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China's car sales continued to decline in 2019, with passenger cars falling by 9.3% for the whole year, falling into negative growth for two consecutive years. In this context, 2019 is also the most difficult year for automobile companies, from scenery to downfall, from positive profits to losses, many car companies' sales plummeted to operational difficulties, and the news of stopping production and closing factories emerged one after another. the automobile industry has entered a moment of life and death. To be exact, if the industry survives the fittest, those car companies that do not have brands, core technology and capital will collapse one after another.

Of the 88 car companies that can be counted in China, 58 saw a decline in sales in 2019, accounting for 66%, of which 44 were independent car brands, according to statistics from the Federation of passengers. Meanwhile, the number of car companies selling more than 100000 vehicles for the year fell to just 33, down four from 2018.

To this end, we have compiled a list of car companies whose sales fell by more than 50% in 2019, which may counterattack in the future, but more likely, they may gradually withdraw from the market and become a thing of the past.

Ford's sales in China have declined for three consecutive years, while Changan Ford has halved for two years in a row, and sales have fallen to 180000 vehicles in 2019. Due to poor management, wrong market direction, slow product introduction and other problems, Ford missed the opportunity of sustained growth in the Chinese market, and the brand influence is not as good as it used to be. Changan Ford's former star product lineup, Fox, Wing Tiger, Mondeo and so on, also gradually faded out of the eyes of consumers.

In such a living environment, Ford seeks to return to positive growth through internal adjustments and acceleration plans. In the view of Yang Song, president of Changan Ford's national sales and service organization, Changan Ford implemented the strategy of "fixing production by sales" in 2019, giving dealers room to make a profit. "from December 2019 to January 2020, with the launch of new products, Changan Ford has made sufficient preparations to return to the track and return to the right track in 2020. It is hoped that all the SUV product lines will be upgraded this year, and the cars will be upgraded next year, "says Yang Song. To this end, Changan Ford announced plans to launch at least 18 new products from 2019 to 2021, and will better meet the needs of Chinese consumers at the design level. Domestic explorers and domestic Lincoln adventurers will be listed this year.

DPCA is a representative of French brands in China, with two brands, Dongfeng Peugeot and Dongfeng Citroen, with cumulative sales of 115376 vehicles in 2019, a year-on-year decline of 54.5 per cent. From management, products to marketing, Shenlong has serious problems, not into the mainstream product characteristics, let it gradually retreat to become a niche brand.

DPCA, which is home to four major factories in its prime, is now left with only the third plant in Wuhan and the Chengdu plant under pressure of operating costs, and will continue to lay off staff. Reducing costs, achieving stable profits and restoring sales have become important indicators for the continued survival of DPCA. However, after the listing of Dongfeng Peugeot 508L, the monthly sales are only 400. How many cards can DPCA still have to play?

BAIC Yinxiang and speed car sales fell by 66.8% and 82.1% respectively for the whole year. BAIC Yinxiang is an enterprise established by BAIC and Chongqing Yinxiang, while Bicycle is an independent brand established by Chongqing Yinxiang on the basis of the success of the former. Since July 2018, due to the rapid changes in the market environment, both companies have encountered operational difficulties and production and operation has come to a standstill. In 2019, BAIC Yinxiang was asked for wages by employees, and dealers and suppliers came to protect their rights. On August 30, 2019, Chongqing Municipal Government and BAIC signed an agreement to promote the strategic restructuring of BAIC Yinxiang, BAIC Yinxiang ushered in a glimmer of life, but whether it can tide over the difficulties is still uncertain.

Huatai Automobile, Cheetah Motor and Lifan Motor are the three car companies that were rumored to have filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Although the official rumor has long been refuted, in terms of sales, all three car companies have fallen by more than 60%, and their car business has fallen sharply. At the same time, there are serious problems in the car production of the three car companies.

In the CCTV financial investigation, Huatai Motor's three major production bases in Rongcheng, Shandong, Tianjin and Ordos, Inner Mongolia all stopped production, dealers closed, and there were obvious cash flow problems for the company. The Chongqing Lifan automobile factory shut down or semi-shut down, and most of its sales networks were shut down, while Lifan shares reported a net loss of 2.633 billion yuan in the first three quarters, while Lifan was caught in a debt crisis.

It is reported that Cheetah officially carried out a self-rescue operation, including the closure, transfer of the base, raising funds through the government, the implementation of debt-to-equity swap, land resources change, and so on. According to an internal email circulated online, Cheetah plans to close its bases in Jingmen, Chuzhou and Changsha, leaving only the Yongzhou base, and plans to resume production at the base in March 2020; the factory in Changsha will be acquired by Geely. Jingmen factory will be handed over to the government; Chuzhou factory will be sold.

It has been two years since Guanzhi was acquired by Baoneng Group, but no new car has been released so far. In mid-2019, there have been media reports that the Guanzhi factory in Changshu, Jiangsu Province has stopped production. In terms of sales, Quan Chi sold only 22695 vehicles in 2019, down 63.4 per cent from a year earlier. After more than ten years of establishment, Quan Zhi was once on the verge of danger, but there was no improvement after the change of ownership. Is there any hope for Guanzhi brand?

Established car companies, including Haima Automobile, Southeast Automobile, Tianjin FAW and Dongfeng Yulong, have all lost more than 50% of their sales, while young brands such as Junma Automobile and Yundu New Energy are also in trouble. in today's competitive market, there is little room for survival, and they, who lack brands, products, core technology and capital, will have a difficult 2020.

"No matter how big the Chinese market is, there is no room for so many whole car factories. Whether independent, joint venture or foreign-funded automobile enterprises, they all face the market test together, and the elimination of the market is fair, which is also conducive to the merger and reorganization of China's automobile industry." industry insiders believe that the most important thing in the automobile industry at this stage is to change, and the collapse of some brands is inevitable.

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