2024 is already halfway over. If you use four words to describe the domestic auto market in the first half of this year, "chicken feathers" may be very appropriate.
In the early 90s of the last century, the writer Liu Zhenyun published a novella, the name of the novel is "A Place of Chicken Feathers". Later, chicken feathers became a new idiom, which means to make a mess and mess all over the place.
Using chicken feathers to describe the domestic auto market in the first half of the year, some people may disagree. The data of some institutions will say that in the first half of the year, domestic automobile production and sales are still growing, especially new energy vehicles and automobile exports have increased greatly, and independent brands have performed well.
However, from a realistic point of view, the involution and price war that lasted from the beginning of last year to the first half of this year intensified, which seriously impacted the domestic automobile production order and marketing environment, and the situation was not good.
The price war at the expense of profits has led to many auto OEMs, auto suppliers and auto dealers falling into losses, and the auto industry has been full of layoffs. The rampant water army in the automobile circle, traffic bullying, and some media platforms have committed crimes, which have seriously poisoned the public opinion environment of automobiles.
Isn't all of the above a piece of chicken feathers?
Some analysts believe that the fundamental reason why there is so much chaos in the domestic auto market is that there is an imbalance between supply and demand of automobiles, and there is a serious oversupply.
After three years of the epidemic, many domestic car companies mistakenly thought that there would be a new round of growth in the auto market, so they desperately expanded production and set excessively high sales targets.
As everyone knows, the sequelae of the epidemic on China's economic and social life are very serious, and it will take a long time to achieve full recovery. Since last year, the central and local governments have introduced many policies to promote automobile consumption, but the sluggish domestic automobile consumption has not changed. According to the statistics of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, domestic sales of passenger cars in May this year fell by 2.8% compared with the same period last year, and it is estimated that June will not be much better.
Shen Jinjun, President of China Automobile Dealers Association
Shen Jinjun, president of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said a few days ago that global car prices have generally risen, but the Chinese market has shown the opposite trend. Shen Jinjun recently attended the American Auto Dealer Conference. At the meeting, representatives from various countries said that 2023 will be very profitable for automakers and dealers, in stark contrast to China. The auto price war is intensifying, and the profitability of OEMs and dealers is constantly collapsing.
The first half of the year has passed, except for a few companies, most of the auto companies are having a hard time, and the car supplier is a good dealer. OEMs have laid off employees and 4S stores have laid off employees, and many automakers have entered the army of unemployed. If this phenomenon spreads, China's auto industry, which has been hard-won after decades of hard work, will suffer a heavy blow.
Fu Yuwu, honorary chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, pointed out a few days ago that "volume" has become a terrible phenomenon, and if we do not face it squarely and correct it, it will distort the values of the entire industry and destroy the environment of the entire industry under the rule of law. We don't fight price wars, we can't afford to fight, and we can't win; We can't roll in, we can't roll up, and we can't win; We can't take shortcuts, and we don't have shortcuts; We must respect the market, we must respect the market, we must respect science and technology, and we must respect science and technology.
Fu Yuwu, Honorary Chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China
For the current automotive public opinion environment, Fu Yuwu pointed out that relying on traffic, attacking opponents, unscrupulous means, and hiring water armies, this year's Beijing Auto Show did not expect to become such an exhibition. We no longer advertise products, we no longer advertise technology, we no longer describe our future automotive trends. Moreover, a large number of media have coerced the field of public opinion, and I hope that media people must maintain a good public opinion environment for the automobile industry, inject positive energy into China's automobile industry, and the values cannot be distorted.
The old Autobot's deafening voice deserves the attention of all Autobots. In the face of the current situation of weak domestic demand, endless auto market, price wars, severe international situation, and deterioration of the public opinion environment for automobiles, relevant government departments and the automobile industry must take effective measures to solve the problem in order to ensure the healthy development of China's automobile industry. (ENDS)