"German brands are very attractive to China consumers. As far as I know, there is no German brand in Dongfeng's current product line. After the merger of PSA and FCA, it will also bring some new brand opportunities. " Olivier said.
With the cliff-like decline in sales, shrinking market share and expanding losses, the re-entry of Opel brand into China has almost become the only visible "life-saving straw" for Shenlong Automobile. However, it is still a debatable question whether Opel can re-enter China to revive Shenlong Automobile.
Is it a "lifeline" or a "loss"? For Opel brand, this is a label with almost no middle ground. For DPCA, the re-entry of Opel brand into China may be its best last resort.
Return signal
According to the China patent announcement in official website, China National Intellectual Property Administration, PSA has applied to China National Intellectual Property Administration for the design patents of at least six models of its Opel brand during the period from August 20 18 to June 201910.
The above six models include Opel CORSA and Grandland? X-class cars and SUV models, including new ones? The total number of commercial vehicle models such as VIVARO and Mokka-e, which are pure electric vehicles just released by Opel, exceeds one-third of the 17 models (including different power systems) currently on sale by Opel. Three of them were granted design patents on July 3 this year.
This means that the Opel brand is expected to be introduced into China and has entered the preparatory stage. The signal of Opel brand returning to China market came earlier.
2019165438+1On October 29th, PSA issued a statement saying that it planned to sell the shares of its joint venture Changan Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co., Ltd. (referred to as Changan PSA). A month ago, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (referred to as Changan Automobile) was listed for sale. Although Changan PSA lost in Maicheng, Carlos Tavares, chairman of PSA Management Committee, said: "PSA will never give up the China market."
As we all know, PSA currently has only two joint ventures in China, one is Changan PSA, a joint venture with Changan Automobile, and the other is Shenlong Automobile Co., Ltd. (referred to as Shenlong Automobile), a joint venture with Dongfeng Motor. The former has always been regarded as an abandoned child, so it is almost the only feasible choice for PSA to revive the China market with the help of Shenlong Automobile.
On June 5438+February 19 of the same year, Dongfeng Motor said that it had reached an agreement with PSA, and the two parties would extend the joint venture term of the joint venture company Shenlong Automobile Co., Ltd. It was reported that a representative of Dongfeng said, "With the deepening of cooperation between Dongfeng and PSA, we expect the joint venture company to continue to make progress in China." Dongfeng said on the conference call that if PSA agrees to introduce Opel brand into China, then Shenlong Automobile will get the exclusive right to sell the brand cars, and the parts imported from PSA will also enjoy lower prices. In addition, the joint venture company will also benefit from new technologies and intellectual property rights.
On June 0, 20 15, 1, Opel officially withdrew from the China market, ending its 20-year campaign in China with dismal sales performance. The reasons for Opel's withdrawal from the China market are complicated, but the most fundamental point is poor sales.
Opel's main model is the hatchback, which is relatively small in the domestic market. However, after being acquired by PSA, it has achieved an annual sales volume of over one million in the European market, which proves its superior product strength.
Opel's "forced" departure from the China market was also taken into consideration by its old boss, GM: In 2009, GM implemented the strategic transformation of "European and American technology and global platform", introduced Opel's platform in time, and upgraded its models, which directly led to the direct competition between Opel products and Shanghai GM products. Regal and Insignia, Yinglang XT and Opel Astra, although one is imported and the other is made in China, have similar products, which makes Buick and Opel fall into a strange circle in the China market. If Opel sells more and more, it will actually grab Buick's market more.
If Opel successfully returns to the China market this time, it will compete with the products of its old owner General Motors. And Shenlong Automobile will get the exclusive right to use the Opel brand. Dongfeng said: "In principle, PSA brand has been granted the exclusive right of DPCA, and Opel brand must be among them."
At present, only the Opel brand under PSA has not yet entered the China market, and this right has been granted to Shenlong Company. Therefore, the crux of the problem is only one point: For Shenlong Automobile, is it the best time for the Opel brand to return to the China market?
Stand on the edge of the cliff and turn around
Shenlong automobile co., ltd was established in may 1992. /10 2002 On June 25th, 2002, Shenlong Automobile Co., Ltd. was upgraded from a joint venture between China Dongfeng Motor Company and French Citroen Company to a joint venture with French PSA Peugeot Citroen Group.
Shenlong automobile also has a bright market performance. In 20 13, the annual sales volume of DPCA was 550,000 vehicles, which was 20% higher than that of 440,000 vehicles in 20 12. In 20 14, its sales volume further increased to 704,000 vehicles, and the growth rate also increased to 28%. In the same year, Dongfeng Peugeot, a brand owned by Shenlong Automobile, ranked first in the mainstream joint venture car enterprise camp at a level exceeding twice the industry average growth rate. What's more worth mentioning is that the sales growth rate of Dongfeng Peugeot, a brand of Shenlong Automobile, is as high as 43%, ranking first in the whole industry.
The inflection point of sales of Shenlong automobile is 20 15 years. In that year, the sales volume of 704,865,438+08 vehicles was realized. Compared with the previous year, the sales volume has not changed substantially. However, in the ever-changing automobile market in China, it is an eternal truth that if you don't advance, you will retreat. In 20 15 years, DPCA failed to achieve the annual sales target of1000000 vehicles, but it still ranked in the top ten in the narrow sense passenger car sales list of China automobile enterprises at that time, which was much higher than the sales volume of 404032 vehicles of Dongfeng Honda, another joint venture company of Dongfeng Motor.
After a short period of glory, sales of Shenlong automobile began to plummet. In 20 16, the annual sales volume of Shenlong automobile was 600,200 vehicles, down by 14.77% year-on-year, and it missed the top ten sales list of narrow passenger cars of China automobile enterprises. In 20 17, the annual sales volume of Shenlong automobile was 377,500, down 36.85% year-on-year, and it fell out of the top 20 in the sales list of narrow passenger cars of China automobile enterprises. In 20 18, the annual sales volume of Shenlong automobile was 253,400 vehicles, down by 36.5438+0.88% year-on-year, ranking 25th in the sales list of narrow passenger cars of China automobile enterprises. In 20 19, DPCA set a historical minimum sales target of 235,000 vehicles, but actually failed to reach half of it, only113,500 vehicles were completed.
At present, although the domestic auto market is accelerating, French cars still can't keep up with the pace. According to the data of the Federation, from June to May this year, the sales volume of French cars was about 654.38+0.84 million, down 74.5% year-on-year. 1~ May, the market share of French cars even fell to the bottom, only 0.3%.
Among them, Shenlong Automobile, as the only "hope" of French cars in China market, is facing the test of life and death in recent years. According to the production and sales report released by Dongfeng Group (00489.HK), in May, the sales volume of Shenlong Automobile was 6,250 units, down 28.14% year-on-year; From June to May, the cumulative sales volume was about 65,438+0,790 vehicles, down 66.24% year-on-year.
According to the revival "Yuan" plan put forward by Shenlong Automobile, it is hoped to achieve profitability by 2020. Judging from the current sales situation, it is almost hopeless for Shenlong to achieve profitability.
At this historical node, only standing on the edge of the cliff and turning around is the only way out for Shenlong Automobile.
In order to save itself, many measures have also been taken inside Shenlong Automobile. The first is to reverse the huge loss situation: after the huge loss of 3.5 billion yuan in 20 18, the loss of Shenlong automobile in 20 19 further increased, and the annual loss exceeded 4 billion yuan. In order to reduce losses, Shenlong Automobile implemented large-scale layoffs. In addition, it is reported that Shenlong Automobile will sell the factory in exchange for cash flow to save itself.
The adjustment of personnel structure is also the key direction of Shenlong Automobile's self-help:
According to relevant data, during the four years from 20 16 to now, DPCA has recorded nine senior management changes, involving chairman, vice chairman, director, general manager and other positions.
In 20 17, Shenlong automobile once again ushered in a major personnel adjustment. Liu Weidong, the helm, is no longer in charge of Shenlong, and An Tiecheng takes over as the chairman. In addition, the management positions of DPCA Party Secretary, Deputy General Manager of Commerce, Deputy General Manager of Procurement and Minister of Purchasing Department have also been replaced one after another; In the second half of 20 17, Li Haigang and Rao Jie, the two helm of Dongfeng Peugeot and Dongfeng Citroen, resigned one after another; At the end of 2065438+2008, Dongfeng Peugeot-Citro? n Automobile held a cadre meeting, which greatly adjusted more than 10 senior managers. Among them, the former general manager Su Weibin was transferred, and the former French executive deputy general manager Michael Ran took over as general manager. From 2065438 to February 2009, Luo Sibo, an executive of PSA Group, succeeded Michael Ran as the general manager of Shenlong Automobile and served as a member of the company's executive committee. September 20 19, after two years and three months, the helmsman An Tiecheng was transferred from Shenlong. In March 2020, Zhang Zutong, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Dongfeng Group and deputy general manager, also served as the chairman of Shenlong Automobile; Olivier, Secretary-General of PSA Group and Head of Business in China, served as Vice Chairman of Shenlong Automobile.
In the case of serious mistakes in internal communication, frequent replacement of management can not solve the dilemma of Shenlong Automobile, but highlight its anxiety in the quagmire. Now, a more important question is before Shenlong Automobile: should we clean up the bad assets first, sort out the assets, open up sources and reduce losses, or introduce the Opel brand for first aid regardless of the prospects?
According to the tourism finance report, in view of the poor performance of French cars in China market, it is difficult to boost sales in a short time simply by relying on the investment of new French cars. After all, the decline in sales for many years has proved that the product strategy and product positioning of French cars are wrong in the current China market. If you want to turn over, you may still have to rely on the Opel brand with German ancestry to stabilize sales first, and then reshape the product value of French cars in the China market. After all, last year, Shenlong Automobile revived a high-profile car like Fukang, but it was still given a cold shoulder by the market.
Therefore, a more uncertain future lies ahead of DPCA, but the answer is only two choices: success or failure. After all, there is only one life-saving straw for Shenlong Automobile: the Opel brand has re-entered China.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.