[Smart Cars] Previously, the 2022 World Car Awards announced the 10 models that were shortlisted for the finals. As a result, Korean cars "played their courage" and successfully won 4 places, including Hyundai Tucson and Kia EV6. However, the Zhiche School noticed a piece of information that was in sharp contrast with it. According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Korean passenger cars had a market share of only 1.7% in China in January this year. The word "天" here actually seems too gentle, and the word "天" can more vividly highlight the current situation of Korean cars in the Chinese market.
![[Smart Cars] Previously, the 2022 World Car Awards announced the 10 models that were shortlisted for the finals. As a result, Korean cars](https://cdn-dd.lujuba.top/img/loading.gif)
Time goes back a few years ago. In my student days, Korean cars were still highly active in the market, and Korean cars were flying on the roads. Back then, the saying "X Silk has three treasures to buy cars, Sous 8, K5, and Malibu" is popular in the automotive industry. Although there is a hint of ridicule, it was the highlight of Korean cars in the Chinese market.
For domestic consumers, "high cost-effectiveness" was once the most conspicuous label for Korean cars. However, with the development of Chinese car brands in terms of technical strength and other joint venture brands "put down on their figure" and trying the cost-effectiveness route, Korean cars seem to be in an embarrassing situation where highs and lows are not enough. Why, Korean cars are selling less and less in China?
The operating conditions are not optimistic
Korean cars are mainly Hyundai and Kia brands. In recent years, their performance in the European and American markets has become more and more prominent. In contrast, domestic business conditions are not optimistic.
Zhichepai received the latest news from First Financial News that Beijing Hyundai's factory in Chongqing may be in a state of suspension. An insider revealed that the Beijing Hyundai Chongqing factory has been shut down since December last year, and now there is no production, and most workers are on holiday. However, Beijing Hyundai said that there are no internal documents regarding the suspension of production at present.
Whether it is unknown whether the production is suspended, but the production capacity of several Beijing Hyundai factories is far exceeding sales demand. It is reported that Beijing Hyundai has five factories in China, and its identity as the first factory in Shunyi, Beijing has been transformed into Ideal Auto. In addition, Beijing Hyundai also has two factories in Beijing, one in Chongqing and Cangzhou, Hebei. Public data shows that the comprehensive production capacity of the five major factories in Beijing Hyundai is about 1.65 million vehicles. Except for the first factory, the production capacity of the remaining four factories is about 1.35 million vehicles. In comparison, the brand's cumulative sales in 2021 were only about 385,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 23.3%, far from the sales target of 560,000 vehicles.
Beijing Hyundai Factory
In terms of sales, Kia, which is also a Korean brand, has been in a slump since 2017. In 2021, Kia's sales in the Chinese market were only about 163,400 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 34.5%, achieving the achievement of "five consecutive declines". After reviewing the data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Zhichepai found that from 2016 to 2021, the share of Korean cars in China's passenger car market decreased year by year, reaching 7.35%, 4.63%, 4.98%, 4.7%, 3.8% and 2.4% respectively. 1.7% in January 2022 further reflects the "tragic situation" of Korean cars in China.
Amid the poor market performance, Kia's business in China is also facing major adjustments. Just recently, Dongfeng Motor officially withdrew from Dongfeng Yueda Kia. The latest news says that Beijing Hyundai may be planning changes in the joint venture share ratio. Hyundai Motor Group is starting to increase its shareholding ratio in Beijing Hyundai, a joint venture in China, or to follow Kia's role in the new joint venture to seek more dominance.
The embarrassing thing is being hit by the front and back
Korean cars in China are constantly being squeezed. Is this "who did the good thing"? To know the answer to this question, we only need to understand what kind of factional disputes are currently in the Chinese automobile market.
In January this year, the total sales of the domestic passenger car market were 2.186 million units, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%. The sales of Chinese brand passenger cars exceeded one million that month, reaching 1 million,004 million, an increase of higher than the average year-on-year, with a market share rising by 3.7 percentage points later to 45.9%.In other words, for every 100 passenger cars sold in China, about 46 are Chinese brands. In contrast, the market share of Korean brands is insignificant, while the market share of French brands is even more regrettable.
In the remaining half of the cake, German, Japanese and American brands shared the food. German and Japanese brands declined compared with the same period last year, but they all maintained about 20% of the market share, while American brands accounted for about 9.2%, which was on the rise.
It is not difficult to see from this data that domestic consumers' favor for Chinese brand models is constantly increasing, and German and Japanese brands rely on stable reputations are still the best choice for many people when buying cars. As for Korean and French brands, we should probably learn from American brands over the years.
Under the topic of "Why are Korean cars selling less and less in China?", Zhichepai noticed that many netizens' comments were pointed out. Some people said that Korean cars have no competitiveness, their brand value is not as good as Japanese and German, and their configuration materials and cost-effectiveness are not as good as domestic ones; some people pointed out that after 2010, with the development of my country's economy and continuous investment in scientific research, the quality of domestic cars is getting better and better, and they can more and more meet the needs of Chinese people. The advantages of Korean cars are gradually gone; some netizens even bluntly said that Korean cars are not up or down, and they feel a bit useless.
Kia Automobile
Automobile industry analyst Zhang Xiang believes that it will take a long time for Korean cars to change their predicament. It said: With the rise of independent brands and the decline in the price of mainstream joint venture brands, the market share of Korean cars has been squeezed out. Korean cars have no obvious labels, and their brand power is also poor. In recent years, Korean car terminal prices have been highly discounted, and brands have suffered greatly. The price range of their main products is below 150,000 yuan.
High-endization and the loss of new energy
In recent years, high-end branding has become a major development trend in the automotive industry, and even Chinese brands that also have high cost-effective labels dare to participate. For example, Geely and Great Wall have launched two high-end brands, Lynk & Co and WEY respectively. Some new domestic car-making forces focusing on the high-end market have also achieved good development momentum, such as NIO and Ideal Auto, which are ranked first in the first camp. As a Korean brand, Hyundai also introduced its luxury brand Geneses in April last year. The brand CEO He Ruisi said at the press conference that Genesis's journey in China symbolizes another milestone in brand development - perhaps the most important one. In the early stages, Genesis will focus on brand building.
We all know that the Chinese automobile market has never lacked high-end brands. Audi entered the domestic market more than 30 years ago. It is still lively and is having a lot of fun with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, etc. Hyundai Motor is interested in the high activity and broad prospects of China's high-end automobile market. Data shows that in January, the sales of high-end brand passenger cars produced in high-end brands were 381,000, an increase of 11.1% year-on-year, which is 4.4 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of the passenger car market. If Genesis succeeds, it will undoubtedly be a killing of two birds with one stone for Hyundai. It can not only enjoy the dividends of China's high-end automobile market, but also enhance the overall brand image of Hyundai Motor.
However, reality is still not as full as ideals. According to data from Dasouche Zhiyun, from April to September 2021, Genesis's total sales in China were only 61 vehicles. The industry monitoring data provided by Zhongche.com shows that Genesis sold 75 units in the Chinese market in December, and the sales peak of the brand in November last year, reaching 107 units. Such data is difficult to compare with the monthly sales of BBA's popular single model exceeding 20,000, even compared with the Chinese brand Hongqi. Of course, Genesis is almost a brand new brand for Chinese consumers, which does require a long process of cognition and acceptance.
In addition to the fact that the road to high-end is not going smoothly, Korean cars have not shown much initiative in the current hot new energy vehicle field.In Beijing Hyundai's product series, there are at least 5 models in the new energy sector, including Tucson L Hybrid, Festa pure electric, etc., but the models that truly have sound volume are almost zero. Kia attaches less importance to new energy vehicles and has only launched two new energy vehicles into the Chinese market.
Enikk5
Hyundai Motor previously released its new electric vehicle exclusive brandEnikkk. Its first modelEnikkk5 was officially unveiled at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show and will be officially introduced to China this year. Even if it takes a critical step, Hyundai will face many powerful competitors. Among the new forces, regardless of the momentum of Wei Xiaoli, Tesla is the well-deserved boss in the electric vehicle field. The latest data from the Passenger Car Association, Tesla Model Y ranks second in the new energy SUV sales list in January. This car is also the fourth in the sales list of high-end SUVs that month, and can already compete with models such as Audi Q5. In the traditional car company camp, BYD's new energy vehicle business is becoming increasingly strong. It is the largest new energy vehicle manufacturer in China, and has a huge leading advantage. Among the joint venture brands, the ID family under Volkswagen has also begun to show their strengths, and the two sister models of ID.4 ranked 11th and 12th in the new energy SUV sales list in January. Looking at the various new energy vehicle lists, Korean brand models are like wearing invisible clothes. This fully demonstrates that Korean automakers’ layout in the domestic new energy vehicle field is lagging behind.
In summary, Korean cars seem to be in a situation where "the roads are blocked". In order to save the sales decline, Hyundai Motor needs to show more business wisdom.
