As of the end of 2023, there are 146 electric vehicle regulated enterprises in Xishan District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. They mainly produce electric two-wheeled, three-wheeled and low-speed four-wheeled vehicles, accounting for one-third of the country's industrial scale. From January to November 2023, despite the downturn in markets such as Europe and the United States, Xishan District’s exports of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and motorcycles amounted to US$400 million. The picture shows that recently, in the warehouse of Jiangsu Guowei Motorcycle Co., Ltd., the electric tricycles that have been assembled off the assembly line are neatly arranged and will be shipped from here to all over the world. Photo by Gui Mingqiang
Busy taking orders, rushing production, rushing shipments... Since the beginning of the new year, the majority of foreign trade entities have actively seized new market opportunities and created new competitive advantages. Foreign trade connects the international and domestic markets and plays an important role in building a new development pattern. In the past year, the total value of my country's import and export of goods trade reached 41.76 trillion yuan. Against the background of the sluggish global trade, the goal of promoting stability and improving quality was achieved.
Recently, electric tricycles made in China have "out of the circle" on social platforms and have won the favor of a group of overseas consumers. They have once again made the world aware of Chinese manufacturing, and also allowed related domestic companies to see new development opportunities. Why have electric tricycles become a “hot-selling” item? Why do “hot-selling” products frequently appear in China’s manufacturing industry? The reporter conducted the interview.
Green, low-carbon, easy to operate, cheap and durable, Chinese-made electric vehicles are popular among overseas consumers
Not long ago, a blogger living in the United States purchased a Chinese-made electric tricycle for US$600 and gave it to her father-in-law as a Christmas gift after arriving in the United States. After being legally registered locally, they drove the electric tricycle on the road, attracting many locals to watch. "This car is so cool" "This car is really good and very creative" "I think it can be produced in the United States"... This electric tricycle has also become an "Internet celebrity product".
On January 25, when the reporter came to the electric tricycle manufacturer of the same model in the video, the workers were busy on the assembly line. Vehicles that have been assembled and rolled off the production line in recent days are neatly arranged in the warehouse. Four electric tricycles of the same model are being packed and will be shipped to the United States.
"This type of vehicle fills a gap in the American market and fits in with the American 'pickup truck culture'. It can be called a 'mini pickup truck'. It is also environmentally friendly, simple and convenient to operate, and has obvious price advantages compared to pickup trucks. Therefore, Popular with American consumers." Ni Xiaofeng, general manager of Jiangsu Guowei Motorcycle Co., Ltd., told reporters that after New Year's Day this year, orders from the United States increased significantly. The company customizes products according to private needs and sends them one-to-one overseas. Nearly 600 units have been sold. Recently, there are More than 10 companies called to inquire about agents and sales in the United States.
The company is located in Xishan District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, an important electric vehicle production base in my country. Walking into Xishan Electric Vehicle Industrial Park, you can see the factories of leading domestic electric vehicle companies such as Yadi, Xinri, and Tailing. Six of the top 10 electric bicycle companies in the country have settled in Xishan. Vehicle companies have led a large number of upstream and downstream companies such as controllers, shock absorbers, frames, and motors to settle here and collaborate on supporting facilities nearby.
As of the end of 2023, there are 146 electric vehicle companies in Xishan District, including 59 complete vehicle companies and 87 parts and components companies. They mainly produce electric two-wheeled, three-wheeled and low-speed four-wheeled vehicles, with local production reaching 12.12 million units. The industry Accounting for one-third of the country's scale, the "Electric Vehicle and Parts Industry Cluster" was selected into the list of characteristic industrial clusters for small and medium-sized enterprises of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
“Good foundation” is a frequently mentioned word among practitioners during interviews. It is understood that the local township industrial development was in full swing in the 1990s, and a large number of motorcycle and supporting manufacturers settled here, forming a motorcycle manufacturing base. With the progress of the times and policy guidance, the electric vehicle industry has developed and has now become one of the local pillar industries.
Ni Xiaofeng entered the motorcycle industry in 2007 and led the company to gradually transform into electric vehicles 10 years ago. The products have been exported to more than 70 countries and regions. In his view, the local electric vehicle industry has developed for more than 20 years, with a solid industrial foundation, a complete industrial chain, and strong policy support and guidance. In recent years, it has been very competitive in the international market, which also reflects the strength and confidence of Chinese manufacturing. .
“In recent years, electric vehicles made in China have been very popular abroad, especially in Southeast Asia and other regions. Electric vehicles and motorcycles produced in Xishan have experienced breakthrough growth in exports, growing from US$81 million in 2018. From January to November 2023, despite the downturn in markets such as Europe and the United States, the region's exports of electric two-wheeled, three-wheeled vehicles and motorcycles totaled US$400 million, including US$300 million for complete vehicle exports and US$100 million for parts and components." Xishan District Industry and Cheng Yufeng, deputy director of the Information Technology Bureau.
Cross-border e-commerce has become a new engine for foreign trade growth, adding a "booster" to the overseas expansion of electric vehicles
When it comes to the hot sales of electric tricycles, Ni Xiaofeng bluntly said that it was a bit sudden. Next, he will organize personnel to go to the United States to investigate policies, regulations and market conditions, and study issues such as batch export or cooperative factory building.
Data shows that there are currently 1.517 million electric vehicle-related companies in my country, of which Jiangsu has more than 180,000, ranking first in the country. The popularity of electric tricycles overseas has also given related companies in Xishan Electric Vehicle Industrial Park more confidence in overseas markets.
Entering the production plant of Jiangsu Umwa Technology Co., Ltd., workers are busy assembling two-wheeled electric vehicles on the assembly line. The finished products are packed and stacked next to them and will be sent to overseas markets such as the United States, France, and South Korea. This company, which focuses on the export of electric vehicles, was established in 2013. It mainly produces two-wheeled, three-wheeled and low-speed four-wheeled electric vehicles, and has established assembly workshops in the Philippines and other places.
"Domestic electric vehicle technology is mature and competitive in the international market. Now our best-selling products are electric tricycles and other types of products. The overseas market has great potential and is worth exploring." Kang Dingwu, chairman of Umwa Technology, said that the company last year The value of exported electric vehicles exceeded 350 million yuan, mainly to Southeast Asia, Europe and other regions. As the global popularity of electric vehicles increases, electric tricycles made in China have unique product features that meet the individual needs of consumers.
In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has become a new engine for foreign trade growth, bringing new business opportunities to thousands of merchants. Last year, cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 2.38 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.6%. Cross-border e-commerce also played an important role in the process of bringing "hot-selling" electric tricycles overseas.
Ni Xiaofeng said, “Because electric vehicles are greatly affected by policies and laws, the company has not exported large quantities to the United States before. In September 2023, the blogger in the video asked a friend to buy the product from the company’s online store, and then the manufacturer shipped it to It is then shipped to the United States by sea from Qingdao Port, and the shipping cost for one vehicle is about 5,000 yuan."
Users can move their fingers on the other side of the ocean, and products will be delivered to their doorsteps in a while. As a new force in global trade, cross-border e-commerce allows more people to "buy globally and sell globally", which not only satisfies the diversification of domestic consumers, Personalized needs also help China's manufacturing to reach overseas consumers more easily.
In October 2023, the Yangtze River Delta (Wuxi) Electric Vehicle Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park was launched, aiming to create a cross-border e-commerce professional service platform with electric vehicle cross-border trade as the core and a cross-border e-commerce talent training base. The goal is By 2025, the prototype of a local cross-border e-commerce platform will be formed, 6 cross-border e-commerce sellers worth 100 million yuan will be incubated, 10 cross-border e-commerce brands will be built, 1,000 cross-border e-commerce talents will be trained, and the goal of "1 billion+" will be achieved. Cross-border exports.
From domestic refrigerators and bicycles, to "heating artifacts" and "cooling artifacts" to "three new things", Made in China has been both popular and popular in overseas markets.
In order to promote the high-quality development of the electric vehicle industry, Wuxi City issued the "Wuxi City Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of the Electric Vehicle Industry", and Xishan District issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for the Development of the Electric Vehicle Industry Cluster in Xishan District (2023-2025)". The goal is that by 2025, the scale of the electric vehicle industry will exceed 100 billion yuan, and the output of electric vehicles will exceed 30 million units. At the same time, we will accelerate the construction of an industrial development ecosystem that combines the electric vehicle industry chain, innovation chain, capital chain, and talent chain, further enhance the high-end, intelligent, innovative, and green development of the electric vehicle industry, and promote the development of electric vehicles. Higher quality development of the industry.
In Kang Dingwu’s view, achieving high-quality development and developing mid- to high-end products can effectively drive corporate growth and promote the industry to expand into international markets. “China is a big country in manufacturing, trade and human resources. A complete industrial chain, supporting systems guarantee and It supports the development of the electric vehicle industry and has unique competitiveness in the world."
Currently, with the upgrading of the domestic consumer market and the diversification of consumer demands, domestic brands have improved product quality and brand value through product innovation, technological upgrading, industrial structure transformation and upgrading, etc., which has further increased the international popularity of Chinese products. market competitiveness. In fact, before electric tricycles became popular overseas, there were already many Chinese-made products that attracted the attention of overseas consumers and ushered in an export peak.
During the epidemic, due to the adjustment of consumers' production and lifestyle, Chinese refrigerators continued to be popular overseas, and bicycle exports grew rapidly; in 2022, "heating artifacts" such as electric heaters and electric blankets made in China were sold well in Europe; in 2023, China-made Heat-relieving products such as air conditioners and fans have reached an export peak, bringing coolness to the world. In 2023, the "three new items" represented by new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products will export a total of 1.06 trillion yuan, breaking the trillion yuan mark for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 29.9%. Exports of ships and household appliances increased by 35.4% and 9.9% respectively.
It is understood that the added value of industries above designated size will increase by 4.6% year-on-year in 2023, an increase of 1 percentage point from 2022, of which the added value of manufacturing industries above designated size will increase by 5.0% year-on-year. At present, our country is the only country in the world that has all industrial categories in the United Nations Industrial Classification. More than 40% of the more than 500 major industrial product categories rank first in the world in terms of product output. China's manufacturing industry is not only an important driving force for China's economy, but also an integral part of the global supply chain.
Since the beginning of the year, China's light rail trains have been put into commercial operation in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico; the first domestically produced large-scale cruise ship "Aida·Magic City" has completed its maiden commercial voyage...Made in China has continuously achieved brand rise through continuous technological innovation, and is meeting the needs of the world It has shown greater resilience and potential in the process of users' diversified demands, and strives to serve as the anchor of global supply chain stability.
Promote strong and replenishing chains, optimize the business environment, and support the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry
The manufacturing industry is a key force in strengthening the real economy and plays a decisive role in promoting high-quality development. The 2023 Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that actions for the high-quality development of key manufacturing industry chains will be implemented, quality support and standard guidance will be strengthened, and the resilience and safety levels of industrial and supply chains will be improved.
“In the next step, we will accelerate the strengthening and replenishing of chains, focus on industrial design and key components such as motors, electronic controls, and plastic parts, and continue to attract a number of collaborative supporting projects with large investment scale, high technological content, and good development prospects, and lay out High-end electric vehicles and core parts projects, optimize project docking and services. Continue to pay attention to the industrial development direction of sodium-ion battery applications, and promote local vehicle companies to accelerate the application of sodium-ion products." Cheng Yufeng introduced that through cultivation, it has international brand influence , leading export companies with strong product research and development capabilities and comprehensive marketing networks have led many small and medium-sized export companies to form a joint force to push the export of the electric vehicle industry to a higher level.
In light of the actual development of the manufacturing industry, in order to create an excellent business environment, the Wuxi City Discipline Inspection and Supervision Bureau carries out "small-cut" supervision in areas such as administrative law enforcement and farmers' market transfers to power supply, and promotes the establishment and improvement of multi-department joint inspections, free assistance and agency services, etc. Enterprise burden reduction mechanism. In 2023, 193 outstanding issues that undermined the business environment were investigated and dealt with, and 31 cases were notified and exposed.
Safety production is related to the well-being of the people and the overall economic and social development. Discipline inspection and supervision agencies are based on their functions and responsibilities, and effectively transmit responsibilities and pressure to the grassroots. In August 2023, the Xishan District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision discovered during a supervisory inspection that a small number of public officials in the field of safety supervision had too close contacts with personnel from business-related companies, and immediately investigated and verified relevant clues.
After investigation, Liu and Xi from the emergency management department of Donggang Town in the district repeatedly violated the spirit of the eight central regulations, accepted gifts and money from management service recipients within their jurisdiction, and took advantage of their positions to "convenience" enterprises with hidden production safety risks. " and "turn a blind eye" to existing problems. At the same time, they accept business rebates from third-party companies and carry out security business "platforms" for them within their jurisdiction. Most relevant companies know full well that they will hand over relevant business to this company. In October 2023, Liu and Xi were expelled from the party, and subsequently they were sentenced separately for bribery and corruption.
"The city's disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies will base their duties on 're-supervision of supervision', focus on escorting and optimizing the business environment as the focus of supervision, continue to carry out project-based supervision work, and crack down on damaging operations from 'small incisions' such as policy implementation, administrative approval, and project construction. We will eliminate the 'medium obstruction' of the business environment and safeguard high-quality economic and social development with strong supervision." said Zhou Fengqin, member of the Standing Committee of the Wuxi Municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Director of the Supervisory Committee.
Our reporter Xue Peng reported from Wuxi, Jiangsu