AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/05 Report--

China's automobile production and sales in 2019 were 25.721 million and 25.769 million respectively, down 7.5% and 8.2% respectively compared with the same period last year. It is worth noting that although China's automobile production and sales rank first in the world, China's automobile production and sales have declined year on year for two consecutive years since the first decline in 2018, and the China Automobile Association predicts that car sales will decline to about 2% in 2020.

However, at the beginning of 2020, a sudden epidemic hit the national economy, and various industries were affected to varying degrees, and the automobile industry was no exception.

Novel coronavirus epidemic originated in Wuhan, Hubei, Dongfeng Honda, Shenlong, Dongfeng Renault headquarters are located, Geely, SAIC GM also have local factories, naturally into a state of shutdown. According to the notice on the extension of the Spring Festival holiday issued by Hubei Province on Feb. 2, the time for all kinds of enterprises in the province to return to work no earlier than 24:00 on Feb. 13.

In addition to the Wuhan car factory, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Ford, Geely, Chery, Tesla and other car companies have also announced delays in resuming work.

China is the largest automobile market, and the outbreak of the epidemic has directly affected the production and sales of cars. A number of automakers have announced extended resumption of work, with upstream parts manufacturers unable to start work on time, while the inability of downstream dealer stores to carry out marketing activities will lead to a decline in sales and an increase in inventory. In addition, consumers are also affected. Due to the expected decline in income, residents' income is expected to decline, resulting in a slowdown in the production and operation of car purchases by some residents after the holiday.

In response to the impact of the epidemic on China's automobile industry, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Federation of passengers, said that as dealers were unable to carry out offline activities, car sales would decline by more than 25% in January and February 2020. However, Cui Dongshu also said that the automobile market still has a growth trend from March to December 2020. From the medium-term development point of view, the impact of the epidemic on the automobile market will not be very great. After the epidemic improves, the automobile market will change from negative to positive.

Luo Lei, deputy secretary general of the China Automobile Association, also said that the impact of the epidemic on the domestic automobile market is mainly reflected in January and February, but for the whole year, the impact of the epidemic on the automobile industry is limited.

At present, a number of car companies have postponed the resumption of work. Due to the extended time for returning to work, dealers are faced with the problem of failing to meet their sales targets, and the operating pressure increases. Volvo, Great Wall, Dongfeng Yueda Kia and other car companies adjust the business policies of dealers, or even cancel the assessment to reduce the pressure on dealers.

The epidemic still has a great impact on the automobile industry in a short period of time, but there is no need to be too pessimistic. after all, compared with public transport, private cars are less likely to be infected with the virus and may stimulate the car market. In the face of the epidemic, the upstream industry needs to actively face and control the epidemic in order to promote the development of the industry.

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