It’s time for various year-end summaries again. All walks of life will review the work of the past year, and on this basis, adjust the work direction for the next year and formulate various corresponding plans. Small goals, and the Chinese automobile industry is no exception. After experiencing challenges such as the epidemic and core shortages, national passenger car retail sales reached 20.146 million units in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 4.4, ending three consecutive declines.
It is worth mentioning that the retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in 2021 will reach 2.989 million units, a year-on-year increase of 169.1, and the penetration rate will reach 14.8, which is significantly improved compared with the penetration rate of 5.8 in 2020, especially 11 , December, the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeded 20. It can be said that the sales of new energy vehicles have reached a new level, and the target of 20% penetration rate is gradually approaching.
However, some are happy and some are sad. Judging from the sales data of new energy vehicles at each brand level, independent brands perform better, while joint venture brands can be described as unsatisfactory. Among them, in December, mainstream The penetration rate of new energy vehicles among joint venture brands is only 3.3.
What can be seen with the naked eye is that the new energy vehicles of joint venture brands have been separated by independent brands.
The sales performance of new energy vehicles of joint venture brands is poor
It stands to reason that joint venture brands have certain advantages in terms of popularity and reputation. Why is the market feedback of new energy vehicles ineffective? This starts with the product itself.
Most joint venture brands on the market currently have the problem of "converting oil to electricity". These models often replace the engines, gearboxes, mechanical drive shafts and other structures of mature fuel vehicles with electric motors and batteries. Reassemble it and put it on the market as a new energy vehicle. For manufacturers, such an operation method can save R&D costs, product launch cycles, etc. on the one hand, and reduce the pressure of "double points for automobiles" on the other hand. Why not do it. But the disadvantage is that this type of product does not fully utilize the advantages of the electric system. "Defects" such as no advantage in battery life and insufficient intelligence are enough to make consumers sneer.
The other issue is cost-effectiveness. Joint venture brands also have new energy models with good performance and configuration, but the prices are often 20,000-30,000 yuan more than the same fuel-powered models. Take the Dongfeng Nissan Sylphy pure electric version as an example. Its manufacturer’s guide price is 238,000 yuan, and the price after subsidies starts at 153,000 yuan, which is 34,000 yuan higher than the fuel version’s starting price of 119,000 yuan. Similarly, FAW -The starting price of the Volkswagen Tanyue GTE (plug-in hybrid, starting at 249,800 yuan) is 44,900 yuan higher than the starting price of the Tanyue fuel version (starting at 204,900 yuan). In cities with no licensing restrictions, such prices are basically unattractive.
In addition, in an era when automobile intelligence is becoming more and more popular among young consumers, functions such as smart cockpits, assisted driving, and human-computer interaction are relatively common among independent brands, especially new forces, but in large companies It is difficult to operate on most joint venture brand models, or there is no such configuration at all.
All in all, to a large extent, the competitiveness of joint venture brand products is insufficient, resulting in being left out in the new energy vehicle market segment.
BYD’s new energy vehicle market performance leads independent brands
Among independent brands, BYD is in the new era due to its plug-in hybrid pure electric “two-wheel drive” technical route and product layout. Outstanding performance in the energy vehicle market. According to official data released by BYD, BYD's new energy vehicles are the main source of sales for the brand. Annual sales reached 593,745 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 231.6. Among them, pure electric vehicles sold a total of 320,810 vehicles throughout the year, while plug-in hybrid vehicles sold a total of 320,810 vehicles. 272,935 models were sold. It is worth noting that BYD's 1 millionth new energy vehicle officially rolled off the assembly line on May 19, 2021, becoming the first Chinese brand to enter the "Million Club" of new energy vehicles.
SAIC Passenger Cars, Great Wall Motors, and GAC Aian followed closely behind.
SAIC's new energy passenger vehicle sales in 2021 reached 161,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 107%, with a penetration rate of over 20%. It ranks among the top five in the market domestically and among the top six globally. It is in the first camp globally and domestically. Great Wall Motors sold a total of 136,953 new energy vehicles last year, accounting for 10.7% of the total sales. The monthly sales of the Euler brand exceeded 20,000 vehicles for the first time in December, setting a record high; the annual sales volume of GAC Aionan was 123,660 vehicles. A year-on-year increase of 119, exceeding the annual target of 100,000 vehicles.
Many independent brands have exceeded their new energy vehicle sales targets, which is also a key factor in the new energy vehicle penetration rate of independent brands reaching 39 in December last year.
The delivery volume of the first tier of new forces is close to exceeding 100,000 vehicles
In terms of new car-making forces, Xpeng Motors, NIO, and Li Auto have all sold more than 90,000 vehicles. Among them, Xpeng Motors saw the largest sales growth. In 2021, Xpeng Motors sold 98,155 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 275.2; NIO and Li Auto sold 91,429 and 90,491 vehicles respectively, a year-on-year increase of 109.1 and 177.4.
What I have to mention here is Ideal. Compared with Xiaopeng and Weilai, which both have 3 cars delivered, Ideal only has one car. In December, its monthly sales reached 14,087 units, which is 14,087 units nationwide. The annual delivery volume of new energy SUVs is second only to Tesla Model Y and BYD Song (including plug-in hybrid and pure electric). BYD Tang, which ranks behind Ideal ONE, has a sales data of 50,116 units, and the distance is relatively obvious.
If you exclude the Model Y and Song pure electric versions and treat plug-in hybrid SUVs as a separate market segment, Ideal ONE is undoubtedly the best performer in this market. You must know that plug-in hybrid SUVs The current main competitors of electric vehicles are fuel vehicles. Some netizens have cited a joke before. As long as enough attributes are added, no matter which car is the best, but at the same time, it must be clearly seen that if it is classified as a new energy model, the Ideal ONE and the Tesla Model Y There is still a big gap.
In addition to Weilai, Xiaopeng, and Ideal, which are commonly known as the three new car-making forces - "Wei Xiaoli", Nezha, Weimar, and Leapao can be regarded as the second echelon. , the delivery volume of these three brands in 2021 will be around 50,000 vehicles, and the monthly delivery volume can also reach more than 5,000 vehicles.
Written at the end: Although joint venture brands will perform poorly in the new energy vehicle market in 2021, it is undeniable that joint venture car companies are accelerating their transformation into new energy vehicles and have launched exclusive new energy vehicle platforms, following Volkswagen’s After the MEB platform, Mercedes-Benz launched the EVA electric vehicle architecture platform, Hyundai Motor's E-GMP electric global modular platform and GM's Ultium pure electric platform.
Among them, the ones that performed better, such as the launch of the Volkswagen ID series, FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC-Volkswagen’s wholesale volume in December last year were 19,498 units, accounting for 46% of the mainstream joint venture brand new energy market. Some industry experts said that Volkswagen's firm electrification transformation strategy has achieved initial results.
In the era of fuel vehicles, joint venture brands took advantage of comprehensive factors such as technology accumulation and product layout to gain an advantage in the domestic automobile market. However, with the continuous acceleration of the new four modernizations of automobiles, independent brands have taken a lead in the field of new energy vehicles. Coming from behind, at least judging from market performance, it is taking the lead for the time being. However, as the pace of transformation of joint venture brands accelerates, independent brands must also clearly see the future market competition trends and prepare product layout in advance. In the near future, the new energy vehicle market may see a situation where joint venture brands and independent brands are evenly matched. However, as long as there are good products that are “available”, it is possible to win the favor of consumers and remain invincible.