In 1953, China's automobile industry originated in Changchun, and if you were to ask what "Chinese automobile" stood for, the answer might be inseparable from words like "difficult challenge" and "imitation and learning".
70 years later, after experiencing the miracle of "flowers all the way" in 2023, if you ask the same question again, the word "Chinese automobile" has a new meaning of its own. From catching up to surpassing, Chinese car companies are now unstoppable.
From resistance to true fragrance, new energy amazes everyone
According to the data of the China Passenger Car Association, the total sales of automobiles in China will exceed the 30 million mark in 2023. What is surprising is not only the increase in quantity, but also the change in the structural curve behind it. This change hides the pulse of the times.
In recent years, new energy vehicles have grown in sales, and new energy vehicles are a huge driving force behind them.
The rhythm of new cars on the market can be said to be the most intuitive display of the changes in the industry, and it is not difficult to find the advantages of new energy vehicles.
On average, a new car is launched in 4 years for fuel vehicles, and it only takes 18 months for new energy vehicles to be launched on average. Fuel vehicles in 4 years and a change in 8 years, new energy vehicles continue to collect market feedback, if the sales performance is not good for half a year to a year, it will immediately "return to the furnace and rebuild" according to the opinions, we have seen countless "facelifts comparable to replacement" new energy models in 2023, and its strong execution makes traditional oil car companies ashamed.
Under the double pressure of technology and marketing, the fuel vehicle system is facing a collapse across the board. In 2020, there were 59 new fuel vehicles, and by 2023, this number will be discounted in half and reduced to 27. In almost every market segment, trams have become a newer and better option.
Taking BYD as an example, every new car launched almost means a market segment subversion. The absolute advantage of holding the self-developed core technology of three electric vehicles is vividly reflected in the courage to dare to "oil and electricity at the same price", and a "998" Qin PLUS DM-i overturned not only the table of new energy opponents at the same level, but also the chips of the oil vehicles at the same price. In promoting consumers' awareness of new energy and increasing the penetration rate of new energy vehicles, BYD can definitely take the lead.
A hundred flowers bloom, belonging to the "golden age" of Chinese brands
Does "Chinese automobiles" simply represent an energy revolution?
– and it doesn't stop there.
Looking at the market, the annual share of China's own auto brands will reach 52% in 2023, that is, for every 100 new cars sold, 52 are independent brands, and the strength of joint venture brands has become a thing of the past, and the "golden age" of Chinese brands has arrived.
In the top 10 retail sales of passenger cars, BYD, Geely, Changan, Chery, Great Wall and other Chinese brands occupy five seats, and in the top 10 wholesale sales, independent brands are even more properly suppressed, not only occupying six seats, but also several remaining joint venture car companies can only stand aside.
In the past, the joint venture brand dominated by fuel vehicles was still proud of its brand advantages and technical accumulation, but now domestic cars are becoming more and more beautiful, easier to drive, and naturally easier to sell, and the halo of joint venture car companies has faded and begun to retreat in the Chinese market.
Sales volume is the most direct proof of this. In 2023, most joint venture car companies will fall into the embarrassing situation of slight growth or even negative growth.
SAIC Volkswagen fell 1 percent, Dongfeng Honda fell 4.9 percent, GAC Toyota fell 7.3 percent, while SAIC-GM, Dongfeng Nissan and Guangqi Honda all fell by double digits, FAW Toyota grew just 0.3 percent, and Beijing Hyundai edged up 2.8 percent. Yueda Kia seems to be outstanding, but in fact, only more than 80,000 units have been sold in China, and half of its products have been resold overseas.
There are also many joint venture brands, such as GAC Mitsubishi, GAC Acura, and Dongfeng Renault, which were forced to withdraw from the Chinese market in the face of dismal sales. Although the former "big brothers" Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen and Beijing Hyundai still survive, they are also in danger.
The joint venture brand has lost its former glory in China, and the Chinese brand has not only won the hearts of the Chinese people, but also become the world's champion.
In 2023, BYD will become the first Chinese domestic brand to enter the top 10 in global car sales, ranking ninth, and surpassing Tesla with 3.02 million sales, becoming the world's highest-selling new energy vehicle brand, and the first and only automaker to complete the transformation of new energy vehicles. More and more people are starting to remember "BYD".
If new energy and price have brought Chinese cars into the public's field of vision, then the blessing of intelligent technology has brought Chinese cars into the high-end ranks.
Nowadays, intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving are almost the standard configuration of Chinese cars, and the BYD Dream Day that has just ended, although the theme is "dream", but what you see at the scene is a "reality" that has been formed. Under the concept of equal rights in science and technology, black technology such as "Yi Sifang" makes the high-end of Chinese automobiles "have a face", and BYD, which dares to sell at a price of one million, does not need to hug the thighs of any giants.
At several exhibitions in 2023, the global leaders of overseas car companies began to lean over to learn about Chinese cars. Also in 2023, Volkswagen, Stellantis and other outstanding overseas car companies will throw olive branches to their own brands, looking forward to enriching their own industrial chain with the advantages of Chinese automobiles through technology co-research and product co-creation. Next, there will only be more such "reverse joint ventures".
The wind is blowing in the east, and the "great voyage" of Chinese cars has just begun
2023 marks the 70th anniversary of China's automobile industry, and it is also this year that China has become the world's largest automobile production and sales country, and it is also the largest new energy vehicle production and sales scale. China's auto exports also surpassed Japan for the first time this year, becoming the world's largest exporter, and more and more self-owned brand car companies with core competitiveness, such as Chery, BYD, Geely, and Great Wall, have begun to shine on the international stage.
As the world's new energy sales champion, BYD has covered more than 70 countries and regions and more than 400 cities, and its high-end models Yangwang and Formula Leopard will also be exported to Europe this year. The combination of new energy luxury off-road, which seemed incredible in the past, will be redefined, and the world will re-understand the scientific and technological strength of Chinese cars worth millions.
In the face of huge overseas market demand, BYD's first car transport ro-ro ship EXPLORER NO.1 also set sail recently, loaded with 5,449 new energy vehicles, heading to the Netherlands, Germany and other European countries, breaking the situation of tight capacity and opening a new chapter in China's automobile voyage.
More self-owned brand car companies are accelerating the process of internationalization, and continue to promote the localization of overseas markets through investment and factory construction, brand acquisition, joint ventures and cooperation, and the construction of international marketing systems.
After 70 years, China's automobile industry has insisted on innovation and treading the waves, and the clarion call of the new energy navigation era has been sounded.
epilogue
Back to the beginning, now I ask again, what does the Chinese car in 2023 represent, it represents the energy revolution, it represents independent innovation, and it represents the four words "Chinese automobile" itself has its own weight. Under the new smart car track, Chinese automobiles are collectively becoming a real "new force in car manufacturing" in the world and a hard currency in the international market. In the next 10 years, what new meanings will be added to the "Chinese automobile"? Let us wait and see.