Automobile industry is one of the most important and influential industries in modern society. It has not only made great contributions to our society and economy, but also provided many employment opportunities for people. Therefore, it is very important to understand the advantages and prospects of the automobile industry.

First of all, one of the main advantages of the automobile industry is its contribution to society and economy. Automobile industry is a highly technical and automated industry, which not only provides a lot of employment opportunities for people, but also creates a lot of tax revenue for the country. In addition, the automobile industry also provides people with a variety of products and services, including cars, parts, maintenance and services. This makes the automobile industry an important economic pillar.

Secondly, the prospects of the automobile industry are also very broad. With the increasing demand for automobiles, the market of automobile industry is also expanding. At the same time, with the continuous development of technology, the automobile industry is also constantly innovating and developing. This makes the automobile industry have a very broad prospect.

However, the automobile industry is also facing some challenges. With people's increasing attention to environmental protection, the automobile industry needs to constantly improve its products and services to meet the requirements of environmental protection. At the same time, with the continuous development of technology, the automobile industry also needs to constantly improve its production technology and process to improve production efficiency and quality.

In 2023, China's economic operation maintained a good recovery trend, the growth momentum was continuously enhanced, and the resilience and safety level of the industrial chain supply chain were improved. Launch the series of "Industry Focus Year-end Special Articles", analyze key industries, look back on the extraordinary journey, and look forward to new growth for readers.

Since the beginning of this year, the performance of the automobile market has continued to improve. At the turn of the old and the new, in the coming year of 2024, what direction the automobile market will take is of concern.

Production and sales hit a record high.

According to the data released recently by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as "China Automobile Association"), the monthly output of automobiles in China hit a record high in November, and the monthly production and sales of new energy vehicles both exceeded 1 million for the first time.

Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of China Automobile Association, said that the market share of new energy vehicles has exceeded 30% for seven consecutive months, and the market is stable and showing a gradual improvement trend. It is estimated that China's automobile production and sales will reach 30 million vehicles in 2023, a record high.

The passenger car market performed well. In November this year, the production and sales of passenger cars were 2.705 million and 2.604 million respectively, up by 25.6% and 25.3% respectively. As for the reasons for the rapid year-on-year growth of production and sales in November, the China Automobile Association believes that on the one hand, it is affected by the hikes at the end of the year, and on the other hand, it is related to the low base in the same period last year.

Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the Passenger Car Market Information Association, said that in November this year, the promotion of the automobile market continued to increase, and the promotion of both fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles increased month-on-month. Targeted promotion and local subsidies were implemented, which released the consumer demand for car purchase.

It is worth noting that China automobile brands have gradually occupied a dominant position in the passenger car market. In November, the sales volume of China brand passenger cars was 1.556 million, a year-on-year increase of 37.9%, with a market share of 59.7%. Among them, new energy vehicles are becoming "new kinetic energy". In November, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 1.074 million and 1.026 million respectively, up by 39.2% and 30% respectively, and the market share reached 34.5%.

China's automobile exports have also increased rapidly. In the first 11 months of this year, the export volume of automobiles was 4.412 million, a year-on-year increase of 58.4%. Guo Fang, director of the Export Third Division of the Trade Relief and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that China's automobile industry is facing important development opportunities. Externally, the low-carbon transformation of the world economy will boost the sustained and rapid development of the global new energy vehicle market; Internally, China's complete supply chain system provides a strong support for the automobile industry to maintain its international competitiveness.

Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary general of China Automobile Industry Association, said that in 2023, the automobile market showed three bright spots. First, automobile production and sales reached a record high; Second, new energy vehicles continue to grow rapidly; Third, automobile exports have reached a record high, and it is expected to reach 4.9 million or even 5 million vehicles in 2023.

Sales growth next year can be expected.

The high-quality development of China automobile industry, especially the development of new energy vehicles, provides a good opportunity for China automobile industry to deeply participate in the international market competition. Wang Qing, deputy director of the Market Economy Research Institute of the State Council Development Research Center, believes that the growth rate of automobile sales next year will largely depend on the growth rate of exports. Judging from the export situation, it is predicted that the growth rate of automobile wholesale sales will remain at 4% to 5% next year.

Sun Xiaohong, secretary-general of the Automobile Branch of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electrical Products, analyzed that in the next two years, China's automobile export is expected to surpass Japan in export value, reaching a global scale of about 10%. China's car-making strength has improved, and electrification and intelligence are leading overseas brands. The recognition of independent brands in overseas markets has generally improved, accelerating the process of going to sea.

Wang Qing said that the sales volume in the domestic market has not yet reached the growth level of the potential market scale, and the potential sales volume will be released slowly when the consumption market gradually recovers and the economic growth rate gradually stabilizes, which is an important support for China's automobile market to maintain growth in the next step.

Chen Chuan, director of the Passenger Car Research Office of China Automobile Data Co., Ltd., analyzed that in 2024, the macro-economy and consumer confidence continued to recover moderately, and the sales volume of the automobile market supported by fundamentals increased slightly, but the overall growth rate of the domestic passenger car market in 2024 could reach 3.2% due to factors such as the continuation of the trend of "price for quantity", the acceleration of replacement demand and the drive of new products.

For 2024, China Automobile Association predicts that the total car sales in China market will reach 31 million, up 3% year-on-year. Among them, the sales volume of passenger cars is about 26.8 million; The sales volume of commercial vehicles is about 4.2 million; The sales volume of new energy vehicles will reach 11.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 20%; The overall automobile export volume is expected to reach 5.5 million.

Complement the chip short board

In the process of promoting the intelligentization of automobile revolution, the coordinated development of chip enterprises and automobile industry has become the key.

"China's automobile industry has become a leader in innovative applications in the process of transformation. In the past five years, the industry has experienced a critical period of transformation, passed the three consecutive declines of the market, and ushered in a new dawn of electrification and intelligence. New energy vehicles have become the main engine of growth, and intelligent networking has become a new choice for consumption, leading the development direction of the global automobile industry. " Fu Bingfeng said that this year's production and sales volume will hit a record high, but challenges will follow, and automobile chips will become the focus of global resource competition.

At present, China automobile chips are still facing a series of challenges. Li Wei, chief expert of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd., analyzed that first, the anti-globalization of chips brought many uncertainties; Second, compared with consumer electronics, car-level chips have higher requirements in terms of safety and reliability; Third, the chip shortage period has not completely passed, and the mechanism of joint response has not yet been established; Fourth, chip companies compete excessively in some areas and lack competition in some areas.

It is urgent to establish a safe and controllable independent automobile chip industry. Ni Guangnan, an academician of China Academy of Engineering, suggested that open source innovation is an effective measure for China to achieve technological accumulation and breakthrough, and an effective way to participate in the global scientific and technological innovation network and scientific and technological governance. We should cooperate with the world to develop open source RISC-V basic software and cultivate talents to promote the ecological prosperity of open source RISC-V.

Nowadays, chip companies have seen the great opportunities of automobile chips, and vehicle companies have realized the importance of chip safety and controllability, and launched cross-industry cooperation.

"With the continuous incubation and evolution of new species, the traditional automobile industrial chain model can no longer meet the development needs of new products and new times. The chain structure with clear circles should break through the circle and develop into a network structure." Li Wei introduced that the cooperation between OEMs and chip companies will be closer. Changan Automobile and chip companies will actively build a triangular cooperation model of chip iron, jointly build a chip pre-pool, and jointly carry out chip standardization with chip manufacturers and Tier1, which will reduce the number of chip models by 46.6%, the number of chip manufacturers by 25.1%, and the consumption of chip categories by 2 times.

Fu Bingfeng also said that the demand for chips for new energy intelligent networked vehicles has greatly increased, and the technical requirements and computing power have also been rapidly upgraded. The original mature varieties cannot meet the functional requirements, and it is necessary for car companies and chip companies to integrate and innovate, and promote the innovative development of the automobile industry under the principle of full marketization. (Liu Wei)