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Under the cold wave, many car companies are very sad, even SAIC Volkswagen, a benchmark enterprise, is no exception. According to passenger car data, comprehensive sales of narrow passenger cars in China reached 1.7814 million in September, up 14 per cent from the previous month and down 6.5 per cent from a year earlier. In the first nine months, cumulative sales of narrow passenger cars fell 8.6% year-on-year to 14.7824 million.

SAIC-Volkswagen has missed the top spot in sales for three months in a row. SAIC-Volkswagen, as a benchmark car company in China, has always performed well in terms of sales, and has won the championship in domestic passenger car sales rankings for three consecutive years since 2016. More than 2.065 million units were sold in 18 years, but the recent performance has been somewhat surprising, with declining sales, difficult to clear inventory backlog, and even being exposed to layoffs.

A few days ago, it was exposed by the media that SAIC Volkswagen diverted its internal staff to its ride-hailing platform to enjoy the road to do online ride-hailing drivers, and even adopted the way of drawing lots. However, the relevant officials of SAIC and Volkswagen responded to the matter, saying that there was some misunderstanding in the recent reports on the ride-hailing platform.

Hengdao Travel, a strategic mobile travel brand under SAIC, was officially launched in December last year and first started operation in Shanghai. Since its launch, it has launched its chauffeured car and car rental service one after another. A person in charge of SAIC-Volkswagen said that Hengdao Travel recruits volunteers for employees of enterprises affiliated to SAIC Group, but it is based on the principle of voluntary registration, and all recruited members need to obtain qualifications through training before they can take up the post.

In fact, it was revealed in July that three SAIC-Volkswagen Anting plants were scheduled to suspend production, including Changsha, Ningbo and Nanjing. With regard to the plant shutdown and other issues, SAIC Volkswagen official said that the plant shutdown is a routine annual equipment maintenance.

On October 9 this year, some media once again learned from the Anting factory through the workshop staff that the workshop is often on holiday this year, "sometimes for a week, sometimes for half a month, and recently we have a holiday, and we have only been at work for a few days." Another employee revealed that he was busy recently, but he was very free some time ago. SAIC Volkswagen did not respond to the situation reflected by employees.

In the face of the overall decline in the domestic car market, many SAIC-Volkswagen 4S stores said that the competitiveness of SAIC-Volkswagen cars is obviously lower than before, and it is becoming more and more difficult to sell. In addition, there are more and more brand 4S stores, and the pressure to sell cars is also very great. Some clerks revealed that in the past, there were only 8 4S stores in an urban area, but then it expanded to 24, which may be beneficial to the development of the brand, but it is not good for sales. Inventory is piling up and bicycle profits are falling.

According to the data, SAIC-Volkswagen's bicycle profit was 15188 yuan in 2018, but it was 10662 yuan in 2019, a decrease of 4526 yuan. Coupled with the continuous decline in sales, SAIC-Volkswagen has been removed from the championship by FAW-Volkswagen for three months in a row. Jiangsu Automobile Circulation Association posted a condemnation of SAIC-Volkswagen on its official account on January 16 this year.

In the past 2018, SAIC-Volkswagen sales fell for the first time in 14 years. Judging from the market performance in the first nine months of this year, the pressure still did not ease. Data show that SAIC-Volkswagen sold 177100 vehicles in September, down 5.8% from a year earlier. Cumulative sales from January to September were 1.3923 million, down 8.2% from a year earlier, nearly 20, 000 units behind FAW-Volkswagen.

In the face of the severe overall environment of the industry, even the leading car companies seem to be at a loss. However, SAIC Volkswagen said that the company will work with dealers to actively meet the challenges. At the market level, formulate corresponding business and sales policies in time according to the actual situation of market changes. At the product level, further strengthen the launch of new products.

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