Changan Zhang Baolin: There will be five to seven large car companies in China

On September 8, Changan Automobile issued an announcement proposing to inject Changhe Automobile and the Harbin Group into Changan Automobile. The two companies use mini-vehicles as their main products. Their presence in the field will further strengthen the scale advantages and core competitiveness of Changan Automobile.

Chang'an's integration is just a microcosm of merger and reorganization in China's huge auto industry. In the future, this trend will become more apparent.

As the leading figure of self-owned brand car companies, Zhang Baolin, president of Changan Automobile, told reporters recently that although China has become the world’s first car market, there are still many problems. In the future, China’s auto industry should increase mergers and reorganizations. Five years later, There should be five to seven automobile manufacturing companies with production and sales of four or five million units.

Reporter: What do you think about the structure of China's auto industry?

Zhang Baolin: I think there are four problems.

First, the degree of concentration of the industry is relatively low. Judging from the comparison between China and the United States in recent years, we believe that the scale of production and sales of automobiles in China and the United States in recent years is quite large, but the number of auto companies in China is relatively high and the degree of industrial concentration is seriously low. At the same time, China’s spare parts industry is one of the top 100 The market share of enterprises only accounts for 50% of the entire industry, far below the concentration of the United States and Japan.

The second is the weak ability of independent innovation. The ratio of R&D investment to sales revenue is still at a relatively low level. From the perspective of R&D investment as a percentage of sales, most foreign large companies account for 3%-6% of R&D input, while the domestic average is 1%-2. %.

Third, the industrial chain is not perfect. From the back-end perspective, after-market cars like used cars and auto finance should be said to have just started in China. For example, in the spare parts market, China's spare parts market accounts for only 15% of the parts market, while Japan reaches 80%. The Chinese car rental market only accounts for 17% of total sales, while Europe has reached nearly 50%.

Fourth, self-owned brands are not strong. At present, domestic auto companies lack a world-class independent brand, and we believe that the status of independent brands and the status of China's auto market are not commensurate. The self-owned brand is still dominated by the low-end market. Although there are a large number of self-owned brand companies, they still do not reach the one-million-level enterprise. The brand's premium price is very low.

Reporter: In this situation, does it mean that the possibility of China's auto industry entering a reshuffle or reorganization is increasing?

Zhang Baolin: Affected by the financial crisis in 2008, the global automotive and Chinese automotive markets were greatly affected, but by 2009, driven by relevant national policies, the Chinese auto industry has entered a rapid development. At present, China has become the largest in the world. Automobile producing and consumer countries. In this context, domestic auto companies have now made some adjustments, and some have further expanded their capabilities, while others have further adjusted their structure. But I think that in recent years, the integration between automotive companies is not very concentrated. Due to the further development of the auto market, including under the guidance of national policies, I believe that the integration and reorganization of the Chinese auto industry will further intensify after three to five years, and eventually form five to seven large-scale automobile companies, each of which The scale of production and sales should be four or five or more million.

Reporter: In the future of this industry integration process, the market and the government who will play a leading role?

Zhang Baolin: I think both are indispensable. The role of the market is a foundation, and the guidance of the government has a strong guiding role. Both are indispensable.

Increasing mergers and reorganizations is an important means to enhance the overall capabilities of the industry. We believe that the promotion measures require the participation of all ministries and commissions of the country and auto companies. We must adhere to our own strategies and operating principles. We should not simply acquire mergers and acquisitions. We should do so. Positive but not blind. At the same time, it is also necessary to implement large-scale, wide-area, and even global mergers and reorganizations. During this period, it is necessary to strengthen the accumulation of experience and risk management.