China's heavy-duty trucks perform poorly in the international automotive market

In recent years, China’s heavy-duty vehicles have grown very fast and have grown at a high rate of more than 30% per year. According to statistics from the China Automobile Industry Information Center, sales in the heavy-duty truck market were 236,000 in 2005 and 30.7 in 2006. 10,000 vehicles, 487,000 vehicles in 2007. Although this year has been affected by the import thresholds of exporting countries in the international market, the global financial crisis and the promotion of the national market III, the total amount of domestic heavy trucks will still be very large, just as many experts predict. In that case, it will enter a period of rational growth. In other words, the foundation for the growth of heavy vehicles in China has not been shaken and the domestic market will continue to grow. At the same time, the growth of Chinese heavy-duty vehicles in the international market is also very fast. In particular, FAW, Dongfeng, and Sinotruk have become Chinese heavy truck brands that have important world influence in the international market. Others such as Futian, Shaanxi Auto, Hongyan and Hualing has also formed a certain influence in the international market, and its export volume is growing rapidly. It can be said that China's heavy-duty auto industry has developed a strong competitiveness after years of independent development, and has become the world’s largest producer of heavy-duty vehicles.

The results are gratifying, but the hidden worries behind it are equally worthy of attention by the national automotive industry because the performance of Chinese heavy-duty vehicles in the international market is still not satisfactory. It also requires the joint efforts of all automotive people. Taken together, there are mainly the following: Aspects:

Product influence is expanding, single brand image is blurred, and the overall image is not good

In recent years, with the heightened prosperity of China's heavy-duty vehicle market and fierce competition in the market, more and more companies have turned their sights abroad. Heavy-duty auto exports have also grown at a high rate, sales are increasing, and varieties are increasing. In the expansion, the influence of Chinese heavy vehicles has risen sharply. However, this does not mean that our heavy-duty vehicle products have no problems in the international market. For example, among the heavy-duty vehicles that China exports to the international market, few have established a distinctive brand image of their own products, mostly as Chinese brands. Part of the image exists, unlike other international famous brands, Mercedes-Benz is Mercedes-Benz, Volvo is Volvo, brand image is very clear, that is to say China's heavy-duty auto brands lack their own independent personality. The reason why this image will be formed is that I think it is mainly due to the shortcomings of China's heavy-duty trucks. In the country, companies have generally paid attention to the brand of the product and promoted and maintained their own brand through various means such as media promotion, participation in industry activities, and charity donations. However, in overseas markets, this is not the case. Most enterprises participate in domestic exhibitions with international influence, such as the Beijing and Shanghai International Auto Show, Guangzhou Auto Show and other exhibitions held once every two years. There are not many companies that really go out and participate in foreign exhibitions. Ling, this year has been liberated; but the use of local media in overseas markets, such as magazines, newspapers, television, the Internet, etc. to promote not too many, even if there are few inputs.

Why do domestic companies are not happy to pay for this? One important reason is that in the local area, such propaganda costs are high, and some companies want to do propaganda, but their own strength is not enough to support huge propaganda costs; in addition, most domestic companies’ exports are made by foreign users themselves. There is still a lack of understanding of the use of media propaganda, and it is believed that there are still people who are not afraid of a deep alley. There is also a lack of long-term strategic planning for enterprises in the export market. They think that as long as the products are sold out, the proceeds will be recovered and money will be made. Yes, we did not mention the strategic aspect to examine this issue. Comparing with many foreign-funded enterprises in China, they have paid great attention to media relations before and after entering the Chinese market. They use media advertisements and news reports to promote their brands.

In addition to media campaigns, Chinese truck companies are not good at using legal means to maintain their own brands. What is common is people’s use of intellectual property rights. For companies and their trademarks and related patents, companies wishing to enter overseas markets should use local laws to establish a legal protection fence for their brands.

Another important reason is that most Chinese heavy-duty vehicle brands have low technology levels and similar platforms. Steyr technology is the mainstream, and export products are mostly products of the Steyr technology platform. Other technology platforms, such as the Hualing Heavy Truck based on the Mitsubishi Technology Platform, although growing rapidly, the total amount is not large and has not formed enough influence. The low level of technology and the similarity of platforms have also affected the Chinese heavy-duty truck brands' assertion of their own personalities and established a distinctive brand image. In other words, China's heavy-duty auto brands need to make continuous efforts to catch up with the international big brands, strengthen their learning and communication, continuously enhance their independent innovation, improve their own technical skills, and eventually develop their own technical characteristics and advantages.

Low product prices, vicious competition behavior among export companies

From the domestic export to the heavy-duty automobile products on the international market, the prices are mostly concentrated in the range of 30,000-40,000 US dollars. Products with more than 40,000 US dollars are few, and European and American trucks represented by Mercedes-Benz are mostly priced at 80,000 US dollars. Above, the price of Chinese heavy-duty vehicle products is only half of that. As a latecomer, Valin should be very proud of the people of the country, because the price of the Hualing car in the international market is more than 40,000 US dollars, and from the beginning we have made the price higher, now with the appreciation of the renminbi The export price of Hualing Motors has increased to more than 50,000 US dollars, at least 5000-10,000 US dollars more than other domestic brands with the same configuration, in the more mature market in Algeria, the Middle East, etc., the price of Hualing car There have been records of about 80,000 U.S. dollars, which will have a certain impact on improving the low-cost image of Chinese heavy-duty vehicle products in the international market.

Why China's product prices will be so low. Some people may say that China's labor force and other costs are relatively low, and this is one reason. More importantly, I think this has a lot to do with the technical content of Chinese heavy-duty vehicle products. Judging from the brand's technological content, China’s heavy-duty automotive products exported to the international market are mostly based on the Steyr technology platform, which was the technology of the 1970s and 1980s. Although they have been continuously improved and improved by domestic companies, they still do not get rid of it. Low-end, low-cost, poor-quality overall image. The good news is that this situation is changing and many companies are making efforts. Since 2005, domestic high-end heavy trucks represented by Hualing, Dongfeng Tianlong, and Liberation J6 have come out one after another. The gap between their technological level and technological level and the international advanced level has further narrowed. At the International Motor Show in Hanover, Germany, which was known as the Olympic Games in the field of commercial vehicles in 2006 and 2008, both Valin and Liberation have represented Chinese heavy-duty vehicle brands, causing a sensation at home and abroad, and the international market has paid more attention to and studied Chinese heavy-duty vehicles.

Another reason is that in order to compete for market share, many companies will privately push the price low, or give local agents more rebates, or even worse, increase the amount of labor based on the domestic cheap labor advantage. In order to achieve small profits and quick turnover, while ignoring the improvement of product quality and technological content, this will not only run the risk of anti-dumping, but also damage the overall interests of China's heavy-duty auto industry, resulting in poor impression that China can only produce low-end products. .

The export area continues to expand and the distribution is uneven

China's export market for heavy vehicles is mainly distributed in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and other regions. These markets are all developing countries. The automotive industry is relatively small and relatively backward. It has not implemented strict environmental protection standards and its purchasing power is relatively limited. In these areas, China’s heavy-duty vehicles have a certain degree of market competitiveness due to their low prices, and the market scale is also rapidly expanding. However, for those European and American developed markets where environmental regulations are more stringent, Chinese heavy-duty vehicles still compete with those of international heavy-duty auto giants. This year Russia has suddenly implemented a new certification system for imported vehicles. The number of certification testing items has increased from 11 to 55, which is a serious blow to the export of Chinese heavy vehicles to the Russian market. The European Union has also made it clear that since September 1, 2009, civilian vehicles sold and driven in the European Union, including diesel-fueled vehicles, will have to comply with the European 5 emission standards. In fact, the EU-4 emission standard that has not yet been implemented in our country was implemented by the European Union as early as 2005. Now, our country has only recently entered the national III standard that is equivalent to the European No. 3 standard. Companies are also busy with a series of issues such as the weak market brought about by the implementation of the National III. For the national IV standard that is equivalent to the European No. 4 standard, The company is not yet fully prepared. Therefore, for those European heavy-duty vehicle companies that have produced higher emission standards such as Man, Mercedes and Scania, Chinese heavy-duty auto companies have a long way to go to enter the European and American developed countries.

However, in the past two years, everyone can feel gratified that China’s heavy-duty auto companies are working hard. Some representative companies such as Hualing are also working hard. Many companies are exporting technology and products to the developed countries’ markets. Preparations for various aspects such as market access certification and the substantial growth in the Russian market also fully demonstrated the progress of heavy-duty vehicles in China. Now the second generation of heavy-duty vehicles from Valin's European technology platform will be unveiled at the Shanghai BMW Exhibition at the end of November. This car was commissioned by a well-known Italian car design company. It lasted more than two years. The technical level and all performance indicators reached the European and American standards. It is a truly independent brand of high-end heavy-duty vehicles. This car is designed for Designed for international big brand competition and opening up overseas high-end markets, this new car will surely surprise the Chinese people.
After-sales service system is not perfect and service is not in place

After-sales service has always been the soft underbelly of China's auto exports. This is also true in the export of heavy-duty vehicles. Many companies do not pay enough attention to it. Some companies want to do it but their own strength is insufficient. Many car export companies rely on foreign dealers to achieve vehicle sales and provide after-sales services, or rely on our professional export companies to open up overseas marketing channels. Many cars are used cars, there is no service at all, in short , Our heavy-duty vehicle export has not established its own complete after-sales service network in the international market. The service is still not in place.

However, to establish a comprehensive service network is not as simple as imagined. Many of these things must be prepared, and huge amounts of money, manpower, and material resources must be invested. No matter which part of the link is not done well, it will work harder and affect service quality. . The establishment of a comprehensive after-sales service network requires not only in-depth understanding of the local population, economy, culture, and society, but also the training of skilled workers. In addition, it is also necessary to do a good job in localization so as to save costs and provide effective services.

For the after-sales service, many small-scale heavy-duty auto companies are exploring beneficially. For example, Valin, its overseas market services mainly through the following ways: First, the development of service-capable dealers, through the right The dealer's service personnel conducts technical training and prepares accessories for distributors. The distributor then serves the users through their secondary sales and service network, which can solve the localization problem well; secondly, it is prepared when starting. Consumables, some simple problems, users can solve themselves or through local service stations; there is cooperation with internationally renowned large parts manufacturers, using their sound service network to provide services for users; Finally, Valin Each major market has its own dedicated service personnel to deal with more complex service issues. After many years of trial and error, these measures are indeed effective. The reason why Valin has adopted such measures is that it is compatible with the characteristics of Hualing itself and the development stage it is in. The total amount of exports is still relatively small, and the overall strength of the company is also without FAW, Dongfeng and CNHTC. Strong. Different companies should explore service measures that meet their own conditions and maintain the image of Chinese heavy-duty vehicle brands.

In short, although China’s heavy-duty vehicles have made great progress in terms of technology and product quality, the inherent image of Chinese heavy-duty vehicles in the international market has not yet fundamentally changed. “Low prices, low grades, poor quality, and services "Not in place" has almost become synonymous with Chinese heavy-duty vehicles, and low prices have also been advertised as compelling for China's heavy-duty vehicles' most competitive edge. Regarding the performance of China’s heavy-duty vehicles in the international market, many insightful people have a clear understanding and have also made some gratifying achievements, but it is necessary to radically change this “international image” yet to be seen in the entire country. Car companies and responsible car people work harder.
View related topics: Commercial Vehicle Export Analysis