Commercial vehicle joint-venture brand shows the "Chinese dream" in the automotive industry

Nowadays, in the industry, the autonomy of auto companies is discussed. Most of them are around passenger cars. Indeed, the scale of production and sales of passenger cars is much larger than that of commercial vehicles, and it is more in line with the consumption direction of the automotive society. However, one phenomenon that we cannot ignore is that there are more and more joint ventures in the heavy truck industry and they are becoming a new trend. , sweeping the industry.

On January 26, Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. (“Dongfeng Group”) and Sweden’s ABVolvo (“Volvo Group”) held a signing ceremony in Beijing to establish a strategic alliance with capital as the link. Dongfeng Group and Volvo Group will hold There are 55% and 45% of the stock. It is worth noting that the new joint venture company will be committed to the development of "Dongfeng" brand commercial vehicles, products covering medium and heavy trucks, passenger cars, special vehicles and chassis, engines, transmissions and so on.

On January 17 this year, the products of Sinotruk and Man Corporation also started to use the new SITRAKHYPERLINK brand. Yan Wenjun, chairman of CNHTC Jinan Commercial Vehicle, stated: “The birth of the SITRAK brand marks the high-level heavy trucks of China National Heavy Duty Truck reaching the advanced level of international heavy trucks. The SITRAK brand launch has a milestone significance in the heavy truck industry in China. We believe SITRAK will be in the near future. It will be the first high-end cooperative independent brand in China."

On February 18 last year, Beijing Futian Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fukuda Daimler Automotive") was established in Beijing. With a total investment of 6.35 billion yuan and a registered capital of 5.6 billion yuan, the Foton Auto's current "Fukuda Auman" medium- and heavy-duty trucks and Daimler's licensee's emission standards and power will reach Euro V and 490 hp OM457 heavy truck engines, respectively. . Foton Motors will retain the overseas market access rights and ownership of intangible assets such as proprietary technology, patents, and brands of medium-duty trucks in Auman; Daimler will provide technical and expert support to help joint ventures improve product quality and assist in the development of New products in the domestic market.

In addition to these companies, in the “Southern Cooperation” at the end of 2007, the development of the new company is also “China’s own brand”, “Jiujin”.

Under the current background of the country promoting the development of joint ventures with its own brands, should these independent brands of commercial vehicle companies also be included in the scope of the joint venture's own brands? The opinions in the industry are not consistent, and few people specifically discuss it. However, one thing is certain is that the self-owned brands in the joint ventures of commercial vehicles and the passenger car joint ventures are in stark contrast.

Different from the passenger car market, more than 95% of the markets in China's commercial vehicle market are occupied by independent brands, which is related to historical factors and product characteristics. Compared with developed countries, China's auto industry started late. The level of economic development and people's purchasing power determine that the mainstream products in the market are low-end products with low added value. The high prices of foreign-branded commercial vehicles are beyond the reach of individual users who can only rely on rolling development. Therefore, China's own-brand commercial vehicles that have developed over several decades have an absolute advantage in the market.

Nowadays, the commercial vehicle market in China has grown to a scale of more than 3 million vehicles per year. Apart from having a firm foothold in the domestic market and a large number of exports in the international market, it has a certain degree of popularity. From the data point of view, for a long period of time, the export volume of trucks exceeds the export volume of cars.

Foreign-branded commercial vehicle companies want to enter China and quickly seize the market, gaining a share from the market. First, they lack a relatively high cost-effective product, and second, they lack a sales network, so they can only rely on technology and brand advantages to seek joint ventures. In this way, China's commercial vehicle companies have considerable say in the negotiations. Therefore, the terms of cooperation announced by these joint ventures are more favorable to commercial vehicle companies in China. Apart from developing the original brands of Chinese companies, they also include setting up technology centers and expanding overseas markets. For example, the joint venture between Dongfeng and Volvo mentioned that the new Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Company will use the technology and expertise of both parties to continuously upgrade and upgrade the product platforms of medium and heavy commercial vehicles, and comprehensively upgrade the product planning of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles. R & D capability, build a world-class advanced commercial vehicle technology center and product planning system, and build an overseas manufacturing system and overseas sales base to meet overseas strategic needs.

The independent brands developed by the passenger vehicle joint ventures are, from the current point of view, using the original backward technology platform to return to the Chinese market. In the process of product re-development, although Chinese personnel can also participate, many are still involved in the periphery. The independent brands in the passenger vehicle joint ventures are mainly for the Chinese market, while the independent brands in the commercial vehicle joint ventures are already based in China and facing the world. This shows that the joint venture parties' right to speak is vastly different.

In addition, from the perspective of brand influence, the independent brands in the passenger car joint ventures are just born soon, lacking historical accumulation and brand recognition in the market. Some of the independent brands developed in commercial vehicle joint ventures have already had decades of brand influence. Dongfeng is the case. Auman has also accumulated over 10 years of market. Although the SITRAK brand of China National Heavy Duty Truck is also just born, but many of its products are also relying on the accumulation of some of China National Heavy Duty Truck technology, as well as China National Heavy Duty Truck market analysis and grasp.

While China's passenger car companies are still exploring the market with foreign forces, Chinese commercial vehicle companies have begun to ride their own brands to ride the wind and waves. This step is one step faster. Take Nanjing Iveco as an example, the company has not only greatly increased the market share of mid-to-low-end leap-forward light trucks, but also achieved significant growth in the 2012 sales decline in the young card industry. After years of accumulation, it has developed Yuejin high-end products. Light truck "beyond" achieved the renaissance of the first brand of light truck in China. In this regard, Zhou Weili, general manager of Nanjing Iveco, expressed emotion that Chinese auto companies must use their own brands to ship to the sea instead of borrowing ships to the sea.

Therefore, we should promote the development of self-owned brands for commercial vehicle companies. In the near future, Xiyi will see that China's commercial vehicle brands can be among the world's strongest players.