At the moment, the most anticipated new cars of independent brands are probably the GAC Trumpchi GS8 and the Great Wall Haval H7L. They are all masterpieces of their respective manufacturers that combine the popular concept of "large 7-seat SUV" and target the mid-to-high-end market with high hopes. The two cars have received a lot of praise for their originality of exterior design and interior materials and workmanship, but expectations for their market performance are mixed.
In the past, self-owned brand cars were mostly presented as low-end. In recent years, self-owned brands have been working hard to "move up" and launched many high-end models in an attempt to compete with joint venture brands. However, facts have proved that independent brands still have a considerable gap with "foreign brands" in terms of brand recognition, product research and development, profitability, market share, etc., and they may fall into the embarrassing situation of "if they are too high, they will not be too low".
Independent brands are "moving up" one after another
FAW Hongqi H7, FAW Besturn B90, Dongfeng A9, SAIC Roewe 950, Changan Ruicheng, BAIC Senova D80, GAC Trumpchi GA8, Great Wall Haval H8 and H9, Geely Borui, and Zotye Z700, in just a few years, independent brands have launched so many high-end models that the number of people is countless.
Although China, the world's largest automobile market, is full of "foreign brands" and independent brands are on the defensive or even struggling, the emergence of independent brand high-end cars has brought challenges to the Chinese automobile industry. A touch of color. These cars look different from the self-owned brands that people thought of in the past. They are usually larger in size, beautiful in shape, made of solid materials, high-quality workmanship, rich in configurations, and have trendy technologies. Generally speaking, they reflect the progress of China's local automobile industry.
The major independent brands have a clear and firm attitude towards building high-end cars. This is because after years of development, independent brands subjectively do not want to lag behind and hover at the low end. They urgently need to prove themselves and pursue higher profits. Objectively speaking, Chinese independent brands do have certain capabilities in design, manufacturing, and production. Assembly and parts integration capabilities and brand foundation.
Liu Weidong, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, once said that independent brands need to be further improved, and "high-quality products" in products are an important carrier for brand improvement. When Dongfeng makes high-end cars, it will not be about volume in a short period of time. It is more about letting Chinese consumers know that we can produce models that are comparable to joint venture brands.
At the Tianjin TEDA Forum last month, Zhang Yang, senior vice president of NIO, also expressed his optimism about the "upward growth" of independent brands. He said that China's independent car companies have developed rapidly in the past five years. The quality of their products has become closer to that of joint venture brands, and the cost performance has skyrocketed. Chinese consumers have begun to recognize independent brands. Now is the best time to build independent car brands.
Feng Qingfeng, vice president of Geely Holding Group, analyzed that the Chinese automobile market has attracted talents from all over the world, which provides important support for the high-end development of independent brands. At the same time, global procurement has also created convenient conditions for the high-end development of independent brands.
Different paths but the same fate
The determination and goals of China's major independent brands to "go up" are almost the same, but the technical paths used by each to produce high-end cars are not complete. Same.
The most common model is to learn from or rely on the technology of joint venture partners, which is called "joint ventures to feed independence" in the industry. Dongfeng's investment in French PSA has given both parties synergy in product technology and model platforms, such as the Dongfeng A9. It is reported that the Dongfeng A9 uses the same model platform as the new generation Citroen C6, and is powered by PSA's 1.8T engine and Aisin 6-speed automatic transmission. SAIC Roewe 950 is a similar model, it is based on the old GM Buick LaCrosse platform.
The second model is to purchase foreign technology platforms. After SAIC purchased "all intellectual property rights and technology platforms" of the British Rover 75, it founded the Roewe 750 based on it. After BAIC acquired Swedish Saab's ownership of vehicle platforms, engines, gearboxes and other technologies, it launched the mid-to-high-end brand Saab. GAC purchased the Italian Alfa Romeo 166 platform, which in turn spawned several Trumpchi models. It is worth mentioning that Trumpchi’s chief designer once worked in a key design position at the German Mercedes-Benz Company for 8 years.
The third model is to design and manufacture by yourself, represented by Great Wall Haval. However, the core technologies of many of its models are also inseparable from foreign backgrounds. Some people in the industry even questioned that several high-end models of Haval contain Controversy arises from reverse-engineering ingredients.
No matter what method they use, independent brands have created models priced at around 200,000 yuan or more. But judging from the current situation, in the end the market fate of these cars is mostly the same, that is, poor sales and sinking in the competition.
The Hongqi H7, which FAW claims to have spent more than 10.5 billion yuan on research and development and directly competes with international high-end brands such as Audi, has not brought substantial returns to FAW since its launch. The annual sales volume of H7 in recent years has been around 3,000 units, reaching 4,000 units last year, but this is only equivalent to Audi's sales in China in a few days. FAW Besturn B90 sales were also very dismal, with only 1,377 units last year.
The Roewe 950 also failed to achieve expected market results, with average monthly sales of 129 units last year, another decline from 197 units in 2014. When the Dongfeng A9 was launched in April this year, some media described it as "another one that is not afraid of death." As expected, Dongfeng A9’s monthly sales have been in the hundreds of units. Even in the hot SUV market, the performance of Haval H8 and H9 has greatly disappointed Great Wall Company. Their combined monthly sales volume is mostly only about 2,000 units.
Only Geely Borui’s report card can be justified. According to Geely statistics, Borui sold more than 3,500 vehicles in August this year, and its cumulative sales in the first eight months were nearly 32,000 vehicles.
Fear that "if the high is not enough, the low is not enough"
Industry insiders believe that independent brands have been "moving upward" one after another but have been repeatedly frustrated. There are at least four reasons:
First First, there is a serious lack of investment in research and development of independent brands, and the product market competitiveness is not strong. Some experts pointed out that independent brand R&D investment only accounts for about 3% of operating income, while multinational companies account for more than 5% or even more than 8%. Large investment in R&D is certainly risky, but if R&D investment is insufficient, the product will lack competitiveness, resulting in poor sales and difficulty in profitability. Finally, there will also be insufficient continued investment in product R&D in the later stages. In this way, it will be difficult to enter a virtuous cycle.
Second, relying solely on the "addition" of international famous brand components cannot enhance the image and quality of independent brands. For high-end cars launched by some independent brands, many key core technologies, from vehicle platforms to powertrains, all come from abroad. There is controversy over whether such a car is considered "autonomous", let alone shouldering the important task of an independent brand "moving up" to catch up with international standards. One of the original intentions of independent brands in building high-end cars is to demonstrate their technical strength. However, in actual operations, some companies use independent research and development as a gimmick and apply the doctrine of appropriation. Many industry insiders say that without the support of independent core technologies, independent brands will lack development autonomy, and "moving up" and sustainable development will become castles in the air.
Third, the current market space for independent high-end cars is not large. When many independent high-end products were launched, they always competed with "official cars" such as Audi A6L and Toyota Crown. Now it is difficult for them to gain sales in the market because government procurement is limited after the official car reform. However, high-end private users look at the brand when buying a car, and it is still difficult for them to accept independent brands.
Fourth, the appeal of independent brands is not strong, and there are difficulties in pricing and positioning of independent high-end cars. Industry insiders pointed out that Geely Borui has performed well in all aspects, and its starting price is only about 120,000 yuan. The price close to the people's hearts has largely contributed to its success. In contrast, most other independent high-end cars, despite their rich configurations and solid materials, still "scare away" many people with a price of 200,000 yuan. After all, joint venture brand models, including domestically produced BMW, Audi and other luxury cars, have lowered the threshold to 200,000 yuan.
In this regard, senior automobile industry expert Jia Xinguang said in an interview with reporters that whether it is to enhance the image or to survive and develop, independent brand cars will be the only way to "go up" in the future. However, only by mastering core technologies, launching high-quality products that meet market demand, and grasping price positioning can independent brand cars take root in the low, medium, and high market segments.
Some experts also believe that in the past, some independent brands lost to joint venture brands in entry-level models. They should get up where they fell.
Therefore, independent brands must first make cars that consumers like, and then move forward when consumers have greater confidence and the company has greater strength. Otherwise, the symbolic meaning of building high-end cars may be greater than the actual meaning, and it may be too high to be achieved but too low to be achieved.
In fact, if you look at multinational giants such as Toyota and Volkswagen, they all started by producing high-quality and low-priced models that ordinary people can afford, and then "moved up" step by step and it was a matter of course. While some independent brands are eager to "move up", they still rely on foreign technology to produce some cars priced at 80,000 to 100,000 yuan. They completely lack the style of concentrating on independent research and development and laying a solid technical foundation. In this way, we may eventually fall into the embarrassing situation of "high-end cars are pushing for growth while low-end cars are abandoning themselves." Car trademark brand