Korean cars, which have encountered difficulties in domestic development, continue to be popular in the international auto market. Recently, Hyundai Motor Group announced its global sales data for 2023With a cumulative global sales volume of 7.3 million units, it once again became the world's third-largest automotive group and ranked third in global sales for two consecutive years, which marks the second year in a row that Hyundai Motor Group has been among the Big Three.
Last year, Hyundai sold 4.21 million vehicles, up 7% year-on-year, and Kia sold 3.08 million vehicles, up 6% year-on-year4 per cent, which is the opposite of the domestic results. At present, Korean cars are gradually marginalized in the Chinese auto market, and the market performance has been declining for six consecutive years. When Hyundai Motor Group will regain its business in the Chinese market has also become a topic of concern for many people.
What's wrong with not being popular in China?
The strength of Hyundai Motor Group is the strength of Hyundai Motor Group. Its strength is not weak, and it is the third largest car brand in the world, only behind Toyota and Volkswagen. It can be said thatIn terms of brand system strength, Hyundai Motor Group is stronger than most of the world's auto brandsEven now, Hyundai is a brand that can wrestle with car giants such as Toyota and Volkswagen.
In fact, domestic Korean cars have always had good performance in terms of reliability, and the configuration of Korean cars is higher than most models of the same level on the market, so the vehicle has a high cost performance, and it has gained a lot of fans in the global automobile market, so Korean cars are quite popular in Korea.
According to statistics, Hyundai Motor Group's sales growth rate was 67%, and the sales performance widened the gap to the fourth place, consolidating its position as one of the world's top three. At the same time, Hyundai Motor Group also achieved a sharp increase in revenue last year, with total revenue reaching about 8,769 in 20235.3 billion yuan, an increase of 144%, and the annual operating profit was about 8155.1 billion yuan, an increase of 54% year-on-year, and a net profit of 6613.5 billion yuan, an increase of 537%, an all-time high.
Unlike the steady rise in the international market, Korean cars are not having a good time in the Chinese auto market. According to the data of the Passenger Association, the share of Korean brands in the Chinese market in 2023 will be 15%, which has been lower for six consecutive years so far. In terms of sales, Beijing Hyundai sold a total of 25 new cars last year70,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 28%, and the highest-selling model is the Elantra with 10870,000 units, and the sales performance of other models is relatively average compared with other models in the same class.
As for Kia Motors, there are almost no products that can be played in China, and the highest sales in 2023 are the discontinued Freddy, with 26,416 units, 11,291 units and 10,887 units respectively, and other models are less than 10,000 units. Although in recent years, Kia Automobile has also reversed the sluggish performance trend through various methods, and even launched EV5 and EV6 electric vehicles, but to no avail, and the status of pure electric vehicles as imported cars has also led to high prices, making it difficult to compete with independent new energy vehicles.
In the final analysis, the unfavorable transition to electrification is the main reason for the poor performance of Korean cars in ChinaNowadays, in the Chinese auto market, it is difficult for car companies to win by relying on the so-called cost performance and joint venture status, and Korean cars are not strong in terms of brand influence and after-sales service, and they have gradually lost the trust of consumers in the long run.
How to regain the Chinese market?
Now that the competition in the auto market is becoming more and more fierce, the rise of independent new energy vehicles can provide domestic consumers with high-quality and low-cost models, and the situation of Korean cars in China will become more difficult. However, unlike other marginalized brands, Hyundai Motor Group has strong financial and technical reserves, and at the same time, it also has a certain market base in China, and there are still opportunities to turn around.
According to Hyundai Motor Group's plan, it will make concerted efforts in the fields of fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles. This year, Beijing Hyundai will launch the 11th-generation Sonata and the fifth-generation Shengda, while Kia Motors also plans to launch new electric models and enhance product competitiveness and expand its PBV business through improved technology.
Under the current trend of new energy, Hyundai Motor Group also plans to make every effort to transform to electrification. Earlier, the official said that Beijing Hyundai will fully realize the hybrid of fuel vehicles in 2025, and build a hybrid product matrix including one MPV model, two sedans, and three SUV models, and Beijing Hyundai plans to achieve an annual sales target of more than 500,000 units in 2025. Similarly, Kia Motors plans to increase its global EV production base to eight by 2025, with a focus on producing mid- to large-sized EVs in the Chinese market.
Referring to the product performance of Korean pure electric vehicles such as Ainikr 5, EV5, and EV6, it is estimated that the new energy vehicles of Korean cars will also perform well in terms of product strength in the future, not to mention that Hyundai Motor Group has accumulated a lot of technology and experience in the field of new energy vehicles, and it is believed that it will also empower pure electric products in China in the future.
The domestic auto market is always full of opportunities, and if Hyundai Motor's BEV models for the Chinese market are strong enough in the future, then there is also the possibility of becoming a high-volume model. On the other hand, more and more new energy vehicle companies have been eliminated, which will also create conditions for the development of Hyundai Motor Group in China, which has strong financial resources, so there is still a lot of hope for Korean cars to turn around in China.
However, the premise is that the new energy vehicles of Korean cars must have enough sincerity in terms of **. Nowadays, China's automobile market of new energy vehicles is becoming more and more involuted, a mainstream A-class new energy vehicle has been down to 80,000 yuan, while the medium and large new energy car is only about 150,000 yuan, if the Korean new energy vehicle does not give in, the future will still not be welcomed by domestic consumers.
At the same time, the domestic new energy vehicle market is full of mastersAs a latecomer, Hyundai Motor Group wants to break through the encirclement and gain a firm foothold in the field of new energy vehicles, in addition to product power, service power, but also brand power. However, judging from the current situation of Korean cars in China, the future road to new energy is also full of thorns.
In fact, Hyundai Motor Group, a big business, has also made a lot of changes in China, and has taken two routes, the transformation of Hyundai and Kia brands to high-end, and the transformation of new energy is vigorously transformed. It's just that China's new energy vehicle companies are menacing, and the competitive advantage of Korean cars in China is also being weakened. For Korean brands, it may be imperative to upgrade their domestic production lines as soon as possible to introduce more high-quality electric vehicles and achieve local production, thereby reducing production costs, otherwise it will only speed up the process of being eliminated.