At the end of the year, major car companies set off a new round of ** war. On the evening of November 30, Jiyue announced that the first model, Jiyue 01, dropped by 30,000 yuan, and the price was adjusted to 21990,000 30990,000 yuan;On December 2, Nezha Automobile announced that the functional configuration of the **Nezha S long-range pure electric version is the same as before, and the guide price will be reduced by 30,000 yuan. In addition, brands including ZEEKR, Ideal, Leap, etc., have given different degrees of deduction policies.
From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the year-long war has brought benefits to consumers, but also compressed the profit margins of major brands to a large extent. According to the data, from January to October 2023, the revenue of the automotive industry was 805 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%, while the cost was 701 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11%. At the same time, the automotive industry has a profit margin of 49%, which is significantly low.
Sell cars at a lower price and lose money", such a situation is even worse in the new energy track. At present, except for a very few brands, the vast majority of new energy vehicle companies are in a state of strategic loss. Ding Rongjun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, predicts that by 2025, global sales of new energy vehicles will exceed 25 million, of which 15 million will be in China. This reflects that the demand for new energy vehicles in the global market is still increasing, which continues to drive the development of the new energy industry.
With the further development of the new energy vehicle market, the war may intensify. For car companies, in the face of fierce market competition, how to break the situation?At the "China New Energy Vehicle Quality Forum" held a few days ago, Li Gaoshuai, executive deputy secretary general of the China Association for Quality, gave the answer.
User demand is the first driving force
As we all know, the automotive industry is not a winner-takes-all industry. In the 20s of the last century, Ford's Model T sales reached nearly 60% of the world's total car sales. And General Motors made a big fuss about personalization and diversification, using colorful Chevrolets against black Ford Model T, and it also won success. Even at this stage, automobile consumption still shows a high degree of differentiation. First- and second-tier cities, third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities, high-income people and wage earners will have different brands and demands when buying cars.
Li Gaoshuai pointed out that in the fierce market competition, car companies should first seek a breakthrough from user needs. "At present, new energy vehicles are facing huge market changes, how to find positioning in the unpredictable market, to meet the most real needs of users at different levels, is a question worth pondering. Li Gaoshuai further said.
In Li Gaoshuai's view, only by focusing on new demand can we build a large consumer market. "With the iteration of demand, understanding and meeting user needs is an important factor and core driving force to promote market expansion. On the one hand, as a representative of clean and green travel, new energy vehicles meet the inherent requirements of sustainable development, and focusing on this demand can lead the enterprise market to a broader consumer group. On the other hand, users' demand for intelligent networking, kinetic energy, mileage, customized services, driving experience and other aspects is also growing, and new energy vehicles, as a product of technological innovation, have a wide range of application scenarios. Focusing on this demand can meet users' needs and diversified expectations for automotive functions, so as to build a more diverse, flexible and rich market. ”
Judging from the current industry situation, BYD and Tesla's product competitiveness is relatively strong, but from the perspective of the current vastness of China's new energy vehicle market, only one or two brands are unable to meet the personalized and diversified consumption needs of different consumers, which just leaves room for the survival and development of other brands and products.
Core technology breakthroughs are the key
Looking at the industry, the car companies that survived the market reshuffle have all increased their technological leverage for many years. For example, BYD's blade battery provides a preliminary solution to the three "stubborn diseases" of new energy vehicles: battery life, battery safety, and battery cycle life. For example, Geely, which adheres to the technical background, has also launched the Aegis battery safety system, Raytheon electric hybrid 8848 and the new Galaxy N OS this year, bringing users a more extreme intelligent travel experience at the level of vehicle battery safety, intelligent electric hybrid technology and intelligent vehicle machine system.
In the fierce competition, enterprises should strengthen investment in key core technologies, improve independent innovation capabilities, and strengthen in-depth cooperation in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, so as to promote the optimization and upgrading of the entire industrial chain.
Only by focusing on new technologies can we lead to new developments. In the wave of the new energy vehicle industry, new technological breakthroughs will lead the automobile industry to meet greater changes. On the one hand, electrification technology, as the core of new energy vehicles, is the engine that promotes the rapid development of the industry, and the innovation of batteries, motors, charging and other aspects of technology directly determines the performance and mileage of new energy vehicles. On the other hand, intelligent technology is the inevitable trend of future automobile development, from assisted driving to automatic driving, from in-car entertainment to the Internet of Vehicles, intelligent technology will build the car into a highly intelligent mobile space, leading new energy vehicles to the Internet era. Li Gaoshuai further said.
On the one hand, technology can provide enterprises with differentiated product competitiveness, on the other hand, it can also help enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency, provide more competitive products, and then further reduce costs through scale and form a positive cycle.
Of course, technology has not only become a "killer feature" for car companies to compete in market-oriented products, but also benefited car companies in terms of profitability and brand influence. For example, in 2022, Geely will earn 1.6 billion yuan by relying on food delivery technology, a year-on-year increase of 299%, and at the same time, for the first time, it has opened the road of self-developed technology to export overseas, through the investment in Renault Korea Motor, joint research and development, manufacturing and advanced hybrid powertrain and efficient fuel powertrain technology, and will be launched in the Korean market.
At present, the cruel competition continues, and car companies want to get the last ticket, focusing on user needs, strengthening core technology breakthroughs may become the key to victory.