China New Energy Vehicles Explore Differentiated "Going to Sea" Path
Transfer from: Economic Information Daily
editorial comment/note
middleIn this magnificent round of "going out to sea", major car companies have chosen different "going out to sea" paths, and all links from products, technology to value chain have begun to build brand advantages of the whole overseas industrial chain. This diversified and differentiated "going out to sea" path, which is different from the single "going out" in the past, shows the overall rise of new energy vehicles in China.
China’s new energy vehicles with first-Mover advantage and technology accumulation are welcomed, not only because these products and technologies meet the local market demand, but more importantly, they promote the local popularization and industrial development of new energy vehicles and promote the global green and low-carbon transformation.
China car companies "get together" in the Thai market
Reporter Wang Teng reports from Bangkok.
On the streets of Thailand in 2023, the returning tourists from China and the new energy vehicles from China, which make headlines frequently, are the most topical China elements. Whether it’s Euler’s good cat in the Grand Palace with the same frame, or Haval, the Great Wall at the APEC venue, or it’s queued up overnight to buy it.ATTO3 has given Thai consumers who once "closed their eyes and bought Toyota" in the era of fuel vehicles new choices and expectations.
China car companies flood into Thailand market.
"China automakers have shown great interest in Thailand and are’ running’ into the new energy vehicle market in Thailand." Kaivalin, deputy general manager of Thailand Kaitai Research Center, said that the market share of Chinese pure electric vehicles is expected to increase from 78% in 2022 to 85% in 2023.
In recent years, in addition to SAIC MG, which has been deeply involved in the Thai automobile market for 10 years,China car companies such as BYD and Nezha also went to Thailand to explore the market. According to the Thai Investment Promotion Committee (BOI),It will invest 9.8 billion baht (about 2 billion yuan) to build a new energy automobile factory in Thailand, becoming the next player for China automobile enterprises to invest in Thailand.
Behind the acceleration of China’s new energy vehicle enterprises into Thailand, it mainly comes from three important factors: local electric vehicle support policies, industrial factors, historical accumulation and geographical layout.
According to the development goal of electric vehicles set by Thailand, electric vehicles will account for 30% of its total automobile production by 2030. To this end, the Thai government has implemented an electric vehicle subsidy plan and preferential tax measures. At present, Thailand has reduced the consumption tax rate of pure electric vehicles from 8% to 2%, and provided subsidies ranging from 70,000 to 150,000 baht according to the types and models of electric vehicles. At the same time, the Thai government has also reduced the road tax and import tariff on electric vehicles to speed up the promotion and popularization of electric vehicles.
Since 1990s, Thailand has established the development model of export-oriented automobile industry. According to Zhang zhen, head of Great Wall Motor’s ASEAN regional brand, after years of development, Thailand has become one of the largest automobile markets in Southeast Asia and has a relatively complete automobile industry chain.
In addition, Thailand is located in the main road of global shipping, and automobile exports can reach various foreign markets through efficient and convenient sea transportation. Zhang zhen said: "The cars produced by Great Wall Thailand factory now serve the whole ASEAN market, and the factory will become the global passenger car manufacturing base of Great Wall in the future. At present, we have tried to export cars to South Africa, Mauritius and other countries."
According to the data of Thailand Automobile Association, the sales volume of pure electric vehicles in Thailand reached 13,454 in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 588.5%. The Kaitai Research Center predicts that the sales of pure electric vehicles in Thailand will hit the 50,000 mark this year.
Industrial chain and technology have obvious advantages.
In the booming electric vehicle market in Thailand, China car companies have chosen different "rooting" paths. According to BYD, BYD chose to jointly develop the local market with Thai car dealer RêVER Automotive to adapt to consumers’ habits and integrate into the local market more quickly. Great Wall Motor, on the other hand, prefers to fight alone and promote the localization of enterprises in a slow and steady way.
No matter what kind of "start-up" is adopted, China car companies have achieved good results in the Thai market. According to the statistics of Great Wall Motor, within 48 hours of the pre-sale of its Euler Good Cat model in Thailand, the order number exceeded 6,000; BYD introduced the first model ATTO3 in Thailand, and in the first four months of this year, it continued to "dominate" the sales champion of pure electric vehicles in Thailand, with a total of 7,285 vehicles.
A BYD spokesperson told reporters that China new energy vehicle enterprises have gradually established a technical "moat" after years of accumulation. For example, BYD has mastered the core technologies of the whole industrial chain of batteries, motors and electronic controls, while a series of technologies such as "Easy Sifang" and "Yunqi Intelligent Body Control System" launched one after another are subversive in the industry.
At the same time, BYD built its first overseas passenger car factory in Thailand in March this year. The factory is scheduled to be put into operation in 2024, with an annual production capacity of 150,000 new energy vehicles, which will help BYD to further release its production capacity on the basis of technological leadership and meet the consumption needs of Thailand and other ASEAN countries.
In Zhang zhen’s view, "new energy and intelligence" are the two advantages and labels of China automobile enterprises. "We not only have updated technology, but also provide a better application experience for Thai consumers." Zhang zhen said.
Great Wall Motor officially entered the Thai market in 2021. Before that, there were only a handful of new energy vehicles in the passenger car market in Thailand. "China car companies focus on new energy products in Thailand, which not only makes Thai consumers feel more economical, but also provides consumers with a more comfortable and intelligent driving environment." Zhang zhen said that before, many traditional fuel vehicles on the Thai market were not even equipped with vehicle networking, and intelligence was precisely the advantage of new energy vehicles in China.
"On our Haval model, you don’t even need to say turn on the air conditioner. Just complain that it is too hot, and the car will ask you’ Do you need to turn down the air conditioner?’ Zhang zhen said that not only in the aspect of speech semantic recognition, the "transparent service" launched by Great Wall Motor this year has also been favored by many consumers. When users maintain cars, they only need to click on the Great Wall App to see the live picture of the workshop and clearly understand the real-time situation of vehicle maintenance.
The competitiveness of China’s automobiles is not the same as in the past. Zhang zhen said that in the past, we always said that we would strive for overtaking in corners. Now, after years of development, China car companies have reached the turning point of real qualitative change, and this trend will become more and more obvious in the future.
Facing the future challenges, trying to make mistakes and moving forward.
The sales achievements of China’s new energy vehicles in Thailand are gratifying, but it is also a necessary storm for China car companies to "go out to sea" for the current and future challenges.
In Zhang zhen’s view, compared with car companies in Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, the globalization of new energy car companies in China is still in the learning stage. "How to integrate our products and brand concepts with local culture, and how to localize our talents, culture and supply chain is an important challenge for all China car companies that’ go out to sea’. We have no other shortcuts, only to keep trying and making mistakes."
A BYD spokesperson told reporters that in the passenger car market in Thailand, due to the low penetration rate of new energy vehicles and the weak construction of local power infrastructure, the acceptance of new energy vehicles by Thai consumers needs to be improved.
By the end of 2022, the number of electric vehicle charging piles in Thailand was only over 900, which were mainly distributed in Bangkok and the economically developed areas in central China. At the same time, the voltage instability in some areas also leads to the limited charging power and prolonged charging time of electric vehicles, which further restricts the car scene of electric vehicle owners.
However, the biggest challenge for China car companies in Thailand may mainly come from the competition brought by the western and Japanese and Korean car companies making efforts to manufacture electric vehicles and putting them into the Thai market one after another.
According to the analysis of Kaitai Research Center, as the pure electric vehicle market in Thailand is still in its infancy, the number of market participants will continue to increase, and the market is highly dynamic. Although Chinese pure electric vehicles occupy most of the market share at present, it will not be easy for China car companies to defend their titles when other car companies penetrate the pure electric vehicle market in Thailand in the future.
Both Tesla, which officially entered the Thai market last year, and Japanese car companies that have mastered the Thai automobile industry chain, dealer channels and upstream and downstream parts suppliers will test the leading edge of China car companies in the pure electric vehicle market in Thailand.
"In the past two years, our development in Thailand is more like a microcosm of the globalization of China automobile brands." Zhang zhen said that China car companies want to let foreign consumers know China brand, see China technology and experience China intelligence through different new energy positioning and differentiated marketing methods.
New energy vehicles in China sell well in Central Asia.
Reporter Zhang Jingpin Cai Guodong Lei Xiaoxiao Comprehensive Report
China’s new energy automobile industry has developed rapidly in recent years, gradually becoming a new business card made in China and recognized by overseas consumers.
Not long ago, the relevant person in charge of the Eurasian Department of the Ministry of Commerce said that in the first quarter of 2023, China exported 500 million US dollars of automobiles to Central Asian countries, up 121% year-on-year, especially China’s new energy vehicles, which were favored by Central Asian people.
Thanks to its superior geographical location and industrial chain development, Xi ‘an, Shaanxi Province, located in the west of China, has rapidly developed into a "rising star" on the new energy vehicle track in China in recent years.
According to the data, in 2022, the output of new energy vehicles in Xi ‘an reached 1,015,500, up 277.5% year-on-year, accounting for 14.1% of the national share, surpassing 990,000 in Shanghai and becoming the first city in China.
In order to meet the automobile export demand of Shaanxi local automobile enterprises, China Railway Xi ‘an Bureau Group Co., Ltd. and Xi ‘an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd.,Xi ‘an Branch cooperated hand in hand, organized the formulation of special transportation scheme, and adopted the form of special train for commercial vehicles and railway transportation for export transportation.
The reporter learned from Xi ‘an Customs that from January to April 2023, the trade between Shaanxi and Central Asia continued to maintain rapid growth, with the import and export value reaching 1.05 billion yuan, up 78.4% over the same period of last year, of which the export of electric vehicles was 130 million yuan, up 125 times.
On April 26th, 2023, in Xi ‘an International Port Area, with the sirens blaring, the Xi ‘an-Central Asia special train of Chang ‘an, the 10th anniversary of the "Belt and Road" of China-Europe train, successfully started, carrying more than 260 BYD new energy vehicles made in Xi ‘an to Uzbekistan.
According to reports, as of May 16th, China Railway Xi ‘an Bureau Group Co., Ltd. has run 33 special trains for automobile export this year, with an average of 6 trains per month, which has achieved normal transportation, and consumers in Central Asia can buy new energy vehicles in China more quickly and conveniently.
Nowadays, walking on the streets of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, you can often see new energy buses and new energy vehicles made in China. Zafar Khalilov, a citizen of Tashkent, said that the new energy bus in China is of high quality, safe to drive and equipped with air conditioning and facilities for the disabled. "I prefer electric cars, no smell, more stable, faster and more comfortable."
According to the data of Uzbekistan’s National Statistical Committee, in the first quarter of this year, Uzbekistan imported 1,668 electric vehicles, an increase of 268% compared with the same period of last year, of which 1,444 electric vehicles were imported from China, accounting for 86.6% of the total imports.
Professor Tursunali Kuzyev of Uzbekistan University of Journalism and Mass Communication said that Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia. Strengthening cooperation with China’s new energy vehicle enterprises will help popularize and promote new energy vehicles, promote green and low-carbon transformation, and further promote the development of the new energy vehicle market in Central Asia.
Automobile industry is becoming an important field of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. Not long ago, Yutong International, a subsidiary of Yutong Group, signed an agreement with Kasjehenna Company of Kazakhstan on "jointly establishing a Kazakhstan-China training center for technical and engineering personnel in the automobile industry", jointly developing talents in the automobile industry with partners in Kazakhstan, and strengthening cooperation and exchange of experience in developing the automobile industry in Kazakhstan.
The reporter learned that as early as 2020, 100 Yutong pure electric buses had been exported to Kazakhstan. Up to now, these pure electric buses with a mileage of over 200,000 kilometers have successfully completed the 320-kilometer extreme endurance challenge in the extremely cold environment of -27℃ in Kazakhstan.
The overseas person in charge said that Yutong’s development in Kazakhstan has achieved good social benefits thanks to the broad platform provided by the "Belt and Road Initiative". In the future, Yutong will continue to deepen the Kazakhstan market and make new contributions to building a green "Belt and Road".
Diversified ways of "going out to sea" for new energy vehicle enterprises
Reporter Lei Xiaoxiao reports from Xi ‘an
Since 2023, China’s new energy vehicle exports have performed brilliantly. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China recently, from January to April this year, the total export value of China was 7.67 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.6% over the same period last year. Among them, in the growth of automobile exports, the export of new energy vehicles has accounted for 31% of passenger car exports. Driven by the strength of new energy vehicles, in the first quarter of this year, China surpassed Japan to become the world’s largest automobile exporter.
While handing over eye-catching transcripts, new energy car companies are also accelerating their "going out to sea".
According to the relevant person in charge of BYD in Xi ‘an, in May 2021, BYD officially announced the plan of "Passenger Cars Going to Sea", taking Norway as the first pilot market to develop overseas passenger car business. After less than two years of development, BYD’s new energy passenger cars have entered the markets of Japan, Britain, Germany, Australia, Brazil and other countries, with footprints in 43 countries and regions around the world, and the cumulative export of new energy passenger cars has exceeded 60,000.
The acceleration of overseas expansion has further improved the performance of enterprises. In 2022, BYD achieved revenue of 434.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 96.2%. "From the first car to the 1 millionth car, we spent 13 years; From 1 million to 2 million vehicles, it only took us one year; From 2 million to 3 million, we only spent half a year. " The person in charge said.
With the acceleration of global distribution of China automobile enterprises, the way of "going out to sea" is becoming diversified, and all links from products, technology to value chain have certain brand competitiveness. With the technical "moat" established for many years, China automobile enterprises and their related enterprises have begun to build the whole overseas industrial chain.
With the acceleration of the export of new energy vehicles, since 2022,Power battery companies such as Yiwei Lithium Energy have also laid out new overseas projects, mostly in Europe and America, where the electric vehicle market is huge.
The bright performance of new energy vehicles overseas has also attracted great attention from overseas markets. German Mercator China Research Center (MERICS) previously released a report saying that in the field of new energy vehicles, the EU is rapidly becoming a net consumer made in China, which may subvert the automobile trade pattern between China and Europe.
Experts suggest that new energy vehicle companies can actively expand overseas investment and set up factories in Europe and America, which will directly boost local economic growth, solve local employment and build closer economic and trade relations.