Joint ventures often use marriage as a metaphor, or raise their eyebrows or part ways. Looking back at the different stages of development of China's commercial vehicles in the process of foreign joint ventures, we have seen that it is hard to achieve self-development and self-development in joint ventures. Steel Wire Rope,Galvanized Steel Wire Rope,Wirerope Steel Wire Rope,Hot Dip Galvanized Steel Yangzhou Jieerte Steel Cable Co., Ltd , https://www.jieertesteelcable.com
In the initial stage, the foreign brands were mainly in the 1980s. The original heavy truck group introduced the Austrian Steyr technology and started the cooperation between China's heavy trucks and foreign parties. This is also the earliest contact with foreign parties in the field of commercial vehicles in China, but it was technology transfer. Form, not joint venture. The earliest joint venture came from Qingling and Jiangling, a joint venture between Isuzu and Chongqing Automobile Manufacturing Plant and Jiangxi Automobile Manufacturing Plant. The main production was Isuzu light truck and engine products. Since then, a number of commercial vehicle joint ventures have emerged, including bus joint ventures, including Xi'an Xiwo, Guilin Daewoo, Yaxing-Benz, and Shanghai Shenwo.
China's commercial vehicle early joint venture, the products are basically foreign brands, although retaining their own brands, but only belong to individual phenomena, which is related to the relatively weak strength of China's own brand car enterprises. Because China's auto companies generally lacked management experience and product technology at the time, similar to the situation of joint ventures with most passenger vehicles, some joint ventures actually became foreign assembly plants in China. At that time, foreign auto companies entered China and rushed to seize the market. They did not conduct in-depth research on the introduction of marketable products based on the characteristics of China's market demand, but mainly on the other side of the "high on the" products. These high-end products are very different from the actual purchasing power of Chinese users. Due to the high price of products and slow sales, some joint ventures are difficult to sustain and have to terminate the joint venture. Jinan Huawo, a joint venture between China National Heavy Duty Truck and Volvo, has caused some products to be more expensive than similar imported models because of high production costs. Finally, it has to stop production and terminate the joint venture.
At the same time, in the joint venture process, due to insufficient independent research and development capabilities, China has lost a lot of voice. For example, the senior executives of Sivo and Shenwo are mainly foreigners appointed by the board of directors.
In addition to management, the most important thing is that some foreign parties in some joint ventures have set up a number of “forbidden zones†that cannot be crossed. They do not allow Chinese technicians to adapt to products on an equal footing because of the core secrets involved in product technology and production processes. Improvement, not to mention the independent development of key assemblies and core technologies. When FAW and Mercedes-Benz negotiated a joint venture, the foreign party could not tolerate retaining the "liberation" brand in the joint venture, nor could it remain silent on the Chinese core engine and other core assemblies, and had to part ways. The joint venture between Yutong and a foreign company made it difficult for China to play a corresponding role in product and management. The original intention of the joint venture was not realized, and the two parties terminated the joint venture.
Self-owned brands become a new sign of joint venture With the rapid development of China's economic construction, the production scale, market share, and especially research and development capabilities of self-owned brand commercial vehicle enterprises have made great progress, and they have always dominated the market in China. Most foreign-funded commercial vehicle companies have successfully entered the Chinese market through joint ventures, and they are anxious to see that Chinese companies have a rapidly expanding market cake. They are also reflecting on finding new ways to share the dividends in the Chinese market.
On the other hand, with the gradual upgrading of emission standards, the drawbacks of the lack of key technologies such as engine emissions in China's automobile enterprises are gradually emerging. They are eager to seek support for core technologies, and a new market environment for commercial vehicle companies has emerged.
Under the premise of retaining their own brands, Chinese auto companies implement dual-brand production. For example, Guangqi Hino Light Truck adopts the original Yangcheng brand of Chinese enterprises, and also produces Hino brand heavy trucks. Sichuan Nanjun and Korea Hyundai joint ventures also use dual brands, and Sichuan Nanjun's brand remains on the light truck type.
Although several commercial vehicle joint ventures have retained the Chinese independent brand, the market share is relatively low, and the main products after the joint venture are still dominated by foreign brands. Due to the disparity in strength between the two parties in the joint venture, China's digestion and absorption of foreign technology is not difficult.
Of course, there are also successful double-brand joint venture cases. The cooperation between Nanjing Automobile and Iveco began in 1995. After the restructuring in 2007, Nanjing Iveco also adopted the dual-brand model. Yuejin Light Truck has achieved the full coverage of light trucks from low-end to high-end through the joint development of both Chinese and foreign parties, and is very competitive in the market. With the global channel of Iveco in Italy, the expansion of overseas markets is also steadily advancing and the performance is remarkable.
It is necessary for self-owned brands to rely on me. After the outbreak of the international financial crisis, several well-known European commercial vehicle companies have fallen into a quagmire. The government’s large-scale investment in infrastructure construction has driven the market demand for trucks, especially heavy trucks. The larger the annual production and sales volume of China's trucks is equivalent to the sum of European and American trucks, the Chinese car companies have taken a new step in market size and product technology, especially when they negotiated joint ventures with foreign companies. In this context, a number of new Sino-foreign joint venture commercial vehicle companies have emerged, such as China National Heavy Duty Truck and Mann, Futian and Daimler, Jianghuai and Navistar. Among them, the joint venture between China National Heavy Duty Truck and Germany Mann is regarded as an example of the successful joint venture in the heavy truck sector.
In this joint venture, the foreign party realized the joint venture in the form of holding 25% of the shares of China National Heavy Duty Truck. The name of the company is completely unchanged. The Chinese party controls and only produces its own branded products, and there is no foreign brand. In addition to obtaining product technology transfer, China National Heavy Duty Truck also obtained the release documents of all 44 engine components of the other party – the core basic documents. With these documents, it means that China National Heavy Duty Truck not only knows how to produce advanced products, but also how to develop powertrains and verify parts. This is very important for the next technological upgrading and independent innovation of China National Heavy Duty Truck. In 2014, China National Heavy Duty Truck's annual sales jumped to the second place in the heavy truck industry. The introduction of the T series of high-end products produced by Man Technology, the market performance was excellent, and the annual sales volume exceeded 10,000 units, which confirmed the success of the joint venture from one side.
It can be seen that the right of independent auto companies to speak in joint ventures is getting higher and higher. The joint venture between Beiqi Foton and German Daimler also retains the Futian Auto “Ouman†medium and heavy truck brand. Daimler provides technical and expert support to help the joint venture company improve product quality and assist in the development of new products for the domestic market. .
The common feature of the new round of foreign joint ventures is the urgent desire of both Chinese and foreign parties to join hands to achieve win-win results. The foreign side wants to enter China to share the market dividend. Because it is difficult to provide leading products that meet the needs of the Chinese market, it can only rely on technological advantages to obtain benefits through joint ventures. China hopes to get new product technologies that meet emission regulations, and the two sides will hit it off.
The independent brand is gradually stronger, and the Chinese side will have more say in the joint venture. It is also possible to obtain more opportunities to enter the international market through joint ventures. The joint venture between Dongfeng and Volvo is known as the post-commercial joint venture era. Some people also call the joint venture 2.0 era. No matter what the title is, it means that China's commercial vehicle joint venture has entered a new stage of development.
expert's point:
Tan Xiuqing, vice president of Shandong Heavy Industry Group: learning foreign parties should be "soft and hard"
Tan Xiuqing, vice president of Shandong Heavy Industry Group, believes that due to the huge domestic truck market potential and the continuous improvement of China's truck and parts technology, China has more say in the joint venture. The situation of foreign commercial joint ventures in China is getting better and better.
However, Tan Xiuqing also pointed out that the key to joint ventures is still the ability to acquire core technologies. After the joint venture, whether the Chinese side can get the most critical and up-to-date technology from the foreign side cannot be determined. "Even if the foreign party comes up with new technology, it may be replaced by a replacement product. We can't get the latest generation of product technology." Tan Xiuqing said that for the Chinese side, in the joint venture process, it cannot be blindly taken by the foreign side. He suggested that after the joint venture, China should pay attention to product brand integration. At the same time, in the process of joint venture, we should "take the Lord as the main and learn from the foreign side." While absorbing foreign technology, we must also pay attention to the absorption of "software", such as advanced management experience and program management.
For the joint venture between Dongfeng and Volvo, Tan Xiuqing believes that the joint ventures of the two companies are very complementary. Volvo has experience in joint ventures in the passenger car sector in China and has experienced failures in the truck sector. Therefore, this joint venture is a serious choice for Volvo after experiencing failure. In addition, Dongfeng has a leading position in the production and sales of China's medium and heavy truck market, and has also laid a good foundation for the joint venture between the two parties, which is conducive to the further development of Dongfeng.
Yang Zaijun, deputy secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Market Information Association: Volkswagen or looking for trucks in China
For a long time, foreign parties in Sino-foreign joint ventures have often conducted "technical control" and are very cautious about introducing core technologies. Yang Zaiqi believes that this has also led to the failure of some previous joint ventures. Today, the foreign side is eager to share China's growing commercial vehicle market, and it is also appropriate to let go of technology transfer. For them, profit is the first. Therefore, when we choose to cooperate with China, we also pay more attention to China's strength, and thus the combination of “strong alliance†is increasing.
Yang Zaiqi judged that the heavy truck market may become the strategic goal of the Volkswagen Group in China. Based on this judgment, Yang Zaiyu predicted that the public who made some achievements in the passenger vehicle joint venture field will smash the market cake of Chinese commercial vehicles. The "China Automotive Industry Policy" promulgated in 1994 and the "China Automotive Industry Development Policy" promulgated in 2004 stipulate that each foreign-funded enterprise has a maximum of two joint ventures in the domestic market, which is the distribution of the truck market in China. Providing the opportunity, the public will not waste this commercial vehicle joint venture quota. Most domestic heavy truck companies have achieved joint ventures with foreign truck companies. Therefore, Yang Zaiqi believes that Volkswagen may establish a commercial vehicle joint venture with one of FAW or SAIC to produce heavy trucks and even commercial buses, and to grab the share of commercial vehicles in China with competitors.
According to Yang Zaiyu's analysis, there are many possibilities for Volkswagen to arrange truck joint ventures in China. The commercial vehicle brands of Volkswagen Group include Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Mann and Scania. How to integrate these three brands cannot be judged. At the same time, the popularity of Volkswagen commercial vehicles in China's users is not enough, or become a barrier to enter the Chinese commercial vehicle market.
Corporate voice:
Duan Hengyong, deputy general manager of the sales department of China National Heavy Duty Truck Group: The experience of the joint venture is very valuable Duan Hengyong, deputy general manager of the sales department of China National Heavy Duty Truck Group believes that last year was the bumper year after the joint venture between China National Heavy Duty Truck and Mann and the introduction of MAN technology. Later, it expanded the product line of China National Heavy Duty Truck. After the products adopting Man Technology put on the market, it has increased the reputation and trust of China National Heavy Duty Truck in the users; the subsequent market growth space brought by it also boosted the confidence of dealers. The failure of a joint venture with Volvo has given China National Heavy Duty Truck a lesson in sales strategy. According to Duan Hengyong, the Volvo's sales channel in China was adopted at the time of the joint venture with Volvo. The Chinese could not control the sales policy, resulting in lower sales. Therefore, Duan Hengyong believes that in the Sino-foreign joint venture, the guiding role of China in the domestic market cannot be ignored. For the domestic market, China is more aware than the foreign side. Therefore, the Chinese side should learn foreign technology and management experience and digest and absorb it in the joint venture. At the same time, the Chinese side should also formulate sales plans for the domestic market in light of national conditions.
Beijing Foton Daimler Automobile Co., Ltd.: Fukuda and Daimler's joint venture has created a new model. Both Futian and Daimler broke the old frame of multinational auto companies in China for 30 years of reform and opening up, and created Sino-foreign cooperation. The two sides take China as the first center of operation and give full play to their respective advantages to jointly build their own brands in joint ventures.
The joint venture company only has a brand of “Oumanâ€, which produces the medium and heavy trucks of the “Ouman†brand and the Mercedes-Benz OM457 engine. The heavy-duty truck engine will be equipped on the Auman heavy truck to enhance the competitiveness of Auman heavy trucks in China and emerging markets, and realize the complementarity and benefit sharing of the two parties in the domestic and foreign markets.
It can be said that the joint venture between Daimler and Foton Motor has taken a new step. The joint venture company is the operation center of the global cooperation business of both parties, namely the management decision-making, research and development, production, supply Chain management and marketing management of the global cooperation business. center.
At the same time, China has always firmly grasped the leading position in the joint venture. Although the foreign management and technology are more advanced, the Chinese side is more aware of the Chinese market.
Liu Hanru, Chairman of Hualing Xingma Automobile (Group) Co., Ltd.: The joint venture is not independent. The joint venture Huaning Star Horse Club will unswervingly follow the road of independent development. On the major issue of the road to enterprise development, I believe that relying entirely on foreign joint ventures and abandoning autonomy and dominance is not the way out for the sustainable development of China's auto industry. Adhering to independent development and adhering to independent innovation is the feasible way.
After Hualing Xingma was completed and put into production, many well-known foreign-funded commercial vehicle companies that came to visit the Valin production line expressed appreciation for Valin's advanced production equipment and high-end products, and expressed their desire for joint venture. We are not opposed to joint ventures, but the premise is that I am the main brand. In this regard, we will not waver under any circumstances, and have been insisting until today.
What I want to emphasize in particular here is that independent development and independent innovation do not mean "closed doors." In the absence of any accumulation, accessing global resources through various channels and digesting and absorbing “for my use†is an important part of Hualing Xingma's independent development.
·Bringing the new logo for the commercial vehicle joint venture for my own brand