The sudden outbreak of the epidemic has disrupted people's lives and the rhythm of the automobile industry. According to incomplete statistics, nearly 70% of the country's automobile companies have been affected by the epidemic and announced a delay in the resumption of work, some of which is even far away from the resumption time.
Toyota, a multinational giant with two joint ventures in China, originally planned to resume work around Feb. 10, but had to announce recently that the shutdown of its factories in China would be extended to Feb. 17 due to disruptions in the supply of parts. Similar to Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and BMW Brilliance have all postponed their resumption of work until February 17th.
Hubei automakers, which are at the center of the maelstrom, could nominally resume work on Feb. 14, according to local government regulations. But considering the local epidemic prevention and control as well as the impact of the supply chain, it is basically very difficult to resume work on February 14th. At present, Dongfeng Honda and Nissan are studying the possibility of resuming work after Feb. 14, while SAIC-GM's Wuhan base and Dongfeng Renault's Wuhan plant are staying put and waiting for the epidemic's aftermath.
Originally not very optimistic about the auto industry, suffered such an impact, is undoubtedly worse. Industry insiders generally expected that the first quarter of 2020 sales will plummet, suffered a "black door" has been the nail in the coffin. In a famous automotive magazine questionnaire survey, 51% of readers believe that the impact of the epidemic will last 3 months to half a year, pessimistic about the future outlook, and these readers are basically from the vehicle companies, parts and components companies and dealers, reflecting the pain of the industry as a whole.
New coronavirus infection pneumonia epidemic as black swan swept to China's automotive industry, a pathos within the nine states, the tenacious car people can only resign themselves to fate, sitting ducks? In fact, it's not that negative. The industry is doing its part to eliminate the impact and contribute to winning the battle against the epidemic.
Shanghai Automobile General Motors Wuling and other automobile enterprises "changed" the production of masks
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the automobile industry has donated more than 1 billion yuan of cash and materials to Wuhan and other areas. At the same time, Chery Ruifu, SAIC Datsun and other companies represented by the first day of the New Year emergency resumption of work, the production of negative pressure ambulances for the infected areas of the targeted, strong support for the prevention and control of the epidemic work.
On Feb. 6, the auto industry stepped in again in response to the shortage of medical supplies in some parts of the country. Headquartered in Liuzhou, Guangxi, SAIC-GM-Wuling, supported by the Guangxi provincial government, Liuzhou municipal government, temporarily announced that "to change the line", will be a joint supplier through the alteration of the production line to produce masks.
Shanghai Automobile General Motors Wuling revealed that after the reconstruction will be set up 14 mask production line, including N95 mask production line 4, general medical mask production line 10, put into use in this month, the daily production capacity is expected to reach more than 1.7 million.
Not coincidentally, headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, BYD is also in the "change". The company first changed its business scope on February 5, adding disinfectant and other product development, production, sales and other businesses, and then the company officially revealed that it will "part-time" production of masks, disinfectant and other related epidemic prevention materials.
According to the relevant person in charge of BYD, BYD will produce related anti-epidemic materials until the epidemic is alleviated and eliminated, masks and disinfectant is expected to be around February 17th mass production and shipments, which masks production capacity by the end of the month up to 5 million / day, disinfectant production capacity by the end of the month up to 50,000 bottles / day.
In addition to this, GAC Group is also studying a new production line for masks, and its chairman, Zeng Qinghong, has led some of the top management to visit the relevant manufacturers of mask production equipment, and employees of the GAC Components and Technology Center have also been studying the relevant processes, and it is expected that the relevant advancement work will be carried out quickly.
"For manufacturing enterprises, in the short-term medical supplies in the special period, to play their own advantages, more than a simple donation of money and goods to solve the actual problem." ? Automotive industry analyst Ren Wanfu said. He believes that SAIC-GM-Wuling and other companies "to change" the production of related anti-epidemic materials, can give the automotive industry to set an example, to help the people of the country to better overcome the epidemic.
Volvo and other auto companies reduce pressure on dealers
The auto industry is doing its best to fight the epidemic, but it is also actively engaged in "self-help. The company also provided staff subsidies totaling more than 10 million yuan to reduce the financial pressure on dealers.
Volvo said that after the outbreak of the epidemic, it was the first to anticipate the impact on its business, and has always put the safety of its dealers at the center of its considerations. It hopes that these initiatives will give dealers in the midst of the cold winter of the epidemic the most practical and powerful support to effectively alleviate the pressure of their operations.
As we all know, under the current sales model, auto dealers and OEMs are interdependent. In times of difficulty, when OEMs take the initiative to help their own dealers, it is the same as helping themselves, which can stabilize their vital offline sales channels and lay a good foundation for a good sales recovery after the epidemic. Therefore, after Volvo announced its dealer care policy, major OEMs have also launched new policies to take the initiative to help dealers.
Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover said that after the outbreak of the epidemic in January, they have already studied and adjusted their targets, and decided to cancel the single-month assessment, and will also provide dealers with appropriate inventory subsidies according to the models in order to alleviate the pressure on dealers' funds; SAIC Rongwei said it will focus on the sales operation and after-sales service, and will launch the six major initiatives, including the "Double Pressure Reduction, Double Support and Double Care", to fully support dealers' sales and after-sales service. "Six major initiatives to fully support its dealers *** through the difficult times; FAW-Volkswagen Audi, FAW Pentium, Infiniti, etc. also said that it will reduce the dealer assessment standards.
Faw-Volkswagen and other automobile companies to increase online sales
Under the shroud of the epidemic, consumers can not leave their homes, car sales are facing serious challenges. In order to minimize the impact, auto companies have launched another "self-help" operation -- shifting from offline sales to online sales, relying on the Internet to win customers.
Faw-Volkswagen, the 2019 sales champion of automakers, has set up an intelligent showroom with Auto Home to step up online marketing. In the FAW-Volkswagen smart showroom, consumers can watch the exterior and interior of models sold by FAW-Volkswagen's major dealerships online in 360° through cell phones, computers and other terminals, enabling them to get an effect comparable to that of seeing a car offline.
While North Volkswagen has increased its online sales efforts, South Volkswagen has not been idle either. SAIC Volkswagen has launched innovative service initiatives such as "Cloud Showroom" and "Cloud Car Purchase" for the Volkswagen brand. Consumers can search for Volkswagen brand models through SAIC Volkswagen's official mall, Automotive Home, E-Car, Know Your Car, Pacific Auto, Aika Auto and other major e-commerce platforms, and then view the cars in the "cloud showroom", choose their favorite models and submit orders to enjoy the benefits of online car purchasing.
At the same time, GAC Toyota also launched the "warm heart online, save time and worry" car purchase service, consumers through the official website of GAC Toyota, Toyota cloud line APP, automotive website VR online sales store and other online channels, you can understand the full range of new car information; SAIC Rongwei online sales for the online sales is carrying out training, will use VR Smart showroom, short video/live marketing, as well as linkage of the official Jitterbug/Tmall flagship store, to fully optimize the user's online car experience, to achieve the user without leaving the house to see the car, choose a car.
In addition, Jaguar Land Rover, Infiniti, Geely, FAW Pentium, Weimar, Xiaopeng Automobile and many other automakers are also ramping up their online marketing, looking to win customers through a variety of channels, such as online showrooms, e-commerce platforms and live broadcasting platforms.
Written in the end
Experiencing the downturn of the car market in 2019, and ushering in the impact of the epidemic in 2020, China's auto industry is facing a severe test. However, even when the resumption of work has been delayed again and again, automotive practitioners have not lost confidence and are actively responding to the challenges through their own efforts: on the one hand, they are doing their best to fight the epidemic and overcome the difficulties with the whole country; on the other hand, they are joining hands with dealers, innovating the sales model, and taking the initiative to seek new opportunities. This makes people full of expectations, but also dare to believe that the automobile market can be good.
This article comes from the author of the automobile home car family number, does not represent the views of the automobile home position.