As one of the top players in the gearbox field in the auto parts market, Aisin has dominated the entire gearbox market in just ten years with its transverse front-wheel drive 6AT gearbox. Half of the country, this is beyond the reach of other auto parts manufacturers.
When the Aisin 6AT gearbox appeared, like Spring Thunder, it was known for its high transmission efficiency, high reliability, smooth gear ratio, smart shifting logic, extremely competitive price, quietness, With advantages such as fuel economy, it quickly took the lead in the entry-level transverse gearbox market.
When the Aisin 6AT gearbox was launched on the market, many manufacturers were using some old 4AT, 5AT gearboxes and some manual gearboxes. Once the Aisin 6AT gearbox was launched, it It was well received by most overseas OEMs; in addition to overseas markets, in the domestic market, because in the domestic auto parts market at that time, first-tier car companies such as Geely, Great Wall, and Chery had not yet been able to truly compete in joint venture brands and overseas markets. To gain a foothold amid the technological impact of manufacturers, objective factors such as an imperfect supply system, a lack of talent reserves, and short-sighted development goals are undoubtedly restricting the development of independent brands in the market.
At that time, the Aisin 6AT gearbox, which came from a well-known family, became an ideal choice for some independent brands that did not have the ability to mass-produce gearboxes but were eager for success. Relying on its various advantages, Aisin quickly seized the market gap of domestic independent brands, and gradually increased its market share of gearboxes and the installation rate of independent brands; on the other hand, Aisin's prestige also gradually suppressed independent brands. The living space also tests the determination of independent brands to develop independently.
With the support of core parts suppliers such as Aisin, ZF, and Bosch, independent manufacturers’ vehicle sales are growing rapidly in the market at a relatively large rate every year. However, from another perspective, At that time, independent manufacturers did not have enough competitive technology and chips, and they were also deeply controlled by these parts manufacturers. The complete vehicles of each independent brand were basically matryoshka dolls, and the market was highly homogenized. It is conceivable that As you know, at that time, even if the independent manufacturers had huge sales in the market, there was almost no profit in the actual financial statements.
When Aisin 6AT gearboxes were being wildly dumped into the country, it was also the period when the consumption power of the domestic passenger car market was at its strongest. On the one hand, independent manufacturers were facing the annual production and sales of 20 million complete vehicles. On the other hand, it needs to face the embarrassing situation that in the domestic automobile market environment, which is huge and has strong consumption power, it cannot breed a local parts brand that can produce good results.
It should be noted that at that time, the weak strength of Chinese companies in the field of gearboxes was faced with patent barriers controlled by a number of established overseas manufacturers. This made the industry well aware that independent research and development and independent innovation by car companies It was difficult, and at that time ZF and Aisin transmissions had very high market shares and consumer recognition. Independent manufacturers wanted to survive in the cracks and built their own transmissions and parts supply chains. It cannot be said that it is not difficult.
In addition to the numerous barriers controlled by established overseas parts suppliers, independent manufacturers are still trying to keep themselves together while some independent manufacturers are slowly trying to cross the river in various fields. When they were able to provide prototypes to the market despite the results, most independent manufacturers at that time would rather purchase well-known foreign brands at high prices than give independent parts companies a chance to support them. Faced with this dilemma, some independent manufacturers The vanguard of manufacturers who are willing to invest money in research and development cannot think of it.
Although from a manufacturer's profit perspective, no one can bear the responsibility for trial and error, and a newly established independent brand cannot withstand such a heavy responsibility. In the process of independent research and development by independent manufacturers, these manufacturers who are willing to invest cannot get technical support from overseas manufacturers and cannot be driven by independent car companies at home. The development prospects of China's automatic transmissions are very bleak.
While independent manufacturers are in the midst of factional battles over "purchasing" and "research and development", Aisin's 6AT gearbox, which has always been known for its quality and performance, is enjoying great benefits in the market and has been in a state of flux for a long time. With supply exceeding demand, some manufacturers are unable to leave the Aisin 6AT gearbox.
In the market, consumers at that time even directly judged whether a model was a good car and worth buying by whether it was equipped with an Aisin 6AT gearbox, so that Aisin In the gearbox spare parts supply market at that time, Aisin 6AT gearboxes were quoted at a sky-high price of 9,000 per set. It can be said that Aisin gearboxes at that time were both windy and rainy, and they were extremely difficult to control. The lifeblood of some independent manufacturers.
Independent manufacturers that advocate burning money for R&D have always overcome market and technical barriers. After 2014, independent manufacturers in the domestic market launched models using 6AT and MT. The proportion has dropped significantly, and instead, gearboxes equipped with DCT, CVT, 8AT, and 9AT in different forms continue to appear on the market, slowly eroding the market share of Aisin 6AT.
Around 2014, gearboxes began to be slowly applied to self-branded cars by independent manufacturers. Some of them were developed by independent manufacturers such as Dongan, Shengrui, Wanliyang, Chery, and Great Wall. Some of the products are from South Korea's Bemos, Wopatai, Germany's Getrag, Japan's Jetco, and other manufacturers have also begun to covet the supply share of auto parts in the domestic market, affecting the Aisin 6AT Gearbox supremacy.
Faced with Aisin's near-monopoly market environment and patent barriers, independent manufacturers have no choice but to "save the country" if they want to break out of the tight siege. After Geely acquired the Australian DSI Automatic Transmission Company in 2009, it can be regarded as having a transmission R&D company and technology. However, the technical reserves of the Australian DSI Automatic Transmission Company are difficult to adapt to domestic small-displacement engines.
For profit-seeking suppliers, the input and output of research and development of transmissions are really not proportional, and the acquired technology is not in line with their actual needs. This puts independent companies in a dilemma in the field of gearboxes.
At a time when almost all independent brands are having difficulties in their product supply chains and technology chains, Dongan Automobile, which has been absorbing Mitsubishi technology for many years, has developed one of its own brands based on a 4AT transmission. 6AT gearbox, with its overall design of miniaturization, lightweight, high efficiency and low fuel consumption, it also has good vehicle mounting and applicability, and can be applied to cars and SUV models.
This domestic 6AT gearbox successfully developed by Dongan Automobile Development Company after six years can be said to have brought a glimmer of hope to the entire domestic gearbox industry, restoring a little confidence to independent brands. This is undoubtedly It's a great encouragement.
However, by the time Dongan Qifa 6AT actually rolled off the production line, the golden sales period of the entire product cycle of Aisin’s 6AT gearbox had already passed quite a long time, and Aisin had already made a lot of money. However, for the domestic gearbox industry that has just started, the Dongan 6AT gearbox, as a latecomer, is not as good as the Aisin 6AT in terms of performance, engine compatibility, user reputation, etc.
As the timeline slowly goes by, in addition to Dongan Automotive’s 6AT gearbox, Shengrui 8AT, Wanliyang CVT and DCT gearboxes self-developed by their respective main car companies have appeared. in the market.
At this time, faced with these self-owned brand gearboxes that were about to sprout, they adopted a low-price dumping method, increased cooperation with Chinese car companies, and reduced costs through joint ventures. , to curb the expansion of domestic automatic transmissions, in an attempt to drown manufacturers and companies that independently develop transmissions in the cradle.
As for the first-generation Shengrui 8AT gearbox, in terms of product strength, it is indeed average. It has been accused of a series of problems such as low transmission efficiency, poor shift smoothness, and confusing shift logic. There is a domestic 8AT gearbox, but even if this gearbox is a defective product, no matter how bad it is, it is still a product produced by an independent brand. This is one of the main reasons why Shengrui 8AT gearbox has never withdrawn from the market.
Later, the progress of Shengrui 8AT gearbox was witnessed by everyone. The performance of the second-generation Shengrui 8AT began to increase rapidly. In addition, the products developed by its own brand had superior prices and successfully matched FAW's After 18 models from nine OEMs including BAIC, BAIC, and Chery reached 200,000 units on the market, Shengrui once again launched the third-generation 8AT gearbox. This gearbox weighs more than the second-generation model. Lighter, smaller in size, and further improved in integration, the axial dimension is only 360mm, the weight is only 83kg, the transmission efficiency has reached 94%, and the maximum tolerable torque has been increased to 380Nm, making it proud in front of gearbox suppliers around the world. This is the pride of independent manufacturers.
Among independent manufacturers, the technical reserves of independent manufacturers have been improved through mergers and acquisitions of overseas gearbox manufacturers, reverse research and development, independent development, etc. It is undeniable that for a long period of time, even domestic gearboxes The supply industry chain is in a vacuum period, but after this period of time has passed, in the field of domestic independent transmissions, various brands have also been able to come up with their own products, such as Shengrui 8AT, Wanliyang CVT, and Punch. CVT, Great Wall 7DCT and other products, as products that lay the foundation for independent transmissions, originally did not expect this generation of products to be very strong, and it was more to curb overseas manufacturers who did whatever they wanted. However, in the later installation evaluation, it was found that this batch of gearboxes received unanimous praise for their strength in all aspects.
The Aisin 6AT gearbox has gradually lost its halo as the times go by (of course it still has a dominant position now, but the situation is still much worse than in the past). In addition to the ability of independent manufacturers to In addition to the production of its own gearbox, which reduces the purchase demand for Aisin's 6AT gearbox, part of the reason is that the arrival of the electric vehicle (hybrid model) trend has impacted the internal combustion engine passenger car market. The popularity of pure electric (hybrid) models is extremely unfriendly to the market expansion of Aisin 6AT. Now that manufacturers have more technical solution options, it will naturally crush Aisin 6AT’s dream of dominating the Chinese market.
Part of the reason why Aisin failed to realize its dream of dominating the Chinese market is due to the domestic new energy points policy. After the introduction of this policy, if car companies continue to use 6AT, it means that they must sell more electric vehicles, otherwise they will not meet the national fuel consumption limit requirements. Even though the Aisin 6AT gearbox has extremely high fuel economy, it must also give a certain living space to electric (hybrid) models.
In the current domestic automobile market, it is undeniable that Aisin 6AT is very strong, with high market share and market visibility. However, the era when Aisin 6AT dominated the domestic gearbox market is gone. Well, after all, independent manufacturers currently have enough choices to replace Aisin gearboxes.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.