In 2023, one out of every two cars sold in the Chinese market will be from a domestic brand

In 2023, for every 2 cars sold in the Chinese market, 1 will be from a domestic brand——

More than half! More people choose domestic car brands

　　Reporter Xu Peiyu

　　In 2023, for every two cars sold in China, one will be from a domestic car brand; for every two cars sold by a domestic car brand, one will be a new energy vehicle.

　　This is an amazing leap. China is a major automobile producer and consumer. For a long time, foreign brands have been more popular and accounted for the majority of sales in the Chinese automobile market. As China's automobile industry continues to grow bigger and stronger, Chinese brand passenger cars have gradually become the first choice for many consumers due to their excellent quality and reasonable prices.

　　Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that in 2023, the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars will continue to rise, with cumulative sales of 14.596 million units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 24.1%, and the annual market share reached 56%, an increase of 6.1 percentage points from the previous year. Among them, new energy vehicles accounted for 49.9% of the sales of Chinese brands.

　　Domestic automobile brands are on the rise

　　On February 26, the AITO Wenjie M9, jointly built by Huawei and Cyrus Automobile, officially launched nationwide delivery. Over the past month, user reputation has continued to improve, and the current cumulative orders have exceeded 60,000 vehicles. Since the launch of the 2024 Honor Edition of BYD's various models, market feedback has been enthusiastic and store traffic has been strong. It is expected that sales will also rise in March.

　　"I can get a new energy license plate in June this year, and I have started looking at cars recently." Xiao Liu, a Beijing resident, told reporters that he is mainly considering domestic new energy vehicles. "We are going to test drive domestic brands such as BYD and Wenjie one by one. Domestic brands There are many new energy brands, each with its own advantages, such as Wenjie’s automotive systems and BYD’s blade batteries, which are very attractive to me.”

　　In 2023, the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars will continue to rise, with new energy vehicles performing brilliantly. In 2023, the production and sales of new energy vehicles will be 9.587 million and 9.495 million respectively, a year-on-year increase of 35.8% and 37.9% respectively. Among them, the market share of Chinese brand new energy passenger vehicles reached 80.6%.

　　According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, in terms of power sources, among the new cars sold by China's own brands in 2023, various power combinations such as pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and extended-range hybrid have made breakthroughs. From a brand perspective, leading companies have made significant contributions. In 2023, pure electric models will sell 4.94 million units, a year-on-year increase of 24.4%, with more than half of the new sales coming from BYD; plug-in hybrid models will sell 1.74 million units, a year-on-year increase of 65.8%, with the same increase coming from BYD; extended-range electric vehicles Sales volume reached 627,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 174%. Most of the sales growth came from Li Auto.

　　At the same time as the rise of domestic brand cars, former "big sellers" such as Japanese and American cars have experienced varying degrees of sales decline.

　　In 2023, Japanese cars will retail about 3.7 million units in China, a year-on-year decrease of 9.9%. The sales share has declined for three consecutive years, falling to 17%, which is at a low point. Sales of American cars from Ford and General Motors declined year-on-year, French cars shrank, and sales of German cars in China increased slightly year-on-year.

　　Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, analyzed that in recent years, Japanese brands have gradually equalized their advantages in competition with independent brands. Especially in the mid- to low-end consumer market, Chinese independent brands have obvious advantages in terms of electrification, intelligence, price, and configuration.

　　The growth trend of China's own brand passenger cars continues. Data from the Passenger Car Association shows that in February this year, the market share of self-owned brand passenger cars was 59.4%, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 percentage points; in the first two months of this year, the market share of self-owned brand passenger cars was 59.9%, a year-on-year increase of 7.6 percentage points. UBS China predicts that independent brands will continue to seize the market share of joint venture brands in 2024, and the full-year market share in 2024 is expected to reach 63%.

　　From pursuing German and Japanese cars, to joint venture brands appearing everywhere, to domestic brands becoming the first choice of many consumers, China's independent automobile brands have reached a new level.

　　Automobile industry system upgrade

　　The increase in the market share of independent brands is closely related to the upgrading of China's entire automobile industry development system.

　　The relevant person in charge of Cyrus Automobile told this reporter that in recent years, China's passenger car R&D and intelligent manufacturing capabilities have accelerated, narrowing the gap with leading foreign car companies. At the same time, Chinese brands are taking the lead through accelerated integration with intelligent networking, creating new profitable growth points. In addition, the long-term local supply chain advantages support the efficient production and high-quality delivery of new cars.

　　The huge driving force of intelligent manufacturing is even more prominent in the field of new energy vehicles. In early February this year, the Thalys Automobile Gigafactory was completed and put into operation. Built in accordance with international leading standards and industrial Internet requirements, more than 3,000 robots collaborate intelligently to achieve 100% automation of key processes; the industry's first automated quality testing technology is used to achieve 100% quality monitoring and traceability. The commissioning of smart factories provides strong support for Chinese brand passenger cars to continue to improve product quality.

　　Looking at the entire domestic automobile industry, there are currently 6 automobile industry clusters selected into the advanced manufacturing clusters of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 13 automobile companies selected into the second batch of intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and 17 complete vehicle and parts companies. Selected into the 2023 5G Factory of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

　　Chinese independent brands have seized the opportunity of intelligent network transformation and achieved a leap in product and brand competitiveness. According to relevant McKinsey reports, China's local high-end emerging car brands are seizing the market share of traditional luxury brands. Among them, "more advanced intelligent driving technology" is one of the key factors for their success.

　　This is also one of the key factors for the continued growth in sales of domestic new energy vehicles. It is reported that the installation rate of front-mounted intelligent network connection systems of Chinese brand new energy passenger vehicles has increased rapidly, and the installation rate of new energy vehicle combined assisted driving technology (L2 level) has exceeded 50%.

　　After years of development, China has developed a relatively mature industrial chain system and production base in the automotive industry.

　　The relevant person in charge of BYD told this reporter that BYD's sales in 2023 will reach 3.024 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 61.9%, exceeding the target of 3 million vehicles set at the beginning of the year. This achievement is due to BYD's focus on technology research and development and its continuous advancement on the road of independent innovation. "Mastering advanced core technologies, possessing the entire industry chain and scale advantages will have the initiative in pricing. In the entire automobile industry, there are a number of iconic supply chain companies with BYD as their main service targets, giving BYD the ability to benefit consumers. ." The person in charge said that BYD will rank ninth in the global auto brand sales list in 2023, becoming the first Chinese brand to enter the top ten in the world.

　　China encourages green development and its huge domestic market also provides strong support for domestic new energy vehicle brands. China has built a large number of charging piles to allow new energy vehicles to run better. The huge user data in the new energy vehicle market provides an important research basis for independent brand car companies, which can further improve technology and shape competitiveness.

　　Going overseas has become a new growth

　　Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said that China's own-brand cars have not only achieved sustained growth in domestic market share, but also continued to increase export volumes. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in 2023, China will export a total of 4.14 million passenger cars, a year-on-year increase of 63.7%, with the number of self-owned brand cars increasing steadily.

　　"Chinese passenger car brands have completed the early accumulation of experience, and their product strength and brand strength have been continuously enhanced. For Chinese car companies, going overseas has become a must-answer." The relevant person in charge of Cyrus Automobile said that Chinese car companies In terms of the launch of new electric vehicle products, cost optimization and intelligent configuration, it has obvious advantages over other global competitors.

　　In this regard, BYD has taken the lead in deploying overseas markets. At present, BYD's new energy passenger vehicles have entered 63 overseas countries and regions, including Brazil, Mexico, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and other key national markets; it is also building factories in Thailand, Brazil, and Hungary. Further improve the localized supply chain, actively cooperate closely with local high-quality partners, and continue to explore and deepen overseas markets. With its precise insights into overseas markets and investment in layout, BYD will export 242,700 new energy passenger vehicles in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 334%.

　　Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said that with the development of the supply chain system, domestic competition has become increasingly fierce, which forces companies to accelerate the improvement of product capabilities and actively "go out" to enhance their competitiveness. However, in terms of exports, we must be clearly aware that at present, China's independent brand car companies are still mainly focused on trade, and they are far from reaching the status of Japan, Germany and other automotive industry powers in the export field. They need to build a global production base.

　　It is reported that Chinese brand cars are vigorously promoting localization in the process of expanding overseas markets. According to the market characteristics of each country and region, Cyrus Automobile adopts a variety of cooperation methods, including setting up local sales companies and building overseas factories, to expand overseas markets and improve overseas user experience. SAIC has built design centers in London and other places and production bases in Southeast Asia and other countries. It has announced that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, it will basically achieve a ratio of 1:1 between overseas manufacturing volume and domestic export volume. Chery, Geely and other companies have also accelerated the construction of overseas factories.

　　In the future, as China's automobile supply chain foundation continues to improve and intelligent network technology continues to make breakthroughs, China's own brand cars will enter a larger international stage. (People's Daily Overseas Edition)