start with a new generation of pure electric vehicles, adopt the idea of giving priority to pure electric vehicles, significantly change its business form, and constantly adjust the value of pure electric vehicles. Design and business model.
At the same time, Toyota also announced a series of important personnel changes.
Effective April 1, Hiroki Nakajima will be chief technology officer and Yoichi Miyazaki will be chief financial officer, and both will join the board alongside new chief brand officer Simon Humphries.
According to Xu Yiming, after the official handover of Toyota's new and old presidents on April 1, with the approval of the board of directors, Toyota Motor will release more detailed new measures in terms of intelligence, electrification and carbon neutrality globally.
In addition, during this year's Shanghai Auto Show, Toyota will also release a new intelligence and electrification strategy with two Chinese partners.
At present, China's new energy vehicle market is extremely competitive.
The space for strategic transformation of traditional car companies has become smaller and smaller, and new car manufacturers are rapidly seizing the market.
Xu Yiming believes that as long as a "big ship" like Toyota has the awareness of transformation and the idea of turning the crisis into a real challenge, it will definitely make corresponding changes and actions quickly.
Under the change, what kind of answer sheet will Toyota, one of the world's largest automakers, deliver?
The outside world is waiting to see.
(over)