Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

"does it feel like these electric cars are running all over the streets of Europe? "

On the evening of October 7, German time, Xilai announced at the NIO Berlin 2022 press conference that it would enter four European markets, including Germany, the "BBA stronghold". So far, including Xiaopeng Automobile, SAIC Mingjue, BYD, Lac and other new energy vehicle brands have entered Europe in different forms and competed with many European and American brands.

In fact, in recent years, the number of Chinese brand car exports has increased year by year. Among them, the new energy vehicle is the main track of independent brand "going out to sea". According to the China Automobile Association, China exported a total of 340000 new energy vehicles in the first eight months of 2022, an increase of 97.4% over the same period last year.

The sharp increase in the export volume of domestic new energy vehicles, especially the European market where the independent brand "going out to sea" automobile industry is developed, often attracts public attention. Because this not only represents the development of China's automobile industry, but also indicates that domestic new energy car companies are seizing the stronghold of European and American automobile powers.

So, independent brands of new energy vehicles have to "go to sea", whether to open up a blue sea or an applause? Behind these "going out" strategies, can independent car brands riding the tide of new energy make rich returns in overseas markets?

What is the record after "01" high-profile "going out to sea"? "when independent new energy vehicles rush into overseas markets, I think it is often the sound of thunder but little rain."

Talking about the related topic of "going out to sea", Xu Ying (a pseudonym), who once worked in a domestic new energy car company, said that in recent years, many independent new energy vehicle brands have entered the overseas market, but the real sales are not high. The overseas sales of some brands can even be described as "bleak".

A large proportion of the seemingly considerable export volume of China's new energy vehicles are produced in China by wholly overseas-owned and joint ventures and resold products in overseas markets. Statistics show that in the first half of 2022 alone, Tesla China produced and resold about 160000 pure electric vehicles overseas.

Some media collated the data released by the Federation of passengers and found that Tesla China accounted for nearly half of China's new energy vehicle exports in the first eight months of 2022. Followed by SAIC passenger cars, Dongfeng easy, accounting for about 18%, 11% respectively.

As for the independent new energy vehicle "number one" BYD and Geely, which has Volvo endorsement, they account for about 4% and 3% respectively. Xu Ying revealed that compared with BYD and Geely, Shangqi passenger cars began to layout overseas markets as early as 2019, with a first-mover advantage. In particular, the main force of SAIC passenger car "going out to sea" is the MG model. As a former British sports car brand, it still has a certain popularity in the European market, which has laid a certain foundation for the successful "going out" of the brand.

"as for easy Jet, it is a joint venture between Dongfeng, Renault and Nissan, which mainly exports Renault electric cars." Xu Ying explained that according to this calculation, the "sea" scale of fully autonomous new energy vehicles in the first eight months of this year is only about tens of thousands.

As for the new power of building cars, which is more high-profile in the publicity of "going out to sea", the overseas road does not seem to be smooth. According to Cleantechnica, only 1006 cars were sold in Norway in the first two years when Xiaopeng went to sea. In May this year, the media also broke the news that "a number of senior executives in overseas operations have left".

Some industry analysts said that at present, there is still no domestic independent brand in the Top10 of new energy vehicle sales ranking in European countries. In other words, although the independent brand new energy vehicle has gone out to sea, it is still a niche brand in the eyes of European consumers.

Because of this, Xu Ying says that the vast majority of independent new energy car brands that have already done research and have some insight into the European car market are exporting and selling products in cooperation with overseas "landlords", that is, trade agents. the purpose is to reduce the cost and energy investment of self-building 4S stores.

At the same time, in order to ensure a certain overseas sales of independent new energy vehicles after going out to sea, most car companies and overseas agents tend to generate commercial demand-to "press" new cars in batches to taxi companies and even car rental companies.

"We all rely on overseas agents before and after sales. Only Weilai has announced that it is opening a direct store overseas." At the same time, Xu Ying stressed that at present, the subscription model of "renting instead of selling" is mainly promoted by Ulai's high-profile "going out to sea" European countries. "it is estimated that it is also considered in terms of consumption habits and profits, but the cost of upfront investment is high and the risk is high."

It is not difficult to see that independent new energy vehicles in the "sea" on the road, it is inevitable that some "soil and water". Since it is thankless, why don't independent new energy vehicle brands focus on the trillions of domestic markets and compete to "go out to sea"?

"02" and "sign-in" is another kind of Pin Xuan? "when new energy vehicles go out to sea, car companies may pay more attention to having or not, rather than sales and profits."

In view of the current phenomenon of independent new energy vehicles competing to "go to sea", Alan, which is in charge of overseas business in a traditional domestic car company, compares it to overseas "clocking in"-following the existing mature and ready-made "going out to sea" model and route, and the purpose of "going out to sea" is not just to sell cars.

Alan said that an interesting phenomenon can be found here: whether it is representatives of traditional car companies such as BYD and Red Flag, or new car-building forces such as Xilai and Xiaopeng, Norway is the preferred target for almost all independent new energy vehicles to "go to sea".

This is because Norway has a higher penetration rate of new energy vehicles and friendlier policies than other European countries.

Therefore, Norway has become the first stop for independent new energy vehicles to "test the waters" overseas. once they gain a foothold in Norway and take a turn around in several other European countries with high penetration rates of new energy vehicles, the ultimate goal is "BBA stronghold"-Germany.

"it doesn't matter whether cars are sold more or less overseas, and it doesn't matter whether they make money or not. entering the European market, especially the German market, is the most important thing." Alan frankly said that the reason why independent new energy car companies "go abroad" publicity are very high-profile, because the ultimate goal is to do a good job in the domestic market publicity.

In his view, by entering overseas, especially the German market, independent brands can convey a message that domestic consumers know the influence of their brands and the quality of their products, which have been fully recognized by overseas consumers and the markets of powerful countries in the automobile industry, which can boost users' confidence in choosing brands and buying products.

"of course, there are some car companies who choose to enter the Japanese market after clocking in the European market, but the reason is the same. Like Germany, Japan is also a big country in the traditional auto industry and the hometown of Liangda and Liangda. The products of car companies have been recognized by the Japanese market, which can also enhance the confidence of local consumers to buy."

From the recent data released by the Federation of passengers, the proportion of self-branded new energy vehicles exported to Thailand, India, Bangladesh and other places is not low. However, few car companies vigorously promote the news of their "going out to sea" in the above-mentioned areas, and the reason is unknown.

As for the pricing of independent new energy vehicles in overseas markets, it is often much higher than that at home, and it is often used as the focus of publicity by car companies. Alan explained that car companies go overseas through agents, and unless they sell at a loss, their prices will definitely be higher than those in the domestic market.

"domestic production and export by sea are all costs, so it is only natural that the prices sold to foreign consumers are high, and imported cars in Tianjin Port are also very expensive. if car companies want to reduce costs, they can only build factories overseas or make joint ventures locally."

He believes that it is a normal market rule for domestic car companies to "go to sea" with high costs and high pricing, but in the publicity of some car companies, they have become the "focus" of publicity, with the aim of strengthening publicity.

In fact, for independent brands that have just entered overseas markets in recent years, it will certainly take time for them to be recognized by local consumers.

After all, Rome was not built in a day. Car companies that are well versed in this truth naturally regard "going out to sea" as a marketing "way" to boost the confidence of domestic users. However, similar methods more or less reflect some lack of self-confidence.

"03" independent brand how to first "establish the letter"? In fact, for the topic of "going out to sea" of independent brand new energy vehicles, there is another view in the industry: the domestic market is so "rolling" that car companies have to "go out to sea" to broaden the market boundaries and look for new incremental opportunities.

But is the market really like this?

According to a research report released by Warburg Securities, the new energy vehicle market in seven European countries gradually picked up in September, with sales of 199900 vehicles, up 10.1% from a year earlier, up 56.9% from August, with an overall penetration rate of 24.4%.

However, the sales of new energy vehicles in China are more popular in the same period. According to the latest data from the Federation of passengers, retail sales of new energy passenger cars reached 611000 in September this year, an increase of 82.9% over the same period last year, and the penetration rate exceeded 30% for the first time, reaching 31.8%.

In other words, domestic sales of new energy vehicles in a single month are already equivalent to the three-month sales of seven European countries combined, and the penetration rate has long been ahead of overseas markets.

At the same time, China's "1000 car ownership" data is still significantly lower than that of Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea, and compared with overseas regions, the domestic car consumption market (new energy vehicles) has great potential.

The huge scale of domestic automobile consumption has created many new energy brands and models that are based on the domestic market but can set a global sales record. Unfortunately, independent brands should be encouraged to consolidate the sales record of consumer experience, which finally became a marketing gimmick for some car companies.

"China is sitting on huge demographic dividends and market dividends, and some enterprises are unable to roll up at home, and it is even more miserable to go out to sea." An auto self-media person said that he was very disgusted with the "going out" strategy of independent new energy vehicles, which, although it can boost consumer confidence, is essentially a sign of a lack of self-confidence.

In fact, traditional European car companies, including BBA, are not doing very well in the field of new energy. The Japanese brands that once "dominated" the domestic fuel car market are also very out-of-date in the process of new energy.

On the other hand, many independent car brands are no longer the Wu Xia Ameng they were then. After nearly a decade of rapid development, the technical strength of domestic independent new energy vehicles has been enough to compete with overseas car companies, and even changed lanes to overtake.

No wonder some people in the industry have pointed out that in the face of the trillions of domestic new energy car tracks, independent brands need to do more than just make efforts in marketing gimmicks. It should be perfect in terms of product experience and after-sales service.

However, with the increase in the number of new energy vehicles, the after-sales service system of independent brands is becoming the hardest-hit area of consumer complaints, China Economic Network reported.

"on the one hand, it publicizes the need to go out to sea to compete in BBA, on the other hand, the domestic service is lagging behind, and consumers keep complaining about it. This is simply putting the cart before the horse." An industry personage stressed that in order to make more domestic consumers full of confidence in their own brands of new energy vehicles, car companies themselves must first "establish credibility".

[concluding remarks]

True self-confidence, in fact, does not need to publicize how it is in overseas markets and use the so-called data to "prove" anything. Only by having a "fundamental foothold" can we have a chance to "look at the whole world".

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: know Notes (ID:dongdong_note), author: Dingchun, Editor: Qin Yan

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