In 2023, China's automobile production and sales will exceed 30 million units, becoming the world's largest automobile producer and sales country for 15 consecutive years. 30 million units means that for every 3 new cars sold, there is a "Made in China". Stepping to this new level is inseparable from the important role of new energy vehicles. In 2023, China's new energy vehicles will perform strongly, with the annual production and sales volume exceeding 9 million units, continuing the development momentum of both production and sales. China's new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first in the world for 9 consecutive years, becoming an important force to promote the transformation of the global automobile industry.
In the process of accelerating the transformation of new energy in China's automotive industry, independent brands play an important role as the mainstay. In the past year, independent brands have held high the banner of "independent innovation", "equal price of oil and electricity" and "equal rights in science and technology", and have gone all out to compete in the automobile market, and finally achieved offensive and defensive translocation. With the increasing influence of Chinese auto brands, the world's perception of "intelligent manufacturing in China" has been refreshed again, and a "first-class era" belonging to independent brands may be coming.
The annual market share of independent brands exceeded 50% for the first time, accounting for half of the country
From the Shanghai Auto Show in 2023 to the Guangzhou Auto Show, the outside world can increasingly feel that the pattern of the automotive industry is changing. China's own brands, which are struggling on the road of electrification and intelligence, are showing a trend of a hundred flowers blooming, from million-yuan luxury pure electric models to entry-level cost-effective models, and their own brands are standing on the stage of the new energy era.
According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the sales volume of self-owned brand passenger cars in 2023 will be 145960,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 241%；In 2023, the market share of own-brand passenger cars will be 56%, up 6% year-on-year1 percentage point. From the perspective of the monthly market share of independent brands, it once climbed to 58% in December last year, achieving a market share surpass.
The annual market share of self-owned brand passenger cars exceeded 50% for the first time, which means that the pattern of China's automobile market has undergone profound changes, and new energy has led to an inflection point in overtaking.
Looking back on the development of self-owned brand passenger cars in the past ten years, it can be described as twists and turns. From 2011 to 2014, the market share of self-owned brand passenger cars fell for four consecutive years; Since 2015, independent brands have seized the SUV category boom to return to achieve the best growth; Since 2020, the new energy boom has swept the automotive industry, and independent brands have accelerated the transformation and upgrading of new energy to achieve rapid market share.
Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China National Association, said that from the overall background of the automobile market, there are two reasons for the continuous increase in the market share of independent brand passenger cars in recent years, one is the rapid growth of new energy vehicles, and the other is the rapid growth of automobile exports, and the export market is basically dominated by independent brands; In addition, the transformation of independent brands is very fast, and the transformation speed of mainstream domestic brand car companies in terms of electrification and intelligence is significantly faster than that of joint venture brands.
The boom of new energy and going overseas has led independent brands to break through
In 2023, China's own brands will launch a total of 94 new energy vehicles, which is 13 times that of joint venture brands, and domestic brands will account for 80% of the total number of new energy vehicles produced in China6%。In addition, new energy brands accounted for 49% of the sales of Chinese brands9%, which means that for every two Chinese brand cars sold, there is one new energy vehicle.
The rapid development of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market has promoted the competitiveness of independent brands from quantitative to qualitative changes. Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the Passenger Association, believes that whether it is a cost-effective model or a new product series focusing on electrification and intelligence, China's independent brands have made full efforts or even taken the lead.
Taking BYD as an example, in 2023, BYD's cumulative annual sales of new energy vehicles will exceed 3.02 million units, ranking ninth in global car sales, which is the first time that China's own brand has ranked among the top 10 in the world, and is known to more and more overseas consumers. According to the data, in the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD's pure electric passenger car sales surpassed Tesla to become the world's first for the first time, and some foreign ** commented that this shows "China's strength in the global electric vehicle market".
In overseas markets, in addition to BYD, many Chinese independent brands such as Chery, Great Wall, Geely, and VOYAH have gradually emerged. In recent years, China's own brand car companies have actively deployed overseas markets, and have continuously expanded their influence in the global market by setting up overseas production bases, establishing R&D centers, and cooperating with local enterprises. Chery Group will export more than 93 vehicles in 202370,000 units, an average of 33In 65 seconds, a Chery car set sail to sea; Ora Good Cat officially rolled off the assembly line at the Rayong New Energy Vehicle Manufacturing Base in Thailand, and Great Wall Motor's Oman distribution network was officially put into operation; Geely's Geometry E model has become a cost-effective choice for Rwandan consumers; The VOYAH brand has been ...... in Denmark, the Netherlands and other European countriesIn 2023, China will become the world's largest exporter of automobiles, of which the export of new energy vehicles will exceed 1.2 million, a year-on-year increase of more than 77%, providing strong support for the growth of independent brand sales.
The upward breakthrough of China's independent brands is not only reflected in the growth of market share, but also in the leap of strength. Customs data shows that the average export price of new energy vehicles in China has increased from 1 in 2021$950,000, up to 2$380,000. "Both volume and price rise" truly reflect the enhancement of the competitiveness of the self-owned brand automobile market.
Technological innovation injects soul into the sustainable development of independent brands
As a technology- and talent-intensive industry, automobiles can only maintain long-term vitality if they independently master core technologies. Domestic brands firmly grasp the essence of innovation, and continue to invest heavily in technology research and development and product promotion, bringing consumers more abundant car purchase choices and a more intelligent and connected car experience.
The innovation of independent brands is manifested in the renewal of the product matrix. Strive to cover all categories and all technology routes, and develop independently in the fields of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and pure electric vehicles, and gradually establish advantages in market segments such as sedans, SUVs, and MPVs. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are rapidly advancing to the "100,000 yuan" level, and ordinary hybrids are rapidly advancing to high-end, forming a differentiated competition pattern for high-end and low-end electrification development.
Cui Dongshu said that self-owned brand new energy models have made significant progress in technology research and development capabilities, no longer only discussing exterior and interior design, but also daring to directly compete with foreign luxury brands for technical hard power.
The innovation of independent brands is intrinsically manifested in the iterative upgrading of platforms and technologies. For new energy vehicles, battery, motor, and electronic control technology are the core competitiveness. China has become the largest producer of drive motors, and battery technology ranks among the world's first echelon. Including Geely INTEC brand technology, Xpeng SEPA20 Fuyao global intelligent evolution architecture, Nezha Shanhai platform 20 and so on have been launched one after another, building development advantages for independent brands to further accelerate the layout of autonomous driving and intelligent networking, and laying a solid technical foundation for the advanced development of Chinese auto brands in the future.
The innovation ability and technical strength of independent brands are increasingly valued and recognized by traditional international auto brand giants. This is also reflected in the change from the former "market for technology" to the "reverse joint venture" of Sino-foreign cooperation. In the past year, the cooperation between independent brands such as Xiaopeng and Zhiji and foreign brands has proved that the technical level of some independent brands has reached the industry-leading level, which has also become an important factor to consider in future international cooperation.
New energy vehicles are the main direction of the transformation and upgrading of the global automobile industry and green development, independent brands grasp the opportunity with forward-looking layout, and drive development with the endogenous force of continuous pursuit of innovation, not only in the local automobile market to catch up and leapfrog, but also in the fiercely competitive global automobile market to win a place. Beyond the watershed of 50% of the market share, the upward channel of independent brands has been opened, and new incremental space will be ushered in in the future.