China's annual output of 18 million vehicles is only 580,000 vehicles exported

According to the latest statistics, in the first 10 months of this year, China’s auto exports increased by 243,300 units, and the export increase accounted for 54% of the overall increase in automobile production and sales. The export market has become the main force driving the growth of China’s automobile production and sales this year. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts that the number of exported cars in 2011 will exceed 800,000, setting a record high.

However, behind the bright colors of China's auto exports, there is a shadow that has to be taken seriously.

Huge contrast: output 18 million and exports 580,000. "From joining the WTO in 2001 to 2010, our vehicle exports from 20,000 vehicles to the highest peak of 680,000, an increase of nearly 40 times. Looks good, but with Compared to the local market, it is very pathetic, "said Ni Wei, vice president of ASIMCO Group.

Regarding the status quo of China’s auto exports, Lu Luxun, deputy director of the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Industry of the Ministry of Commerce, sums up: “Great achievements, but it is still in its infancy.”

From 2009 to 2010, China has become the world’s largest production and new vehicle sales nation for two consecutive years, with annual production and sales of more than 18 million vehicles. The difference between 18 million vehicles and 580,000 vehicles is very different.

According to Luxun, the automobile ranks first in the world trade in goods, and accounts for about 10% of the total global trade in goods. The proportion of automakers in Germany, Japan, and South Korea, which account for all of their exports, is 75%, 65%, and 50% respectively, and even Brazil is more than 20%. China’s total auto exports last year were 580,000 vehicles, accounting for the entire country. About 3% of production. Even if this year’s auto exports reached a record 800,000 vehicles, it would only account for 4% of the total output.

The disadvantages of China's auto industry in the international competition are very obvious. First of all, the Chinese auto industry has a relatively low starting point, a small enterprise scale, and a low level of export products. The brand influence is relatively weak, and the major ones are still developing countries; Compared with developed countries such as Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, China’s auto companies’ R&D investment is relatively small, and their capacity for independent development is insufficient. The vast majority of domestically-produced core parts and components lack proprietary intellectual property rights. The feedback from the export destination shows that the repair rate of Chinese cars is high, especially the engine is still deficient.

Wang Xia, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade of the automotive Industry, pointed out that the outbreak of the global financial crisis has brought about the rise of international trade protectionism and the intensification of tariff barriers, especially non-tariff barriers such as technical barriers, intellectual property protection, and anti-dumping. The more tariffs and non-tariff barriers. However, the most fundamental issue of China’s auto exports still comes from the inside, because our auto products, like many other export products, compete with ourselves in overseas markets, and do not directly compete with foreign countries, resulting in low levels of vicious competition. .

"Same Roots Frying": 500 companies and 580,000 vehicles "There are too many main bodies of auto exports in China, there are about 500 or so, and each enterprise exports less than 1,000 vehicles on average; last year, 32 billion U.S. dollars of automotive products were exported by 20,000 businesses. The 580,000 vehicles exported by the main body are exported to 210 markets around the world. Everyone can think of the extent of this export decentralization,” said Lu Lun.

“When you launched a new product in an overseas market, your peers quickly launched homogenized but much cheaper products. We found that in the international market, all faced the vicious competition among Chinese people. “Lu Jianhui, deputy general manager of Chery Automobile, spoke at the 2011 Global Automotive Forum (Weibo) seminar about the chaos of auto exports.

China's auto industry has a decentralized export sector, and its industrial organization capability is not strong. This makes most companies unable to build a convenient, fast, multi-network, high-standard service network. Overseas after-sales service lags behind. On the other hand, leading Chinese auto companies to fight for each other in the export market, in order to compete for orders, the same room to punish each other and lower prices, not only harmed the interests of enterprises, but also damaged the overall image of Chinese manufacturing, seriously affecting the export of our country's auto Continuous development.

Research shows that the comprehensive index of our automobile brand's international competitiveness is only 41% in the United States, 42% in Japan, 47% in Germany, and 61% in Korea. Under such circumstances, if Chinese car companies continue to use price warfare as the main means of competition, not only will the costs and profits bear enormous pressure, but also foreign consumers may not necessarily buy it.

Overseas success: government regulations and corporate intelligence Lu Xun revealed that the vicious competition among Chinese companies in overseas markets has aroused the attention of the Chinese government. The non-standard export order has resulted in a large number of corporate profit margins being squeezed and sacrificing the company’s sustainable development. Ability. Therefore, our government will raise the threshold for exports and avoid companies with excessive liquidity from entering overseas export teams.

In 2009, in order to tie in with the State Council's automotive industry revitalization program, the Ministry of Commerce and seven ministries and commissions issued opinions to support the sustained and healthy development of auto parts product exports. The key point is to create a fair and regulated competitive environment for the international development of auto companies. . At present, all parties are working together to cultivate national-level auto parts export bases. The government is also building some public service platforms, including R&D platforms, information platforms, and certification platforms to support enterprises and provide services to enterprises.

Lu Lun also hopes to accelerate the pace of mergers and reorganizations through market forces in order to optimize the main players of overseas competition. “In Germany, there were more than 100 vehicle manufacturers in the 1960s. After more than 20 years of development, more than a dozen of them have slowly settled down. Similarly, in Japan, there were a large number of automakers, and later they passed. Continuous mergers and reorganizations have formed several of them now," Lu Lun said.

Max Warburton, European automotive securities analyst, pointed out that in order to succeed abroad, Chinese companies must have a differentiated product, not just limited to low prices. "China should improve its own product quality, accelerate innovation and strengthen its brand awareness."