Paper Keywords automobile export advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and challenges
2006 was a bumper year for China's automobile products export. Compared with 2005, the export of automobile products in China increased significantly, and the export volume doubled from the previous year, reaching a record of 340,000 vehicles. Among them, there are more than 90,000 cars, three times that of 2005, and all kinds of good news are constantly emerging. For example, Brilliance Auto signed an agreement with European HSO Automobile Trading Company to export 3,000 Zhonghua cars to Europe. In the next few years, HSO Automobile Trading Company will win 50,000 European users for Brilliance, Gio 65,438+0,000 pickup trucks will be exported to Iraq, and Chery Company will receive an order for 5,000 engines purchased by an American company. Such a high export momentum fully reflects the supply potential of China to overseas automobile markets and the potential competitive pressure posed by China to global automobile manufacturers. Although the export of China's automobile products presents such a gratifying situation, there are also many problems in the export process, which require us to analyze and think objectively and systematically.
First, the advantage analysis
1. Low cost has great advantages.
It is an acknowledged fact that the cost of China's export products is low. China's labor cost is much lower than that of foreign countries, and almost all local enterprises enjoy such cheap resources. According to statistics, the average labor cost for Geely to build a car is $3.50 per hour. If medical and health benefits and pensions are included, the average labor cost for GM is $73.73 per hour. Even if the RMB appreciates twice against the US dollar, Geely's hourly labor cost is only US$ 7, which is still less than one tenth of that of General Motors. In Russia, the price of Great Wall Safran SUV is about 35% lower than that of similar products in Asia, and the price of Landwind SUV in the European market is only 654.38+0.5 million euros. Chery once claimed that its products would enter the American market 30% lower than similar products.
2. Enterprises' awareness of product export has been continuously strengthened.
The export consciousness of China automobile enterprises is constantly strengthening, which is mainly due to two reasons: on the one hand, the government's policy support, due to the increasingly fierce competition in the domestic automobile market, most enterprises adopt the strategy of low-price competition, resulting in less and less product profits, and exports can get considerable export tax rebates and export foreign exchange earning incentives from the state, and the export profits are usually higher than domestic sales; On the other hand, because automobile manufacturers have added new equipment and new production lines, the output of each manufacturer has increased greatly, resulting in overcapacity. In order to digest these excess capacity, we must adopt an export strategy.
Second, the disadvantage analysis
1. The gap between product quality and safety
After China's entry into WTO, China's automobile industry has developed rapidly, but compared with the products of world-famous automobile manufacturers, there is still a big gap in quality and safety. Many of these gaps are at the basic level, such as raw materials, special technical level, safety, manufacturing equipment, product design and so on. The quality of domestic cars can be seen in the domestic market. In the absence of great improvement and improvement of export products, it is even more dwarfed for foreign brands to put them on the international market. For example, after Landwind exported 200 cars to Europe, European non-governmental automobile organizations conducted a frontal crash test on Landwind cars at a speed of 64 kilometers per hour, and concluded that the drivers would be seriously injured, even "possibly life-threatening". Brilliance Company admitted at the BS6 product introduction meeting in Europe that the BS6 car only reached the standard of five stars and two stars when it was crash tested according to European standards.
2. Lack of compound talents
Compound talents is a popular word recently, that is, talents with various professional knowledge and skills. Specifically, in the field of automobile export, it refers to talents who are proficient in at least one foreign language, international trade business and automobile products and business chain. Due to the large-scale development of China's automobile export in recent years, many enterprises didn't officially launch the "going out" strategy until 2003, putting the international market in the same strategic position as the domestic market. Therefore, the shortage of talent reserve and the lack of independent compound talents have become the main factors restricting the great development of export business.
3. Brand awareness is not high
At present, there is still a big gap between the brand recognition of China automobile in the world automobile market and that of Japanese and European and American automobiles which have been operating in the local area for many years. Judging from the comprehensive index of international automobile brand competitiveness, we only have 4 1.7% in the United States, 42.4% in Japan, 47.3% in Germany and 6 1.6% in South Korea. If China automobile industry wants to enter the international market in a big way, it can only rely on its own brand and innovation to shoulder the heavy responsibility. There is a saying that third-rate enterprises sell products, second-rate enterprises sell services and first-class enterprises sell brands. China enterprises must strengthen their brands in the process of exploring the international market.
The intensity of construction. After-sales service and advertising are important problems that must be solved with great efforts.
4. The after-sales service network is not perfect
Most of China's automobile export enterprises have not yet established after-sales outlets and systems, and many enterprises simply can't talk about after-sales service. The so-called after-sales system of enterprises with large overseas exports is far from the requirements of convenience, speed, many outlets and high standards. Take Toyota as an example, they develop the market, starting with after-sales service, and the early stage is the preparation of accessories and services. China's automobile export has reached 40 countries and regions, but there is no full-time service staff in the customer service system of an export enterprise in the Middle East, Africa and other countries. On the other hand, Shanghai Volkswagen's customer center has set up German services, and Beijing Hyundai has set up Korean services. A considerable number of automobile enterprises in China hold the mentality of exporting one car at a time, and simply do not consider after-sales service. As a result, they only care about "living" and not "raising". Once there is a problem with the car, consumers can't find the corresponding maintenance station at all. This not only harms its own interests, but also affects the reputation of China's automobile industry overseas, and limits the development of China's automobile industry in overseas markets.
5. Weak market development.
The export of automobile products in China gives people the impression that they talk more and do less. For example, the export plans of some enterprises, such as launching satellites, have not been realized at all, and some enterprises have run aground halfway. This shows that our enterprise lacks systematic planning in exploring foreign markets. We still lack a targeted understanding of the real needs of foreign markets. Our previous market research work has not gone deep. If we regard the foreign market as a big market segment and carry out related work, such as 4P, 4C and 4R, the export will have a different world.
Third, existing opportunities.
1. The overseas demand for China's automobile products is increasing.
China's overseas demand for automobiles is increasing, especially light trucks, while locally produced high-end models are gradually replacing some imports. In addition, self-owned brand cars, which have always been regarded as uncompetitive, have entered the international market in batches, and ambitious China automobile enterprises are actively trying to expand overseas and export their products to mainstream automobile markets in Europe and America.
In the export of automobile products, automobile parts, fittings and car bodies account for a large proportion. In 2005, the export volume reached US$ 8.5 billion, up 5 1% year-on-year, accounting for 43% of the export of automobile products. China's auto parts export market is relatively concentrated, followed by the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany and South Korea, in which the amount of auto parts exported to the United States and Japan accounts for nearly 50% of the total export. Export enterprises are mainly wholly foreign-owned enterprises and Sino-foreign joint ventures, and the export volume of these two types of enterprises accounts for 56% of the total export volume. It is worth noting that in 2005, the export of automobile products grew rapidly, reaching 365,438+065,438+025 vehicles, up 224% year-on-year, most of which were autonomous vehicles, and the export market also shifted from developing countries to the mainstream automobile market in developed countries.
The government strongly supports the export of automobile products.
National policies encourage the development of automobile export trade. As early as 1985, in the document 128 issued by the State Council, some automobile-related products were listed as key mechanical and electrical products supported by the state, and they enjoyed different preferential policies from other products in terms of foreign exchange sharing, raw material import, export incentives and subsidies. In the past 20 years, although the export encouragement policies of mechanical and electrical products have been constantly adjusted, the relevant policies have always encouraged the development of automobile export trade. On 20 1 1 year, the state lowered the export tax rebate quota for many products, but maintained the original export tax rebate rate for automobiles to some extent.
3. China is entering a period of quasi-perfect competition.
The fast-growing China automobile market has become an important part of the global automobile market. In 2005, China's automobile production and sales reached 5.75 million and 5.85 million respectively, accounting for 9% of global automobile sales and 23% of global automobile consumption increase. From 2000 to 2005, the compound growth rate of passenger car sales in China reached 37%. From June to May this year, the cumulative sales volume has reached more than 2.07 million vehicles, exceeding the same period last year. The rapid expansion of the market makes the self-owned brand cars grow and develop, and the market share is more dispersed. In 2005, the total market share of self-owned brand cars reached 25%. The auto parts industry is also developing rapidly. In 2005, the sales revenue of China auto parts industry reached 2 168 billion yuan, and the average compound growth rate from 2000 to 2005 reached 15%. The proportion of auto parts in the auto industry is also rising, reaching 40% in 2005, and China auto market is entering a period of quasi-complete competition.
Fourth, the challenges we face.
1. Side effects of low price policy
In recent years, China's automobile export volume has increased rapidly, and the average export price has decreased year by year, so Malaysian, Russian, American and other countries put forward the "China automobile threat theory". Americans clearly pointed out that China's cars will enter the American market faster than Japan and South Korea's, and China's export cars will pose a threat to the United States within 5 to 10 years. The dispute between the United States and Japan in the field of automobile manufacturing has never stopped. When Japanese cars entered the United States, they also encountered various difficulties. Toyota made some concessions to the United States and finally took root in the American market. If China cars blindly hit the international market with low prices and take out a posture of crushing their opponents with low prices, it is not for themselves.
Leaving a little room for manoeuvre is tantamount to setting up many powerful enemies for yourself and losing a good export environment.
2. The management of export products is backward and the price competition is chaotic.
At present, due to the serious homogenization tendency of China's export products, vicious competition inevitably appears, killing each other. It is reported that in 2005, the country exported 65.438+072.8 million vehicles, but there were as many as 654.38+0025 export enterprises, of which only two enterprises exported more than 65.438+0 billion dollars, and only eight enterprises exported less than 65.438+0 billion dollars and more than 30 million dollars. There are more than 600 enterprises that export less than 10 cars, and the number of "enterprises" that export only one car a year actually reaches 160! I'm afraid this is a rare thing in the world. The vicious competition of disorderly low prices will directly lead to the increase of foreign anti-dumping investigations. At present, there are as many as eight anti-dumping cases in China's automobile industry. According to industry insiders, although the automobile industry will not encounter too many anti-dumping at present, in the long run, with the expansion of export scale, China's automobile and parts products are likely to face anti-dumping risks in the future.
3. The obstacles are strict
At present, some countries in the world have set up tariff and non-tariff barriers to protect their own automobile industries. For example, Andrei Kushnilenka, deputy general manager of the Foreign Negotiation Committee of the Russian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Development, said: Low-grade cars produced in Asian countries have appeared in the Russian market, and once Russia faces the impact of a large number of low-grade cars imported from Southeast Asian countries, it will "immediately raise the corresponding import tariffs on cars". More notably, Chery and Geely are taking Russia as their next overseas market target. Malaysia's tariff has dropped from the early 100% to the present 50%. Geely Pride, which sells for about 30,000 yuan in China, has quoted as high as 65,438+10,000 yuan in Malaysia. If the high tariff barriers in Southeast Asia and Russian countries cannot stop the influx of cheap cars into China, then the strict laws and regulations on emission, safety and environmental protection implemented in European and American markets are the biggest obstacles for China to open up the market space for complete vehicles. The safety standards, federal air pollution control standards and average fuel economy standards of the US Department of Transportation are much stricter than when Japanese cars entered the United States 20 years ago. At present, most cars made in China can't meet American standards.
4. Intellectual property disputes
In the past two years, intellectual property disputes between China auto companies and some foreign auto companies have emerged constantly. For example, Toyota sued Geely, GM sued Chery, Honda sued Shuanghuan, and Toyota investigated BYD F3, and many other foreign auto companies sued domestic auto manufacturers for infringement. These intellectual property disputes not only damaged the image of China automobile enterprises, but also made it difficult for China automobile to enter the international market.
5. RMB exchange rate appreciation
Since 2005, the exchange rate of the US dollar against RMB has been falling and the exchange rate of RMB has been appreciating, which has a great impact on China's export products, and the export of automobile products is no exception. Because the export models of Chinese automobile enterprises are concentrated in the field of economical cars. Compared with other international markets, China is still a cheap route in the automobile field. Obviously, the appreciation of RMB will inevitably lead to the increase of automobile export price, which is not conducive to international competition.
If China automobile enterprises want to enter the international market and compete with some well-known multinational companies in the international market, they must constantly improve their internal strength and improve their competitive strength. At the same time, they must fully understand various environmental factors in the international market, and strive to "know yourself and know yourself, so as to be in an invincible position". Once attacking the international market, we must win the battle, overcome difficulties and establish a good corporate image, which is not only related to the long-term interests of export enterprises themselves, but also to the long-term interests of China automobile industry.
References:
Bai Ming: Analysis on the growth of China's automobile export trade after China's entry into WTO, World Electromechanical Trade Information 20 1 1, 10.
The lack of compound talents affects the export of automobile products in China, China Auto News, July 7, 2006.
King: Yemen auto market investigated, Ministry of Commerce website.
With the continuous improvement of automobile production level in China, some enterprises with growing strength are no longer satisfied with staying in the domestic market, but are gearing up to enter the international market. In this paper, SWOT analysis is used to analyze the export competitiveness of China's automobile products from the perspective of strategic management. By analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of China's automobile enterprises and the opportunities and challenges existing in the external environment, it is suggested that China's automobile production enterprises should not rush blindly or hold back when they enter the international market, and should formulate their export development strategies according to their own actual conditions. Keywords Advantages, Disadvantages, Opportunities and Challenges of Automobile Export 2006 was a bumper year for China's automobile products export. In contrast, in 2005, the export volume of China's automobile enterprises increased significantly, reaching a record of 340,000 vehicles. Including more than 90,000 cars, 3