AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)05/20 Report--

A few days ago, Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. announced its April sales. According to data, Changan sold a total of 121200 new cars in April 2019, down 35.05% from a year earlier. From January to April 2019, Changan Motor sold a total of 570100 new cars, down 32.54% from the same period last year.

The performance of its two joint venture brands, Changan Ford and Changan Mazda, both declined. Changan Mazda's April sales data was 8597 vehicles, down 47.05% from 16236 in the same period last year. Changan Mazda accumulated sales of 42000 new cars from January to April 2019, down 32.63% from a year earlier. Changan Ford sold 14797 vehicles in April, down 60.855% from 37800 in the same period last year. Changan Ford sold 51600 new cars from January to April 2019, down 69.33% from the same period last year.

The decline of the joint venture brand Mazda is mainly in two aspects: first, the product line is short and the update is slow. Changan Mazda, which has always adhered to the "characteristic boutique strategy", had only two car models, Unksera and SUV CX-5, before the launch of the CX-8, while other old models were discontinued successively. Second, the price is single-minded, life and death do not reduce the price. Technical paranoia and high prices are two characteristics of Mazda. Among them, the price problem is also one of the reasons for its weak sales.

Since 2016, Changan Ford has not had any brand-new models on the market in China, and it can only stir-fry with models such as "Fox", "Wing Tiger" and "Wing fight". Without the stimulation of new cars, consumers turn to other brands, and sales naturally continue to decline. Ford also understands that only by withdrawing from the new model can it be favored by domestic consumers. Therefore, the slogan "more Ford, more China" is put forward. Chen Anning, president and CEO of Ford Motor China Co., Ltd., said: by integrating and deepening the respective advantages of the development of the Ford Group and the Chinese market, we should form a way to achieve real success in the Chinese market.

Some analysts believe that Ford's adjustment in China is continuing and has not yet stabilized, which should be the main reason why Changan Ford has not recovered yet.

Sales of independent brand Changan passenger cars are not expected to be ideal. In the first quarter of 2019, Changan CS55 sales were 35500, down 40.5 per cent from 59700 in the same period in 2018, while Changan CS75 sales were 40200, down 17.4 per cent from a year earlier. The decline in sales has cast a shadow over the development of Changan Automobile, so Changan Automobile has planned the launch of a number of new cars.

At present, CS85 coupe brand-new CS15, brand-new CS95 and other SUV models have been launched, while the replacement of CS75 PLUS, CS75 million version, CS55 light-year version, the second generation of Escape and Escape XT 1.4T, CS35 PLUS 1.4T, CS15 EV450 and so on are also coming on the market.

In addition to the new product lineup, Changan Automobile's intelligent strategies "Beidou Tianshu Plan" and "Shangri-La Plan" are also increasing their investment in R & D and innovation, and the R & D cost of 460 million yuan in the 2019 quarter is also 71% higher than last year's 270 million yuan. Facing the trend of intelligence and electrification, Chang'an is increasing the development of scientific research in the future. At present, projects in this area are still in the investment stage, and it is difficult to produce immediate benefits in the short term.

In the future, the products of Changan, Auchan and other independent brands will be continuously improved, as well as the successful transformation and return of joint venture brands, such as the improvement of Changan's performance and profits in the second half of the year, which will consolidate Changan's position in the domestic market.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat