Economic Observer Reporter Pu Zhenyu On September 29, the China Automobile Promotion Theme Summit Forum initiated by Global Automobile and SAIC MG was held in Beijing. At the forum, many industry experts and corporate executives interpreted the automobile industry in the context of the new era from different angles such as macroeconomics and marketing, which involved the topic of how independent brand fuel vehicles should develop under the wave of electrification, and "high-end", "smart" and "going overseas" have become high-frequency keywords.
China Automobile Industry Association data shows that from January to August this year, China's automobile production and sales reached 16.967 million and 16.86 million respectively. Although the growth rate of new energy vehicles far exceeds that of fuel vehicles, the market share of fuel vehicles is still as high as 77%. The industry consensus is that although electrification transformation is the general trend, fuel vehicles will still occupy an important share in the automobile market for a considerable period of time in the future. Xu Changming, deputy director of the National Information Center of
, said that independent brands should actively seek high-end, whether they are electric vehicles like NIO , or fuel vehicles like MG. On the road to high-end, independent brands can make full use of the demand and supply side environments to create products with a relatively high level of intelligence around young consumers.
According to the report of the National Information Center, among the new car purchase users in 2020, the cumulative proportion of young consumers born in the 1990s and 2000s has reached 27%, and has maintained a rapid growth trend since 2015; it is expected that by 2025, the cumulative proportion of the "post-90s" and "post-00s" will increase to 52%, of which 17%.
"After '60', you may not be able to learn how to drive a smart car for two days, but after '95', he may be able to learn the functions in 10 minutes without any obstacles." Xu Changming said that the young people born in the 1995' grew up in an era of material prosperity. They grew up with high technologies such as the Internet and big data, and have an innate demand for intelligence.
Zhang Liang, deputy general manager of the data business department of SAIC Group and chief digital officer of passenger car company, believes that independent brand fuel vehicles should take the path of youthfulness and intelligence. But he said that youth does not simply refer to doing business for young people, but refers to the brand constantly iterating and upgrading itself with the characteristics of the times to resonate with this era. "So we have added intelligent wings to fuel SUVs to resonate with young users."
Peking University School of Journalism and Communication , Deputy Dean of Liu Dehuan , proposed that in the process of attracting young consumers, we must pay attention to the female group. When marketing a car with independent brands, in addition to emphasizing the characteristics of the steel era such as speed and passion, it also needs to be incorporated into a female perspective, such as combining elements such as intimacy, comfort, friendship and cleanliness.
In addition, famous economist Wen Yuankai said that through the reform of state-owned enterprises, the development of independent brands that rely on state-owned enterprises can be promoted. "MG's holding company is SAIC, but don't forget that SAIC is a state-owned enterprise. State-owned enterprises have many disadvantages that need to be overcome, so we must further call for the reform of state-owned enterprises." Wen Yuankai said.
SAIC Group Party Secretary and Chairman Chen Hong publicly talked about SAIC Group’s mechanism and system reform plan on September 28. Chen Hong said that at the group level, on the premise of maintaining the state-owned controlling position unchanged, SAIC considers introducing strategic resources, improving corporate governance structure, and continuously improving SAIC's market competitiveness, collaborative innovation and resource integration.
going overseas is also regarded as an important path for the development of independent brand fuel vehicles. "More than 70% of the domestic market is the fuel vehicle market, and the proportion internationally is higher," said Zhang Liang.
According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2021, China exported 2.015 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 101%, second only to Japan and Germany in the world. From January to August this year, my country exported a total of 1.91 million cars, an increase of 47.5% year-on-year, surpassing Germany to become the world's second largest automobile exporter. Among these 1.91 million exported cars, more than 80% were fuel vehicles.
In Zhang Liang's view, domestic brand fuel vehicles are in a lack of differentiated inversion in the domestic market.Independent brands have shown a leading trend in the new energy field, and in fuel vehicles, domestic brands have actually basically completed the pursuit of foreign-funded brands. At present, independent brands are moving globally with a global perspective, including making some high-end attempts, which are breaking through the intra-volume.
Wang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Institute of Science and Technology Development Strategy, Chinese Academy of Sciences and executive director of the Center for Industrial Science and Technology Innovation Research, said that in overseas markets, independent brands need to promote and promote branding with new ideas. "We are looking at the automobile industry and the automobile power from our own perspective. Then we must adhere to one angle, which is the views and perceptions of different markets and countries around the world about us going overseas. We must balance these two angles so that the brand can go global more stable and sustainable."
