The first four months of micro-car sales of 602,700 units increased by 43.36% year-on-year

Due to the relatively simple procedure for farmers to purchase micro-subsidy subsidies, coupled with the dual benefits of lower purchase tax, micro-vehicles (mainly micro-customers) suitable for the rural market have been hot sellers this year. According to statistics from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, micro-subsidiaries sold 602,700 units in the first four months, an increase of 43.36% year-on-year. In this large-scale growth market, SAIC-GM-Wuling and Changan Automobile, two mini-cars, accounted for more than 75% of the "predators." It is precisely because of this hot market that this year, including Gio has launched a mini vehicle star, Haima, Brilliance, Zhengzhou Nissan also plans to launch micro-cars, coupled with the original Dongfeng Xiaokang, Chery, etc., then, the new army of small cars Can they shake Wuling and Changan's near-monopoly status?

In this issue, we have specifically invited the micro-vehicle "double heroes" - Changan Star S460 and Wuling Rongguang, as well as the new microcar - Dongfeng Xiaokang, Kerui elegant and Geostar, to see if the latter have a challenge before The strength of the two bosses.

Wuling, Chang'an: Leading edge is obvious

Wuling and Changan can be called the "Gemini" in the micro-vehicle field. The two have alternately held positions in the micro-vehicle championship for many years and have almost become synonymous with mini-vehicles. Judging from this year’s situation, Wuling’s market share is about 45%, and Chang’an’s share is more than 30%. Both occupy 3/4 or more shares. There are no two auto companies in any domestic automobile segment. Can occupy such a high market share. Many other competitors can only compete for less than 1/4 of the share.

When interviewed by this reporter at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, Wu Peng, deputy general manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling, said that for Wuling, terminal sales of 280,000 units (wholesales amounted to nearly 250,000 units) in the first quarter were also estimated in April and May. It can reach 95,000 vehicles. It is estimated that the sales volume of the company in the first half of the year will reach 500,000 vehicles. This year, it may challenge 800,000 vehicles (the target set at the beginning of this year is 720,000 vehicles). Last year it was 650,000 vehicles, and the company now has three shifts. The biggest constraint on overtime sales is that the supply of spare parts for suppliers is not enough. Zhang Baolin, general manager of Changan Automobile, said in an interview at the Shanghai auto show that Changan mini vehicle may hit 600,000~70 on the basis of 500,000 units at the beginning of the year. The goal of 10,000 cars.

In addition to the huge scale of production and sales, Wuling and Changan’s product development capabilities and product lines are also important reasons for the leading companies. In this comparison model, Wuling and Changan sent Wuling Rongguang and Changan Star S460, respectively, are extended version of the micro-car, from the paint workmanship, jointing process, driving stability are leading a class. Wuling Rongguang and Changan Star S460 are in the leading position in measuring the in-car space of micro-vehicle competitiveness. Both Wuling and Changan have long realized that Dawei Micro will become the future development trend, and quickly launched Wuling Rongguang and Changan Star S460 that are suitable for this demand. Wuling Rongguang sold 18,176 vehicles in April, becoming another main force of SAIC-GM-Wuling Micro-vehicle; S460 has made a significant contribution to the recovery of Changan Micro-car this year; at present, other competitors have not yet developed an extended version of the micro-vehicle.

The advantages of Wuling and Changan in the network are also unmatched by other manufacturers. The total number of sales network of Changan minicars in 2008 reached 2016, and the coverage of county and township networks exceeded 50%. SAIC-GM-Wuling has 845 sales outlets and 934 service outlets in the country, and the network coverage rate in prefecture-level cities has reached 90%. The average county-level coverage has reached 30%.

New Army: Low prices, car salvation can only compete for the third time

In fact, the status of the micro-vehicle boss is not static, Changhe, Hafei and Changan alternately took the position of the boss and gave some confidence to the latecomers. At present, Wuling and Changan occupy the top two positions respectively, and Hafei is temporarily ranked third.

The fourth-ranked Dongfeng Xiaokang plans to achieve a target of producing 300,000 domestic vehicles each year in the next few years, and the market share will enter the top three micro-vehicle targets. In this year's market situation, Xiaokang aims to sell 200,000 vehicles this year. 100,000 times more than last year’s 100,000 cars; Gio Motors, which has just entered the micro-vehicle field this year, is not known, but Tao Yunde, general manager of Gio Auto Sales, publicly shouted at the listing ceremony of Xingwang Guangzhou. By 2014, the goal of selling 300,000 vehicles a year to enter the top three mini vehicles (micro facets) will be achieved. He believes that Wuling and Changan’s market share is close to 80%. This is an abnormal phenomenon and is caused by insufficient market competition. . He believes that as a private enterprise, it has the characteristics of flexible mechanism and low cost. Purchasing the same engine and gearbox, the car produced by GIO can still be several thousand dollars lower than its competitors.

Wuling and Changan minicars currently sell for more than 40,000 yuan in the mainstream models. The first move of the new army into the market is low price. Dongfeng Xiaokang enters the market with the first car K17 starting at 29,800 yuan, quickly. The market opened up the market, beyond Changhe to become the micro-car fourth, will be launched in the second half of the K17 second generation is an extended version of the model, the starting price will be raised to more than 3.8 million yuan; Goo's first mini vehicle Xingwang's starting price is also 299,800 yuan, this car does not have air conditioning, to choose the air conditioner, I'm sorry, have to make up the money, in the process of test drive, this micro-vehicle new army in terms of comfort and gear coordination has yet to be improved.

Under the existing purchase tax exemption and subsidy to the countryside, Wuling and Chang’an, which have higher selling prices, have more deductible prices and the new army’s price advantage is shrinking, which has caused latecomers to attack the market through low prices. The role is greatly reduced.

In the case of weak low-price impact measures, including the elegant Chery, Zhengzhou Nissan listed in the second half of the handsome passenger, have played the concept of the car. Honestly speaking, in the process of test driving, Kerry’s elegance was the front engine, the humanized design of the car and even the air-conditioning performance was among the best of the five cars tested. Chery used the advantages of many cars in its elegance. . However, microcars are only production materials. The main purpose is to pull goods. If you are comfortable, you will buy a car. In addition, the cost of autos will inevitably increase. The starting price of Ruiqi 2 is more than 50,000 yuan. The Changan CM8 has also made similar attempts in the market and eventually ended in failure. Therefore, the performance of Realtek 2 in the market is generally insufficient. Strange.

Argument: Can minibus become a national car?

In addition to this year's double benefits, in fact, the small vehicle modeling Founder, the car space, both manned and able to pull goods, and low prices, is also an important reason for micro-car popularity. At present, the micro-vehicle market with an annual sales volume of more than 1 million units in China is almost entirely controlled by Chinese domestic brands. Micro-vehicles can become China’s “national vehicles” and have always been a hot topic of discussion in the industry.

General Manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling said in an exclusive interview during the 2008 Beijing Auto Show that what he most wanted to do was to make China a micro-car kingdom and make micro-cars a national car; Changpu CEO Xu Liuping was in Changan Star S460 Guangzhou last year. In an interview at the listing ceremony, he also said: "Micro-cars are completely self-owned brands. Micro-vehicles can carry both people and goods, and are widely used. They are suitable for the vast majority of urban and rural areas in China. In addition, micro-cars are inexpensive and suitable for general use. The people's spending power.” Dongfeng Xiaokang, general manager of Dongfeng Junan Sales Co., Ltd. Sui Yuanchuan also said at the press conference of the new generation of micro-subsidiary K07II that mini-vehicles can take 7 people, and the per capita energy consumption is the lowest, in line with the current energy-saving society. It is also the most cost-effective model and has the potential to become a national car.

Experts: Chang'an and Wuling have a huge advantage

Xia Lijun, Sales Director of South China, Changan Automobile, said in an interview with this reporter that other minicars are unlikely to catch Chang'an and Wuling in the short term. "The first is the production capacity. The gap between other manufacturers and Wuling and Changan is very big. The second is the development of a new micro-vehicle platform with hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. Other manufacturers are also hard to bear."

As for Chery’s impact on the market with sedan-based microcars, Xia Lijun said that micro-vehicles are a production tool. “If consumers are eager to ride, they will buy cars.” He also disclosed that Chang’an’s previous generation of micro-vehicle CM8 was The concept of saloons was designed to prove unsuccessful in the market.

Guangwu Automobile, the largest automobile sales group in Guangdong, owns Wuling, Chang'an, and Hafei mini-vehicles. Wuling and Changan minicars occupy the top two of the company's major brands and rank top in terms of profits. The third place, second only to the luxury car Audi, and since this year, the profit created by Wuling has far exceeded Audi and has risen to the top. Liu Tewen, deputy general manager of Guangwu Automobile Trade, who is in charge of sales of mini-vehicles, said that it is difficult for other brands to go beyond Wuling and Chang’an. He cited Wuling as the first place in the past few years. This is a comparison with Wuling’s quality. Stability is not unrelated, and its quality control system can be maintained at such a large scale. "To be honest, micro-vehicle competition is the first product, and marketing can only be ranked second." He believes that other brands must catch up and monthly production capacity should be increased from the existing 10,000 to 100,000. (Wuling's current scale) This is a great challenge to the quality control system. Now that the market has broken out, everyone has had a good time. When it turns to the off-season, the gap in competitiveness is reflected.