The pace of traditional automobile enterprises is being adjusted with the continuous invasion of the automobile field by various “barbarians”.
Recently, at the juncture when the first electric vehicle of its new pure electric vehicle brand “E: n” is about to be launched, Honda also joined hands with Sony and plans to establish a joint venture to jointly develop high value-added pure electric vehicles. The first pure electric vehicle of the new company will be sold in 2025. What is the intention of the double track war on the pure electric vehicle track? Honda said it was “for further innovation”.
As one of the top ten auto companies in the world, Honda is similar to other traditional auto giants. It will be anxious about the uncertainties existing in the process of accelerating the transformation of electric, intelligent and networked auto industry. In the first half of electrification, Japanese car companies generally have a slower pace than Tesla and some Chinese independent brands. At present, they are faced with “barbarians” in many fields constantly breaking the border and invading the field of smart cars, and the pressure is further increased. How to defend and attack, the giants of traditional automobile enterprises are urgently looking for countermeasures.
Tesla‘s global sales volume in 2021 has approached 1 million, and it is threatened to reach 20 million in 2030. Byd Company Limited(002594) , which is in full swing with Tesla, has sold more than 90000 vehicles in recent months. According to the current momentum, its sales in 2022 is expected to exceed 1 million vehicles. “Wei Xiaoli” and other new forces in car making are also fierce, trying to grab more market share. However, these new energy vehicle enterprises that are now at the forefront may not be able to laugh to the end. Giants in many industries such as science and technology, real estate and household appliances have entered the market to build cars.
Founded by Baidu and invested by Geely, Jidu celebrated its first birthday at the beginning of this month. It pioneered the car Siasun Robot&Automation Co.Ltd(300024) development model developed by simucar (software integrated simulation sample car) based on the decoupling of software and hardware. At present, it has completed the upgrade of version 2.0. The technology company, which is shouting to refresh the inherent cognition of “traditional car making mode”, plans to hand over its first assignment at the Beijing auto show next month. The Siasun Robot&Automation Co.Ltd(300024) concept car, the first car to be officially unveiled by Jidu, is expected to be mass produced and delivered in 2023. Xiaomi, which also entered the field of automobile from the field of science and technology, immediately announced that it had been built for nearly one year. According to the plan, Xiaomi automobile will be officially mass produced in the first half of 2024. Technology giant Apple has also made repeated moves. Foxconn and Luxshare Precision Industry Co.Ltd(002475) , the main foundries of Apple’s supply chain, have successively disclosed the car building plan. Luxshare Precision Industry Co.Ltd(002475) recently announced the establishment of a joint venture with Chery new energy, which once again triggered speculation in the industry, which may be a step ahead of Apple’s car building supply chain. However, there is also news that Apple may not have to wait until the two fruit chain OEM factories are ready to build cars. It has frequently contacted many car companies and may take the lead in holding hands with Hyundai Motor and magna. Huawei’s action is faster than Apple’s, and the M5, which is deeply involved in design and other aspects, has recently begun to be delivered. Although Huawei has repeatedly reiterated that it does not build cars, it is considered by the industry that one hand has reached into the automobile production line. The mantis catches the cicada, and the Yellow finch is behind. At present, these technology giants who have successively intruded into the territory of automobile are expected to become yellow finches.
In this once-in-a-century auto industry reform, the original pattern will be overturned. In the era of fuel vehicles, car companies tend to focus on core components such as engines and transmissions. When entering the era of intelligent electric vehicles, the whole industrial chain is changing. Upstream and downstream enterprises are looking for new opportunities in competition and cooperation, and the relationship between them will be more complex. There are many possibilities for the technical route and operation mode of power battery, which is only the core component. From lithium ore suppliers to battery manufacturers to new energy host plants, they are constantly playing games. The current situation of “lack of core and less electricity” in the past two years has made enterprises in the automotive industry chain more aware that they are friends and enemies. Even though they once stood on the same front in harmony, they may one day be red faced for interests. However, how difficult it is to vertically integrate the whole industrial chain.
Even Byd Company Limited(002594) , as a highly vertical integrator of the industrial chain, although it has made rapid progress in the field of new energy vehicles with core components such as chips and batteries, it still has shortcomings in the field of automatic driving, which is considered that it may not be able to maintain strong combat effectiveness after entering the second half of intellectualization. With the advent of the era of “software defined automobile”, the competition of lidar, high-precision map, network communication, AI computing and other technologies intensifies. On the one hand, enterprises need to continue to invest heavily, on the other hand, it will squeeze the value space of hardware. The traditional automobile industry chain, supply chain and value chain have been gradually broken. In the future, the automobile industry chain will be greatly extended, and new application scenarios and business models will continue to emerge, which will have a great impact on traditional automobile enterprises.
In the future, new energy vehicles will change from vehicles to intelligent terminals. It is a new opportunity to see this huge change. After apple, Huawei, Alibaba, Baidu, Xiaomi and other technology enterprises have stepped up their layout in the field of new energy vehicles, Sony has also entered the field, and the cross-border car building heat has not decreased. The integration of automobile, information and communication, energy, transportation and other industries is accelerating. In the future, intelligent electric vehicle is the product of cross domain industrial integration, and its key technology, product positioning, industrial ecology and energy structure are constantly changing. In the face of the complex situation in new fields, high investment and high risk, these “barbarians” often do not rush to fight alone, but choose to establish countless relationships with traditional car enterprises.
In the face of the continuous influx of “barbarians” into the car track, some traditional car enterprises are also taking the strategy of turning enemies into friends, throwing Hydrangea at the “barbarians” one after another, constantly forming alliances and expanding the circle of friends. For example, Baidu and Geely have cooperated with each other to build the electric vehicle network. Multinational traditional auto giants are also taking various actions. Recently, it is reported that Volkswagen plans to acquire Huawei’s automatic driving department for billions of euros. It hopes to speed up the intelligent electric vehicle track with the help of Huawei’s software and other technical advantages. Honda, while speeding up the transformation of electrification, intelligence and networking to hold its territory, has found another way to establish a new joint venture with Sony to occupy a place in the high-end pure electric market through the joint efforts of both sides.
Traditional car companies put eggs in different “baskets”, which can provide more opportunities. However, in the process of cross-border cooperation with enterprises in science and technology and other industries, who controls the steering wheel and how to balance various relations in the two-line or even multi line war are still a big test for traditional automobile enterprises.
