“From the point of view of export trends, automotive products have become the most potential export commodities in all of China’s trade products.†At the 2005 China Automotive Industry Development International Forum, Zhang Jun, Deputy Director of the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Products Import and Export of the Ministry of Commerce Such a conclusion.
According to statistics, last year, the export value of China’s auto products increased by 73% over the previous year, which was significantly higher than the 13.1% increase in imports in the same year. In the first half of this year, China realized for the first time that the volume of vehicle exports was greater than the amount of imports, and that the import and export trade surplus was realized for seven consecutive months.
No one will deny that ultra-low prices are the stepping stone for Chinese products to enter the international market. It is understood that in Russia, the price of the Great Wall Saifuge SUV is about 35% lower than that of similar Asian products. The price of the Landwind SUV in the European market is only 15,000 Euros. Chery has declared that its products that will enter the US market will be better than similar products. The price of the product is 30% lower.
The scale of Chinese auto exports will increase, but the contrast between the number and value of exports in explosive high growth is worrying. In the first five months of this year, the number of cars exported from China increased tenfold from the same period of last year, but the average unit price was about US$5,500, which was a drop of about 70%.
Originally, the price of Chinese exported cars was already far lower than that of competitors, but prices are still falling. Experts expressed concern about this: This will overdraw China's low-cost resources!
The low cost of products made in China stems from the cheapness of resources such as labor, raw materials, and the environment. This seems to be the biggest international competitiveness of Chinese products, but with the development of China, this advantage is weakening.
In the past 20 years of reform and opening up, one of the fundamental reasons for China’s economic development has been its active participation in the international economic cycle and has found its place in the international division of labor. However, China has become a global production workshop because of the low cost of raw materials and labor.
Visit the Chinese mall and you can find brand names from around the world. Philips razors, Playboy shoes, Motorola phones, but their place of origin is without exception in China, but this does not affect their selling high prices. On the contrary, products made in the same way in China were exported to foreign countries, but they were referred to as low-grade goods with low grade and low technology content.
All this is still happening in the Chinese car. The price advantage of China's auto exports is also rooted in low raw material, environmental, and labor costs. However, relevant information shows that by 2015, China will enter a population-burden period and enter an aging society, and the labor force will no longer be cheap. International iron ore prices have risen by 71.5%, steel prices have skyrocketed, and other raw materials have also risen in price. The price of non-renewable energy is rising rapidly. The Chinese government has taken environmental issues as a major issue. With the development of China's economy, the support of low prices for Chinese cars is disappearing.
It can be seen that low cost is not an advantage forever, but a transitional and temporary opportunity for the development of the enterprise. If the Chinese auto companies blindly use this advantage to make money, but can not take the opportunity to strengthen their own brands, improve overall strength, it is undoubtedly an overdraft low-cost this rare resource.
Zhang Wei, deputy director of the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Products Import and Export of the Ministry of Commerce, pointed out in an interview with this reporter that although China’s automotive products have a price advantage, the ability to maintain profitability at low prices is still poor, because we have done a cost control. Not yet in place. The cost of automobile exports includes many links, and we have no cost advantage in many links, and even more than our competitors. For example, in terms of logistics, for a car destined for the Central American region, we have a freight of about 1,300 U.S. dollars. It is enough for Japan and South Korea to transport 350 U.S. dollars.
It is understood that as early as China’s largest auto project on the fast track, the Japanese have begun to take the initiative to invest in the construction of automobile export special wharfs in Dalian, Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
If an important part of the export is controlled by foreigners, then Chinese companies will of course have to pay a big price, and this kind of expenditure is likely to eat up all our meager profits. What else can we prepare for exports? In fact, China's auto exports have great articles on cost control. The pier was first robbed by the Japanese, but around the car itself, there were services, insurance, promotion, and so on. After all, car exports are by no means sold out, and there are still many links that need to be done.
Manufacturing industry has always been an important symbol of whether a country is strong. Therefore, developed countries will never give up their own manufacturing industries. If China's autos have unrestrainedly used low prices to hit the international market, they will eventually become the target of the textile industry.
In the park next to the European Parliament, 1 million balloons flew into the sky instantly!
On April 8, 2005, it was not a special day for the local residents living in this neighborhood, but on this day they watched this feat.
For the Chinese people who are far away from the ocean, it is difficult to relate this issue to themselves. However, this incident was actually designed for China, and its originator was Europe's largest textile and apparel manufacturer organization, EURATEX. The purpose is to put pressure on the European Commission, the European Parliament and the governments of various countries to demand that Chinese textiles be expelled from Europe!
At present, the low-price policies of China's autos have started to have negative effects on exports. Malaysia, Russia, and even the United States have pointed out the “threat of Chinese carsâ€. The Americans clearly stated: “Chinese cars will enter the U.S. market faster than Japan and South Korea, and Chinese cars will be exported to the U.S. within 5 to 10 years. Threatening."
Contradictions have accumulated to a certain degree and finally broke out! On September 14, during the International Auto Show in Frankfurt, Germany, ADAC announced a test report on land-based off-road vehicles, saying that "this is the worst achievement of ADAC in the history of automotive testing in the past 20 years." Regardless of the incident itself, regardless of whether or not the entire land breeze incident sounded a warning to independent brands, the risk of relying solely on low prices in overseas markets has increased.
An expert who did not want to be identified analyzed whether a country is strong or not. Manufacturing has always been an important symbol. The dispute between the United States, Japan, and the EU in the manufacturing sector has never ceased. When Japanese cars entered the United States, they were also plagued with difficulties. Toyota made some compromises with the United States and eventually took root in the U.S. market. If Chinese cars blindly use low prices to hit the international market and come up with a cheap price to rush their opponents instead of giving them the slightest room for manoeuvre, it is tantamount to building up many powerful enemies and losing good exports for themselves. surroundings. If there are obstacles everywhere, then the low-cost advantage will lose its playing field.
For developing China, low prices are a weapon to enter the international market. We will have no advantage if we abandon it. However, any country that accepts foreign-made products has a psychological bottom line. We must be good at walking in the area closest to this bottom line.
When we were drinking Coca-Cola, wearing Italian clothes, using French perfumes, and driving a BMW car, why did we readily accept it and not resent it? Because these international brands have successfully surpassed the boundaries of culture, region, nation, and country, they become a globally shared fashion and fashion. The incident that Wenzhou shoes were burned in Spain shows once again that Chinese local companies must be branded and brands must be internationalized.
China's auto exports are not a helpless move to escape local competition. Instead, they should be a battle to win. Before entering, we must put on a high profile - "We are a member of the world car!"
Developing China cannot give up its low-cost strategy because there is no advantage to giving up. However, while using low prices to snatch up the market, it is more important to improve their overall strength, build their own brands, and provide brand support for temporary cost advantages.
At the same time, the low-price strategy cannot break the psychological bottom line of the other party. Until today, Japanese cars still rely on low-price strategies in the international market, but they have been very cautious. With regard to the impact of foreign products, each country has a clear bottom line of protection, and entrants should enable themselves to lay the edge ball in this area and look for lubricants.
It is understood that in recent months, Toyota Motor has raised the price of related products by two or three points to ease the strain on Detroit. As long as the operational crisis of the GMs continues to exist, Toyota will become increasingly cautious. This is the price that both parties must pay to protect their respective auto industries. This is no longer the efficiency and cost between mass production methods and the Toyota Way. Comparison.
The operating rules of international trade are the same. The Chinese have done what the Chinese will have to do!