In 2024, the Chinese automotive industry is far from ordinary.
This year, the automotive industry has forged ahead in the fierce “involution”, not only withstanding the pressure of the market, but also about to set a new high in market sales in recent years, showing the indomitable internal drive of the industry. The deepening trend of electrification, the wave of intelligence, and the steady progress of automobile exports around the world are all rooted in the persistent pursuit of innovation by countless industry participants.
This year, independent brand cars have successfully emerged on the international stage from simply running alongside to taking the lead, thanks to outstanding product strength and brand influence. At the same time, new car concepts have gradually become mainstream and cars are no longer simply means of transportation, but have diversified functions such as integrating with televisions, refrigerators, sofas, and becoming the third space in people’s daily lives. New concepts such as scene-based car manufacturing, humanized configuration, and personalized applications are sweeping the entire automotive industry, making cars smarter, more convenient, and comfortable.
In this year, technological innovation has become an important driving force for the development of the automotive industry. New technologies such as high-density batteries, lightweight materials, integrated chassis, intelligent cockpit, advanced intelligent driving, etc. have emerged one after another, injecting strong innovative vitality into the automotive industry. At the same time, unicorn companies in the fields of AI, advanced chips and computing power, and supercharging and swapping have emerged, bringing more innovation possibilities to the industry. The collision and integration of new economic forms such as flying cars and humanoid robots with automobiles has also ignited an innovation boom in the industry.
This year, the track of new cars has become increasingly crowded, and the competition is intensifying. Faced with ‘internal circulation’, the industry consensus is to stabilize operations, improve efficiency, and increase profits to achieve sustainable development.
This year, China’s new energy vehicles have won wide recognition at home and abroad with their unique innovation strength. They not only go overseas, but also win the market with the advantages of scientific and technological innovation, opening up a vast sea of stars for Chinese car people.
At this time of transition between the old and the new, the Economic Daily has sorted out the major events in the Chinese auto market since 2024, selected the top ten news in the auto industry in 2024, and attempted to review the extraordinary journey and explore new trends and changes.
Top 10 news in the automotive industry
- Multiple departments jointly launch the policy of trading in old for new, helping to boost the boom in car consumption
In 2024, the policy of trading in old cars for new ones continued to intensify, further promoting a boom in car consumption. On April 26, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, and 7 other departments jointly issued the “Implementation Rules for Subsidies for Trading in Old Cars for New Ones”; In August, the Ministry of Commerce and 7 other departments issued a notice on further improving the related work of trading in old cars for new ones, raising the subsidy standards: for individual consumers who scrap and replace, the subsidy standards for purchasing new energy passenger cars increased from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, and for purchasing fuel passenger cars increased from 7,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan.
In addition, more than 20 provinces and cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chongqing, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Shandong, etc., have issued relevant car replacement subsidy policies in various forms. According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce, as of 24:00 on November 18th, the number of applications for both national car scrappage and replacement subsidy has exceeded 2 million, with a total of over 4 million applications, showing a rapid growth trend.
- The annual output of new energy vehicles has exceeded 10 million for the first time, and the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles has exceeded 50% for the first time.
On November 14, 2024, China’s annual production of new energy vehicles exceeded 10 million for the first time, making it the first country in the world to achieve an annual production of 10 million new energy vehicles. The production and sales scale of China’s new energy vehicles has officially entered the annual “ten million level” era. Industry experts predict that the production of new energy vehicles in China is expected to exceed 12 million for the whole year of 2024.
Moreover, in July 2024, the national passenger vehicle market retailed 1.72 million vehicles. Among them, the retail sales volume of new energy passenger vehicles reached 878,000, and the monthly retail penetration rate exceeded 50% for the first time, reaching 51.1%, an increase of 15 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The achievement of this historic milestone was 11 years ahead of the original plan.
- The market share of self-owned brand passenger vehicles has exceeded 70% for the first time, and domestic cars are on the rise.
According to the data of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in October 2024, Chinese domestic passenger cars sold a total of 1.931 million units, accounting for 70.1% of the total passenger car sales, an increase of 10.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the market share of Chinese domestic passenger cars also exceeded 70% for the first time.
From historical data, the market share of domestic brands has continued to rise in the past three years, increasing from 41.2% in 2021 to 65.8% in 2024. This growth trend has been reflected in multiple quarters throughout the year. In contrast, the market share of foreign brands in China has fluctuated. According to the data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the market share of German, American, Japanese, and Korean brands in the first ten months of 2024 were 14.9%, 6.5%, 11.2%, and 1.6%, respectively.
- Gaohé and Jíyuè car companies have successively experienced bankruptcy, and new forces in the automotive industry have entered the elimination round.
In early 2024, Gaohe Motors was reported to have stopped production and operation, falling into a state of suspension. Subsequently, there were continuous news about the restructuring of Gaohe Motors, but to this day, Gaohe Motors has not yet seen the arrival of a ‘white knight’. As the end of 2024 approaches, another new force in car manufacturing, Jiyue Motors, suddenly ‘collapsed’, with the funding chain broken and employees being told to ‘disband on the spot’.
In recent years, the competition in the new energy vehicle market has intensified, and automobile companies have invested heavily in the field of intelligent electricity. The end terminals are also facing the test of the ‘price war’. Under various pressures, many new energy vehicle companies have fallen into difficulties. Many new brands have already fallen into difficulties or failed, and the industry’s ‘elimination race’ is intensifying.
- BYD calls out “Electric beats oil in cost”, with monthly sales exceeding 500,000 vehicles for the first time
Just after the Spring Festival in 2024, BYD took the lead in launching a “price war” for new energy vehicles. The BYD Qin PLUS and Destroyer 05 launched the Honor Edition, with a starting price of 79,800 yuan. On the official promotional poster, BYD played the slogan “electricity is lower than oil”, which means that new energy vehicles have officially entered the stage of lower prices than fuel vehicles of the same level. Subsequently, Changan, Geely, Wuling and other car companies also participated in this “price war”. After nearly a year of competition, in October 2024, BYD’s monthly sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 500,000 for the first time, reaching about 502,700 units, setting a new monthly sales record for new energy vehicles in the world.
- The EU decides to impose ‘anti-subsidy duties’ on electric vehicles from China.
In October 2024, the European Commission decided to impose a final anti-subsidy tax on imported electric vehicles (BEV) from China for a period of five years. Specifically, BYD will be subject to a tariff of 17.0%, Geely 18.8%, SAIC Group 35.3%. Other cooperative companies will be subject to a tariff of 20.7%. After filing individual review requests, Tesla will be subject to a tariff of 7.8%, etc.
However, the above decision may change. In November 2024, Bernd Lange, chairman of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament, revealed in an interview with the German news television station: “We are continuing negotiations with China on electric vehicles, and are close to reaching a decision to cancel tariffs with China. We are about to reach an agreement: China can commit to provide electric vehicles to the EU at least at the lowest price.” Both China and Europe are sending a positive signal - the EU seems to be loosening its grip on Chinese electric vehicles.
- Auto industry bigwigs get involved in live streaming rooms
In 2024, the phenomenon of excessive competition in the automobile market has evolved from price wars to live-streaming by CEO’s of car companies, all in pursuit of massive online traffic.
“More and more entrepreneurs in the car circle have begun to do live broadcasts and short videos, and everyone has found that this new marketing method cannot be bought by billions of advertising dollars.” Zhou Hongyi, chairman and founder of 360, expressed his views on the current phenomenon of car company bigwigs going down to do live broadcasts.
According to incomplete statistics from Daily Economic News, in 2024, NIO Founder, Chairman, and CEO Li Bin, Xiaopeng Motors Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng, Geely Holding Chairman Li Shufu, Great Wall Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun, Chery Group Chairman Yin Tongyue, Xiaomi Group Chairman Lei Jun, etc. have all started their personal live broadcasts. The car industry giants joining the live streaming trend indirectly reflects the ‘selling car anxiety’ among various car companies. Industry insiders believe that car company bosses are starting to create their personal online presence, ultimately for the purpose of boosting sales.
- Smart driving companies collectively sprint for IPO, and car companies compete for end-to-end smart driving.
In 2024, domestic smart driving companies ushered in a wave of IPO frenzy. As the year drew to a close, HiSilicon submitted its IPO application to the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming to become the “first stock of automatic driving mining trucks”; Foresight, a smart driving company under the “Geely Group,” also submitted its IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, companies such as Gate.io Intelligence, Speed X, Pony.ai, Horizon Robotics, and QCraft have all successfully gone public this year.
Behind the wave of autonomous driving companies going public is the rapid iteration of intelligent driving technology. In 2024, two trends are becoming the consensus of the automotive industry: large models are becoming an increasingly important development method for intelligent vehicles, and end-to-end intelligent driving is advancing rapidly. Currently, companies such as Ideal Automobile, Zhiji Automobile, Hongmeng Intelligent Travel, Leap Motor, and Xiaopeng Automobile are all accelerating the promotion of end-to-end intelligent driving.
- Global manufacturers accelerate the trial production of solid-state batteries
In 2024, solid-state batteries, with their high safety and high energy density, have become one of the most sought-after new products and technologies in the automotive industry. However, solid-state batteries still face challenges such as high production costs, complex processes, and incomplete supply chains.
International enterprises such as Samsung SDI, a battery manufacturer, have entered the trial production stage of all-solid-state batteries. Multinational car giants such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, and General Motors are also actively deploying in this field. Honda announced that it will start trial production of all-solid-state batteries for pure electric vehicles from January 2025. Currently, mainstream domestic battery companies have also successively announced the mass production schedule of solid-state batteries, most of which are concentrated in the period from 2025 to 2030.
- The car market’s ‘price war’ has intensified, and dealers and used car traders are suffering.
In 2024, the continued ‘price war’ has made it difficult for some car dealers to sustain. In January, Guangdong Yongao Investment Group Co., Ltd. was exposed to the closure of multiple 4S stores under its umbrella; in July, Senfeng Group was reported to have financial problems… In addition, some dealerships have occasionally been reported to voluntarily or involuntarily withdraw, close down, or change their car brand operations. The China Automobile Dealers Association released the ‘Report on the Survival Status of National Automobile Dealers in the First Half of 2024,’ which shows that in the first half of 2024, the proportion of dealers’ losses reached 50.8%, with a significant increase in losses compared to the previous year.
This car market ‘price war’ not only disrupts the price system of new cars, but also has a huge impact on the used car industry. Many consumers tend to choose new cars with preferential prices when buying cars. In 2024, the inventory cycle of used cars once approached 60 days, while the average inventory cycle of domestic used cars in 2022 was 47 days. But the good news is that with the stimulation of policies such as trade-in subsidies, the automotive market is starting to recover. Data shows that in November 2024, the average inventory cycle of used cars has been shortened to 48 days.
Daily Economic News
2024 Annual Top Ten Automotive Industry News Review
Secretary General Cui Dongshu of China Automobile Dealers Association
The continuous penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeding 50% has profound significance.
In 2024, it is a crucial year for China’s new energy vehicles to achieve significant breakthroughs. The penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles exceeded 50% for the first time, and the annual production also exceeded the milestone of 10 million vehicles for the first time.
According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, in July this year, the monthly retail penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in China exceeded 50% for the first time, reaching 51.1%. The market penetration rate of new cars has remained above 50% for five consecutive months, which marks an important milestone in the development of new energy vehicles in China.
For the long-term development of new energy vehicles in China, the continuous penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeding 50% has profound significance. This not only heralds the reshaping of the passenger car market in China, but also promotes the independent upgrading of the industry chain, and significantly enhances the competitiveness of domestic brand products in the international market.
I believe that the primary reason for the continuous penetration rate of the new energy vehicle market surpassing 50% is the support of national policies to promote consumption. This year, the government has introduced a series of policies to promote the development of new energy vehicles, including subsidy policies and trade-in policies. The introduction and implementation of these policies have increased consumers’ enthusiasm for purchasing new energy vehicles, reduced the cost of purchasing cars, and promoted the sales of new energy vehicles. Secondly, in the past two years, new energy vehicles have made significant breakthroughs in battery technology, drive systems, and intelligent driving, making the vehicle performance more superior. The optimized design has made the cost of using the car more affordable. Thirdly, major automakers have increased their investment in the research and development of new energy vehicles and have launched a series of plug-in hybrid models with excellent performance and affordable prices, meeting the needs of different consumers and promoting the development of the new energy vehicle market.
Not only that, on November 14th of this year, China’s annual output of new energy vehicles exceeded 10 million for the first time, making it the first country in the world to achieve an annual output of 10 million new energy vehicles.
The rise of China’s new energy vehicles has not only propelled Chinese car companies to the forefront of the world, but also achieved reverse technology transfer to joint ventures, showcasing their strong innovation capabilities.
Shi Jianhua, Deputy Secretary-General of China Electric Vehicle 100-People Association
The power battery technology is still in a period of active innovation.
In recent years, new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles, have experienced rapid development in China and have become a typical representative of the country’s new automobile industry. From January to November this year, the proportion of new energy vehicles in domestic new car sales has reached 40.3%, surpassing the target of achieving a 20% market share for new energy vehicles by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
The achievements of China’s new energy vehicles today are mainly attributed to the joint efforts of the entire industry, realizing significant progress in various technologies such as batteries, motors, electronic control, and electric drive, as well as continuous improvement in product quality.
Although China’s new energy vehicles have been steadily developing, the technology of power batteries is still in an active period of innovation and continuous progress. At present, major countries in the new energy vehicle industry have begun to accelerate the layout of next-generation power battery technology.
I believe that the technological innovation of power batteries is mainly reflected in two key aspects: first, there is still a large space for iteration in basic materials and system integration of existing battery systems, with the potential for further improvement; second, the battery technology of new systems has shown great potential for innovative development, such as all-solid-state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, etc.
Solid-state batteries are a groundbreaking technological advancement that will play a pivotal role in driving the development of future new energy vehicles. They have become a new technological high ground that global vehicle manufacturers and power battery companies are competing to seize.
Previously, the progress of battery technology in China has supported the breakthrough of the country’s automotive industry by increasing energy density and reducing costs. If solid-state battery technology is matured and applied to vehicles in the future, it will provide significant technical support for further increasing energy density and reducing costs.
The global manufacturers are accelerating the trial production of solid-state batteries, which has attracted industry attention and is also worth further exploration for our company in this direction.
Director and professor Ji Xuehong of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center at North China University of Technology
Survival of the fittest is the inevitable result of market competition.
The recent bankruptcy events of Gaohe and Jiyue Automobiles this year reflect that China’s new energy vehicle industry has entered a fiercely competitive elimination stage. This elimination race is very cruel, causing unbearable harm and economic losses to car buyers, employees, suppliers, and others. However, survival of the fittest is the inevitable result of market competition.
Currently, the Chinese automobile industry is in the midst of dual competition involving industrial transformation and the conversion of old and new production capacity, with significant structural imbalances in production capacity. At the same time, the competition in the automobile industry has entered the intelligent stage, and software-driven aspects of the automobile industry are presenting characteristics of the internet industry, where some are dominating the market.
Believe that in the next few years, the industry elimination game will be conducted in a more intense and deeper way, and not only the new forces of car making, but also traditional car companies including some joint ventures will face severe tests.
In my opinion, in order for car companies to survive the “elimination round” and remain on the table, they need to focus on the following three points: First, undergo a profound transformation towards digitalization. This involves transforming aspects such as product development, manufacturing, enterprise channels, supply chain management, and organizational change. Only companies that adapt to the competitive landscape of the times will have a chance to survive. Second, make good plans and positioning. Future competition will be among industry giants, and in order to reduce the impact of competition, companies need to focus on differentiation, segmentation, and branding, and try to avoid direct confrontation with industry giants. Third, manage risks effectively. Fierce market competition will lead to recurring price wars, causing continuous decline in corporate profit margins. Therefore, companies need to manage their capital chain, control product risks, and make full use of both domestic and international markets for risk management and control.
(Source: Daily Economic News)
Source: East Money
Author: Meijing Headline
