Chinese automotive industry: new items and a range of Chinese cars. Review of the Chinese car industry

China has learned to produce cars at the level of the best world brands and is now actively conquering the market. At the heart of the successful expansion of Chinese machine manufacturers lies a whole set of factors that form a system with a solid foundation.

Chinese Automotive Industry: Yesterday and Today

In the first half of the 90s, the Chinese auto industry was not in the best condition, mainly due to lack of access to competitive technologies. In response to this state of affairs, the Government of the People's Republic of China decided to limit imports of imported cars, increasing import duties by 80%.

As a result, automobile factories inside China received an incentive for production growth. From the state they were guaranteed tax benefits. In China, investment has gone, and car production has increased dramatically - so much so that by 2003 there was a clear overheating of the market: demand slowed, prices for new cars began to fall.

The situation was helped by work in foreign markets, and as a result, production not only did not fall into recession, but gained even more impressive turnovers: in 2006, China took the third place in terms of output of cars (after the USA and Japan), and by 2009 it became The world leader of the industry. The range of Chinese cars began to expand actively. According to experts' forecasts, by 2020 every third machine in the world will have a brand with a residence permit in China. The growth of incomes of Chinese residents helped to correct the situation in the domestic market, which keeps the offer not only from domestic producers, but from import suppliers.

Sales in Russia

The Chinese automotive industry in Russia is no longer exotic. According to estimates of automobile market experts, in 2013, sales of brands from China exceeded 100,000 units. The market share of machines of Chinese origin also increased - it was 3.7% (while in 2012 it was 2.6%). The most popular brand is LIFAN. The growth of sales of the brand in 2013 was 34% compared to 2012, 27 467 cars were sold.

The second place in sales was occupied by the Geely brand (27 263 cars), an increase of 55% compared to the previous year. "Bronze" was won by the Great Wall brand (19 954 cars, growth - 39%), the fourth position was staked by Chery (19 855 cars, growth - 4%). The main reasons for the popularity of brands from China in Russia experts call a wide range of models and low prices. According to analysts, the Chinese auto industry will continue to conquer the Russian market, its share in the distant future may reach 10%.

Lifan

The leader of Russian sales - the company Lifan - was founded in 1992. Now it produces, in addition to passenger cars, buses and ATVs. Translated from Chinese, the name of the company means "to go all the way". The first car under this brand appeared in Russia in 2007, and it was a Lifan Breeze passenger car. Among the newest models of the model line is another modification of Lifan Solano, which was received by the salons of the Russian Federation in November 2013. The car has a 106-horsepower engine, is equipped with wheel disks on a light alloy, a powerful audio system (6 speakers). The main competitors of the Chinese car in the segment are Nissan Almera (engine 102 hp), Kia Rio (107 hp), Geely Emgrand (98 hp). All cars are in the same price range (429-489.9 thousand rubles). Note that since November 2013 the warranty period for Lifan has been extended to 5 years (150 thousand km of run).

Geely

The company was founded by Li Shufu, who now ranks among the top 50 richest people in China with a fortune of $ 1.5 billion (according to Forbes). In 1986, the entrepreneur opened a company to produce components for refrigeration. Three years later, he began to produce decor elements from magnolia wood, and later went on to produce motorcycles. A few years later, in 1997, Li Shufu launched an assembly of cars at his factory. A year later the first sample of the car under the Geely brand came off the assembly line. This word means "happiness" in Chinese. In 1999, a large plant began to be built in Ningbo, and since 2003 the brand began to be sold abroad. Now the company produces about 600 thousand cars per year, they are exported to 46 countries. In 2014 in the Russian salons under the brand Geely will be sold two notable cars - EX7 (crossover) and SC7 (sedan). The first (in high-price versions) will be equipped with leather interior, multimedia with a sensor, parking sensors, front airbags. Among the notable options of the second car is air conditioning and a modern audio system.

It is obvious that the Chinese automotive industry is becoming more and more competitive. Feedback about the use of machines with these options will play, however, a decisive role in the success of these new products - you just have to wait for the sales to begin.

Great wall

Great Wall Motor (GWM) - the largest private company in China in the field of automobile production. It was founded in 1976 in the province of Hebei. The company started out as a manufacturer of small trucks, but over the years it grew into a holding company consisting of a number of subsidiaries (their functions are divided - some are assembling cars, others are manufacturing components). Until 1997, GWM supplied cars only to the domestic market, but after it began to develop abroad. The greatest demand for machines of this brand is observed in the US, Russia, Western Europe, as well as in South America and Africa. This brand is present in both developed and overtaking markets. Now Great Wall - one of the leaders of the market of China for the supply of "pickups." In 2003, GWM shares were sold on the stock exchange in Hong Kong. The firm produces hundreds of thousands of machines a year.

Among the noteworthy novelties of samples of cars of this brand is the Haval Coupe, shown at the Beijing Motor Show in April 2014. The car is designed to compete with the BMW X6. Thanks to Great Wall, the brands of the Chinese automotive industry have become known in Russia. This brand is the pioneer of the Russian market.

Chery

This brand is one of the youngest in the segment that represents the cars of the Chinese auto industry. The company was founded in 1997 on the initiative of the Wuhu City Hall in Anhui Province.

According to officials, the municipality (and the province as a whole) did not have the proper level of industrial production. At first it was decided to build a plant for the production of automobile engines. Later the factory was added with a conveyor belt, invested $ 25 million in additional equipment purchased from Ford, and launched a full-scale production of cars. Interestingly the fact that the name Chery (consonant with the English "cherry", that is cherry) the company did not immediately. First, the brand was named in Chinese - "ki ryu", which means "special blessing". At first this phrase was transliterated as Qirui, but since in European languages it was not quite heard by ear, the firm was called Chery (and before that there was an intermediate version - Cheery). Several newest models of the model range of the brand were presented at the end of 2013. Among them - Chery Tiggo with front-wheel drive, five-speed manual transmission, variator, 139-horsepower engine.

Prospects of sales in Russia

As it was said above, some experts believe that the Chinese auto industry can take 10% of the Russian market. According to specialists, one of the reasons for the optimistic view of the future of Chinese brands in Russia is a wide range of models. In turn, the factor that can slow down the expansion of the "Chinese" - this is a low confidence in the quality of cars and in some cases not the most positive image. Experts note that automakers from China pay great attention to the service, supplying sales centers with spare parts and components.

The main task for dealers selling Chinese brands, experts call information work with buyers: Russians sometimes do not know anything about Chinese brands, that they are quite capable of competing with European, Japanese and Korean firms, and also that the manufacturer Provides a full-fledged guarantee. Among the unusual assessments from market experts is that Chinese auto brands are the same brands of developed countries with a backlog of 5 years. It is noted that the quality of cars assembled in the PRC is steadily growing, and prices remain affordable.

Marketing in Chinese

As it was said above, Russian car enthusiasts in cars from China attract, first of all, an affordable price. However, it's not just that. It is worth mentioning the competent marketing, which the Chinese automotive industry conducts in Russia. This concerns several areas of work, the key ones being the optimization of production and the improvement of sales channels. For example, Chery several years ago concluded an advantageous agreement with the Kaliningrad Avtodor plant, which allowed it to increase sales several times. Chinese automakers managed to conclude contracts with leading dealers: Rolf, Atlant-M, Avtovaz, Avtomir, thus gaining the same access to sales channels as the world's leading brands. The Russian public is accustomed to the fact that there were Chinese cars, photos of which began to appear in advertisements and magazine catalogs almost everywhere.