South Korean car squad: only mid-level cars are still hard

The sedan is another mirror that Korean cars have encountered in China.

In the first half of 2017, the sales volume of the Chinese car market fell 3.15% year-on-year. Divided by level, micro and medium-sized cars are maintaining positive growth, and other levels of consumer space are being compressed.

The sedan products of Korean cars in the Chinese market happened to be in a contraction zone, with sales volume falling more than 30%.

Among them, the largest compact car on the base shakes the sales base of Korean cars; the decline of small cars is more than 50%.

In the medium-sized car market, which is concerned with the gold content of Korean car brands, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors currently have four models for sale, each with two models. The sales of all four vehicles have fallen, but it is the lightest range for Korean cars.

In the first half of the year, the sales volume of the Chinese midsize car market exceeded 900,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 0.22%, and the market was relatively stable.

Sales volume of Korean cars dropped from 117,900 vehicles in the same period last year to 82,200 vehicles, a decrease of 30.27%. Korean cars lost 35,000 vehicles. In this market dominated by the German and Japanese systems, the product power of the Korean car has been brought to the extreme.

Next, the Japanese Camry (Association, Picture, Inquiry), Accord (Association, Picture, Inquiry), Tench (Association, Picture, Inquiry) will launch new replacement models, between Japanese and German. The contest will be further intensified. The Korean car has not reached the worst time in this area. Its real test is in 2018.

In the compact car market in which the Korean cars are most relied on, Hyundai and Kia have laid out six models, which are in line with the American brands.

In the first half of the year, the sales volume of China's compact car market decreased by 247,900 units, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 6.66% and the total market capacity was 3,472,500 units. The market share of car models in this category fell by 2.41%.

The sales volume of Korean cars in the market segment exceeded 260,000 vehicles last year, which dropped to 180,000 vehicles or a year-on-year decrease of 31.25%. Sales volume decreased by nearly 80,000 vehicles.

As Japanese, American, and German systems continue to introduce new models in this market segment, the competitiveness of Korean cars is declining. At the same time, Chinese domestic models use cheaper prices, leaving the Korean car's price killer lose its power.

The foundation of the rapid growth of Korean cars in the Chinese market has been shaken.

In the first half of the year, the total sales volume of the small-car market fell below 600,000 units, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 7.06%, making it the most severely compressed area in the passenger vehicle market.

The decline of Korean cars was the most serious. In 2017, sales of Korean cars have dropped continuously. Since March, sales have fallen by more than 50%. Among them, sales in April and May fell more than 70%.

In the first half of the year, the total sales volume of Korean cars was 62,100, a decrease of 55.07% year-on-year. Korean cars lost 76,000 units in sales, which is close to compact cars.

Judging from the market share of the models, the Korean car's experience in the Chinese market began with the collapse of small cars.

In the small car range, Beijing Hyundai has Renner (Association, Pictures, Request for Inquiry) and Approved in two series.

The product's marketing strategy completely duplicates the Elantra's tactics. Appreciation uses Rena's old technology to launch exclusive models for the Chinese market. Then, according to changes in market demand, make adjustments on the product type.

Since its launch in October last year, the car has reached a peak of sales of 19,000 vehicles, but it has continued to decline since 2017. In the first half of this year, its cumulative sales volume was 33,900 units. There was still a big gap between the performance of more than 40,000 vehicles in the first quarter after the listing last year.

Beijing Hyundai's adjustments to Rena are still in progress. The new Rena has started converting its new Chongqing plant since July. According to the original mode of operation, Rena and the new Rena will be sold in parallel.

Now, Dongfeng Yueda Kia has not fully replicated Beijing Hyundai’s practice in this market segment. It still uses K2 as its main sales model. In the first half of this year, the cumulative sales volume of this car was 18,000 units, which was 11.7% of the total sales of last year.

Upcoming K2 Cross is exploring another possibility.