In 2020, Zotye collapsed, Lifan was on the verge of collapse, Brilliance fell into a huge debt dilemma, the domestic auto market's normal negative growth was tested by the epidemic, some companies with weak operating strength faced survival challenges, and the auto market knockout competition surfaced. Although the above lists are all independent brands, in fact, the knockout competition is by no means an independent "patent". From a policy level, market-oriented reforms continue to deepen, and even joint ventures with state-owned backgrounds are in danger.
New Car Review will launch a series of articles in the near future, respectively talking about joint ventures that are currently under great pressure to survive. In this issue, I will talk about Zhengzhou Nissan from the perspective of what I see. Next, my colleagues will We talked about 6 companies including GAC FCA and Dongfeng Infiniti. It should be noted that this is just our personal opinion from the perspective of a media practitioner. It can be said that it is not painful to stand up and talk. After all, it is really difficult to run a good business. We dare not make irresponsible remarks on whether others can do well. Okay, I’m not going to suggest any improvements.
Get up early? Didn’t make it to the market? Zhengzhou Nissan
Zhengzhou Nissan was founded in 1993, 10 years earlier than Dongfeng Nissan, and better than the GAC that most southerners are familiar with. Honda is also an established joint venture five years earlier. I believe that when it was first established, it also shouldered Nissan's expectations of opening up the Chinese market. Looking back on the 27-year development history and comparing the development of my country's automobile industry with the growth of domestic car ownership, I personally feel that Zhengzhou Nissan "got up early but failed to catch up with the market", which is better than what we often say "get up early" It's even worse if you go early and catch a late market."
When I first entered the industry, around 2009, my perception of Zhengzhou Nissan was that it was a serious joint venture. The next year it launched the NV200, which then pushed Zhengzhou Nissan into its peak period. In 2010, Zhengzhou Nissan achieved a historical high of annual production and sales of 101,000 vehicles, an increase of more than 70%. In my opinion, as an ignorant newcomer, Zhengzhou Nissan has a “promising future” with Nissan’s technical support. Unfortunately, things did not develop as expected. By 2016, due to poor performance and other reasons, all Nissan personnel had withdrawn from Zhengzhou Nissan. However, my younger brother, like me, did not know that the complexity of capital at the beginning would make the fate of this company born in the inland region even more unfortunate, and I did not know that its light truck manufacturing background would transform into commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. market constraints.
It happened to be the first three years that I entered the industry, which were the most prosperous years for Zhengzhou Nissan. In the years after 2010, with NV200 and Shuake as the spearhead, Zhengzhou Nissan was aggressive and maintained a strong momentum of development. Ambition. In 2011, the sales target of 100,000 vehicles was exceeded, reaching 116,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%. In 2012, the cumulative sales volume exceeded 100,000 vehicles. In 2013, Zhengzhou Nissan set its sales target at 200,000 units. However, what followed was a sharp decline in sales performance. Until the past three years, the total monthly sales of Zhengzhou Nissan's models have hovered around 3,000 units, including Many of them are purchased locally.
Zhengzhou Nissan missed two blowout periods in the Chinese auto market. The reason may be related to its positioning in commercial vehicles and its missed opportunities for technological development. After the introduction of the NV200 and Shuaike, Zhengzhou Nissan has not introduced any products that are widely used in the country. There was a period of time in the domestic pickup truck market that was not popular, with the Ruiqi sitting first, but at that time it was definitely It wasn't big, and it was quickly taken down by the Great Wall. Zhengzhou Nissan has never been able to find its own sense of existence, and has been left behind by the mainstream in terms of production technology, leaving the impression that its workmanship is much worse than Dongfeng Nissan.
Lost the MPV? You can’t even afford the pickup truck
As far as I know, Zhengzhou Nissan’s first highlight moment was brought about by the introduction of NV200. By 2011, Zhengzhou Nissan The company is in good shape. On one hand, the MPV market's NV20 Shuike has an annual sales volume of 40,000 units. On the other hand, in the pickup truck market, the Ruiqi Bicycle has achieved a record of 44,000 units. However, after that, there were no viable products to cope with the changing market. By 2015, Zhengzhou Nissan's production and sales dropped to 35,000 vehicles.
MPV products are obviously out of stock. Two Nissan models have launched some minor facelifts. With the emergence of self-owned brands Wuling Hongguang, Baojun 730, and Auchan, the NV200 and Shuake have little advantage in price. Gradually, Marginalized by the market, it can basically be said that the MPV market has been completely wiped out, with no room for maneuver.
Pickup trucks have always been a small market in China, with annual production and sales of around 400,000-500,000 units. However, in such a market, Zhengzhou Nissan still encountered a "force majeure" opponent - Great Wall. Great Wall pickup trucks have ranked first in domestic sales for 17 consecutive years. Zhengzhou Nissan, which has a joint venture background, is also "struggling" in the pickup truck market. The arrival of the Navara won a wave of calls for its passenger positioning, but soon the Great Wall Cannon appeared, and then it felt like there was nothing going on without Zhengzhou Nissan. It can be said that Zhengzhou Nissan's pickup truck road was the road of being suppressed by Great Wall, and later even Jiangling couldn't do it. For Zhengzhou Nissan, pickup trucks have become both unaffordable and impossible to put down.
Today, Zhengzhou Nissan’s presence is even weaker, and there are really no products that remind people of it.
The future? I hope there will be.
In recent years, as for the existence of Zhengzhou Nissan, I feel that it is a full-time OEM for Dongfeng Nissan. I checked the sales volume in detail and was shocked. This company (including Zhengzhou Nissan/Dongfeng Fengdu/New Energy) has not sold more than 3,000 units in a month for 4 consecutive years! I couldn't help but wonder, how did it survive? How else will it survive? Under the state-owned system, you may say that these are not issues that we have to worry about, but it is not that Dongfeng Group has never tried to exit. We have not forgotten the cases of Dongfeng Yulon and Dongfeng Renault.
To a certain extent, the survival of Zhengzhou Nissan is a matter of time, not a matter of time. It has been unable to rely on its own business to make a profit and will be liquidated sooner or later. However, even if it does not retire in a short period of time, it will not gain hope because of time or investment.
In 2013, Dongfeng Group supported the development of independent brands and created a "four winds" matrix. At that time, Zhengzhou Nissan launched the joint venture independent brand Dongfeng Fengdu and received investment to create Fengdu MX5, MX6 and other models. Then, it quickly returned to calm. In fact, Zhengzhou Nissan has not made any technical or R&D innovations. It just took the old Q-Trail and gave it a facelift. Of course, the market will ruthlessly vote with its feet.
The past is over, does Zhengzhou Nissan still have a chance today? Putting aside the development level of production line software and hardware that cannot keep up with the times, Zhengzhou Nissan has not accumulated any decent core technology in recent years, which is the biggest pain. In the existing market, competition is becoming increasingly fierce. New car-making forces are busy innovating and constantly innovating new products. Established car companies are desperately trying to keep up with technology in order to maintain their position. In this case, those who fall behind will be further left behind.
The editor said:
The auto market experienced negative growth in 2018. As soon as the data came out, the industry simultaneously issued policy calls. Many people believed that another wave of purchase tax discounts should be introduced to stimulate the auto market. However, as everyone has seen, no matter how hard you try, the policy remains unchanged. The result is that the decline in 2019 will be larger than the previous year. This shows that as China continues to open up its economy and promote marketization, the auto market is not immune to its own problems. The main principle is to still compete in the market. It also reflects that the protective shield in front of state-owned enterprises is quietly fading away. If it cannot realize its self-hematopoietic function in a limited time, no matter what its joint venture background, it will eventually become cannon fodder in the market.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.