Earlier, AM Auto Mirror had an article about the impact of the epidemic on China's auto industry. However, with the outbreak of the epidemic in the world, I think the China auto market should not only bear the blow of the domestic epidemic, but also bear the difficulties of the international auto market. For some enterprises in crisis, it means a moment of life and death. Today, AM Car Mirror will analyze a brand that has not appeared in the public's field of vision for a long time-Zotye Automobile.
Hot event
Recently, news about Zotye Auto's 20 19 serious losses spread on the Internet. Zotye Automobile 65438 released the "20 19 Performance Forecast" on October 20th this year, showing that the net profit loss attributable to shareholders of listed companies in 20 19 was about 6-9 billion, down 850%- 1225 compared with the same period last year.
Then, on March 8, Chen Jing, vice president of Zotye Automobile, submitted his resignation report, and then on March 17, Deng Xiaoming, vice president of Zotye Automobile, submitted his resignation letter in writing.
At the same time, these two incidents reflect a problem that Zotye Automobile is facing an unprecedented dilemma. So what happened to the brand that inspired Chinese people to drive luxury cars? Let me talk about the history of Zotye first.
The history of Zotye
Zotye Automobile Co., Ltd. is an automobile manufacturer whose core business is automobile R&D, manufacturing and sales. It owns three automobile brands, Zotye, Jiangnan and Ma Jun, and has set up automobile production bases in Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong and other provinces. Products cover car, SUV, MPV, new energy vehicles and other market segments, and the marketing network covers domestic large and medium-sized cities and third-and fourth-tier markets, and is exported to Algeria, Chile, Russia and other countries and regions. It was officially registered on September 15, 2003. At the beginning of Zotye Automobile, many shareholders came from auto parts manufacturers. After integrating these resources, Zotye began to enter the field of vehicle manufacturing.
grasp the opportunity
After its establishment, Zotye purchased the production line of Toyota Terry model, and seized this opportunity to manufacture and produce a small SUV-Zotye 2008 in 2006. In 2008, Zotye Automobile obtained the "birth certificate" to optimize Zotye 2008 and launched a brand-new Zotye 5008. At that time, this car was Toyota's Dalu Terry, focusing on the young market. It has the advantages of being cheap, beautiful and practical, just in line with people's desire for SUVs at that time.
Gradually known by people.
Buying a production line and then perfecting and optimizing this road made Zotye get the first bucket of gold, but it was also called Zotye T600. AM mirror image must first talk about this time that Zotye stepped on it. September 20 14, the first generation Zotye T600 went on the market. At that time, someone happened to be pursuing an SUV. In addition to joint venture cars, only a few domestic independent brands were selling SUV models at that time, and it happened that T600 let more people know about this brand with its excellent cost performance.
The origin of tape measure department
After a small achievement, Zotye found another problem. Consumers begin to pay attention to appearance, and it is probably the simplest and most effective way to learn from mature design. If Damai X5 is not like Volkswagen Tiguan, the Porsche Macan imitated by SR9 is in place, so that it is difficult for Porsche designers to see which is the real body from the side. This wave of operation has made people who eat melons have different opinions, and it has also given Zotye the title of "Tape Department". Whether the dream of luxury cars in the future can be realized depends on Zotye! However, due to quality problems and the reputation of "shanzhai", the final sales of SR9 and SR7 were bleak and suffered the end of production suspension. Occasionally, their taillights float in the rivers and lakes.
Set foot on the road of new energy
The name Zhi Dou must be familiar to everyone. Now Zhi Dou Auto belongs to Geely Holding. Before the birth of New Ocean, Zhi Dou belonged to Zotye Group. At that time, the new energy was just perfect in China, and its appearance was so small and lovely that you had to be curious to know what kind of car it was. Zotye took advantage of the trend and launched Zotye Sesame, Zotye E200 and other miniature new energy scooters.
It's too late for independent research and development
If Zotye stepped on some previous courses, the road to development would not be smooth. Zotye began to abandon the cottage and put more money into independent research and development, which is obvious from the appearance. The appearance is better, the shape is more fashionable and the configuration is higher. Plan to hit the road to luxury. However, it is too late. At the same time, other domestic independent brands have already taken the lead, and their historical accumulation, car-making level and brand reputation far exceed Zotye Automobile. Zotye, whose family background is not strong, has launched many models to fill the SUV market segment. The latest listing is Zotye T300 Xiao Qiang Edition 2065438+March 2009.
I have to mention Mahayana bus
Many people may not have heard of Mahayana, but at the 20 19 Shanghai Auto Show, Mahayana rented a booth and entered the public's field of vision. At that time, taking the bus attracted my great curiosity, because it looked like Zotye in any case. Has Zotye been copied? To put it simply, Mahayana is a brand newly built by Zotye's former chairman Wu Jianzhong. The data shows that after Mahayana entered the automobile market in 20 17, the sales volume in that year was11528; The first SUV was released in September 20 18, and the sales volume in that year was 20065438+08. 20 19 year Mahayana vehicle sales 258 10. Today's Mahayana cars are also under pressure in terms of funds. The latest Mahayana G60S just launched the National Six model in September 20 19. Compared with Mahayana, Zotye Motor not only suffered serious losses in 20 19, but also did not launch any new cars since last March.
Will Zotye leave us?
Here, I want to explain first that many domestic independent brands have made outstanding contributions to the automobile industry in China. No matter what interest chain is involved, every step in each period is worth remembering. There are too many brands including Youth Lotus, chongqing lifan, Shanghai Huapu and Beiqi Magic Speed. They just failed to keep up with the times for various reasons. Just like Zotye Auto today, it hasn't updated its new car for a long time, and the slow update speed will lead to being overwhelmed by the fiercely competitive market. The recent resignation of senior executives illustrates the plight of Zotye Automobile from another angle.
AM mirror summary
Zotye died because in those years when China cars grew wildly, they got used to "extensive" development and missed the opportunity of transformation. 2 1 Century After entering the second decade, consumers in China automobile market are no longer satisfied with "four wheels and one sofa", and consumers begin to pay attention to quality, which undoubtedly gives Zotye a blow. The most typical example is that Zotye has not yet had a powertrain that meets the national six emission standards since the implementation of the national six emission standards. On the other hand, Geely, Great Wall and Chery, both domestic independent brands, have basically reached the national six standards.
2002-20 19 was a year when China's automobile industry took off. As a mass consumer product, automobiles also entered the homes of ordinary people. But today, we seem to be watching the booming car "golden times" leave us, but I prefer to regard it as a little beauty buried in my heart. We also cherish every China brand, no matter its origin, no matter how it survives, no matter whether it is alive or not.
For Zotye, I am angry with it and sad for its misfortune. I hope Zotye will live, and I also hope that every China brand that has worked hard will live.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.