In the past, competition in the global automobile market has been fierce in 2023. Chinese car companies have stood out in this competition. As the former leader, Western car companies are also paying special attention.
This article is reprinted with the permission of “Observer Network”; written by: Xiong Chaoran
According to reports from “Nikkei Asia” and “Wall Street Journal” on January 24, local time, Elon Musk, CEO of the US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, said during the company’s earnings conference call held that day On the subject related, he praised Chinese car manufacturers as the most competitive car companies in the world and presented the opinion that, without raising trade barriers, Chinese car companies will “eat” them globally (Demolish) most other competitors.
The report noted that with the rapid rise of Chinese car companies such as BYD, Tesla is facing increasingly fierce competition in China and other regions. The company has cut prices many times in the past year, which has also increased pressure on its profitability. Although Musk said on the earnings call that he has not yet seen “obvious cooperation opportunities” between Tesla and Chinese car companies, he also emphasized the importance of battery manufacturers such as Chinese battery manufacturer CATL as his Important suppliers, but he also sees a rival BYD as a battery supplier important
According to reports, during the earnings call, when asked if he saw opportunities to cooperate with Chinese automakers, Musk first gave a very high evaluation: “Generally speaking, our observation is that Chinese automakers The company is the largest automotive company competitive in the world.”
“I think they’re going to be very successful outside of China, depending on what kind of tariffs or trade barriers are put in place.” Musk then added: “Frankly, if they don’t put up trade barriers, they’re going to pretty much eat the rest of the world.” Most other car companies.”
Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun attended the launch of the company’s first electric car, SU7, in Beijing on December 28, 2023, and gave a speech. (Reuters)
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the fact that Chinese car makers are trying to expand their business footprint in Europe and other parts of the world. In response to this situation, the United States has blocked Chinese imports to a large extent with prohibitive tariffs. In September 2023, the European Union insisted on launching a countervailing investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, despite the opposition of Germany and member states others China has already We seriously noted that the EU move is a bare default action.
Musk praised Chinese car companies as “great,” but also said that Tesla currently does not see “obvious cooperation opportunities” with Chinese car companies other than sharing the advanced charging network.
“We’re obviously happy to let any electric vehicle company use our advanced charger network, and we’re also happy to license fully autonomous driving and maybe other technologies and anything that helps advance the sustainable energy revolution.” Musk said so.
“Nikkei Asia” pointed out that Tesla, the American electric vehicle giant, is facing increasingly fierce competition from Chinese automakers led by BYD, whether in China or elsewhere.
Previous reports showed that Tesla delivered a record number of electric vehicles (nearly 500,000 vehicles) in the fourth quarter of 2023, exceeding market expectations and achieving its goal for the entire year. However, the status of the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer in this quarter belonged to the Chinese car company BYD (over 520,000 vehicles) This is also the first time that BYD’s quarterly sales have surpassed Tesla.
Although some Western media such as Reuters want to deliberately emphasize that Tesla is still ahead of BYD in the field of pure electric vehicles, some of them, such as the Wall Street Journal, also bluntly stated that BYD’s increasing position the global market as a Chinese competitor. still giving Tes Tesla has brought new pressure, and China’s strength in the global electric vehicle market has begun to emerge.
The US Business Insider website even lamented: “Tesla lost to China in the battle for the electric vehicle crown.” The French media believe that, in the context of the Chinese government’s vigorous efforts to boost the local market, BYD should continue to maintain its position. leading position.
“Nikkei Asia” reported that, amid intense competition and policy uncertainty, Tesla once again lowered the sales prices of its products in China in January after cutting prices many times in the past year. The company has also cut several prices significantly. Price of this model in Europe. Reports believe price cuts have added pressure to Tesla’s profitability A report on January 24, local time, showed that the company’s profits fell for the second quarter in a row.
However, it is worth noting that despite its competition with BYD, Tesla still considers the Chinese company as an important battery supplier.
The picture shows a BYD Qin model car driving on the streets of Beijing, China on October 31, 2023. (Reuters)
“We are very grateful to our suppliers. You know, Panasonic is obviously our longest supplier there, and it’s an amazing company. We have CATL, we have LG Energy Solution.” Musk After naming a series of suppliers , paused for a long time and then said, “AND WILL.” Musk said during the earnings call that day that Tesla plans to increase orders from the above suppliers in 2024.
On January 9, the China Passenger Car Market Information Association (CPCA) released a report stating that, such as BYD, Chery (Chery Automobile Co., Ltd.), Great Wall Motor and other Chinese automakers abroad In a major development, China, the largest automobile market of world, determined to overtake Japan in 2023 and become the world’s largest car exporter for the first time.
According to estimates, China’s automobile export volume should be sure to reach 5.26 million under normal circumstances in 2023, which is about 1 million units (4.3 million units) more than Japan’s annual export volume. The US media “Wall Street Journal” quoted the data from this report and noted that this marks a major change in the global structure of the automotive industry.
Looking ahead to 2024, Reuters expects competition in the global automotive market to only intensify further. In the first 11 months of 2023, sales of French car brands in China fell the most, down 41%; Japanese car sales fell 10.7%; and sales of American car brands fell 1.4%. In December 2023, Xiaomi, a well-known Chinese smartphone manufacturer, released its first mass electric vehicle, the Xiaomi SU7, and quickly announced its goal to become one of the world’s top five automakers.
The Wall Street Journal predicts that China’s next wave of car exports could include more electric and hybrid vehicles. In 2023, such car manufacturers have also experienced growth in shipping goods to foreign markets and are now planning to significantly increase exports.
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