Written byTu Yanping.
EditHuang Da Road.
DesignZhao Haoran.
Export is undoubtedly one of the key words of China's auto industry. In 2023, China's automobile exports will reach 5.22 million units, surpassing Japan to become the world's first.
As can be seen from the export data of national passenger car companies in 2023 released by the China Passenger Car Association, the main force of exports is independent brand car companies, but joint venture car companies have also made their own contributions.
Among the joint ventures, SAIC-GM exported 100006 units, accounting for 10% of its annual sales. Jiangsu Yueda Kia exported 86,899 vehicles, accounting for 52% of its annual sales; At present, the only joint venture car company that only does export business, Ejet exported 53,528 vehicles.
In addition, JMC Ford exported 43,261 vehicles throughout the year, accounting for 58% of its annual sales; Changan Ford exported 24,636 vehicles for the year, accounting for 11% of its annual sales; Zhi Motor exported 24,732 units for the year, accounting for 37% of its annual sales.
Obviously, the export volume of some joint venture automakers has exceeded the sales volume of the domestic market. In the situation that the domestic market share is gradually occupied by independent brands, the joint venture car companies choose to expand their export business, which can be regarded as an effective self-help measure.
However, in the long run, will the export business be able to reverse the overall decline of joint ventures?
From icing on the cake to charcoal in the snow
In fact, joint venture car companies have been doing export business for a long time.
Founded in September 2003, Honda Motor (China) **Note that it is not the same thing as Honda China) is the first vehicle manufacturer in the history of China's automobile industry to export 100% of its products, located in the Guangzhou Export Processing Zone in Guangdong Province, and its production of Jazz, Fit, Accord and other models are all used for export.
Originally jointly funded by Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Honda China, GAC Group, and Dongfeng Motor Group, Honda Motor (China) became a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAC Honda in 2018 and changed its name to GAC Honda's Guangzhou Development Zone Plant.
In addition, Beijing Benz and BMW Brilliance both exported their domestically produced models to overseas markets in 2011, while SAIC-GM exported domestically produced Envision models to the U.S. in 2016.
In recent years, the market share of joint ventures in the Chinese market has been declining year after year, from 51 in 20201% slipped to 34 in 20235%γIn this context, a number of joint venture car companies have increased their export business.
Among them, the Korean system has been the most active.
In 2023, Beijing Hyundai's annual overseas exports exceeded 10,000 units for the first time. According to the "2025 New Plan", Beijing Hyundai has set a production and sales target of more than 500,000 units in 2025, and its first sales volume will be more than 100,000 units.
Yueda Kia has formed a business pattern of domestic sales and export sales going hand in hand, and the export volume has even exceeded the sales volume of the domestic market. In 2023, the company will export 86,062 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 125%, accounting for 52% of its total annual sales.
At present, Yueda Kia has formed an export model lineup of three models: Setus, Yipao and Huanchi. According to the plan, the company plans to increase exports of K5 and EV5 models, and the number of export countries will also increase from the current more than 50 countries to more than 80 countries.
Yang Honghai, chief operating officer of Kia China, told Auto Business Review, "The EV5 produced at the Yancheng plant is a global car, except for the right and left drive (right-hand drive cars exported to some markets such as Australia), there is no distinction between the Chinese version and the export version, including the parts system." The interior of the EV5 uses ten environmentally friendly materials, such as environmentally friendly materials made of corn, soybeans and other plants, which are all globally integrated. Yancheng produces global cars, for the global market, the same quality in the world. β
The Kia EV5 will be exported to Australia this year. In Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and other regions where Kia Motors does not have a factory, Yueda Kia's cars can be exported to the past, and in the future, the Yancheng plant will become a veritable global export base for Kia.
Japanese, French, and American systems are also catching up.
In 2023, Guangqi Honda will start the vehicle export business, and the Zhizai and Odyssey hybrid models will be exported to Europe and Japan respectively, with export sales of more than 20,000 vehicles.
At the same time, Dongfeng Honda is also making efforts in the international market, and last year, the all-new C-V E:PHEV E:HEV and E:NS1 exported a total of 18,695 units.
In October last year, Dongfeng Nissan set up an export division to promote the development of overseas business. With the support of Dongfeng Group and Nissan Global, Dongfeng Co., Ltd. plans to start international business from 2025, and the export sales target set in the first step is 100,000 units, and it will also export Dongfeng Co., Ltd.'s self-developed electrification technology and intelligent driving technology to the global market.
Also in October last year, DPCA announced that an important mission for the future is to become an important global export base for the Stellantis Group, producing in China and selling to the world. In the same month, the Peugeot 408X, which was exported by DPCA, was launched in Vietnam, with a starting price of 2960,000 yuan, nearly 150,000 yuan higher than the starting price in the domestic market.
In May 2023, Ford CEO Jim Farley said that Ford's strategy in China would change, "We're not going to try to serve everybody." We will do business in China with less investment, leaner, more focused, and higher returns."
One of the more profitable businesses is exports, and Ford plans to use its operations in China as an export hub to export lower** electric and commercial vehicles to markets such as South America, Australia and Mexico. In the same month, Jiangling Motors and Ford Motor signed a framework agreement to further expand Jiangling Motors' product export business on the basis of the existing cooperation.
FAW-Volkswagen has also revealed that one of the company's plans for 2024 is to increase the pace of brand exports.
More and more joint venture car companies have joined the export business team, which not only conforms to the current trend of China's automobile exports, but also a positive measure for joint venture car companies to seek self-development in the new era.
In the era when joint ventures dominate the domestic market, export business is still the icing on the cake. However, at present, the competitiveness of the joint venture in the domestic market is declining, and looking at the export business at this time, it is really like a charcoal in the snow.
Strategic layout
According to the Automotive Business Review, joint ventures have many advantages in the export business, which make them unique and competitive in the international market and have good development prospects.
Part of these advantages comes from the joint venture brands themselves.
First of all, the joint venture has well-known international brands, which enjoy wide popularity and reputation around the world. At the same time, the joint venture brand can also further enhance its brand influence with the help of the brand resources of the foreign party.
Secondly, the globalization business of international brands has been done early, and joint venture car companies can leverage the overseas resources of foreign parties, such as channel resources and human resources, to promote and sell their products more effectively.
In addition, international brands often have already established operations in multiple countries and regions, accumulating rich international experience. Based on this, joint ventures can better understand the market demand, regulatory policies and cultural differences of different countries and regions, and can better adapt to and respond to changes in the international market.
There is also a part of the advantages from the cost advantage and first-chain advantage formed by the joint venture car companies in the Chinese market for many years.
For example, cost advantages. The manufacturing cost and labor cost of Chinese factories are relatively low, for example, many models are exported overseas, and the price is much higher than the domestic price. As a result, many joint ventures use their Chinese factories as an important export base for the production of global models.
Another example, the ** chain advantage. The Chinese market has a perfect automobile industry chain, especially the maturity of the new energy vehicle industry chain, and other countries will not be able to catch up for a while and a half.
Of course, it is not easy for joint venture car companies to do export business, and if the foreign parent company has more factories around the world, it may only be able to sell in specific regions, and entering new markets also requires sufficient market research and adaptability.
Expanding overseas exports has become an important strategy for joint ventures to improve capacity utilization and provide corporate benefits.
Yueda Kia's Yancheng plant plans to export 100,000 units per year by 2026. Yang Honghai said, "In the current domestic economic downturn, export measures can bring great help to ensure the operation of factories and the employment of workers." β
Dong Yang, chairman of the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, told Auto Business Review that the original joint venture was dominated by the Chinese market, and now it should be a trend to pay equal attention to both domestic and foreign markets.
It is certainly a good strategic choice for the joint venture car company to do export business for the improvement of the company's performance. However, in the long run, will it be able to salvage the decline of weak joint venture automakers?
Dong Yang believes that "relying on exports alone cannot be the fundamental way out for joint ventures, and the fundamental way out for joint ventures should be competitive in both domestic and foreign markets." β
Indeed, domestic and export sales go hand in hand, and domestic and foreign markets are all won is the most ideal state. This is also the goal that all car companies should strive for. But for now, for the joint ventures, the export business is a straw that they must grasp.
Zhang Yu, CEO of Shanghai Pre-Zhi Automobile Consulting, believes that the export business is indeed a way to reverse the situation of joint venture car companies, but "the 50:50 joint venture ratio is an obstacle, and the most ideal is Tesla's sole proprietorship model."
After the liberalization of the share ratio, the ratio of foreign and foreign shares of some joint venture car companies has been adjusted to 75:25. Even if it is not wholly foreign-owned, the loosening of the shareholding ratio is also a positive for the export business of joint venture car companies.
Joint venture car companies have explored new models for export business. For example, the joint venture between Dongfeng (50%), Renault (25%) and Nissan (25%), is now fully focused on exports. Renault's all-new Dacia Spring, which has just made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, will be produced by Renault's joint venture in China, EasyJet.