On September 12, 2023, Huawei, a Chinese technology company, announced the release of the M7 model. In October, a total of 12,700 units of the AITO series were delivered to customers, with 10,547 of those being the M7 model. Hongqi also had a successful month, selling 37,200 units in October, which is a 36.4% increase in sales compared to the previous year. Furthermore, their new energy products had retail sales of over 10,000 units.
The automobile industry, particularly the new energy automobile sector, has displayed robust growth and has a promising outlook. Additionally, the development of this industry is also dependent on infrastructure policies in different countries.
Shenzhen, China is constructing a 1km supercharging ring in the central urban area, with plans to complete over 150 public supercharging rings by the end of 2023. In 2022, the US government proposed allocating $5 billion over five years to build a nationwide fast charging network for electric vehicles. In July 2023, seven major automotive companies from Japan, South Korea, Europe, and North America announced the formation of a new company to provide EV charging services in North America, with a goal of installing at least 30,000 fast charging points.
Benefiting from advancements in technology and policies, China’s products in the field of new energy have maintained a rapid pace in the first three quarters. According to Cox Automotive, electric vehicle sales in the United States exceeded 300,000 for the first time in Q3 of 2023. However, the automotive market in Japan is quite different. Even Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, known as the “three strong Japanese cars,” are struggling to reverse their decline into irrelevance. In the first half of the year, Nissan’s sales fell by 22.4% and Honda’s by 22%. Toyota also experienced a decline of 22.4%, marking the first time in China. In terms of the hybrid segment, Japanese cars still hold a significant advantage, with higher sales and profits compared to other countries.
Upon reviewing the progress of major automobile manufacturers, it appears that the automotive industry is on the brink of significant changes.
·China’s new electric vehicle industry is expected to experience continued growth and gain a larger share of the market.
In the first three quarters of this year, the production and sales of China’s NEV industry have continued to grow, with NEVs accounting for 29.8% of total new automobile sales. This positive trend has resulted in most automobile manufacturers profiting from the NEV market. As shown in the table below, 17 manufacturers experienced an increase in revenue, accounting for 68% of the total.
SAIC Motor sold 3.777 million vehicles in the first three quarters, generating revenue of 523.3 billion. This represents a 0.77% decrease compared to the same period last year, but the company still maintains its leading position. As the domestic auto market continues to recover, SAIC is optimistic about the fourth quarter and anticipates achieving double-digit growth in both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter performance.
BYD is not far behind in terms of revenue, with a total of 422.275 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2023, representing a 57.75% increase. This growth is a result of the company’s focus on expanding its vehicle sales and investing in key areas such as batteries. In the first three quarters, BYD sold 2.0796 million new energy vehicles, showing a year-on-year growth rate of 76.23%. Additionally, the company sold 145,520 new energy vehicles overseas.
Due to some car companies not yet announcing their Q3 financial reports, the data for Q2 is displayed below:
The global automobile industry is currently experiencing a demand for transition. The development of the new energy automobile industry is significantly impacting the global energy structure and the sustainable use of resources and the environment. Despite facing challenges such as cost, infrastructure, and technology, the global new energy vehicle industry has made significant progress and has a promising future, thanks to the strong support of governments worldwide.
·Japan takes a different approach to continue promoting hybrid technology.
Canalys has released data for the first half of 2023, which shows a 49% increase in sales, reacing 6.2 million.
Sales in the Chinese mainland market reached 3.4 million, accounting for 55% of the market share. Among the top 20 best-selling new energy models in the world, 12 are from China, while Japan has none. However, in the hybrid sector, Japanese car sales and profits are significantly ahead.
Four car brands (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Suzuki) dominated the top 10 car sales in the world. Toyota, in particular, sold 5.41 million vehicles in the first half of the year, a 5.5 percent increase from 2022, securing the top spot for the fourth consecutive year. In comparison, China’s BYD recently entered the top 10 but is still behind Suzuki with 1.25 million units sold, posing little competition to Japanese cars.
The hybrid models of Japanese cars dominate the market, while the adoption of new energy vehicles remains low. For instance, Toyota has sold 5.41 million cars, but only 46,171 of those were NEVs (pure electric and plug-in hybrid), making up less than 1% of their total sales.
Sales of Japanese cars in China are declining due to their slow adoption of electrification and failure to
compete in the Chinese market. On the other hand, sales of US cars have increased thanks to the recovery of their supply chain.
·The market in US is continuing to recover, with most brands posting growth.
According to a report from “Automotive News,” the growth rate of the US auto market has slowed down in comparison to the first half of the year. However, the US auto industry is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and the shortage of essential components.
There is no denying that the strike action starting on September 15th will have an impact on automakers, as Detroit’s Big Three are expected to lose production of 6,000 vehicles per day.
·Europe: New car sales are expected to rise by 14% in 2023, but there may be an oversupply in the fourth quarter due to high demand.
European car sales are increasing, primarily due to a shortage of cars in Europe in recent years. As the supply chain recovers, overall car production in Europe is also on the rise.
In terms of overall sales, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom remain the top three markets for new energy vehicle sales in Europe. Other countries, including Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark, have also made significant progress in adopting new energy vehicles and have reached a high level of market penetration. Some European countries have even reached the stage of becoming a “new energy vehicle society”, and this trend is expected to continue.
The European car market has become a principal market for many Chinese car companies, such as BYD, NIO, and XPeng. At the Munich car exhibition, these companies are among the most popular exhibitors. Executives at European carmakers have stated that they must work hard to produce lower-cost electric cars in order to compete with Chinese manufacturers, who have focused on creating more affordable and consumer-friendly models.
The automotive industry is currently undergoing a shift from traditional fuel-powered vehicles to electric and
intelligent ones. In light of this trend, what are the most effective strategies for car companies to adopt? Fortunately, the industry is overcoming the challenge of semiconductor shortages and moving towards a state of normalcy amidst the global pandemic. As a result, the global auto market is slowly recovering.
In response to the growing trend of environmental regulations, electrification, and intelligence, car companies are currently focusing on making adjustments at the design, production, and sales levels. However, the challenge remains of how to gain a larger market share within a limited time frame.
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