At the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show, joint venture cars seem to be "getting better".

SAIC Audi has changed from its past, abandoning the classic "four rings" logo for its new luxury electric brand in favor of the letters "AUDI"; GAC Honda unveiled its new Ye P product series and new W pure electric architecture; Dongfeng Nissan showcased the latest intelligent technology achievements under the "GLOCAL" model, introducing its N series products based on the new energy architecture.

This series of bold changes has reversed the image of joint venture cars in the minds of consumers today.

"They finally learned not to be 'perfunctory'!""Their overly reserved nature should have been changed a long time ago!""Joint ventures have finally come to their senses; it looks like they're serious about new energy vehicles!"

As a result, joint venture cars, which have been lost in the new energy vehicle market for a long time, have finally found a way back in.

As the competition intensifies in the new energy vehicle market in 2025, who will emerge victorious?

1. From 'top students' to 'struggling learners'

In recent years, with the gradual decline of fuel vehicles, the era of 'easy money' for joint venture brands is over.

The latest data from the Passenger Car Association shows that from January to October 2024, the market share of mainstream joint venture brands fell from 51.8% in the same period in 2020 to 28%, a drop of nearly 24 percentage points.

In contrast, the market share of domestic brands increased from 34.6% in the same period in 2020 to 59.7% from January to October 2024, an increase of over 25 percentage points.

It is not difficult to see that the nearly 24 percentage points lost by joint venture brands have been taken by domestic brands.

Why is this so?

Back in 2020, due to multiple factors, the automotive market began to change. NIO, Xpeng, Li Auto, and Zero Run, among other new forces in the automotive industry, gradually gained the initiative in the market and enjoyed the benefits of their early entry into the new energy vehicle market.

Image/NIO, Xpeng, Li Auto

Source/Internet New Energy Outlook Screenshot

At that time, most joint venture brands were still on the sidelines and did not invest too much energy and resources in the new energy field.

Today, under the heavy pressure of domestic brands, joint venture brands have gradually realized the importance of laying out the new energy vehicle market. However, unfortunately, due to previous insufficient attention and slow technological research, the passive situation of joint venture brands has not improved significantly.

For example, as of now, Dongfeng Nissan sells new energy vehicles such as Venucia VX6, Venucia Dazzle DD-i, and ARIYA, but none of them seem to stand out, with none achieving monthly sales of over 2,000 units, naturally failing to reverse Dongfeng Nissan's position in the new energy field.

Image/Dongfeng's new energy vehicles on sale

Source/Internet New Energy Outlook Screenshot

SAIC Audi, which intends to continue its efforts in the fuel vehicle sector, has become a joke in the Chinese market. From January to October this year, the cumulative sales of all models under SAIC Audi were only 30,800 units, less than the quarterly sales of a domestic brand. After all, most consumers currently prioritize new energy vehicles when purchasing new cars.

Regarding new energy vehicles from joint venture brands, many consumers have expressed distrust. "These electric cars from joint venture brands are like domestic fuel vehicles from years past, always giving people the illusion of being 'off-brand.'" "To be honest, many new energy products launched by joint venture brands are too confusing, lacking distinctive features, making it difficult for people to know where to start or even want to start."

Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the Passenger Car Association, believes that "with the electrification and intelligent transformation of the passenger car industry, the original industrial advantages of joint ventures have weakened, production capacity pressure has increased, and they are facing new challenges of high-quality development in the new era."

This is reflected in the October 2024 retail sales ranking of manufacturers, where, except for Volkswagen and Toyota, the top ten enterprises are all domestic brands such as BYD, Geely, Chery, and Changan.

2. Destroy to rebuild

'Only by dying late can one live.'

This year, joint venture brands, gradually realizing the value of this saying, have taken new energy vehicles seriously and increased their investment in new products.

Counting down to the end of the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show, many joint venture brands have placed their new energy vehicles in the spotlight, while fuel vehicles have been relegated to the corner.

Specifically, GAC Honda has released its new-generation intelligent and efficient pure electric exclusive platform, Architecture W, and the mass production version of its first model, Ye P7, also made its debut at this auto show.

Image/Ye P7

Source/Internet New Energy Outlook Screenshot

It is reported that Ye P7 is positioned as a "luxury pure electric SUV" and adopts Honda's latest technology. Equipped with products from leading suppliers in various Chinese industries such as CATL batteries, Huawei light field screens, and Hangsheng life-sensing digital cockpits, it is expected to be launched in the first half of 2025.

Dongfeng Nissan's first pure electric vehicle model N7, built under the "GLOCAL" model, made its debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show. Its advanced intelligent driving technology enables high-speed NOA, city memory NOA, and full-scene intelligent parking. The equipped AI zero-pressure cloud blanket seats can automatically adjust the back, waist, and legs of the seats.

Image/N7

Source/Internet New Energy Outlook Screenshot

SAIC Audi's new electric brand "AUDI" and its concept car Audi E made their debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show. According to Audi's official introduction, this car realizes the integration of four domains: cabin, driving, computing, and connectivity.

Image/Audi E

Source/Internet New Energy Outlook Screenshot

How effective are the series of actions taken by joint venture cars?

Regarding the new changes in joint venture cars at the Guangzhou Auto Show, many netizens have heated discussions. "Joint venture cars have also learned to be intelligent? After abandoning their old ways, their cars have become more appealing." "It's not easy; finally, they have come up with decent products in the new energy vehicle market."

Mr. Han from Mianyang, Sichuan (pseudonym) is an experienced joint venture car owner. He said that he has been driving his Teana for about six or seven years and has only replaced the battery once besides routine maintenance. "I want to switch to an electric car for my next vehicle, but there are still too few domestic brands in our area compared to big cities. So when I saw the electric cars launched by joint venture brands at this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, I immediately wanted to buy one for myself, especially since there are more joint venture 4S stores here, providing convenient and guaranteed after-sales service."

Currently, in lower-tier cities or towns and villages, there are many consumers who share the same views as Mr. Han, and most of them still prioritize joint venture brands when purchasing cars, believing that those with a solid historical resource foundation tend to have better quality.

"We conducted a survey and found that 62.2% of people who currently buy joint venture brands still want to buy electric vehicles from joint ventures," said Xu Changming, Deputy Director and Senior Economist of the National Information Center.

As a result, joint venture cars, which have not completely lost their opportunities in China, have regained some ground at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show.

3. The secret to joint venture cars' resurgence

It is important to note that the decline in popularity of joint venture cars is not solely due to their late entry into the new energy vehicle market.

It is understood that the current performance of joint venture cars in the fuel vehicle sector is also not optimistic. For example, multiple joint venture brands such as Guangzhou Acura, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki have successively withdrawn from the market. The root cause of this situation is largely related to the "arrogant attitude" of joint venture cars when they first entered the Chinese market.

Mr. He from Beijing (pseudonym) has been driving for 20 years. He revealed that in the early 2000s, like many consumers, he preferred to buy joint venture cars because he believed they were of good quality and impressive. However, due to repeated 'backstabbing' by joint venture cars, he now prioritizes domestic brands when purchasing a car.

"In the past, it was common to encounter situations where the configuration of the joint venture car I bought was inconsistent with the same model sold overseas. I'm used to it by now. After all, compared to safety compromises, high prices with reduced configurations are just the tip of the iceberg," said Mr. He.

Mr. Xue (pseudonym), the owner of an Ideal MEGA, said, "Before domestic brands launched luxury MPVs, I always felt it was a waste to pay an extra RMB 300,000 for an Alphard. But I had no choice; I needed it for business, so I had to swallow the loss."

Image/Ideal MEGA

Source/Internet New Energy Outlook Screenshot

From our interactions with many consumers who have lost faith in joint venture cars, it is not difficult to see that if joint venture cars want to truly win back the hearts of Chinese consumers, they need to learn to "treat everyone equally" and show enough sincerity to their customers.

In terms of pricing, joint venture cars should reduce the price threshold while ensuring quality, optimize the configuration combination to the maximum extent, and ensure that the price matches the value.

In terms of service, joint venture cars should increase investment in the construction of after-sales service networks, work with dealers to formulate service standards for 4S store sales and after-sales personnel, and appropriately launch welfare activities such as free vehicle inspections to reward long-term customers, thereby enhancing consumer satisfaction and trust.

Is this enough for joint venture cars to change?

To be honest, as the battle for the new energy vehicle market has not yet reached its decisive stage, joint venture cars that want to stay in the game must continue to strive upwards.

After all, times are changing, and so are consumer needs.

Specifically, there is still a certain gap between the intelligent driving technology of most joint venture cars and domestic independent brands. For example, Huawei's latest ADS 3.0 has achieved end-to-end human-like intelligent driving. As a result, some joint venture brands that also started late in the intelligent driving field have chosen to continue self-research, while others have cooperated with Chinese giants. For example, Audi A5L and Q6L e-tron, both under FAW-Volkswagen, are equipped with Huawei's advanced intelligent driving system.

Image/Introduction to some functions of Huawei ADS 3.0

Source/Internet New Energy Outlook Screenshot

Speaking of this, it must be emphasized that to better meet the needs of Chinese consumers, joint venture cars should not only focus on intelligence, a forward-looking trend, and increase the technological content of their products but also pay attention to consumers' vehicle usage needs and interior space design.

In addition, as 'laggards' in the new energy market, joint venture cars that want to catch up quickly may consider actively cooperating with Chinese brands. After all, resource sharing will help make up for their lag in the new energy field.

In the future, it remains to be seen what position joint venture cars that have found the solution will occupy in the market landscape.