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The author is thoughtful.
Header picture丨Visual China.
Which French cars sell well in China?
For this question, I believe that many people have not been able to answer it in the first place. After all, in the Chinese auto market, French cars are already a player that seems to be "drifting away". But if we change the subject of the question, it becomes "Which Chinese electric cars sell well in France?"."I'm afraid that even a lot of people in the automotive industry can't give the right answer all at once.
In November, three of the five best-selling electric vehicles in France actually came from China. In addition to the domestically produced Model 3 and MG MG4, a Dacia electric car called "Spring" (spring) is impressively listed.
What many people don't know is that this small electric car, built by the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng Group's joint venture company, Yijiete New Energy, was rated as "the best car to buy in Europe in 2022" by Autobest in 2022. At the same time, the model was also named the greenest car of the year by Green NCAP.
What's more, this car has achieved a real hit in Renault's hometown - France. In this year's monthly list, Dacia Spring has held all of its top five positions. Even in individual months, this car also beat Tesla's MDoel 3 Y "double hero" and became the sales champion.
So the question is, why did this electric car, which is little known in China, enter the ranks of the most popular electric cars in France?What role did Renault, the parent company of Dacia, play in this?
What's more, what impact will the recent subsidy survey launched by France** on China's electric vehicles affect this popular electric vehicle?
French people, why do they love small cars?
A while ago, the author went to France for a week's inspection and learned in detail about the country's car consumption habits and scenes. In the exchange, the author found that compared with the Chinese who prefer "big cars" such as SUVs, the French people, who are known for their "love of romance", actually prefer small and medium-sized cars with small displacement engines. And the reason for this is very "realistic".
To put it simply, small displacement cars do save money. In addition to the well-known fuel tax, France** has formulated detailed support policies for small displacement vehicles. From another point of view, it can also be understood that the country has adopted a "discriminatory" policy for large-displacement fuel vehicles.
At present, there are two types of taxes for fuel vehicles in France: carte grise and malus écologique. The former is based on a unit that can be literally translated as "Chevaux Fiscaux" ("CV"). It is important to note that this unit is calculated by each regional council with reference to indicators such as local income level, vehicle power and environmental impact.
To be able to own a large-displacement off-road vehicle in France is definitely a big family.
For example, per capita income is higher, and for the more environmentally demanding Provence-Alpes-Cte Azur region, the tax rate per CV is 512 euros. In Corsica, where the economy is relatively backward and the population is small, a CV is only 27 euros, a difference of nearly 1 times.
The environmental tax is calculated based on carbon emission allowances per kilometer, which is very interesting. According to the Tax Guide for Chinese Residents Investing in France, prepared by the International Tax Department of the State Administration of Taxation, from January 1, 2023, if a vehicle's CO2 emissions are less than 123 gram-kilometers, the environmental tax amount will only be 50 euros. But if the emission value exceeds 190 g km, then the tax will directly exceed 10,000 euros.
What's even more terrifying is that if you want to buy a real high-horsepower fuel car in France, then your emissions tax will reach up to 50,000 euros. For the French people, instead of being the "wronged leader" and giving real gold, it is better to "wrong" themselves and choose a small displacement car.
In terms of road conditions, French cities can only accommodate small cars. Compared with Germany, which was completely "destroyed", France basically did not suffer from the baptism of war in the two world wars, and most cities maintained their original "antique" style, so the streets in the urban area are often very narrow. Even so, many of the sides of the streets are often used as parking spaces for local residents, which causes passing vehicles to "survive" in the cracks.
This street leads directly to the Champs-Élysées, the "Avenue of Chang" in France.
In fact, even in the capital Paris, streets like the one above abound. There are very few streets like the Champs-Élysées that can accommodate a parade of tanks. In such road conditions, it is clear that a small car is more suitable.
In the movie "The Da Vinci Code", the hero and heroine are driving a classic smart when they escape from the French police.
Finally, and most importantly, small cars are relatively inexpensive to repair. Due to the narrow streets and the high number of cars per capita, scratching is arguably part of the daily driving routine for most French people. Especially in cities like Paris, a large number of motorcycles will "drill" in the traffic jams, and it is not uncommon for them to hit and even break the mirrors. Compared with the Chinese who "cherish" their own vehicles more, the French people are quite casual about this.
In this regard, most car owners will default to scratching as "normal learning", and automatically turn a blind eye to the "wounds" on the vehicle, until the damage on the car accumulates to a certain extent, or the car needs to be as good as possible, they will send the car to the repair shop or 4S shop for repair. At this time, small displacement vehicles with lower maintenance costs are obviously more advantageous.
Such a scarred car is not too common in France.
That's why Dacia's spring was able to sell well in France. First of all, in terms of dimensions, this car is just over 37 meters, the width is less than 16 meters, enough to navigate the narrow streets of France. And the length is close to 2With a wheelbase of 5 meters, it is possible to seat 2 adults in the back.
In terms of performance, the car has a range of 230 km in mixed WLTP mode. In WLTP city mode, the car has a range of 305 km, which is enough for most people's weekly city commute. Thanks to a battery pack with a capacity of just over 25 kWh, the car can be charged with the help of charging stations converted from streetlights that are common in Europe.
What's more, this car can enjoy a new energy vehicle subsidy of 5,000 euros in France. Combined with the financial leasing scheme, the daily cost of use of the car is only 6 euros, which is 180 euros a month, including car insurance.
Of course, the ** of 17,950 euros for such a car and the BYD Dolphin with a similar configuration in China are indeed a lot higher. But you should be aware that the minimum wage in France** is 1,383 euros. In other words, as long as you have a full-time job in France, you can afford to drive this car.
In contrast, BYD's cheapest model in the European market, the Dolphin, costs close to 30,000 euros. Obviously, the price is a bit too high for the wage earners in Guangzhou.
So, this makes the author a little curious: How was Spring, such a cost-effective king, created?
In addition to China's ** chain, what else did Renault understand?
This year, going overseas has become the most important move for Chinese auto companies. In the first half of this year, China officially became the world's largest exporter of automobiles. At the Munich Motor Show in September this year, Chinese auto companies such as BYD, AVATR and Xpeng showed their products and technologies to local users, ** and peers in Germany, the base camp of European car companies.
But in contrast, Renault's layout in this regard came much earlier. Six years ago, in 2017, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng Motor established a joint venture with Ejet New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., which has also become an important carrier for Renault to deploy to the global new energy vehicle industry with China as the center. After several years of research and development, the company launched Dacia Spring in the second half of 2020 and received more than 40,000 orders during the pre-sale period.
Obviously, in Renault's strategic layout of new energy vehicles, China's ** chain has played an important role. Su Weiming, chairman and CEO of Renault China, mentioned in a speech this year that he is pushing the company to open up the European market with the help of "China's industrial advantages, Renault Group's brand advantages and European channel advantages". In the first half of this year, the company's export sales exceeded 50,000 units.
At present, Renault is strengthening cooperation with Chinese enterprises at the first-chain level. In July this year, Renault Group and Geely officially established a company focused on the development and production of hybrid and gasoline powertrains on a global scale. Notably, Saudi Aramco is evaluating its investment in the company and will advance its research and development of synthetic and hydrogen fuel technologies in the future. YesAs you know, Saudi Aramco is an oil company with the world's largest proven reserves, and its every move affects international oil prices.
In terms of promoting China's ** chain to enter France to improve its own localized production, Renault is also joining forces with Chinese companies. In 2022, the company reached a cooperation with Minth Group, which was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, to establish a joint venture to produce power battery packs for new energy vehicles.
Earlier, in 2021, Renault also partnered with Envision Power in China to build a gigafactory near Renault Electricity's production sites in Douai, Maubges and Ruiz in France. According to the plan, the annual production capacity of this plant will reach 9GWh in 2024 and 24GWh by 2030, which will help Renault realize the localization of key components for new energy vehicles while greatly improving production efficiency.
Of course, in addition to the cooperation with China's ** chain, Renault's years of operation and accumulation in France are the core reasons for helping the Dacia Spring car to achieve hot sales.
Many of you may not realize that the Renault car brand may be more important and historical to the French country than the Hongqi brand is to China.
On the one hand, the company plays a pivotal role in the development of the world's automotive industry. Founded in 1898 by Louis Renault in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris, Renault invented a series of technologies including a straight-speed transmission, an all-aluminum engine, power windows, cruise control and turbocharging technology, which is one of France's national cards.
More importantly, in the First World War, Renault had a series of righteous deeds that could be called "industrial salvation". For example, the company designed and developed the FT17 tank, which was called the "totem" of World War I tanks. You know, this is the first tank with a rotating turret in human history, and it sets the standard for future global tank development.
General George S. Patton, a well-known American military strategist, commanded armored units equipped with Renault tanks during World War I.
On the other hand, the company has established a complete sales and service system in France through many years of operation. In the course of my travels through the French countryside, I noticed that almost every now and then, I could pass by a Renault dealer or service store. The most interesting thing is that some dealers used to sell horse-drawn carriages before the invention of the automobile, which has a history of nearly 150 years.
A dealer has a longer history than a car company.
Through a long period of development and perfect layout, Renault has built a solid brand image and user mentality in the minds of French consumers. In the communication with the car owner, a Renault owner who immigrated to France from North Africa told me that one of the reasons why he bought Renault is that the company's service outlets are not only all over France, but also in Algeria and Morocco in North Africa.
In contrast, Chinese car brands that have just entered Europe and started selling cars clearly have a long way to go.
Written at the end: Although China's new energy vehicles have achieved good sales in Europe, especially France, the impact of regional industrial policies is becoming the biggest variable affecting the future. On December 14, local time, France, one of Europe's largest auto markets, announced a whitelist of compliant electric vehicles with revised subsidy policies. Compared to the past, only 65% of electric vehicles are eligible for subsidies. This time, it directly killed the three of the top five electric vehicle sales in the country in November, as mentioned earlier.
It is reported that France** has included a new reference dimension in the definition of the new subsidy list, covering the carbon emissions in the process of "production, assembly and transportation" of electric vehicles, the so-called "carbon footprint".
This standard is developed in a fairly detailed manner and covers the production of materials such as steel and aluminium used to make or assemble cars, the production of batteries, the production of vehicles, and the emissions from transportation from the assembly site to the place of sale in France. Under the new rules, an electric vehicle must score at least 60 points to be eligible for the subsidy.
Obviously, the Chinese car he took during his visit to China caused enough shock to the French Macron.
As a result, the Dacia Spring produced in Hubei, China, and the Model 3 and MG MG 4 produced in Shanghai are not very promising because they need to cross half the world.
However, in the author's opinion, based on Renault's previous layout, especially the strategy of introducing Chinese first-chain enterprises to France, it may help the company realize the localization of electric vehicles in the short term, so as to continue to sell electric vehicles that meet the requirements of the country's subsidy policy.
After all, as a representative enterprise of France, Renault has too many cards in his hand.
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