Lead
Introduction
The achievements of that time have become a thing of the past, and today's Hyundai cars must have no choice but to go all out.
Author 丨 Cao Jiadong
Responsible editor 丨 Yang Jing
Editor 丨Zhu Jinbin
The Beijing Winter Olympics are gradually coming to an end, from the opening ceremony that detonated the circle of friends, to the difficult interlude that did not subside, and even the Chinese Olympic athletes showed their true selves in the arena again and again, I think that this grand event staged in the nuisance of the epidemic is enough to become the most sustainable issue for people this year.
But it is also this Winter Olympics, if you say, from the Maltese girl Spitery who loves bean bags, the "skating grandmother" Pehistein, the quietly closed Sean White, the Japanese journalist Tsujioka Yoshido, known as the "Yoshidun", and other participants, they still see the true side of the "Olympic spirit".
Pictured| Chinese athlete Gu Ailing won the gold medal in the freestyle ski women's big jump event
Then, when South Korea adds waves with various outrageous moves, we also begin to worry that the contradictions that spread from this will cause the Korean consumer goods to fall into a new market dilemma again from all dimensions.
On February 12, Beijing time, the men's 500-meter speed skating event of the Beijing Winter Olympics was completed, and when entering the award, the second-ranked South Korean runner Che Minkui wiped the podium with his hand before coming to the stage; the next day, in the second semi-final of the short track speed skating men's 500 meters, it was South Korea's Huang Daxian who fouled and did not forget to raise his foot to interfere with Wu Dajing...
Since the Winter Olympics, from protesting the unveiling of North Korean costumes at the opening ceremony, to complaining about the unpalatable food in the Olympic Village, to most of the South Korean entertainment industry has made accusations on the judgment of the event, South Korea seems to be strengthening the national image with the awakening of self-consciousness, but in fact it is also consuming the enthusiasm and goodwill of some young people for South Korea.
Pictured| South Korean short-track speed skater Hwang Dae-hyun
Guo Moruo said in the "Yushu Collection: Resistance and Enlightenment", "These actions of theirs are that their national character has been lost. ”
Now it seems that no matter what the cause, history is a reincarnation after all. No matter how the stable global expansion of Korean enterprises and the increasingly sluggish performance in China are contrary to each other, it is believed that the war in the market will be more and more prosperous in the struggle of ideas, until the victory and defeat are divided.
Hyundai bets against the Chinese market
This year marks the fifth year of the promulgation of the Korean Restriction Order. As a person who has been "Hahan" for ten years, he has gradually returned from the regret of the obstruction of K-pop culture in the past. Because in the push and shove of the market wave, the essence of hallyu no longer seems to have uniqueness. From imitation to learning, and even beyond, the great China has given us too many new choices.
Under the influence of many factors, the decline of communication giants Samsung and LG and the departure of automobile company Ssangyong have become a thing of the past, which has actually laid the groundwork for the development of Korean companies in the Chinese market.
In the automotive market, Hyundai, as the current mass base, after a short period of stability at the end of 2021, there must be only one thing that can be done at this stage to make the brand regain recognition in such an unusual background.
For several months, undertaking the high-profile entry of Geniseis into China, Elantra N has repeatedly tested the inclusiveness of the market, and NEXO has repeatedly powered hydrogen stations, which have indeed helped Hyundai to increase popularity. The topic of global synchronization and technological modernization, which modern times have repeatedly emphasized, has also been instilled in the current Chinese young people around these initiatives.
However, can modern efforts not be covered by this public opinion war? So far, it is still a difficult problem with no standard answer.
It is believed that under the years of consumption upgrading and cognitive improvement, China's auto market has long been out of the confused state of "which is strong and which is weak". Since modern times have strong enough strength to support it, in the face of the precarious survival situation, if it really does not work, it is a big deal to start over.
But everyone understands the truth, but it does not represent anything. Whether it is from the perspective of the development trend of the entire industry, or based on the current market pattern, the direction of the story is so smooth. Perhaps, the time left for Korean cars to prove their own strength is really not much.
According to the 2021 annual financial report released by South Korea's Hyundai Motor, all aspects of the data have indeed achieved growth. For the full year, Hyundai's operating profit reached 668 million won, up 178.9% year-on-year, and net profit was 5.69 trillion won, almost doubling the year-on-year figure. In terms of sales, the entire Hyundai Motor Group sold a total of 3.89 million units worldwide in 2021, an increase of 3.9% year-on-year.
In this way, The Korean car should have a certain confidence in its own planning in the Chinese market. But actually? In its performance forecast, Hyundai Motor has set an annual wholesale sales target of only 370,000 units for the Chinese market, and the year-on-year growth target is only 3.1%.
I dare not say that Hyundai's plan is due to the fact that Beijing Hyundai's retail sales in China last year reached only 385,000 units, or the lack of follow-up to Geniseys' entry into China, but one thing is certain, Hyundai's expectations for the Chinese market have reached a stage of almost lying flat.
Compared with similar car companies, the four japanese joint ventures in China have raised their annual sales targets to near one million vehicles, not to mention the high enthusiasm, including Ford, Citroen & Peugeot, etc., as long as they have not lost interest in the Chinese market, there is a reason not to give themselves some pressure. After all, the market is so cruel, "living" should not be the attitude that a car company that has spare energy in the global market should have.
"Cultural prosperity" is no longer working
In fact, even if we set aside Hyundai's real ideas about the Chinese market, from hyundai's segmentation of sales at various stages last year, Korean cars obviously do not have enough confidence to let the Chinese market go.
Especially in the fourth quarter, according to Hyundai's official data, from 1.1395 million units in the same period of 2020, it fell by 15.7% year-on-year to 960,600 units. Moreover, in all overseas markets except South Korea, Hyundai's sales fell by 17.2%. This shows that hyundai's position in the global market is not enough to make it ignore the existence of the Chinese market.
In addition, Hyundai Motor's global sales target for 2022 is set at 4.323 million units. This means that if it does not have a dim sum for the Chinese market, where this expectation comes from, it will also be hung up with a big question mark.
Although anyone knows, the national self-esteem of Koreans is very strong. This point, in the long-term industrial change, is bound to slowly give Korean companies or Korean institutions, with a certain personality in foreign affairs.
As far back as the years when the Korean Wave was choked, Lee So-man, founder, producer and general manager of SM Entertainment, South Korea's largest brokerage company, said in an interview that "Korean pop culture will surely usher in a second period of revival in China" and that "China must abolish the 'Korean restriction order', reopen the door to Hallyu, accept to learn from us, and develop innovation on the basis of our culture."
Recently, at the Winter Olympic Games, the South Korean delegation prepared to protest to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Bach, after applying to the referee team for penalties for many events, and will appeal to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). At the same time, some politicians in South Korea also called out to the delegation, asking them to withdraw from the competition in protest.
But I have always believed that in the competition of the global market, the national image will eventually have a profound impact on various international trade cooperation. Unfortunately, according to the poll results released by the Korean media recently, under the evaluation mechanism of 10 points, the current South Korean people's good feelings for China have dropped sharply, with an average score of only 2.6 points, and many of them directly give 0 points. For reference, South Koreans score the United States as high as 7 points.
At present, no one can guess where various similar states come from, or whether the influence of modern brands will become more and more diminishing. But what is obvious is that as the ideological game between the two peoples intensifies, some young Chinese people have long since lost their desire to spy on Korean culture as they once did.
More than half a year has passed since the suspension of the Korean rice network, and the variety show "Running Man", which was once sought after by the young generation of Chinese people, has gradually faded its aura, and the residual enthusiasm of iron fans is unwilling to dwell on the plagiarism crime of Chinese variety shows and the "business" that cannot support the transportation of resources...
Perhaps to this day, it is still clear that lee min-ho ten years ago, in the Korean drama "City Hunter" and the modern Phase One " , in a long period of time since then, has become one of the elements of Korean cars to eat young people in China. But today, 6 years later, without the assistance of cultural development, I think that korean cars can only rely on themselves to achieve recovery.
Self-reliance is the way out
Indeed, in today's sudden changes in China's auto market, if someone asks me, if I want to mix in the Chinese auto market, what kind of advantages does Hyundai have, and how can it withstand it? I admit that this is a difficult question.
First, as the cliché goes, the rise of Chinese car companies has become a major obstacle in front of Korean car companies; second, the lag of the electrification strategy has made Korean cars lose a valuable opportunity to show their muscles. It is reported that the Ani Kr brand and E-GMP pure electric platform released early on can be settled in China this year, it is not easy to say.
Nowadays, coupled with the trend that consumers no longer have expectations and enthusiasm for the entire Korean brand, it has not decreased but has increased. When various reasons are superimposed, people will inevitably find no way to solve the crux of the problem.
But then again, I thought that Hyundai's Korean leaders always didn't understand why Hyundai could shine in overseas markets but lose in China. But throughout 2021, it should be said that Hyundai has not done much for the Chinese market. In fact, it is not passive.
As Choi Dong-woo, general manager of Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd., declared at the end of last year, "Korean-funded car companies are still trying to regain their strength and recover their lost positions through a series of adjustments, and return to the position of mainstream joint venture brands." ”
When the new garage Stu and core models such as the seventh generation Elantra showed some highlights in the market segment, the sales volume and market share of Korean cars still showed significant growth.
And as Du Junbao, permanent deputy general manager of Beijing Hyundai, said, "I believe that the results of our efforts will be reflected in 2022 and 2023." In the next 3 years, to come up with the 'North Present Speed' of that year, the action must be like Chinese medicine acupuncture to cut through the pain points. "Hyundai's continued investment and increase in China still makes everyone in it full of confidence.
Indeed, from 2013 to 2016, the sales volume exceeded one million vehicles for four consecutive years, making the "North Present Speed" the most worthy honor of Korean cars in China. The resulting brand sentiment also reached its peak in the context of the Korean Wave sweeping through China. However, the achievements of that time have become a thing of the past, and today's Northern Present people have no choice but to go all out.
In the past 2021, due to overcapacity, Beijing Hyundai had to sell its first factory and related land to Ideal Automobile, out of the needs of the group's business, from Li Hongpeng and Li Feng, who served as Hyundai (China), to Xiang Dongping and Fan Jingtao leaving or transferring away from Beijing Hyundai, all of Hyundai's layout in China has a deep meaning in the eyes of the outside world.
And according to the plan, Beijing Hyundai's next focus is only tilted on the 7th generation Elantra, the fifth generation Tucson L, ix35 and Kustu, Yueda Kia after the equity restructuring, it will take a while to formulate the development direction of the new company.
But in any case, for people in the industry, the sales of Korean cars continue to decline in China, although there are practical reasons, compared with the public opinion friction caused by the Winter Olympics, and worried about the future situation of Korean cars, it is still hoped that Hyundai can survive this round of difficulties in China in the development of technology as the guide. The Winter Olympics are a big military training to test the soft power of a country, and no one wants to make it a catalyst for the prosperity or decline of an industry.
| Cao Jiadong |
Gasoline running in the blood,
Only fast is not broken!