Independent brands sharpen competitive edge
- Source: Ce.cn
- [14:18 May 13 2009]
- Comments
By Tong Na
The good performance of the Chinese auto market since January 2009 gave firm confidence to the success of 2009 Auto Shanghai. The pomp of 2009 Auto Shanghai is a comment of the "growth against the tendency" of the Chinese auto market. Stepping into the exhibition hall, the strongest signal was no longer the rich product display on the exhibition stages of multinational enterprises, but the collective progress of the Chinese independent brands. From conception auto to strategy auto, from high-end auto to new energy auto, from traditional internal combustion engine improvement to high-tech implantation, the collective strengthen exerting of independent brands became the most dazzling scene at 2009 Auto Shanghai with its grand momentum.
Product reserve becomes increasingly rich
At the exhibition stage of Chery, it was absolutely a mission impossible to remember the 32 new auto types on exhibition at this time. Various appearances and complicated auto type aliases indicated that Chery was marching with multiple product lines simultaneously and complementarily. As learned, no conception auto of Chery attended the expo at this time. All auto types of Chery had their definite mass production timeline. The "Smart digital choice auto" Ruiqi M1 and automatic gearshift type A3, which was paid much attention by consumers, had become the "superstars" in the expo.
Among the 22 new auto types of Geely, except one conception auto, the others were all new auto types with sub-brands. 9 of them would be launched on the market in the future one and a half years, 6 were in the course of R&D and would be launched on the market in the future two and a half years, 2 were pre-research auto types for strategic reserve, and the rest included 1 high-performance HEV, 1 Geely formula auto and 1 small environment-friendly conception auto. On the background of the rich product line is the deep meaning of the corporate strategic transformation. The planning of its three sub-brands of GLEAGLE, EMGRAND, and SHANGHAI ENGLON has been gradually optimized.
SAIC Group attended the expo with 16 autos of 9 auto types and two major brands of Roewe and MG, and launched two revolutionary auto types for the first time globally-MG6 and the 3G conception auto Roewe N1. SAIC stated that it is intended to shape up a layout of "multiple brands and whole series" of mass production auto types with the concentrated launching of new products and seize the first opportunity if the market competition. In the future, SAIC will constitute the complete product series of 5 major platforms and 30 products.
Besides, Great Wall Motor beautifully decorated its three major auto categories of sedan, SUV, and pickup-truck and MPV in its 1,600-square-meter exhibition hall. According to the planning of the three categories, the new auto launching of Great Wall Motor is being carried out orderly, 9 of which are autos under 1.6L emissions, basically a new auto type will be launched in every month. Great Wall Motor will burst out in the categories of sedan and small SUV in 2009.
Product reserve has now become the unified act of enterprises to enhance their competitiveness. Due to the great consumption demand in the Chinese auto market, some relevant institutions suggest that China's domestic and overseas manufacturers should launch more auto types to meet the various auto consumption demands in China. However, noticeably, the Chinese consumers have also become more rational and professional, so auto manufacturers should continuously adjust their auto types to make them better, more elaborate and last longer.
Actively seeking for the technological breakthrough
New energy auto is not a new thing from long ago. The R&D and production of the new energy autos have become an important tendency of the global automotive industry today. The Adjustment and Revitalization Plan of the Chinese Automotive Industry defined clearly the new energy auto strategy as one of the most important strategies in the future development of the Chinese auto industry, and suggested the promotion of the industrialization and scale development of the energy conservative and environment-friendly autos. Auto manufacturers with independent brands respond to it enthusiastically. Judging from the situation of 2009 Auto Shanghai, hybrid power autos and electric power autos are the major technological directions of the new energy auto development of the auto manufacturers with independent brands presently.
In the morning of April 20, Wan Gang, Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology of the P.R.C. came to the specific new energy auto experiencing zone of Chery and listened to the report of Chery on new energy development. As the "National Energy Conservation and Environment Friendly Auto Engineering Technology Research Center", Chery displayed its new products of pure electric power autos and hybrid power autos, which are developed independently by itself, and these new energy auto types will all be put to mass production by the end of 2010.
As an independently branded automotive manufacturer, BYD has begun the R&D of electric power autos since 2003, and on the basis of its persistent effort to electric power autos, BYD has taken the nearest position of the commercialized prospect. Compared with the Auto Shanghai expo held two years ago, the largest change of BYD at 2009 Auto Shanghai is the display of new energy autos with an independent lineup. As the first commercialized new energy auto of BYD, F3DM adopts the iron battery technology independently developed by BYD and really realized the convenient switching of the two modes of hybrid power and electric power. Under the electric mode, the continued driving mileage of F3DM can reach 100km. More remarkably, F3DM realizes two energy charging methods of family charging mode and charge station mode.
Haima Automobile released its "Blue Engine" strategy at the expo. It should be said that Haima had started to break through the most essential core technology of automobile production-power assembly, and the most largest meaning of "Blue Engine" is that Haima emphasizes both on the R&D of traditional power and new energy technologies, so as to make the corresponding technological reserve under the premise of keeping the stable development of the enterprise.
Enterprises with independent brands begin to find their core value by seeking for technological breakthrough and quality improvement. At Geely's exhibition stage, the correspondent found a product of security technology system, i.e. the GTSM technology which is defined as Geely's all-round security management system. It includes the application of high tensile steel plate, passive security methods as seat belt and air bag, and the active security technology with BMBS technology as the core. The security standard has become the next aim of Geely.