No one could have imagined that joint venture vehicles would face such a difficult situation in the Chinese market one day. In May, the retail penetration rate of new energy passenger cars reached a record high of 47%; In June, it hit another new high, with a new energy vehicle penetration rate of 49.1%. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, wholesale sales of new energy vehicles nationwide in June reached 970,000 units, an increase of 28% year-on-year and 8% month-on-month. These figures are deafening.

Even a decade ago, when Chinese consumers bought cars, they mostly sought answers in the "non-deceiving car-buying folk bible" that was passed down by word of mouth. For example, "There are three treasures when buying a car: Sonata, K5, and Malibu"; or "Thin skin and big filling have three brittleness: Accord, Altima, and Camry"... You see, whether it's sarcasm, praise, or even mockery, none of them come from Chinese independent automotive brands. At that time, whether it was German, Japanese, American, Korean, or even French, they could all walk around effortlessly. Our independent automakers could only watch as these joint venture brands raked in profits at their doorstep, frantically revving their engines, and we were anxious and helpless. However, in just a decade, the tide has turned.

Looking at the data alone may not be intuitive enough, so let's look at actual examples. In fact, there were quite a few heavyweight players making their debut in the gasoline vehicle camp in the first half of the year, such as the all-new BMW 5 Series, the all-new Tiguan, and the Beijing Hyundai all-new Tucson L... I know that these three brands have actually made tremendous efforts, whether in terms of marketing, pricing, or the product itself, but unfortunately, they have not been able to recreate their past glory or even have any sense of existence. And perhaps it is precisely because of this that joint venture gasoline vehicles have truly realized that the Chinese market is a heavy sword without an edge.

To be honest, in the past two years, whenever new energy was mentioned, everyone instinctively thought: "BYD eats the meat, other independent brands drink the soup, and joint venture automakers drink the northwest wind." However, at that time, whether it was plug-in hybrids or pure electric vehicles, their costs were relatively high, so the overall total sales volume was not high, and the sense of crisis for joint venture automakers was not strong.

It was not until the beginning of this year, when joint venture automakers truly faced the "electricity cheaper than oil" trend in the Chinese market and realized they would have to "drink the northwest wind," that they realized that in the new energy era, simply removing the engine and transmission, replacing them with batteries from suppliers, and finally slapping on a "century-old" logo would no longer appeal to Chinese consumers.

Subsequently, joint venture brands resorted to many "shady tactics." There are too many examples to enumerate, so I'll give you a more typical one. On May 20th last year, Honda pulled out all the stops (as they believed) and launched the eleventh-generation Accord, a B-class sedan that carries the heavy responsibility of "brand sales foundation." The new Accord abandoned the hybrid powertrain and adopted a "pure gasoline + plug-in hybrid PHEV" powertrain layout. Moreover, on the plug-in hybrid models, they implemented a "same price for gasoline and electric" strategy. In other words, the top-of-the-line gasoline model sells for 228,800 yuan, while the entry-level plug-in hybrid model sells for 225,800 yuan, offering a "huge discount" of 3,000 yuan. However, such a slogan seems to lack sincerity.

Not to mention the numerous features that were cut, the so-called higher energy density ternary lithium battery used in the all-new plug-in hybrid Accord has a capacity of 17.7 degrees, providing a WLTC driving range of 82 kilometers. This is not only below the passing line of 100 kilometers for Chinese independent brands' plug-in hybrid pure electric driving range, but it also does not support DC fast charging. Even more ridiculously, in order to fit this large battery, the fuel tank had to be moved, resulting in a significant invasion of trunk space. Those who have seen the Accord's trunk will understand what I'm talking about.

In conclusion, incidents like the Honda plug-in hybrid Accord mentioned above are not unique to the Accord. Other first-tier joint venture brands' B-class sedans priced above 200,000 yuan are also facing similar situations. Their outcomes are mostly the same - price reductions. It is reported that after entering the third quarter, multiple joint venture brands have officially announced price reductions to launch a market share defense battle. But let me be honest, even with price reductions, in such a fiercely competitive market environment, the future of some joint venture automakers remains bleak. At best, sales will continue to shrink, and at worst, they may exit the market.