It is the hottest summer in the northern hemisphere, but car manufacturers feel chills because the European auto market has entered a cold winter.
The European market is so recession. Statistics from the European Automobile Manufacturing Association (ACEA) show that the European market (referring to the EU, the European Free Trade Union and the successful UK in Brexit) have seen more than double-digit sales declines for four consecutive months, and the past June was the worst month in Europe in nearly a decade, not even comparable to June 2020.
This means that the sales data in the first half of this year are very ugly, and it is indeed the case. In the first half of 2022, sales in the European market fell by 13.7%, with a total sales of only 5.598 million units, a decrease of nearly 900,000 units compared with last year. You should know that sales last year were already very poor, and this is a deteriorating situation.
The cold winter of the European automobile market is not a country. Germany (-11%), the United Kingdom (-11.9%), France (-16.3%), Italy (-22.7%), Spain (-10.7%) and Russia (-57.5%) all experienced double-digit declines.
The cold winter is not one or two car companies. Except for Tesla and Hyundai Group, other automakers are facing the dilemma of sales decline, but Toyota and Renault-Nissan outperformed other automakers during the recession, with a decline of less than 10%. Other automakers are having headaches with the double-digit decline, especially Volkswagen and Stellantis, two European giants with sales of millions in the six-month period. The decline of nearly 20% caused them to lose more than 300,000 and more than 200,000 vehicles respectively.
The cold winter is not a few brands, but almost all brands are trapped in the quagmire. Among the 22 brands that achieved an average monthly sales of over 10,000, only the four brands, Hyundai, Kia, Dacia and Tesla, achieved positive growth.
Obviously, the tragic phenomenon in the auto market is by no means a "technical adjustment", but an intuitive reflection of the global economic recession. Because the chip shortage has not been severe enough to cause the auto market to plummet, the growing inflation, energy tension caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and the impact of the new crown epidemic on social efficiency have not only affected consumers' wallet thickness, but also seriously hit consumer confidence.
While the overall auto market is bleak, it has also shown highlights in part, such as new energy vehicles and models with high cost performance and high practicality.
Pure electric models grow vigorously
Let’s talk about the new energy vehicle field first. New energy vehicles have shown strong vitality as a whole, especially pure electric vehicles.
In the UK, the market share of pure gasoline vehicles fell to 43.8% in the first half of the year, and the market share of pure diesel vehicles was only 5.7% after the sales of pure diesel vehicles were halved. The market share of PHEV plug-in hybrid models remains unchanged at 6.4%. HEV and pure electric models have played a great singularly. HEV models have grown by 26.3%, and the market share has increased from 8% to 11.4%. The sales of pure electric models have increased sharply by 56%, reaching 115,000 units, and the market share has increased from 8.1% to an eye-catching 14.4%. This means that for every seven models sold, one is a pure electric model, which is still in the absence of special tax incentives for pure electric models.
The situation in the French market is similar to that in the UK, with the market share of petrol and diesel vehicles both declining, with a total market share of only 54.3%. The PHEV market share has increased slightly, reaching 8.1%. The market share of HEV models increased from 16.6% to 21.2%, and the market share of pure electric vehicles increased from 7.9% to 12.1%.
The biggest winner in the new energy field is Tesla undoubtedly. After the Model Y production rose, Tesla reached 85,000 units after sales soared by 28.8%, surpassing the Land Rover and MINI brands. Among the other brands, those with firm new energy strategies and those with early starts have gained more or less.
Take the German market as an example. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Polestar, Hyundai, Kia and others have made great achievements in pure electric models.
Audi e-tron, Q4 e-tron and e-tron GT all grew significantly, with sales reaching 5590, 4149 and 1179 units respectively. These three cars contributed more than 10,000 yuan to Audi, exceeding 10% of Audi's sales.
Mercedes-Benz EQ series has gone from A to S. Five electric vehicles contributed more than 8,000 sales to Mercedes-Benz. It is particularly worth mentioning that the EQS. The sales of this expensive electric vehicle reached 1,357 in the first half of the year. You should know that the sales of the S-Class in the first half of the year were only 2,413. From this, we can see that the momentum of EQS is still good.
Polestar 2 performed well in Germany, with sales more than doubled to 2,258 units. Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 exceeded 5,000 and 2,000 units respectively. Dacia Spring, whose sales have increased by eight times, contributed 3,000 vehicles to Dacia.
Of course, not any new energy vehicle will be smooth sailing. Volkswagen seems to have encountered a bottleneck in pure electric models. ID.4/5 has increased by nearly 20% to 7,000 vehicles, but ID.3 sales have halved to 6,000 vehicles. Therefore, Volkswagen's pure electric models in his hometown of Germany have not made a big difference. ID.3's private label model Cupra Born has only sold 2,410 units.
Honda e is also selling poorly. Although it has increased by nearly 30%, its sales are still only 428 units. In the final analysis, it is still poor battery life and practicality, not because the Honda brand is on the edge of Europe. If you don’t believe it, the sales volume is nearly three times that of the Honda e. There is also a special player on the list of new energy vehicles - Toyota Mirai. This hydrogen energy vehicle has only sold 137 units, which is a small one, but it is Toyota's persistence. However, although Toyota often popularizes the future of hydrogen energy to everyone, the media is also keen to compare and even condemn pure circuit lines. Most manufacturers and consumers are no longer willing to participate in the debate because manufacturers are busy grabbing land in the pure electric field, and consumers are relishing in the new experience of new energy vehicles.
Consumption downgraded, multi-function vans and cost-effective cars are sought after
Let’s talk about those brands/models in the field of fuel car that perform well. The best performance in the fuel vehicle field are the cost-effective brands and models. For example, Kia and Hyundai have increased by 16.8% and 8.2% respectively, both of which have exceeded 250,000 vehicles. In particular, Kia has suddenly appeared behind the Renault brand. Dacia's sales reached 226,000 units after soaring 18.2%, surpassing Fiat and Citroen.
The counter-trend rise of the three brands Kia, Hyundai and Dacia fully demonstrates the existence of consumer downgrades, and this is especially true for specific models.
Take the German market as an example. Sales of practical multifunction vans such as Volkswagen T7, Mercedes-Benz V-Class, Volkswagen Caddy, Citroen Jumper, Ford Transit, Transit Connect, Toyota Proace, Renault Kangoo, Volkswagen Sharon, Volkswagen Crafter, Mercedes-Benz Citan, Renault Tarfic, Ford Galaxy and other practical multifunctional vans generally have good sales, and have achieved positive growth or slightly decline.
Sales of small-volume models such as Fiat 500, Toyota Yaris Cross, Kia Ceed, Skoda Fabia, Dacia Sandero, Dacia Duster, Skoda Enyaq, Dacia Spring and Ford Ecosport have also increased significantly. Mitsubishi has surpassed Nissan and Mazda with the total sales of the two cars, Space Star and Yige.
Competitive landscape of each brand
After discussing, let’s take a look at the competitive landscape of each brand.
Although Volkswagen's fuel vehicles plummeted and new energy models have not yet broken through the bottleneck, its position as the number one salesman in Europe has not been shaken. It is also the only brand with more than 500,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, nearly 200,000 more than Toyota, which ranked second. Due to the hot sales of models such as Yaris Cross, Toyota's total sales fell by only 1.8%, thus surpassing Peugeot, which had a 21.2% sales plunge, becoming the second highest-selling brand in Europe in the first half of the year.
Renault is also miserable. After sales plummeted 20.3%, it has already ranked behind the three luxury brands of BBA, and is almost surpassed by Kia, which is away. Similarly, Hyundai and Skoda have also shown an increase and decline, with Skoda, which plummeted by 24.9%, lagging behind Hyundai. Hyundai Group is gaining a foothold in Europe and its strength cannot be underestimated.
Porsche has double-digit growth performance and is a well-performing brand in Volkswagen Group. With its sales of 42,000 vehicles, it has gradually approached the Land Rover after its sales plummeted by 31.8%, which sold only 48,000 vehicles.
SAIC MG performed well. ZS pure electric, HS plug-in hybrid, Marvel R and MG5 (domestic Roewe Ei5) sold a total of 45,000 units. With the introduction of MG 4 (domestic MG Mulan) in the second half of the year, MG is likely to exceed 100,000 units in Europe this year, which is worth looking forward to.
Jiashi Summary:
The downward economic trend has caused the auto market to be recession, and the recession of the auto market has made manufacturers more anxious internally, and the internal coiling between them is more serious, especially at the historical juncture of the transformation of new energy, where all companies are as nervous as walking a tightrope.Volkswagen is a good example. Others will definitely encounter the dilemma of a sharp decline in oil vehicles and pure circuit lines encountering bottlenecks. Volkswagen has also become a pathfinder for transformation. Specific measures or lessons to break the deadlock will also provide a reference for other car companies.
Japanese automakers also have their own immediate worries. The progress of the new energy route is significantly slower than that of European and American and Chinese competitors, and traditional oil vehicles are being chased by the Koreans again. In terms of car models, traditional sedan categories, grading and positioning are facing challenges. How to provide practical and attractive models in the era of economic downturn is a test for all car companies.
The next article will discuss the performance and highlight models of each brand in the four markets of Germany, France, Britain and Russia.
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