Cover reporter Meng Mei Yili
Recently, the domestic auto market has seen frequent favorable policies. On May 31, the state decided to reduce the purchase tax of some passenger cars, and reduce the purchase tax by 60 billion yuan in stages. Subsequently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly issued a notice to deploy new energy vehicles to the countryside in 2022. How will these favorable policies effectively stimulate the market? How should car companies seize the opportunity of new energy vehicles sinking into the market? Zhang Xiang, Dean of the New Energy Vehicle Technology Research Institute of Jiangxi New Energy Technology Vocational College, analyzed this.
Zhang Xiang said that the automobile industry is a pillar industry of China’s economy, and its contribution to the national economy has reached 15%. At present, the automobile industry is facing greater challenges due to the superposition of multiple factors such as the epidemic and consumption. The industry and enterprises are working hard to promote the recovery of automobile consumption. “Policy red envelopes” will drive the multi-dimensional development of the industry. The first is to bring real money and benefits to consumers who are ready to buy or change cars. As car sales increase, car companies are the first to benefit in terms of sales, revenue, and profits. With the increase in auto orders, the auto retail industry, including auto maintenance, the second-hand car market and other “post-auto markets” will also be driven.
The China Passenger Car Association originally expected that the retail sales of automobiles for the whole year of 2022 would be 19 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 5%. “However, through the implementation of many new policies such as purchase tax incentives, the annual retail sales of automobiles is expected to reach 21 million units, and the increment is expected to be around 2 million units.” Zhang Xiang said.
Regarding the activities of new energy vehicles going to the countryside, Zhang Xiang believes that the sales of new energy vehicles are mainly concentrated in first- and second-tier cities and coastal cities, with less ownership in rural areas and the central and western regions. The activities of new energy vehicles going to the countryside can help farmers understand and purchase new energy vehicle products, and help expand the sinking market.
“When new energy vehicles go to the countryside, the lack of charging piles in rural areas is not a big problem.” Zhang Xiang pointed out that the use of new energy vehicles in rural areas is very different from that in cities. The rural areas are relatively open, and basically every household has its own courtyard. The new energy vehicle owners use the 220-volt charging facilities at home to charge enough for daily use. It is convenient and cheap to charge at home. It is unnecessary to install charging piles for electric vehicles in rural areas, and there is not much market space to speak of.
On the one hand, rural users value the practicality of the car, but also pay more attention to the cost of use. Zhang Xiang suggested that in the process of participating in the process of “new energy vehicles going to the countryside”, car companies should closely follow the subsidy policy when developing products, and try to develop and sell models that can enjoy policy subsidies, so that more farmers can enjoy the benefits of the national subsidy policy. At the same time, car companies should also increase activity discounts, strengthen following-sales operation and maintenance, and promote the healthy and healthy development of new energy vehicles in the sinking market.