BEIJING -
Statistics show that in the first half of this
year, the total value of China's auto trade was
15.375 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion), with exports
amounting to 9.058 billion yuan, up 57.20% year on
year, and imports at 6.317 billion yuan, a
decrease of 21.31% year on year, leaving a surplus
of 2.741 billion yuan.
The auto export
boom is attributable to the rapid development of
China's auto industry, the competitiveness of
China's own brands and the government support. But
behind the boom lie hidden
dangers, which, if not
resolved in a timely manner, is likely to affect
China's future auto exports and even the healthy
development of the automotive industry as a whole.
Although the export of minivans including
Chery, Xiali, Gili and Harfei increased in number,
their prices have dropped sharply. The unit price
averaged only $7238.50 in the first half of this
year, dropping by 14.4% year on year. The practice
of relying on low-end products to occupy overseas
markets or even engage in price wars will no doubt
bring about a negative effect on China's auto
industry.
Even if China becomes a major
exporter of vehicles using such tactics, it will
have only established itself in the low-end market
and will never become a strong global player. At
the moment, export destinations are concentrated
in Asia, the Middle East and Africa and there is a
hidden danger of destructive competition.
At the same time, simmering disputes over
intellectual property rights are likely to become
a stumbling block to China's auto exports.
Starting in the latter half of last year, trade
frictions have occurred with Chery in particular.
GM appeared to be the fiercest in blocking Chery
exports; the company contends that one of Chery's
export models is in fact an exact copy of GM's
Chevrolet Spark/Daewoo Matiz (GM and Daewoo have
collaborated closely for several years). The
company has disputed Chery's exports of its Spark
copy in a number of countries, including Egypt,
Lebanon, Colombia, Malaysia and the United States.
In fact, better export strategies for
Chinese automakers do exist. First, they should
avoid price wars and engage in competition in
areas where they enjoy advantages. They should
first focus on the Middle East, Asia and Africa,
where medium and low-grade vehicles are in great
demand. Second, they should opt for products they
enjoy advantages in and avoid competing directly
with strong automakers in the same kinds of
products.
At present, Chinese automakers
enjoy no advantage in the mainstream market and
among mainstream products such as sedans. To
obtain a niche in the international market, they
have to strive for an upper hand in technology and
improve their after-sale services.
