Auto & Transportation

In 1957, at the 2nd China Export Commodities Fair, Jordan Overseas Trade Chairman Beata ordered three domestically produced cars, thus achieving a breakthrough in China's zero export of cars.

For a long period of time afterwards, most of China's automobiles were exported in the form of gratuitous foreign aid in the form of inter-country agreements, and the overall technical level and quantity were not high. With the development of China's automobile industry, generations of automakers have been struggling to overcome obstacles, and China's autos have slowly opened up a path of exploration in overseas markets.

However, although my country has always been the world’s largest automobile producer, and even in 2018, China’s passenger car production accounted for a quarter of the world’s total, but in terms of exports, compared with many export-oriented automobile manufacturers, my country’s There is still much room for improvement in automobile exports.

However, this situation is changing in recent years, especially this year.

Stable performance of the enterprise and good market exploration

According to the automobile export situation in the first half of the year published by the Passenger Association, with the huge growth of the passenger car market space, China's automobile exports in the first half of 2021 are 950,000 vehicles, an increase of 118% year-on-year. Especially in the Middle East and Africa, the export performance is strong.

The export performance in the first half of the year is a microcosm of China's auto export situation in the past two years.

In recent years, my country's automobile export situation has been good. In 2019, 1.22 million vehicles were exported. In 2020, the export volume affected by the new crown epidemic dropped by 13% year-on-year to only 1.06 million vehicles. However, in the first half of 2021, the auto market has stabilized, with the export volume of 950,000 vehicles, which has doubled from the low base in the same period last year, almost touching the million-unit level.

Based on the good performance, the Federation of Passengers even predicts that the annual auto export volume in 2021 is expected to exceed 1.8 million.

Among the overseas expansion markets, China's vehicle export markets are mainly Asia, South America, Europe and other major markets. Among them, Asia accounted for 34%; South America and Europe accounted for 20%; Africa accounted for 10%. The main vehicle exports this year are mainly Chile, Saudi Arabia and Australia. The Russian market and the Swedish and Australian markets have performed relatively well.

Especially the European market.

In the first half of the year, China's auto export growth was relatively large in the European market, and it performed well in the mid-to-high-end market. The main reason for the increase in exports is that in recent years, European green transformation measures have promoted the development of the local new energy vehicle market, and the local electric vehicle industry in Europe does not yet have strong competitiveness; in addition, European countries and regions are affected by the epidemic and supply chains. Due to the influence of other factors, production and work stoppages have occurred to varying degrees.

The main export companies remained basically unchanged, mainly Shanghai Automobile, Chery, Great Wall, etc.

For SAIC, last year SAIC achieved overall profitability in the European market for the first time. In the first half of this year, SAIC's own brands MG and Chase ranked in the forefront of market segments in countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Iceland. Under the leadership of MG and Chase, SAIC ranked first in the semi-annual export volume list. In the first half of the year, it achieved overseas sales of 265,000 vehicles, an increase of 112.8% year-on-year, and continued to rank first in the country.

The British branch of the European express group DPD Express (DPD) signed an order for 750 new energy light buses with Chase in June. According to the British "Times" report, after the delivery of this batch of new energy vehicles, the number of SAIC Maxus brand models will account for about half of the total new energy fleet of DPD UK branch.

In September last year, Geely Lynk & Co officially released the "Europe Plan" online. At the beginning of 2021, hundreds of new Lynk & Co 01 PHEV models were shipped to Belgium, and Lynk & Co brand's intelligent new energy and energy-saving automobile products have successively landed on the European automobile market.

The Russian Automobile Market Research Institute ranked the best-selling Chinese brand cars in the market for their value retention rate. The Haval F7 and Haval H9 models under the Haval brand were included in the TOP5 list, ranking first and third in value retention rate respectively.

In the Russian market, brands such as Chery, Lifan, Geely, and Great Wall maintain rapid growth. In particular, Chery, Tiggo 8, Tiggo 5x and other flagship products are veritable "global cars". In June, Chery's sales in Russia increased by 348% year-on-year; Chery Automobile has been awarded the "Most Popular Chinese Automobile Brand" in Russia five times.

In addition to the above-mentioned major brands, independent brands exported overseas include FAW, BYD, Changan, Jiangqi and even Weilai, Xiaopeng, Ai Chi and other new car manufacturers have also entered the European market, taking the first place in "going out". One step.

Passenger cars dominate, and new energy continues to drive

As analyzed by Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Automobile Association, the increase in automobile exports in the first half of the year is related to factors such as the recovery of the international market, the improvement of Chinese brand competitiveness, and the more comprehensive overseas layout of auto companies, as well as the growth of new energy vehicle exports.

Yes, new energy vehicles are definitely a highlight.

According to data from the China Passenger Transport Association, in the first half of this year, China’s new energy vehicle exports were 173,300, a year-on-year increase of 151%, higher than the 118% year-on-year increase in my country’s automobile exports during the same period. News from the Ministry of Commerce’s website on August 10 also showed that new energy vehicles drove the growth of automobile exports. From January to July, exports increased by 102.5% year-on-year, a record high growth rate over the same period in history, and boosted the overall export growth rate by 0.6 percentage points.

The export of new energy vehicles is dominated by passenger vehicles. In the first half of 2021, passenger car exports accounted for 75%, trucks accounted for 19%, passenger cars accounted for 2%, and special vehicles accounted for 2%. Car exports accounted for 5%.

As early as 2017-2019, new energy vehicles were also exported to a certain extent, but the passenger cars at that time were basically micro low-speed electric vehicles. The plug-in hybrid models exported in 2020 should also be the re-sale products of the joint venture. Unlike in the first half of this year, it has become a key factor in boosting China's auto export growth.

On the other hand. The demand for new energy vehicles mainly comes from the European market. The General Administration of Customs data also shows that in the first half of the year, my country's new energy vehicle exports mainly increased from the European market, and exports to Europe increased by 56,000 units over the same period last year. Market segments such as Western Europe, Northern Europe, and Central Europe all performed well.

The surge in demand for new energy vehicles in overseas markets such as Europe in the past two years has also contributed to the export of new energy vehicles in China. In the first half of 2021, the total domestic new energy exports reached 88,000, accounting for 10% of the total exports, of which 79,600 were exported from Europe. SAIC MG is the brand that exports the most new energy vehicles.

In addition, in the Southeast Asian market where Japanese cars occupy an overwhelming share, Chinese car companies are also gaining market share with pure electric vehicles.

Thailand is the largest automotive market in Southeast Asia, but the shift to electric vehicles is relatively slow. Large car companies have not yet promoted localized production of electric vehicles in Thailand. In 2020, the country's electric vehicle sales will only be about 1,400, of which SAIC models account for about 60% of imported vehicles.

SAIC Motor plans to promote the local production of electric vehicles through cooperation with Thailand’s Chia Tai Group’s joint venture factory; Great Wall Motors held a new car launch conference in Bangkok and proposed “It's time to change”; in the first half of the year, Geely announced The sales volume in the Philippine market was 2,426 units, a year-on-year increase of over 300%.

When the domestic market pattern tends to stabilize, especially when the domestic market is under pressure, many car companies regard exports as a key channel to release pressure and promote sales.

As the competitiveness of Chinese cars continues to increase, the historical beginning of passive domestic exports will also be rewritten. The half-year data record is just the beginning. For China's auto exports, there is still a lot of motivation and space, and "the road is long and long, the line will come, the line will not stop, and the future can be expected" is the best wishes for it.