Auto & Transportation

According to customs data, China's total import and export value of goods trade in 2022 was 42.07 trillion yuan, breaking through the 40 trillion yuan tariff for the first time, an increase of 7.7% over 2021, and maintaining the status of the world's first goods trading country for six consecutive years.

Industry experts pointed out that the export of high-tech products and electromechanical products in China's foreign trade structure will take the lead in 2022, with obvious characteristics of "steel tendons and iron bones". According to customs data, in 2022, China's automobile exports jumped to the second place in the world, reaching 3.111 million vehicles for the first time, up 54.4% year on year. With its strong development toughness, the automobile industry has rapidly become an indispensable force and a promising industry for China's foreign trade export.

Traditional automobile enterprises lead the way and new energy penetration increases

According to customs data, in 2022, China's passenger car export volume was 2.529 million, commercial vehicle export volume was 5.82 million, and new energy vehicle export volume was 679 million. It is understood that from the perspective of manufacturers, the passenger cars that will dominate the export in 2022 will still be the traditional automobile enterprises such as SAIC, Geely, Chery, BYD, Great Wall, Yutong, CNHTC and Jinlong. The export pattern of traditional automobile enterprises leading the way, mainly fuel vehicles, and gradually penetrating into new energy is obvious.

In terms of passenger vehicles, due to years of technology and market accumulation, the traditional fuel vehicles of SAIC, Geely and other automobile enterprises have become more competitive in Asia, Africa and Latin America. With the implementation of the "new four modernizations" in the domestic automobile industry, this part of the traditional automobile enterprise's intelligent technology has made a major breakthrough, the product line has been further enriched, the international competitive advantage has become more obvious, and gradually formed a pattern of taking Asia, Africa and Latin America as the base and gradually entering the European and American markets.

As the representative of the earliest "going out" automobile enterprises, customs data shows that in 2022, Great Wall Motors sold 173.18 million vehicles in the overseas market, with a year-on-year increase of 21.28%, and the cumulative sales in the overseas market has exceeded 1 million; The sales volume of vehicles above 200000 yuan accounted for 15.27%, up 5 percentage points; Intelligent advanced and accelerated landing, with the penetration rate of intelligent vehicles reaching 86.17%.

The new forces of car building, represented by Weilai and Xiaopeng, chose the path of "technological overtaking" to directly seize the European and American markets with the advantages of new energy, which is full of power and has a large space for follow-up development. However, it is noteworthy that the new force of car building still exposes many problems simply from the performance of overseas markets in the recent year. Whether it is the leader, Yang Weilai, or Xiaopeng and other new-force automobile enterprises, they need to continue to practice their internal skills in enterprise management, market layout, technology research and development, and precipitate their development toughness in order to achieve better development.

The export of commercial vehicles also achieved excellent results in 2022, with a year-on-year growth of 44.9%. The pattern of Yutong Bus, China Heavy Truck and Jinlong Bus leading the way to the sea has basically taken shape. It is particularly worth mentioning that at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Yutong Bus performed well, and has become a veritable golden card of "going out" made in China.

The relevant person in charge of Yutong Bus said in an interview that Yutong Bus has realized its global strategic layout through product innovation and model innovation. Up to now, Yutong Bus has exported more than 85000 passenger cars and sold more than 170000 new energy passenger cars, leading the world in production and sales scale. In recent years, Yutong is transforming from a "manufacturing+sales product" enterprise to a "manufacturing service+solution" enterprise. Through more than ten years of intensive cultivation in overseas markets, Yutong's overseas sales and service network has achieved a global layout, covering six regions including Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East through more than 70 subsidiaries, offices and distribution partners.

The competitive advantage is obvious, and the export space will still expand

According to the customs data, the first year of China's automobile export should be 2021 in a long time line. This year, China's automobile export changed its previous stagnating posture, with a year-on-year increase of 101.1% and the first 2 million vehicles imported, laying a good foundation for the sustained growth in 2022. For most auto companies, the consensus is that with the elimination of adverse factors such as the impact of the epidemic and the implementation of the "new four modernizations", China's auto export space will be further expanded, and the international development of the auto industry has become an inevitable trend.

Industry insiders pointed out that the outbreak of China's automobile exports from 2021 is in line with the law of industrial development and has its logical necessity behind it. First, it benefits from China's complete industrial system and super flexible supply chain, and this advantage is more prominent under the epidemic, especially the rapid development of new energy technology, which has attracted the attention of the international market; Second, Chinese automobile enterprises have been deeply rooted in overseas markets for many years and have a solid foundation. From the perspective of the overall export situation in 2022, the "two-wheel drive" of traditional automobile enterprises in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the European and American markets and the new engine created by the new power automobile enterprises in the European and American markets complement each other, forming a good situation for automobile enterprises to go to sea; Third, the change of the world energy pattern and the "double carbon" goal provide space for Chinese automobile enterprises to go to sea. For example, Norway and other Nordic countries have certain policy support for the import and use of new energy vehicles.

"In the new year, Great Wall Motors will continue to promote the brand up, strengthen the global development, and make full use of new energy and intelligence. It will strive to make full use of the new energy market, build global brand influence, and accelerate the enterprise's advanced development with the support of forest ecology, the global territory, and the product as the thrust." said the person in charge of Great Wall Motors.

As a representative of commercial vehicles, the head of Yutong Bus said in an interview that Yutong will give full play to its technical advantages in the field of new energy buses and continue to expand the influence of Made in China with the help of the trend of Chinese brands going to sea. With the help of the value system "super gene value chain", which is the first value system with the value chain as the core in the passenger car industry, we will conduct a comprehensive survey of the climate, road conditions, customer habits, laws and regulations in different markets, create a product+service model that is more in line with the needs of users, and polish the "Yutong model" of Chinese passenger cars.

Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that China's automobile exports are expected to continue to grow in 2023. With the impact of factors such as the continued rise in international oil prices, the acceptance of new energy vehicles may be higher, and the export situation will be better.