It is known that pickup truck does not enjoy so much advantage in the domestic market as in the foreign one. Therefore, TUNLAND will appear in the market in different areas of the world successively by the end of the year such as South Africa, Australia, Chile, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. With advanced high-end pickup technologies, it will become the main force of China to fight in the overseas middle- and high-end pickup market. We can say that TUNLAND stands for the "new continent" for the strategic transformation of the domestic own-brand auto enterprises to "tune" the global middle- and high-end pickup market.
As we see, after the "peak" of 0.64 million in 2008, the yearly amount of the Chinese auto export declined dramatically in 2009 with only 0.37 million due to the influence of the international financial crisis; it rose to 0.58 million in 2010; and for the first 8 months of this year, the accumulative amount of the Chinese auto export had reached 0.546 million. On the one hand, we should applaud the bottom-out of the domestic auto export in a short time.
However, on the other hand, we should also rethink why the export market is so fragile and in view of the dramatic fluctuation of market performance, what is worthy of rethinking for the domestic auto enterprises, besides the influence of the global economic fluctuation? China has become the largest auto market in the world and with the enhancement of the domestic industrial competitiveness, what kind of globalization strategy should auto enterprises adopt to compete in the overseas market with the coexistence of opportunities and challenges.
Overseas market full of opportunities
Foton Motor released its "2020 Strategy" in last August showing its determination for the global market. Besides the core content such as establishment of overseas factories, breakthrough in the three middle- and high-end markets of the North America, the European Union, and Japan and South Korea, and setup global innovative center of Beiqi Foton Motor, the strategic objective that the overseas sales will reach to 1.5 million in 2020 accounting for 38 percent of the total sales also attracts much attention. During the press release of TUNLAND, Wang Xiangyin, deputy general manager of Foton Motor and general manager of overseas business department detailed the objective as: the export aim was 80,000 cars for the next year; we would achieve a leap in 2013 because of operation of the overseas factories; the export volume would reach nearly 0.3 million in 2014 and 0.4 million in 2015.
According to data from Chery Automobile, in September, Chery exported 14,590 vehicles, increased by 38.1 percent year-on-year and continued to lead the own-brand auto enterprises. The accumulative export volume of Chery cars reached 122,441 from January to September, increased by 80.4 percent year-on-year and achieved the annual objective for three months in advance. Lu Jianhui, deputy general manager of Chery Automobile says to the press that the Chery whole-car export will reach to 0.18 million in 2011 and it aims to enter the European market in the end of the "12th Five-year Plan". Chery will make effort to export 1 million vehicles each year in 7 or 8 years.
Moreover, it is noteworthy that the Chery laid the foundation for its wholly-funded factory in Brazil on July 19, which was its largest overseas investment with an amount of $400 million. It is considered as a milestone for internationalization of the Chinese own-brand auto enterprises. Compared with the 16 existed overseas factories of Chery, this Brazilian factory will be a real automotive manufacturing factory with complete production line of stamping, welding, painting and assembly.
Jianghuai Automobile also focuses on Brazil, the fourth largest auto market in the world. It is reported that Jianghuai Automobile plans to invest $600 million to establish a factory in Brazil. The factory will begin to operate in 2014 with annual output of 100,000 vehicles.
The recovery growth of overseas auto export is rebuilding the confidence of auto enterprises to "go out". However, one industry expert also points out that although Chinese domestic enterprises are developing the overseas market in a rapid pace, but its effect is unworthy of optimism. The Chinese enterprises still step in the initial phase of the road for overseas expansion and still have a long way to go.
Adjusting actively and meeting the challenges
According to data, China has exported whole-cars of 580,000 in 2010, accounting for about 3 percent of the total domestic output. During the same period, German auto export accounted for 75 percent of the total output, Japan 65 percent, South Korea 50 percent and even Brazil over 20 percent. China's auto export volume fails to match with the status of largest auto production and sales country in the world. Why is there such a large gap?
The problem is that most enterprises consider "going out" only as selling vehicles in the overseas market. In fact, it is imperative to solve the key problem of changing the extensive export style. Zhi Luxun, deputy director of Department of Mechanic, Electronic and Hi-tech Industry of Ministry of Commerce, believes that there is a serious problem of homogeneity for most auto products exported by China which leads to that enterprises competing in the market with low price, large scale and low profit level. 580,000 vehicles exported in last year covered 21 markets in the world.
Meanwhile, most of these markets belong to the underdeveloped areas such as South America. Much in number and dispersed in location have become the key factors to restrict the development of the Chinese auto enterprises in the overseas market.
It is noticed that most vehicles are exported in the way of sole goods trade and only a few own-brand enterprises establish factories to carry out indigenous development, production and sales.
Wang Xiangyin, deputy general manager of Foton Motor and general manager of overseas business department, says, "it is simple for Chinese enterprises to go out and very difficult to go inside really. China's auto export was carried out in a trade mode in the previous 10 to 15 years. In such a mode, it just needs to find a dealer to sell Chinese products. What the dealer values the concept of product as primary, brand is only the second and high-end market the third. If things go on like this, China's auto export will feel difficult to obtain brand competitiveness." Therefore, the key point of Foton overseas strategy is to realize complete transformation of changing from trade style to marketing style.