With the increasing demand for environmental protection in recent years, pure electric vehicles, as an emerging new energy vehicle, have attracted more and more attention from domestic and foreign users. Chinese car companies have gone through50Years of car manufacturing accumulation, especially benefiting from recent20The rapid development of the domestic automobile industry in the past year has led to significant progress in domestic automobiles. China has an industrial system for manufacturing and producing a full range of vehicle models and components, and has ranked first in automobile production for ten consecutive years. The production and sales volume of the three major domestic automobile groups ranks among the top in the world. However, we should be aware that there are also many problems in China's automotive industry, such as multiple technologies for key components of domestically produced cars that have not yet been overcome; There is still a significant gap in the quality of domestically produced cars compared to Japan, Europe, and the United States; Low price competition among domestic brands; Domestic car brands have low value. Undoubtedly, it is difficult for traditional fuel vehicles in China to catch up with Japan, the United States, and Europe, but pure electric vehicles provide opportunities for Chinese brands to overtake on curves.
1、 Why are pure electric vehicles an opportunity for China to achieve overtaking in the automotive industry
China is not at a disadvantage compared to countries such as Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea in terms of pure electric vehicle powertrain technology. Pure electric vehicles disrupt the traditional fuel powered vehicle powertrain system. Traditional fuel vehicles have a powertrain that includes an engine, gearbox, clutch, and axles.
Passenger car engines and automatic transmissions are two major challenges that China has not yet independently overcome. The powertrain of a pure electric vehicle includes a drive motor and control system, an automatic transmission and control system, and a vehicle control system. The core technologies mainly include batteries, drive motors, control systems, and charging systems. The battery includes battery cell energy density, battery pack layout, etc. The battery is closely related to the range of pure electric vehicles. The popularity of pure electric vehicles has long been limited by their range. Drive motors are divided into DC motors and AC motors, which must solve the frequent start stop, acceleration and deceleration, and different torque requirements at different speeds during the operation of pure electric vehicles. The control system determines the speed of the drive motor, controls the output of the power battery, and controls the battery energy BMS control system. Charging stations determine the charging time, charging percentage, battery life, and other factors of pure electric vehicles. A number of enterprises have emerged in China in the field of electric vehicle powertrain. In terms of batteries, companies such as CATL and BYD; In terms of driving motors, it includes Dayang Motor, Dajun Control, etc; The control system includes Xinlianda Electronic Technology, Xiongcai Technology, etc; Charging stations include companies such as China Putian and NARI.
2、 Key export regions for pure electric vehicles in China
China is currently a major producer and consumer of pure electric vehicles, and the indicators for the growth and strength of the automotive industry are not only based on the domestic market, but should also involve extensive participation in competition. Therefore, we should focus on China's pure electric vehicle export business. Due to the influence of the development level of the automotive industry and the different entry barriers for automobiles in various countries, China's traditional fuel vehicles are mainly exported to third world countries such as Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. According to customs data in 2017, China exported 891000 vehicles, including 639000 passenger cars and 252000 commercial vehicles.
In 2017, China's automobile sales were 28.88 million units, with exports accounting for only 3%. It can be seen that the rapid development of China's automotive industry mainly relies on the dividends of the domestic market. How to choose the export destination country for pure electric vehicles, what export methods to adopt, and ultimately achieve the overtaking of China's pure electric vehicles in overseas markets is worth pondering.
1Selection of export destination country. Firstly, screen based on the sales volume of major pure electric vehicle sales countries. Obviously, China, the United States, and Europe are the main consumers of pure electric vehicles at present.2Analysis of the competitiveness of key components for pure electric vehicles in China. The analysis of the competitiveness of key components in China's electric vehicles can serve as one of the reference criteria for whether China's pure electric vehicle products can enter the European and American markets. In terms of batteries, CATL22%The purpose of investing in Finland's Meide Automotive Co., Ltd. is to lay out European battery factories; Tianjin Lishen has established a battery sales company in Germany, planning to provide battery supply for brands such as Daimler and Volkswagen. In terms of driving motors, Japanese made motors dominate, including Toyota, Honda, Tomita, Nissan, etc., while BYD in China is in this niche market**2%And it is developing rapidly. Control system, mainly focused on battery managementBMSTaking the system as an example.BMSThe market,Denso,PrehOccupying an important position, and in recent years, battery manufacturers have also made effortsBMSSystem. And China's pure electric vehiclesBMSThe system is mainly provided by third-party companies such as Yineng Electronics and Guantuo Power Supply. In recent years, Chinese battery suppliers such as BYD have beenBMSSignificant progress has also been made in the system aspect. Although advancedBMSThere is still a problem of weak technical reserves among suppliers, but the technological gap has gradually been narrowed through overseas mergers and acquisitions, equity investments, and other means. In terms of charging stations, regions such as the United States, China, Europe, and Japan have vigorously promoted the layout of charging stations through government subsidies. The abundance of charging station resources is an important factor determining whether pure electric vehicles can be widely promoted. It can be seen that there is a significant gap in the production capacity of key components for pure electric vehicles in China compared to Japan. However, compared to European and American countries, some fields even occupy a position. Therefore, from the perspective of technical capability analysis, it is feasible to enter the European and American markets. Therefore, considering market capacity, core technology, components, and charging facilities, the United States and Europe are undoubtedly the target markets for China's electric vehicle exports.
3、 Characteristics of China's pure electric vehicle exports to European and American countries
Traditional fuel vehicle exports mainly include whole vehicle exports (CBU) and spare parts exports (KD). The export of loose parts varies according to the disassembly status of the components, including semi loose parts (SKD), fully loose parts (CKD), disassembled parts (DKD), etc. The choice between exporting complete vehicles or individual parts mainly depends on factors such as tariff differences, transportation costs, and regulatory requirements of the destination country. In addition to using traditional fuel vehicles for export, electric vehicle exports also have the following characteristics:
1Diversified export methods. Electric vehicles not only include complete vehiclesKDIn addition to the two export methods for complete sets of equipment, there are also three types of chassis and componentsOEMSpecial order customization, etc. Three types of chassis cooperation methods are mainly applicable to localized modification projects for electric trucks.
That is, some traditional car body parts are provided by domestic manufacturers and exported to the destination country as loose parts, where battery packs, drive motors, control systems, etc. are arranged and installed locally. Three types of chassis, mainly referring to those without powertrain, are generally limited to 65% of the total vehicle price based on the value of the goods, and can be declared as a whole vehicle if it exceeds 65%; If it is less than 65%, it is considered as component export. Compared to the export of three types of chassis, the export of components requires customs declaration in the form of accessories. The tax rebate rate for most components is 16%, while some are exported at 9-16%. OEM production, represented by the cooperation between NIO and Jianghuai, with Jianghuai providing traditional car parts and NIO providing electric parts, sold under the NIO brand, assuming the main responsibility for the vehicle, while Jianghuai is responsible for production. Special orders are produced by the host factory, and the customer brings their own three major electricity sources. The host factory is responsible for the entire vehicle. The diversity of cooperation modes for electric vehicles determines the diversification of their export methods.
2The particularity of battery transportation. When exporting electric vehicles or complete sets of parts, the problem of battery transportation must be solved. Due to the hazardous nature of batteries, especially lithium batteries, there are many management regulations for their transportation. Taking the transportation of pure electric vehicles through containers as an example, it is necessary to provide a battery testing report to the shipping carrier to prove that the battery is safe and suitable for sea transportation. If transportation methods such as roll on/roll off ships and bulk carriers are used, there is currently no need to submit a battery testing report. The battery testing report should not be provided by the vehicle manufacturer as the responsible party, but should be provided by the battery supplier. Therefore, when making a sea freight plan for pure electric vehicles, considering issues such as timeliness and cost, it is recommended to first choose a transportation method that does not require battery testing reports. For those using container transportation, battery suppliers must provide existing or fast certification reports from institutions. It can be seen that the formulation of logistics transportation plans is an important management link for the export of electric vehicles.
3The electric vehicle modification project requires in-depth technical exchanges. European and American countries often have high entry barriers and regulatory requirements for imported products. Pure electric vehicles imported as whole vehicles will face high import tariffs, certification requirements, localization rates, etc.
Therefore, currently, in addition to a few pure electric vehicle brands such as BYD and SAIC exporting to European and American countries, more pure electric vehicle companies are still paying attention to these markets in China. The local modification project for pure electric vehicles can effectively utilize the price advantage of traditional domestic body parts. Installing electric vehicle parts locally can reduce the difficulty of certification and market entry barriers, thereby optimizing the allocation of resources throughout the production process of pure electric vehicles, improving product quality and price competition. The local modification project for pure electric vehicles involves a lot of technical exchange work, including 3D digital modeling design, vehicle matching, charging station layout, CAN protocol matching, and so on. It can be said that the export business of electric vehicles is dominated by technical exchanges. Due to differences in technical exchanges, domestic and international differences in the use of technical software, and intellectual property protection, this stage is a difficult part of promoting pure electric vehicle modification projects. On the one hand, Chinese pure electric vehicle manufacturers need to consider protecting intellectual property rights, controlling vehicle development costs to a low level, and export profitability; On the other hand, foreign partners consider the feasibility of vehicle development technology, cost control, and the universality of domestic and foreign projects. There will inevitably be many conflicts of interest between the two parties during the cooperation negotiation process. Therefore, how to coordinate the interests of both parties and find the point of cooperation requires exploration in the practical process. It can be seen that the diversification of export methods for pure electric vehicles, the particularity of battery transportation, and in-depth technical communication are the new characteristics of their export methods compared to traditional fuel vehicles.
In summary, this article provides a brief analysis of China's pure electric vehicle development in overseas markets. Chinese pure electric vehicle brands have the foundation and opportunities to go global in terms of technology, market development stage, and product layout. Seize opportunities, unite and go global, based on.