AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)11/22 Report--

The Guangzhou Auto Show, one of China's three major international auto shows, opened as scheduled today, which is a stage for major car companies to showcase their latest products and one of the ways to attract the attention of countless people in exchange for sales. However, now it seems that the new car offensive no longer promotes some car companies, and the "regulars" of the auto show represented by Dongfeng Citroen are absent one after another.

From this year's booth map, we can see that 11 car companies, such as Dongfeng Renault, Citroen, DS, Zhongtai, Lifan, Nazhijie, Hanteng, brilliance China, Siwei, Zhongtai, Changan Suzuki and so on, are absent from this year's Guangzhou Auto Show. Obviously, this group of car companies absent from the auto show have one thing in common, that is, they were caught up in all kinds of negative news such as delisting and closing down earlier, resulting in a sharp decline in sales, which also shows the difficult choice of weak brands to reduce costs and increase efficiency in the cold winter of the car market.

In addition to Suzuki, which has withdrawn from the Chinese market, the most typical is the four car companies that were once rumored to be "bankrupt" this year, including Cheetah, Zhongtai, Huatai and Lifan. Even after the rumors, the four car companies quickly came forward to refute the rumors, but their sales and performance showed a sharp decline and losses, and even was exposed by the media to be in a state of suspension.

According to the data of these four car companies, Zhongtai Motor accumulated 99600 vehicles in the previous September, down 45.97% from the same period last year; Lifan's cumulative sales in the previous October were 22000, down 73.50% from the same period last year; and Cheetah's cumulative sales in the previous six months were 28000, down 78.72% from the same period last year. China Automobile Association refused to adopt its sales data because Huatai Motor had long falsely reported its sales figures. It can be said that without exception, these four car companies have been hit by the downward impact of the car market at the edge of the market.

French brands, as joint ventures, did not exhibit Renault, Citroen and DS except for logos, and it was their big four brands that had a market share of only 0.7 per cent in the first 10 months, down half from 2018. Together, these sales account for less than 1% of the Chinese auto market, and even participating in the exhibition will not change anything, so it is more practical to reduce more expenses so as to reduce costs. At the beginning of this year, DS planned to launch its flagship car DS9 at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, but it did not appear at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show.

Car companies that are absent from the auto show, including brilliance, Sweet and Nathan, also have poor sales or even extreme sales in recent years. Although brilliance made a profit of about 3.268 billion yuan in the first half of the year, brilliance China, which is a "nanny", lost money, because brilliance BMW's profit in the first half of the year is about 3.552 billion yuan. Na Zhijie's cumulative sales in the first nine months of this year were only 1485, down 77% from a year earlier, and was also on the verge of collapse.

In addition to traditional car companies, the number of new car-building forces participating in the exhibition is basically more than half that of last year's Guangzhou auto show, with only more than a dozen new-power car companies, such as NIO, Xiaopeng, Weimar, Baiteng, and Nezha, participating in the exhibition.

In recent years, with the promotion of the state, the total number of new car manufacturers that have set up projects in China has exceeded 100. However, since the decline of state subsidies, the sales of new energy have continued to decline, and many car companies have been faced with difficulties. For example, the once popular Zhidou mini electric car has now been reduced to selling land and factories to survive.

The decline in subsidies has led to a continuous collapse in new energy vehicle sales, which have gradually expanded from July to September, falling by 3.8%, 21.7% and 34.8% respectively, to 46.0% year-on-year in October, almost halving.

In fact, the original intention of the auto show is a form to enable car companies to publicize the design concepts of their new products, release product information, and understand the direction of world automobile development. The most typical example is the Frankfurt Motor Show, which is a display of technology. Basically, it has nothing to do with business.

Now domestic auto shows such as Guangzhou Auto Show or Chengdu Auto Show have been transformed into a similar form of trade fairs, with the nature of sales, with the task of selling cars. At the auto show, many new cars were released and started to go on sale, while consumers booked in advance and could buy a new car at a more favorable price.

Under the situation that the overall market is improving, various car companies have participated in the exhibition and launched more heavy models to win attention and sales, but with the gradual decline of the automobile situation in recent years, more and more car companies are no longer optimistic about the auto show as a sales channel. there are also fewer heavy models. For example, there are 38 global debut models at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, which is significantly less than the 48 last year.

From this year's Chengdu Auto Show to the Guangzhou Auto Show, it has lost its previous popularity, and behind this desolation and change of taste, it reveals that car companies are unable to get a change in sales under the cold winter of the car market, so it is better to save money, because the introduction of more new cars means more booths, or even simply not to participate in order to reduce costs.

In addition, some brands of blockbuster models have made a fresh start, choosing to hold a press conference before and after the auto show, which focuses on display and sales. It can be seen that the importance of auto show for auto companies has become more and more important.

This year's automobile market situation is not good, the cost of participating in the auto show is also relatively high, for some car companies need to save costs. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Federation of passengers, said: "the Guangzhou auto show is year-end summing-up, and the actual effect of selling cars is mediocre. Now everyone is tightening up for the winter, and selling less cars means less investment." Obviously, this situation not only reveals that the car market is under the "cold winter", and that many car companies will be strapped for money.

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