The automotive industry is struggling with endless controversies

On March 3, 2006, the "two sessions" began. The reporter noted that compared with last year, the motions of the two associations on automobiles this year are still focused on several hot spots such as independent innovation, small displacement, energy protection, and hybrid power.

After rapid development in recent years, the automotive industry has gradually emerged as energy, becoming one of the pillar industries of the country. At the same time, it is because of the rapid development of the automotive industry that many policy gaps and contradictions emerged. The Chinese auto industry at the crossroads urgently needs to find the direction of development, and hopes to get support from the policy and seek harmony in the external environment. From these motions that still need to be further regulated and implemented, people can clearly touch the pulse of the Chinese auto industry.

Track One: Independent Innovation

The motion recalled: From the strategic safety level of the national automobile industry, the auto innovation capability of independent development will be further enhanced to ensure the sustainable development of the auto industry.

Implementation results: The National Development and Reform Commission approved SAIC's own-brand project, and independent innovation was included in the national "Eleventh Five-Year Plan".

For a long time, the domestic automobile market has been dominated by multinational corporations. The domestic auto brands have a very small share of the market and they are mainly low-end vehicles.

It should be emphasized that the current domestic auto brand production is dominated by private companies, and some large state-owned or joint venture auto companies are not willing to spend effort on self-development, not not, but also not. On the contrary, those private enterprises that are threatened by the survival crisis have strong pressure and impetus. Therefore, it is not difficult for them to spare no effort to understand their own brands.

People in the industry believe that the specific policy orientation of the government is the key factor affecting the independent innovation of the auto industry in the future. In fact, both the “Auto Industry Industrial Policy” promulgated in 1994 and the “Auto Industry Development Policy” promulgated in 2004 all have the content of encouraging the auto industry to innovate independently, but these are only large frameworks and lack corresponding implementation rules and regulations. As a result of supporting policies, there is no way to implement them. Last year, some representatives suggested that the government should give certain preferential treatment to its own brands in taxes and fees, but no one has responded yet. In 2005, although the state had a lot of actions in independent brand building and independent innovation, the real supportive policy was still “listen to the floor and not see people down”.

In 2005, the “Large-Heavy Argument” really made the “fire” a reality, but at the same time, it also made people recognize the difference between independent innovation and independent brands, and made the autonomy of our country more clear. Recently, SAIC's own brand projects have been formally approved by the National Development and Reform Commission. This means that state-owned enterprises have taken a big step forward in building their own brands.

Now, for the domestic independent innovation construction, the most important is the lack of policy. According to informed sources, the country is stepping up its research on incentives and innovations. In the two sessions this year, the formulation of specific policies will be the focus of the participants’ attention.

Tracking 2: Small displacement lifted

Review of the motion: Discard the discriminatory policies on small displacement as soon as possible.

Implementation results: Six departments including the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Opinions on Encouraging the Development of Energy-saving and Environment-friendly Small-displacement Vehicles", requiring that the relevant restrictions be removed before the end of March this year.

“What time does the age of the heroes for cars grow?” During the two sessions in 2005, Yin Jiaxu shouted and shouted again, shouting again for the unreasonable treatment suffered by the small displacement. At the end of 2005, the six ministries and commissions of the country jointly issued a document requesting the abolition of all restrictions on environmentally friendly small-displacement vehicles by the end of March this year. At this point, the issue of lifting the ban on small displacements has finally drawn a full stop. However, has the problem really been solved?

In fact, on the issue of small-displacement, the relevant government departments have stated that they have lifted restrictions on mini-vehicles since 1996. In fact, 84 cities across 22 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country have introduced policies that discriminate against small-displacement cars, including major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The local government has its own regulations for restricting small-displacement, and the state's industrial policy of encouraging the development of small-displacement vehicles is not mandatory, and it finally ransacked for 10 years.

Now, the deadline for governance is getting closer and closer. From the perspective of implementation in various places, the situation is still not optimistic. The relevant departments in Shanghai have already stated that they will “lift the ban,” but Shanghai will implement the “high limit not limited to small” in the future, and the restrictions on automobile emissions will be tightened; the details of Beijing's lifting of the ban are still being studied, but the “National III” standard The implementation also implicitly rejected some of the small-displacement “outsides”. However, according to relevant sources, it is still hopeful that, for small displacement Chang'an Avenue, it is hoped that in Guangzhou, it is understood that in order to deal with small displacement, With the lifting of the ban, Guangzhou will implement the "National III" emission standard in advance.

In this regard, in order to deal with the lifting of the ban, all parts of the country began to play a game called "line of sight." In the "Opinions", the state clearly stated that it is necessary to develop environmentally-friendly, small-displacement vehicles. Since environmental protection is a prerequisite, there must be no pollution. Therefore, although the localities are no longer limited to small ones, they have turned the spearhead to “pollution confinement,” and many small-displacement cars are still difficult to get on the road. If it was said that the former had been limited to "face", then now it is to limit the pollution, but the ultimate goal seems to be limited.

Track 3: Energy and Environment

Review of the motion: Accelerating energy legislation and maintaining the sustainable development of China's auto industry.

The results of the motion: There have been achievements in the research of autonomous hydrogen power technology.

At the beginning of 2005, car manufacturers and consumers ushered in a hit. The price of a rising oil price is daunting. For a time, energy issues became the focus of the automotive industry.

At the two sessions last year, Chen Hong, president of the National People's Congress on behalf of SAIC Motor Co., had proposed a bill to speed up energy legislation and maintain the sustainable development of China's auto industry. He believes that due to the rapid growth of China's automobile industry and the large and rapid increase in the consumption of petroleum energy, the energy issue has a direct bearing on the sustainable development of China's auto industry. Although the National People's Congress passed the Renewable Energy Law afterwards, it only mentions “the state encourages the production and use of biological liquid fuels” and fails to propose a feasible plan for the status of energy shortages.

In recent years, due to the rapid growth of China's auto industry, the consumption of petroleum energy is also increasing. According to statistics, in 2005 China imported 127 million tons of crude oil, of which at least 30% was used for car consumption. It is estimated that by 2020, the oil consumption gap in China will reach more than 200 million tons, and the dependence on oil imports will reach more than half. Among them, the growth in the consumption of automobiles has undoubtedly increased China's reliance on imported oil. At present, the energy issue is not only a strategic issue related to China's economic development, but also related to the sustainable development of China's automobile industry.

Track 4: Hybrid Vehicles

Review of the motion: Emphasize and strengthen the construction of the hybrid electric vehicle industry with independent intellectual property rights.

Implementation results: Changan, Maple, and other developed hybrid vehicles.

On January 15, China's first mass-produced hybrid car, the Prius, went public. Its listing is not only a new model, but also a concept.

With the rapid growth of automobile ownership in China, it has brought severe challenges to energy and the environment. However, before alternative energy sources have been found, hybrid vehicles are undoubtedly a good choice for solving increasingly tense energy problems. Nowadays, the development and application of hybrid vehicles have become an inevitable trend in the development of automobiles. Major auto companies in the world have introduced their own hybrid vehicles. Therefore, for domestic auto manufacturers, this development opportunity can not only solve energy and environmental issues, but also catch up with the world's automotive development. In the words of Yin Jiaxu, chairman of Chang'an Automobile, if we don't have the technology and products of hybrid cars with independent intellectual property rights and independent brands, our country will degenerate into a foreign market for hybrid vehicles.

At present, domestic automobile companies have also begun research on hybrid vehicles. The Jiefang Brand Hybrid City Bus independently developed by FAW has passed the project acceptance of the national “863” electric vehicle major special expert group; the Dongfeng Group’s hybrid bus has also completed the final product prototype test and passed the acceptance test in July last year; Changan Group has fully independent intellectual property rights of antelope hybrid electric vehicles also have a prototype, its equipped with hybrid technology Changan CV9 will be off the assembly line at the end of the year; Chery Group set up a national energy saving and environmental protection automotive engineering and technology research center, and will be in the near future The acceptance of hybrid vehicles will also be accompanied by a hybrid project with the University of Newcastle in the UK...

Although domestic hybrid vehicles have been launched in succession, whether the consumers accept it or the market has the final say. Due to the high technological content and high price of hybrid vehicles, the current manufacturing cost of hybrid vehicles in China is 30% higher than that of traditional cars of the same type. For consumers, who is willing to pay for these 30%? In foreign countries, in order to encourage consumers to buy hybrid vehicles, the government often has a big discount in terms of taxes, and even subsidies. This is very worthy of domestic reference. In terms of hybrid power, although China has already kept pace with technology, the lack of relevant policies will cause many problems for the development of hybrid vehicles.