AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)01/08 Report--

On January 6th, GAC GROUP released the latest production and marketing KuaiBao. Figures show that GAC GROUP sold 259100 cars in December, up 25.79 percent from a year earlier. By the end of December 2023, GAC GROUP had sold a total of 2.505 million vehicles, an increase of 2.92% over the same period last year. According to the challenging target of 10 per cent year-on-year sales growth in 2023, GAC GROUP's total sales will reach about 2.64 million vehicles in 2023, and GAC GROUP clearly failed to meet the target.

The performance of joint venture brand and independent brand is polarized. Among the joint venture brands, GAC Honda sold 640500 vehicles, down 13.66 per cent from a year earlier, while GAC Toyota sold 950000 vehicles, down 5.47 per cent from a year earlier. Among independent brands, GAC MOTOR sold 406500 vehicles, up 12.12% from the same period last year, while GAC Ean sold 480000 vehicles, up 77.02% from the same period last year.

Even so, the joint venture brand is still GAC GROUP's main source of sales. According to Automotive Industry concern, GAC Toyota and GAC Honda accounted for 63.49% of the group's total sales, while GAC MOTOR and GAC Ean accounted for 35.38%. Although the joint venture brand is still the main source of sales of GAC GROUP, the share of the joint venture brand has begun to shrink, and its fuel vehicle market has been eroded by the new energy vehicle market. Admittedly, GAC GROUP's future growth will come from its own brand, regardless of GAC MOTOR or GAC Ean, sales have achieved double-digit growth.

According to retail data, the best-selling model of GAC Toyota in the first 11 months of 2023 was the Camry, with 202800 cars, while Fenglanda and Weilanda were 165600 and 130200 respectively. GAC Honda Accord, styling and Haoying all have more than 100000 vehicles, of which the model with the highest sales is Accord, which sells 151800 vehicles, while styling and Haoying are 103800 and 103100 respectively.

The new energy vehicle represented by GAC Ean has a rapid momentum, and its sales growth rate is much faster than that of the industry, but the hidden worry is that about 30% of GAC Ean's sales come from the online car-hailing market, which, like BYD, has become the main supplier brand in the online car-hailing market. The price, battery life and quality performance of less than 200000 yuan are well regulated, making AION S a serious cost-effective model for ride-hailing drivers. It has also become one of the best performing brands in the new power. To this end, GAC Ean also released the Haopin brand, hoping to enter a new market, but it has not become a new growth point for the time being.

As for joint venture brands, although both GAC Toyota and GAC Honda have launched new energy vehicles, they are far behind other domestic electric vehicles. GAC Honda, for example, launched only 4471 Jupai 1 vehicles in the first November of 2023, while Guangzhou Auto Toyota bZ4X only 6152 vehicles.

The decline of joint venture brands and the head-on catch-up of independent brands have become the truest portrayal of China's automobile market, and it also reveals the awkward position of joint venture brands in the domestic market. Previously, joint venture brands have dominated the Chinese car market for more than 20 years, and Chinese car brands have no choice, but now independent brands have gradually become the target for global car companies to catch up.

GAC GROUP's interim performance report in 2023 showed that the group's net profit belonging to shareholders of listed companies in the first half of the year was 2.966 billion yuan, down 48.42% from the same period last year, while the net profit belonging to shareholders of listed companies excluding non-recurring gains and losses was 2.703 billion yuan, down 52.09% from the same period last year. GAC GROUP said in the financial report that "the investment income of the Group during the reporting period was about 5.448 billion yuan, a decrease of about 3.05 billion yuan over the same period last year, mainly due to the decline in the profits of Japanese joint ventures."

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