Most of the passenger car market is divided by foreign brands. In China's commercial vehicle market, truck independent brands have always occupied a strong position. According to the data from the China Automobile Engineering Society, in 2006 in the field of commercial vehicles, the market share of China's own brands exceeded 90%, of which self-owned brands accounted for 94.2%. In addition to foreign brands in the market share can not compete with the independent brands, the localization process is only moving forward in the exploration. As a result, there is a view that the giant foreign giants in the Chinese sedan market will encounter Waterloo in the truck sector and their strength will gradually increase. China's autonomous trucks will block imported trucks outside the country.
It is undeniable that China’s national conditions and policies have led foreign-invested truck companies to appear disproportionately in China. However, the market is constantly changing, and other multinational truck giants gradually adapt to China's environment. China's own brand of trucks may face a more violent impact than now. Before the crisis, Chinese truck companies may want to think longer.
The high-end heavy truck market has become the world
Since the first batch of trucks came off the assembly line in 1956, China's commercial vehicles, including the heavy truck industry, have had a history of more than 50 years. Due to the needs of economic construction, the state has also fostered the commercial vehicle industry far more than passenger vehicles. This has created a number of powerful truck companies such as Liberation, Dongfeng, and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group. With inexpensive products and a strong after-sales service network, domestic trucks quickly occupied the market. Due to the low demand for medium and high-end trucks in the entire industry, coupled with the pursuit of “less investment, quick results†is a major feature of truck users in China, so high-quality heavy trucks such as Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Scania are difficult Gain a large market share in China. Even if the longevity of these trucks is long and the maintenance cost is low, it is difficult to persuade Chinese users to spend 3-4 times the money of domestic trucks to buy an imported truck.
Although China's high-end truck market is still not mature enough, with the rapid development of the economy, the current low-end truck-based product structure has gradually failed to meet market demand. The improvement of the purchasing power of users, the improvement of the transportation level and the transportation environment, and the gradual establishment of a modern logistics system have become the internal driving force for the structural adjustment of truck products. Heavy-duty, high-efficiency, and high-tech performance of high-end heavy-duty truck products are increasing in demand on the market. According to the latest statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, among the domestic truck market demand from January to May of 2007, heavy trucks (with a total mass of over 8 tons) have become the fastest growing market segments. According to forecasts by foreign institutions, in the next 3 to 5 years, the high-end demand for the heavy-duty truck market in China will surely be even stronger. By 2010, heavy-duty trucks with more than 15 tons will reach 70% of the Chinese truck market.
However, the production of domestic high-end, high-tonnage trucks is still at the initial stage. About 97% of domestic trucks are still at the low-end level. Existing domestic high-end heavy truck manufacturers also have a large gap with their foreign counterparts in terms of quality, technology, and R&D investment. For example, on the core components of the engine, transmission, and rear axle, Swedish Volvo trucks have been equipped with a 16-liter engine, I-Shift's latest gearshift system, and a rear axle with wheel speed reduction, which is beyond the reach of domestic truck companies.
If you wait until most truck users in China have the ability to purchase high-end heavy trucks, the existing truck market will surely be occupied by multinational truck giants. Therefore, how to go out of the “Red Sea†in the low-end market, narrow the gap with foreign counterparts in the next 5-10 years, and enter the “Blue Ocean†in the high-end market is the question that Chinese truck companies need to think about.
Future technology is the lifeblood for the development of truck companies
Differences in domestic and foreign industry policies are also the reasons that lead domestic trucks to attract more Chinese consumers. For example, the requirements for safety, fuel consumption, and emissions of trucks in Europe are much higher than domestic policy standards. Therefore, the configuration of European models introduced in the cab, engine, and exhaust system is also much higher than that of domestic models of the same type. The disadvantage in terms of cost performance. For domestic consumers who decide to buy at a price, they would rather choose a domestic model that is cheaper and cheaper at the time when there is no mandatory policy.
However, there are more and more indications that the formulation of policies for the commercial vehicle industry has increasingly approached European standards. At present, the National III emission standard has already equaled Euro III emission standards, and Beijing also plans to implement the National IV standard next year. In addition, the development of China’s safety regulations based on European automotive safety standards is also under discussion.
Relevant information shows that during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, the state will formulate the promulgation of "commercial vehicle occupant protection" and "commercial vehicle front lower protection device". These two standards are directly related to the safety of commercial vehicle cabs. In the context of the country's advocacy for energy-saving and emission-reduction, it is also a trend to give priority to supporting the development of energy-saving and environmental protection models through taxation and other economic measures. At the 2007 China Automotive Industry Development International Forum held in Tianjin recently, the Director of the Ministry of Finance's Taxation Department stated that in order to curb the development of high-emission vehicles, the Ministry of Finance is accelerating the feasibility study on the introduction of environmental taxes. After the introduction of new policies, whether products can meet the prescribed standards will directly affect the survival of truck companies.
However, several key indicators of the fuel economy, emissions technology, and cab safety of truck companies in China are far from the future national standards. At present, heavy trucks that can meet the National IV emission standards or heavy trucks that use liquefied natural gas as fuel are still difficult to produce for most domestic enterprises. European trucks, which represent the most advanced environmental technologies, not only meet Euro IV and Euro V emission standards, but also shake the lead in mixed fuels. The most typical example is when many domestic truck manufacturers are fortunate that they can achieve Euro III standards, Volvo has launched a CO2 emission-free eco-friendly truck and transformed its own plant into the world's first truly CO2 zero. Emissions from the factory.
In terms of safety, the Swedish truck cab represented by Volvo and Scania generally adopts a keel structure with high safety performance, and carries out the strength safety test of the Swedish cab that is recognized by the world's most stringent peers and invests as much as possible. On the yuan. In addition to the fact that most truck companies in the country are unable to compare their investment in technology and capital with Volvo and Scania, they also lag behind in safety awareness. In order to reduce costs, many new models in China begin production only after 5-6 safety tests. The safety configuration of the vehicle also saves the province and greatly increases the transportation risk.
If China’s trucking companies cannot achieve the equal strength of foreign rivals in future technologies such as safety and environmental protection, it means that once the new mandatory standards are introduced, they will not only give up the domestic market, but also must install expensive products when exporting to the international market. The equipment meets new standards and weakens the advantages of domestic manufacturers' export costs. Unfortunately, at present, many companies have missed the opportunity to develop advanced technologies in the future when they are striving for market share. The advanced technology revolution of the global automobile industry will be completed in the next 20-25 years and will be left to Chinese truck companies. Not much time.
Leading sales do not mean that our truck companies have the strength to lead their foreign counterparts. Enterprises that are not enterprising and arrogant are bound to be overtaken by competitors and eliminated by users, losing their advantage in market share; only Only companies with an open mind and insightful vision can truly take the initiative and win in the future.
Hew Whitt Industries International Co., Ltd. , http://www.globeautowheels.com