Wei Jianjun, the chairman of Great Wall Motor, who was born in the army, is a race against time. At present, India has become one of the important battlefields of Great Wall Motor this year.
At the New Delhi Auto Show in early February, China automobile brands occupied a dominant position, exhibiting more than 20 models. Not only the Great Wall, Haima Automobile and SAIC MG also continue to increase their prices, and Changan also plans to make a big March this year. BYD has previously announced that it will launch an electric truck in India.
Great Wall Motor Haval brand concept car unveiled in India (Source: evoindia)
Affected by the epidemic, COVID-19 has recently appeared in many countries and regions around the world, and the number of confirmed cases has been rising. China's automobile industry has been hit hard, and suppliers and automobile manufacturers have been slow to return to work. In India, a world-recognized place where sanitation is poor and even toilets can't be repaired, the virus almost detours.
It is such an "open" country that attracts many domestic automobile brands to "go south for gold". But rather than making money, it is better to give these "children growing up in greenhouses" an opportunity to get in touch with the outside world.
India is their best training ground at present.
Where is the magic of the Indian market?
As the world's fourth largest auto market, next to China, the United States and Japan, India has huge economic and consumption potential, which is like a fertile ground for peanuts in the eyes of many auto companies.
On the one hand, the total population of India exceeds1300 million, and the number of cars per thousand people is only over 20, which has a great growth space compared with China's 173.
On the other hand, according to the forecast made by McKinsey & Company, India is expected to replace Japan in 20021year and become the third largest automobile market in the world.
"Although the sales volume of Indian passenger car market declined in 20 19, the Indian car market still has strong market potential and consumption potential, which is also the incentive for China car companies to compete to enter the Indian market." ? Cui Dongshu, president of the Federation, told Entrepreneurship.
MG Brand (Source: official website)
Take SAIC, which ranks first in domestic automobile export, as an example. SAIC's three overseas automobile manufacturing bases are located in Thailand, Indonesia and India. This year, within two months after SAIC overseas sales brand MG began to sell in the Indian market, the number of orders from Indian factories has exceeded 28,000.
In addition, in recent years, the Indian government has vigorously advocated international strategies such as "Made in India", "Digital India" and "Clean Energy India", which coincides with China's efforts to promote new energy and intelligent networked automobile industry.
In order to increase the popularity of electric vehicles, the Indian government has allocated nearly 654.38+000 billion rupees (about 9.5 billion yuan) to support the development of the electric vehicle industry.
This also means that China, which is actively deploying the "new four modernizations", may also gain an advantage in this booming Indian market.
However, although the Indian market has great development potential compared with the current domestic market environment, opportunities always coexist with challenges, and independent brands still have to face various challenges.
The first level is the competitive pressure from Japanese car companies.
According to the statistics of Indian automobile website Autopunditz, in 20 19, 60% of Indian passenger car market was occupied by Japanese brands, while the market share of Korean brands was 18%, that of European and American brands was 2% and 1% respectively, and the market share of China automobile enterprises was only 1%.
Among them, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Mahindra and Tata alone account for more than 82% of the Indian passenger car market.
From the list of the top ten car sales in India in 20 19, we can also get a glimpse of one or two. Among the top 10 models, 7 are from Suzuki Maruti, and the other 3 are Korean cars.
Why did Suzuki, who was seriously delisted in China, win by an overwhelming margin in India?
Maruti? Eight hundred
The most important thing is brand loyalty.
In India, most elderly consumers usually drive the first car of the previous generation. At that time, who was Maruti holding hands with Suzuki in Japan? Udyog, who produced the first national car in India, Maruti? 800, also known as alto. Under the brand effect, people will naturally give priority to Maruti Suzuki when buying the next product.
Of course, what can't be ignored is consumer demand.
At present, India has a low consumption level, a large population and a high density, so a cheap and space-saving mini-car has become the best choice. Japanese car companies, the first to enter the Indian market, seized this consumer demand and opened the market with small car products with low energy consumption and low price. ?
For this reason, although Suzuki withdrew from the China market on 20 18, it still occupied nearly 50% of the Indian market, exceeding the combined sales of Hyundai Motor, Mahindra and Tata.
The second level is that the competition between SUVs and electric vehicles will be more intense.
According to the data of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association (SIAM), the sales of SUV in India increased by 5% in 20 19. Although the growth rate of total sales slowed down, the SUV market segment still showed a growth trend.
In 20 19, Suzuki released a brand-new mini four-wheeled SUV for the first time in 35 years to meet the increasing demand for SUV products in the Indian market. In addition, Hyundai Motor, Ma Hengda and Tata Group have also begun to accelerate the layout of SUVs and electric products in the Indian market.
Suzuki Ingenis (Source: Suzuki official website)
These two market segments are the first choice for China brands to enter the Indian market. To win this battle, China automobile enterprises must establish local characteristics, need local production, supplier bases and R&D institutions, and even establish local partnerships.
Judging from the reaction of China car companies, it seems that the localization strategy has been gradually started.
From the exit to the factory building
China cars enter India.
Compared with other markets, the development of electric vehicles in India is more urgent: air pollution. The World Health Organization announced that 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India. Every year, more than 1 10,000 people die from inhaling harmful gases.
Last year, the Indian government set an ambitious goal-by 2030, all cars sold in India must be electric vehicles. This is undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for China car companies.
China is the largest country of new energy vehicles in the world, and many independent brands are eyeing the Indian market. SAIC is undoubtedly the first automobile company to "enter" the hinterland of the Indian market.
In 20 17, SAIC invested 3.275 billion yuan to acquire and transform GM's HALOL plant in Gujarat, India. In June last year, SAIC launched the first "Internet car" MG? Hector. Up to now, the sales volume of MG Hector is nearly 6.5438+0.6 million.
MG Hector? Besides? (Source: official website)
"We are confident that after 3-5 years of development, this market may become our market of 654.38 million or even 200,000 vehicles, so we have plans to further invest in India."
Zhao Aimin, Party Secretary and Deputy General Manager of SAIC International Trading Co., Ltd., said in an interview. According to Entrepreneur, SAIC is currently considering investing an additional $350 million to build a second factory in India.
Under the general trend of electrification, SAIC MG also launched the first model named ZS? EV SUV electric products, the starting price is about 203,800. The relevant person in charge of SAIC MG told Entrepreneurship that this electric product has received more than 2,800 orders after 27 days of open booking.
At the Delhi Auto Show, Great Wall Motor has an independent exhibition area of over 3,000m2 (Source: official website).
Great Wall Motor, which has been sailing frequently recently, has made great efforts to enter the Indian market.
At present, Great Wall has invested more than 6.8 billion yuan to develop the Indian market, including the acquisition of the Tarigon factory of General Motors, product development, production of power batteries and manufacturing of key components such as electric drives. In addition, Great Wall also plans to invest in the establishment of manufacturing enterprises such as lithium-ion batteries and internal combustion engines in India.
"India has become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world, and the automobile market has become the first investment destination for most automobile companies."
For the first time at the Delhi Auto Show in India this year, Great Wall Motor independently contracted 3 150m? The booth, Harvard brand, Great Wall EV and a variety of core components were all unveiled, and the "Vision 2025" plan was announced.
Hardeep Singh Brall, sales and marketing director of Great Wall Motor India business, further stated that Great Wall also plans to provide a series of SUV products for young consumers. "We want to be a member of the SUV and EV market segments."
Besides Chang 'an. In fact, the sprout of Chang 'an going to sea in India has been gestated for three years. Judging from the current news, Chang 'an has also put his ideas into practice.
It is reported that Changan is looking for a factory address in India, and at the same time, it is still conducting preliminary negotiations with local suppliers. In addition, Changan is still considering whether to establish an electric vehicle battery assembly plant in India.
And Haima, which has been marginalized in China, is also cooperating with Bird, a local Indian manufacturer? Electric has established a cooperative relationship. In the future, the two sides will cooperate in various fields of new energy vehicles such as production, sales, travel and charging pile construction in India.
Therefore, it is not difficult to see that China car companies are trying to devour the Indian car market share originally occupied by Japanese and Korean brands in the field of electric vehicles.
It's not just India
China automobile is going to the world.
Not only Indian cars, but also China cars are "going out of China to the high end".
According to the data of China Automobile International Trade Coordination Committee, the top ten countries of automobile export in 20 19 were Mexico, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Brazil, USA, Indonesia, Peru, Ecuador and Thailand.
Not only in 2065438+2009, but also in early 2000, the first stop for independent car companies to go to sea was the underdeveloped markets such as the Middle East, South America and Southeast Asia.
For example, Chery Automobile, which ranked first in the export sales of passenger cars in China for 17 years in a row, sold more than10.4 million new cars to more than 80 countries and regions such as the Middle East, South America and Africa.
Cars waiting for export (Source: Reuters)
For a long time, China automobile brands have failed to enter the markets of developed countries in Europe and America. Although we have invested in factories and R&D centers in some European and American countries, we have not actually obtained an unimpeded "passport" for mature automobile markets such as Europe.
Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, once said: "Compared with China, the North American market is very different, including laws and regulations, consumption traditions and regional characteristics, especially the product liability law and other related norms, which require us to consider more comprehensively and prepare more fully." ?
At the same time, China car companies want to work hard in the European and American markets, and brand awareness is a mountain that cannot be bypassed. ?
"Many foreign consumers simply can't tell which is which China brand. They just generally know that they are all from China. "
Chen Anning, general manager of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. said that in the eyes of European and American consumers, the homogeneity of China products is serious, and it is a crucial step for enterprises to stand out from China brands.
Nevertheless, China car companies still regard entering the European and American markets as the ultimate goal of overseas business.
According to Chery's plan, starting from 2020, Chery will promote the brand to "go up" and complete the international layout including mainstream markets such as Europe and America; By 2025, we will achieve the goal of exporting 500,000 cars and 5 billion US dollars.
Geely is one step ahead. According to "European Automotive News", the CEO of Lectra brand Wei Lansi said that it will start producing Lectra cars for the European market in the second quarter of 2020.
Aichi U6? Ion? (Source: Guan Wei)
Among the new forces to build cars, Aichi U5, the first pure electric SUV of Aichi Automobile, was unveiled last year. Aichi's second car U6? Ion was also released at this Geneva Motor Show.
I went to north american auto show last year. Yu Jun, general manager of Guangzhou Automobile Passenger Car, said at the scene that due to the Sino-US trade dispute, Guangzhou Automobile Chuanqi's plan to enter the US market will be postponed from the original 20 19 to 2020.
Although the time node of GAC Chuanqi's entry into the United States has been postponed many times, judging from the remarks of GAC's senior management, its goal of entering the American market will not stop.
Write it at the end
Overseas market is a powerful "foreign aid" for independent brands in this knockout, but the uncertainty of overseas market will become a bomb that will lead to the elimination of independent brands.
Institute J.D. Power put forward three suggestions on the "going out to sea" of independent brands: First, we should fully realize that consumers in different markets are different; Second, "first impression" is very important, focusing on quality; Third, after trying to innovate in the domestic market, copy the successful experience to overseas markets.
With the gradual saturation of the domestic automobile market, overseas markets have become a battleground for China brands in the future. The Indian market today is the best "training ground".
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.