■ The advantages of Japanese cars in China and even the world are further expanding.
This year's auto market is approaching the end of the year. A little inventory shows that the largest share of China's auto market this year is not German Volkswagen, but Japanese cars represented by Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda. Guangqi Honda sold 6.5438+0.7 million vehicles in the first three quarters, FAW Toyota sold more than 6.5438+0 million vehicles in the first three quarters, Dongfeng Nissan sold more than 654.38+0.65438+0.69% vehicles in the first three quarters, and the sales of Mazda brand of FAW Car and Hainan Mazda also approached 6.5438+0 million vehicles. The total sales of these four brands reached 480,000 vehicles, accounting for 17% of the sales of 2.8 million passenger cars in the first three quarters, while the total sales of North and South Volkswagen in the first three quarters were only 320,000 vehicles, accounting for only 1 1.4%, and Shanghai GM only accounted for 7.8%. Starting from Guangzhou Honda, the earliest factory, it took only seven years for Japanese car manufacturers to surpass German Volkswagen, which has been in China for 20 years, and become a new leading force in China's automobile market.
Moreover, compared with the inventory increase and profitability difficulties of North and South Volkswagen and Dongfeng Citroen, the benefits of several major Japanese joint ventures are also booming, showing a strong upward trend.
Not only in China, a new automobile market, but also in the United States, the world's largest automobile market, Japanese cars are invincible, with sales and profits rising. In 2004, Japanese cars occupied 30% of the American automobile market, and this share is still expanding this year. No one can stop the momentum of Japanese cars being the first Toyota. In the month of 65438+ 10, the sales of hybrid Prius soared by 68%, and the car growth rate was 12.6%. Since the beginning of this year, Toyota's sales in the United States have increased by 10.7%, and its market share has soared to 13.2%. Chrysler 13.6% third place is in jeopardy. Some Japanese media predicted that Toyota's net profit in fiscal year 2005 (from March 2005 to March 2006) would reach a record $654.38+004 billion, an increase of about 4% over last year's $654.38+004 billion. In fiscal year 2005, it is estimated that the operating profit will increase by 5%, reaching 654.38+075 billion yen, and the sales revenue will increase by 8%, reaching 2 trillion yen.
Honda's performance followed Toyota's. In June, 5438+ 10, sales increased by 4%, among which cars increased by 7%. The newly improved Civic and Ridgeline models sold well. Honda's overall sales have also increased by 6% this year. Mazda's global situation this year is also quite gratifying. According to the company's senior management, Mazda's profit margin is expected to reach 3%-3.5% this year, and its net profit is 55 billion yen, which will increase by 9.2 billion yen compared with 45.8 billion yen last year.
On the other hand, the situation of Japanese car companies, American and German car dealers is quite bad. In the first 10 months of this year, the total sales of GM decreased by 2.7%. Not only did sales decline, but GM's operation also had serious problems. GM's recent financial report shows that the company's net loss in the third quarter was $6543.8+$600 million. Affected by factors such as the decline in sales in the US domestic market, factory production cuts and high labor costs, GM's losses in the first nine months of this year totaled more than $3 billion.
Ford's performance was almost the same as GM's, with sales down 23% year-on-year, pickup trucks and SUVs also down 30%, and Ford's North American business lost $907 million before tax in the second fiscal quarter.
In Germany, BMW, the most profitable company in the past, has seen its net profit decline for three consecutive quarters. The company's net profit in the third quarter of this year was 448 million euros, down 6.5% compared with 479 million euros in the same period last year. In the first nine months of this year, BMW's pre-tax profit was only $2.38 billion, a decrease of 65,438+02.5% compared with the same period last year. German Volkswagen has seen its profits decline for three consecutive years. This year, due to measures such as extending working hours and cutting costs, I barely got out of the predicament temporarily and made a profit of 273 million euros.
■ Japanese cars have accumulated their deep competitiveness.
As we all know, Japan is not the birthplace of the automobile industry, and the brand and technology of Japanese cars are not better than those of European and American cars, but why can they succeed in the global market? As Ge Dongsheng, a special researcher at the Manufacturing Research Center of the Department of Economics of the University of Tokyo in Japan, pointed out in one of his papers, Toyota has never experienced deficit and layoffs since the late 1950s, which shows that its long-term accumulated competitiveness in production and R&D is a solid foundation for its profitability, especially its deep competitiveness in cost, quality and flexibility is the secret of the success of Japanese automakers.
People like to buy Japanese cars first, because they are of high quality. According to the 2004 China New Car Quality Survey (IQS) released by J.D. Power AsiaPacific, a famous American market research company, Guangqi Honda's Accord, Odyssey and Fit won the first place in new car quality in each market segment respectively. J.D. Power's survey on the quality of American automobile market in 2003 shows that among the 37 automobile brands surveyed, among the 10 automobile brands with the least quality problems, there are 5 Japanese brands, 4 American brands and 1 0 German brands. The brand with the best quality is Toyota's Lexus, which has been the car with the least quality problems for 9 consecutive years.
The superb quality of Japanese cars is due to the lean production method of Japanese car companies. In the words of Wang Zhongqiu, the author of "Details Decide Success or Failure", this lean production mode is to control and manage every link of automobile design and development, engineering technology, procurement, manufacturing, storage and transportation, sales and after-sales service with refined attitude and scientific methods, so as to achieve the goal of creating maximum value with minimum investment. Each of these links and the relationship between them are carefully planned and calculated. This mode of production was initiated by Toyota, and then followed by Japanese companies such as Honda and Nissan.
Secondly, Japanese car dealers persistently pursue the latest car technology, and the leading technology makes Japanese cars invincible. At first, Japanese cars started by imitating European and American cars, but after decades of accumulation, Japanese cars have enough technical strength to compete with Europe and America. Toyota's hybrid technology and Mazda's rotary engine technology are in the leading position in the world. For example, at this year's Tokyo Auto Show, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Honda all showed their latest research and development achievements. Toyota's concept car Fine-X is a fuel cell hybrid vehicle, which only emits water vapor and no harmful gas. MIEV, a self-developed future electric vehicle exhibited by Mitsubishi Motors, is far more dynamic than the previous concept of electric vehicles.
Another point is that Japanese cars are always good at catering to the needs of the sales market, and the localization of cars is quite excellent. For example, in order to open the American market, Toyota studied the habit of American young people who like to drink glass bottles, and installed cabinets for glass bottles in their cars, which was welcomed by American customers. When Honda introduced Fit to China, it developed a sedan for China market according to the traditional aesthetic habit of China people who like sedan cars, which was a great success.
■ Japanese cars are still expanding around the world.
Due to the global success of Japanese cars, their overseas expansion is also accelerating. In 2004, the overseas production of Japanese automobiles reached 9.6 million, surpassing domestic production for the first time. It is reported that Toyota, Nissan and Honda plan to continue to increase investment and expand overseas production capacity.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan
Our company has drawn up a rich expansion plan, and it is very possible to build two new assembly plants in North America and open another truck factory in Mexico before the end of 20 10. In China, the joint venture between Toyota and FAW has been building a third factory, with the production capacity increasing to over 300,000 vehicles. The joint venture engine factory with GAC has also expanded its production capacity to 500,000 units. A few days ago, Japanese media reported that Toyota Motor Corporation planned to increase production by 1 1% in 2006, and its production and sales volume increased by nearly 1 10,000 vehicles, reaching more than 9.2 million vehicles, challenging the top spot of American General Motors Corporation, the world's largest automobile manufacturer. GM predicts that GM's global output this year will be 965,438+065,438+05,000 vehicles.
Nissan, Japan's second largest automaker, has also made ambitious expansion plans. It plans to set up factories in South Korea and Russia in 2006 to rapidly expand its production capacity. By 2008, it will produce and sell 4.2 million cars.
Honda has two partners in the China market, with a production capacity of over 400,000 vehicles. It will start producing cars in Dongfeng Honda next year and establish an export base in Guangzhou, which will reach 530,000 vehicles by 2006. Honda plans to produce and sell 3.2 million cars worldwide this year, an increase of 8% over last year.
The expansion of Japanese car dealers is made against the background of serious overcapacity of global cars, which will make the competition in the global car market more intense.
Japanese cars want to change the overall pattern of the world automobile industry, and this trend is hard to stop. It may be only a year or two before Toyota becomes the number one in the global automobile industry.