AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/22 Report--

2022 is another difficult year for Korean brands. Hyundai Motor Group undertakes the development of Korean brands in the Chinese market, but whether it is Beijing Hyundai, Dongfeng Yueda Kia or Jenisys, which has just returned to the market, its performance in the domestic market is becoming less and less optimistic.

On April 21, a report released by the Korea Automobile Industry Association (KAMA) showed that sales of Korean cars in China were weak in 2022, but overseas markets performed well. Data show that the market share of Korean cars in Mexico (12.0%), the United States (10.7%), Brazil (9.7%), Europe (9.4%) and ASEAN (4.6%) increased year-on-year, while the market share in China has dropped to 1.6%.

Is there a future for Korean cars in the Chinese market? This is a problem that many people will think of, and it is also a problem that Korean brands must look directly at in the Chinese market. Once upon a time, Beijing Hyundai once created an annual sales of millions, and Dongfeng Yueda Kia peak also reached 700,000 vehicles, but since 2017, the sales of Korean cars in the Chinese market began to decline year by year, Kia, Hyundai days are getting worse year by year, the fate of Korean cars is worrying.

From selling millions of cars a year to less than 2% of the market share today, the biggest change in Korean cars lies in their mentality. In recent years, Hyundai and Kia have tried to reverse the declining trend, but with little success, Beijing Hyundai was forced to sell some of its factories, and Dongfeng Motor even directly withdrew from Dongfeng Yueda Kia's joint venture. In this case, this also led to speculation: Han car has been terminally ill, still can be saved?

At present, it is unlikely that Korean cars will withdraw from China. On March 20, Kia China officially announced a blueprint to accelerate its transition to electrification. At the conference, Kia will release China's medium-and long-term new energy strategy, and at the same time appear EV5 concept car, EV9 concept car and EV6GT three brand-new electric vehicle models, among which EV5 will be launched in November, which will be Kia's first global model produced in China and launched.

According to the plan, Kia will launch at least one pure electric vehicle based on the electric global modular platform E-GMP every year from 2023; by 2027, a total of six EV models will be launched; by 2030, the annual sales volume of EV models will reach 180,000, accounting for 40%.

It is not difficult to see that Korean brands still do not want to give up the Chinese market, nor will they give up the Chinese market lightly, but how to survive in the Chinese market, perhaps they also did not think well! In fact, the problems and challenges encountered by Korean cars in the Chinese market are "freezing three feet is not a cold day". These problems are not simple products, technologies, pricing, etc., but also lack of progress in all-round decision-making. Of course, this may not be all the reason for Korean brands, because at present, including German brands, Japanese brands in the Chinese market days are more and more difficult, especially Japanese brands, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda and so on in the first quarter of 2023 decline.

In 2022, Hyundai Kia Group's total global sales volume was 6.8482 million vehicles, ranking third in the world after Toyota and Volkswagen. Among them, Hyundai sold 3.9446 million vehicles in the whole year, up 1.4% year-on-year; Kia sold 2.9036 million vehicles in the whole year, up 4.6% year-on-year;

Perhaps, Korean brands can't figure out why they can't sell well in China when they lead the world. In fact, whether modern and Kia, the car-building style still stays in the traditional thinking, which is very similar to Toyota, Honda and other Japanese manufacturers, traditional cars are four wheels plus an engine, but the current market update iteration is fast, especially in the new energy track, they may not know what Chinese consumers really need.

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