Challenge and create opportunities. Who is the winner of the auto market in 2018？

　　[XCAR Deep Observation Original]

　　In 2018, the automobile market was full of words such as "market winter" and "cliff-like decline", which was quite different from the mood of watching the automobile market rise in previous years. According to the data released by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as China Automobile Association), in 2018, there were 28.081 million vehicles sold in the automobile market and 23.2571 million vehicles sold in passenger cars, both of which were down compared with last year, but they still ranked first in the global automobile market for the tenth consecutive year. Despite the decline in market sales, China remains the largest automobile market in the world.Under the market background of the decline in sales in the automobile market in 2018, what challenges and opportunities will be brought to the automobile enterprises, and this issue will be interpreted in depth. (Source: China Automobile Industry Association/Aika Digital Intelligence Laboratory)

　　▼ In 2018, the sales volume of passenger car market fell for the first time in 29 years.

　　Since 1990, the sales volume of China automobile market has been singing all the way, but the continuous growth was broken in 2018. Sales data show that the market maintained a double-digit growth at the beginning of 2018, but the growth rate declined rapidly from April, and finally the sales volume began to decline year-on-year in July, and the decline rate gradually increased. The decline rate of sales in the fourth quarter remained above double digits. From the overall market point of view, cars, SUVs, MPVs and crossover commercial vehicles all showed different degrees of decline.

　　When forecasting the sales volume at the end of 2017, the China Automobile Association predicted that the automobile market would eventually grow by 2%-3% in 2018. However, under the influence of the complex macroeconomic background, the actual situation of the automobile market was quite different from the forecast. In the end, the sales of passenger cars in 2018 were 23.2571 million, down 4.08% year-on-year.

　　In 2018, under the complex macroeconomic background, the sales volume of the automobile market declined, which was not unrelated to the policy and the psychology of consumers buying cars. After April, China’s economy entered the stage of deleveraging, which will affect the source of funds for consumers to buy cars with loans to a certain extent, which is also an important reason for the weakening of the automobile industry in the second half of the year. After April 4, 2018, the Sino-US trade dispute became more intense. Although this only increased to the tariff on imported American-made vehicles, it had little impact on the automobile industry. However, with the intensification of the dispute, people’s confidence in the future economy was insufficient, and their expectations for future income also declined. Several factors combined, many people chose to postpone the car purchase plan.

　　▼ With the increase of the number of brands, the survival of marginal brand products becomes more and more difficult.

　　In recent years, the sales volume of the automobile market in China has continued to grow, and many brand-new automobile brands have emerged one after another. In 2018, in the face of the decline in the overall sales volume of the automobile market, the "Matthew effect" of the strong Hengqiang has become more and more obvious, and the market has concentrated on more advantageous brands and products. With the increase in the number of domestic automobile brands, it has become increasingly difficult for "marginalized" automobile brands to survive due to product strength and other reasons.

　　Changan Suzuki is one of the representatives of the brand that has been gradually marginalized. After Changan Suzuki reached the historical peak of 220,000 vehicles in 2011, its sales volume continued to decline, which eventually led Suzuki to choose to withdraw from China. On September 4, 2018, Changan Automobile issued a statement in official website. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. and Suzuki Co., Ltd. reached an agreement on the acquisition of equity of Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd., and Changan Automobile acquired 50% equity of Changan Suzuki held by Suzuki. After the completion of the acquisition, Changan Automobile holds 100% equity of Changan Suzuki, and Suzuki Automobile has officially withdrawn from the China market.

　　Suzuki’s withdrawal from the China market is worth pondering. Changan Suzuki was founded in May 1993. As the first Japanese company to enter China to produce cars, Suzuki was the fourth Japanese car company in sales in China before 2014. With the upgrading of consumption and the increasingly fierce competition in the China market, Changan Suzuki brand has been gradually marginalized due to the slow introduction of new models and other factors. Since the sales volume of Changan Suzuki reached the historical peak of 220,000 vehicles in 2011, the sales volume of Changan Suzuki has been in a state of decline. Changan Suzuki, who has been deeply involved in the China market for more than 20 years, finally chose to withdraw from the China market.

　　▼ Cars are consumer goods that are difficult to drive by the star effect.

　　Before the official launch of 2018 fifa world cup, WEY signed a contract with cristiano ronaldo (C Ronaldo for short) and invited C Ronaldo to be the first spokesperson of WEY brand. During the World Cup, C Ronaldo, the world footballer, spoke for WEY, which caused a sensation and attracted a lot of attention. For WEY brand, signing C Ronaldo endorsement is an important step forward in marketing communication.

　　However, with the gradual dilution of the World Cup fever and the passage of time, C Ronaldo’s endorsement of WEY has gradually been forgotten by everyone. Previously, many first-line stars spoke for car companies, Jackie Chan spoke for Mitsubishi, and Jay Chou spoke for Na Zhijie. The coffee spots of the stars were not weak, and they all ended in "bleak". The main reason is that cars, as an industrial-intensive, technology-intensive and labor-intensive asset-oriented commodity, are difficult to achieve sales growth by relying solely on marketing.

　　Haval H6 is the "evergreen tree" in the sales list of SUV models, which concentrates the sales risk on one model and forms two competition circles with other strong independent brands. At present, WEY’s biggest competitor in the competition is Lectra. Although the "Focus Strategy" was first introduced by Great Wall Motor, Geely Automobile is the car company that brought it into full play. At present, Geely (including Lexus and New Energy) sells more than 20 mainstream models. Geely exerts a balanced force in the car and SUV market, especially for the compact market. In the first 11 months of this year, the proportion of compact retail sales was 55.25%, which was significantly ahead of the market share of medium-sized and small-sized market segments.