The rapid development of China's light truck market, as well as the development of short-distance transportation and rural automobile markets, have brought new opportunities to the light-duty diesel engine industry. The explosive growth in vehicle demand has triggered a market war for light diesel engines. Despite the large growth in production and sales, the problems that have plagued the light-duty diesel engine industry for many years have still not been effectively improved.
Product homogeneity is serious
The entry threshold is low, which plays a significant role in increasing volume and expanding market share. This is the main reason why many engine companies value the light diesel engine market.
According to Wang Xiaopeng, Marketing Department of Deutz FAW (Dalian) Diesel Engine Co., Ltd., “The major supporting manufacturers of Dachai are Futian, Jinbei, Nanjing Iveco, and Beiqi. Although the high-end light trucks have some growth, the base number is relatively small and the total amount is far It is lower than the low-end light trucks. Most users of domestic low-end light trucks are concentrated in the countryside and between urban and rural areas, and the demand is huge, causing many manufacturers to flood the light diesel engine market."
“Since the recent young card market has grown rapidly, many engine companies have begun to lay out the light machine market, such as Xichai. At the same time, Yuchai also wants to get a share from it. Before Yuchai made a diesel engine of more than 6 cylinders, mainly More than 4105 and 4108 series products, but now also began to produce 4100, 4102 and other series.†Liu Haifeng, Technical Department of Kunming Yunnei Power Co., Ltd. further analyzed.
In the interview, the reporter learned that the current pattern of the entire light diesel engine market is more confusing. Most of the domestic low-end light trucks use 485, 490 diesel engines, which are cheaper, and there are many manufacturers that have the production capacity of these two models. "The price of the 490 diesel engine in Yunnei is about 6,000 yuan, while the 485 model is about 4,000 to 5,000 yuan." Wang Xiaopeng said: "The 485 and 490 series diesel engines are upgraded from agricultural machines. Due to technical limitations, the upgrade potential is not For example, for these two series of products to meet the national III standard, it is almost necessary to re-develop the product, so the cost is very high, and it is very difficult for an engine company that is already on the edge of low profit, and the cost increases, the selling price increases, It is even more difficult for users in rural areas."
Zhong Weiwei, deputy general manager of Yuchai Machinery Co., Ltd., also believes that homogenous competition causes low value-added products, and in order to compete for the market, it will start a price war and corporate profits will become increasingly thin.
Engine companies can only earn low profits
In the face of severe challenges such as price wars and low technical barriers, many light-duty machine companies want to improve the status quo, but they are still struggling to upgrade their existing product platforms. How to find a solution? Most of the manufacturers interviewed believe that high-end development can seek more profits.
Ji Lu, an engineer of Changchai Co., Ltd., said: "At present, the difficulty of upgrading low-end light-duty diesel engines is indeed greater. For diesel engines, the entire emissions system needs to be updated."
It is understood that the light diesel engines in the market can barely be upgraded to the National III standard, but if upgraded to the National IV standard, the platform must be updated, such as common rail technology, post-processing technology, etc.
In addition to upgrading, it is not difficult to find many deck light diesel engines in the domestic light truck market. “Although the National III standard has been implemented, most of the market is still the model of the National II standard. There are many sets of deck products, especially the 485 and 490 series.†Wang Xiaopeng said: “The pressure is too great. The price cuts can sometimes only sustain meagre profits."
“The technical level of domestic low-end and middle-end products is similar, and there is no brand leader. Many manufacturers are introducing foreign technologies to upgrade their products. This is also a trend. For example, the National IV product in the cloud is a reference to foreign diesel production technology. The company can also conduct independent research and development, but the large capital investment and long cycle will affect sales." Liu Haifeng said.
High-end trends are emerging
“We also have a reserve of mid- to high-end products, and we are currently conducting research and development of 2.5 to 3.0 litres of products. Nowadays, the requirements for technological development are economy, emissions and dynamics, and comfort. If we do not develop new products, we will continue to rely on medium and low prices. In the case of end products, the living space will be smaller and smaller.†Liu Haifeng told the “Commercial Automotive News†reporter: “In 2009, sales of light trucks exceeded 1 million units, and the market share of Yunnei’s diesel engine products was around 20%, but with medium and low prices. The main products are end products, and the mid-to-high end is less.At present, most of the diesel engines equipped with light trucks are medium and low-end, and the shares of mid-to-high end such as Chaochai, Dongfeng and Jianghuai are relatively large, while the high-end light trucks of Jiangling, Qingling and Futian are Use your own diesel engine."
According to reports, the "car to the countryside" product increased significantly last year, but it is driven by the sales of low-end products, such as Quanchai's sales in 2009 has doubled, but mainly in the low-end models.
Liu Haifeng stated that although high-end products have high capital investment and long research and development cycles, they are highly profitable and the company is developing long-term plans and strategic measures.
"At present, all diesel engine manufacturers are interested in high-end development." Wang Xiaopeng told the "Commercial Automotive News" reporter: "Fukuda and Cummins joint production of the ISF series of light diesel engines are also aimed at the high-end market, but the output has not yet come up, mainly because of the high cost As far as I know, the price of the light diesel engine of the ISF State III standard is around 40,000 yuan, which the average user cannot accept. When the localization rate increases, the prices will surely be adjusted."
Independent engine factory still has space
With the increasingly fierce competition in the light truck market, the light truck industry has entered a new stage in its understanding of power support. The entire vehicle company has paid more attention to the construction of the power system. Based on this view, vehicle manufacturers have generally done detailed development plans for high-end light-duty diesel engines with high technological content. On the contrary, their relative power supply for low-end light vehicles is relatively open. As a result, for independent engine companies, is the future living space shrinking?
Liu Haifeng believes: “The domestic light truck market is in a period of rapid development. For cloud companies, we can maintain a rapid growth rate from the perspective of the company’s own capabilities and product structure advantages, but from the perspective of the living space, the cloud’s The diesel engine product line is not as wide as Yuchai, so the biggest change for Yunnei currently is the development of new products."
Some professionals also believe that low-end light vehicles have large production volumes, lower prices, and lower requirements for the advanced nature of supporting power, which determines the diversification of sources of supporting power for economic light trucks, and a considerable number of light truck companies still have There is no system engine factory. “There are many alliances in the diesel engine industry, such as Quanchai and Futian. For the economical diesel engines, because of their rich social resources, it is very uneconomical for an automaker to re-enter the production line.†Zhong Yuwei stated that it should be based on products. The quality and output to determine the size of the living space.
Wei Anli, deputy secretary-general of the China Internal Combustion Engine Industry Association, believes that the gradual reduction of external supporting shares will not happen. In light-duty truck industry, in addition to major giants, many companies do not have large sales, and it is not cost-effective to build a diesel engine plant. Assuming that companies invest 2 billion yuan to build an engine production line with 150,000 sets of production capacity, if the market is not good, the losses will be very heavy. Many OEMs are reluctant to take this risk.
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