How about Dalian Huanghai Automobile?

Many people may not be familiar with the Dandong Huanghai brand, or their impression of Huanghai may only include a few pickup trucks and buses. In fact, Dandong Huanghai has a long history, and it also involves the passenger car market. It's just that in the passenger car market, Huanghai's presence is not as strong as in the commercial vehicle market.

Huanghai Automobile

Dandong Automobile Manufacturing Plant and Shuguang Group

The history of Huanghai can be traced back to the 1950s. At that time, due to the relatively weak industrial and manufacturing foundation after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country called on companies and individuals with manufacturing capabilities to invest in industrial production, and a large number of military-industrial enterprises emerged.

The predecessor of Huanghai Automobile was the Chinese People's Volunteer Army automobile repair shop located in Andong, the capital of Liaodong Province. It was officially opened in 1951. In the later period, with the deepening of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the auto repair shop gradually expanded from a small repair shop in the logistics department to Andong Auto Repair Factory. After several changes, it was upgraded to Dandong Automobile Factory. Its main business was upgraded from single auto repair to auto parts production and Complete vehicle manufacturing.

Liaodong Map

Limited by the domestic environment and development level at the time, the automobile manufacturers at that time, after comprehensive consideration, first chose to start with commercial vehicles and produce various products that were helpful to the time. Economic development of passenger cars and trucks, and this choice also determines the future product structure and positioning of Huanghai Automobile.

In the 1980s, Huanghai gradually took advantage of the country's large bus field and became a leading enterprise in related fields by inviting overseas experts to provide guidance and sending workers to study abroad.

Huanghai Automobile

In the early 1990s, the bus code-named DD611CS began to be put on a large scale in the Northeast market, and with its excellent quality, it became popular in the markets dominated by Harbin Bus Factory and Longjiang Bus Factory. Harbin has occupied a place in the bus market. It is precisely because of their excellent quality that Huanghai Bus has gradually established a firm foothold in the Harbin bus market.

According to relevant data, in 1985, the annual output of Huanghai buses reached 1,431 units, which was also the year when Dandong Automobile Factory ranked 30th among the 137 companies in the national machinery industry with profits exceeding RMB 10 million. Since then, Dandong Automobile Factory has developed steadily and become one of the 500 largest industrial enterprises in China.

Huanghai Bus

Just when Huanghai Bus was singing its songs, another eye-catching company appeared.

In 1984, Li invested 70,000 yuan in Dandong to establish Dandong Shuguang Motor Vehicle Parts Factory. After four years of development, it has become one of the few independent brand manufacturers of off-road vehicle axles in China. Since then, the factory has been renamed Dandong Shuguang Axle Factory and has been making rapid progress, slowly growing into one of the top three large-scale axle manufacturers in the country. It even ranked first in the country in 1997 and was included in the national plan.

Shuguang Axle

While developing, Shuguang Axle Factory also carried out joint-stock reform and established Dandong Shuguang Axle Co., Ltd. With the strong support of the local government, the new Production lines for differential cases, main reducer cases, and standardized rear axle assemblies were added. On December 26, 2000, Shuguang became bigger and stronger and was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the first listed private enterprise in Liaoning Province.

The loneliness of the Yellow Sea and the rise of dawn

Opposite to the dawn moment, the Yellow Sea is gradually falling into trouble.

Huanghai

Due to the past days being too stable and over-reliance on the bus market, it was difficult to support the long-term development of the company. Huanghai’s operations became increasingly inadequate, and the technical level of its leading products began to fall behind. on the pace of development. The competitive advantages of Dandong Automobile Factory gradually disappeared, the non-performing asset-liability ratio once exceeded 1.1 billion yuan, and the market share dropped from 50% to less than 4%.

As a former leading enterprise, the provincial government can no longer sit still.

In August 2002, Liaoning Province held a meeting and decided that Shuguang Group would participate in the reorganization of Huanghai. It was hoped that this rising star would help the former big brother. Shuguang, who was rich and powerful, readily agreed. So on November 22, 2002, the reorganized Dandong Huanghai Co., Ltd. was formally established with a registered capital of 220 million yuan. Shuguang invested 112 million yuan in cash, and Huanghai invested its main assets in the entire bus manufacturing industry.

Dandong

Everything seems to be moving in the right direction. Of course, it just seems.

In 2003, the SARS epidemic broke out and Huanghai suspended production for two months, resulting in a cumulative debt of 250 million yuan. The resignation of the general manager made the newly born company even worse. In addition, the reorganized Huanghai Company still uses the old leadership team, which to a certain extent conflicts with the business philosophy of Shuguang Group.

There is no way out. Li personally took action and became the general manager of Huanghai Automobile, and carried out substantial reforms in the company. In the end, Huanghai's overall output increased by 45%, and more than 80 new products were launched on the market. At the same time, Sugon Group has also carried out technical transformation of its SUV production line and plans to start mass production of complete vehicles.

Li

It can be said that the reorganization of Shuguang and Huanghai not only saved Huanghai, but also allowed Shuguang Group to achieve further development.

While Sugon is developing passenger car production, it also adds fuel to Huanghai’s passenger car production. In the first half of 2006, passenger car production and sales in Huanghai increased by 40%. Therefore, Sugon Group, which was striking while the iron was hot, established the Sugon Group Shenyang Industrial Park in August this year to expand the annual production capacity of Sugon SUVs and pickup trucks to 50,000 units.

Also in this year, Sugon Group launched three new cars at the Beijing Auto Show, including Cisheng CUV, Qilong CUV and Dachaishen pickup truck. Among them, Qilong and Dachishen have been on the market for three or four months, and only Qisheng is the latest product developed and has never been unveiled.

Donglong

Qisheng CUV provides 2.0L and 2.4L gasoline power, both from Mitsubishi's 4G64 series, with maximum horsepower of 116 and 126 respectively. Later, 2.5T diesel power was added, with the maximum horsepower reaching 140 and the maximum torque 340N·m. Thanks to Sugon Group's strength in off-road vehicle axles, the chassis design of Qisheng CUV is quite good.

However, in terms of design, the front face of the Kaising CUV, which was somewhat similar to the new Hyundai Santa Fe, caused quite a bit of controversy at the time.

However, in the camp of independent passenger car brands during the same period, Huanghai still did not rank high, accounting for less than 2.

Flag

In the same year as the Beijing Auto Show, Shuguang Group cooperated with the well-known German commercial vehicle brand MAN and introduced MAN brand-related technologies, further consolidating Huanghai’s position in China’s public transportation field. Leading position.

In 2007, Huanghai passenger cars continued to develop, and the Fasat NCV concept car like the Pontiac Torrent was unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show. But it wasn't until three years later that a near-production model was launched again. At this time, it already looks more like a Lexus RX.

In 2011, Huang Hai brought the production version of the Fasat NCV concept car to the Shanghai Auto Show. At this time, it has been renamed Qisheng V3, with a price range of 105,800-119,800 yuan. According to Huang Hai's official promotion, the car was designed with five years of painstaking efforts by 500 R&D personnel.

Fasat·NCV

I really want to know what these 500 people have done in the past five years? Is it a repeat study of the Lexus RX?

Qi V3 is still equipped with Mitsubishi engine, but this time it is replaced by 4G63 series, with two powers of 2.0L and 2.4L, with maximum horsepower of 133 and 165 respectively. The transmission system is matched with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Beijing V3

However, the launch of Qisheng V3 still failed to change the sales volume of Huanghai passenger cars. Throughout 2012, Cisheng V3 sold 4,880 cars, making it the second best-selling model in the Huanghai series, second only to the first-place Cisheng F1 with 6,149 units.

However, the proportions of these two cars in the total sales of domestic SUV models are only 0.26 and 0.3.

A bit embarrassing.

Xinsheng

is on the verge of leaving the market

However, although Huanghai has never succeeded in the field of passenger cars, Huanghai has made great achievements in commercial vehicles. Development in the field is still possible.

At the 2014 Beijing Auto Show, Huanghai released the N1 pickup truck with no obvious traces of imitation, priced at 79,800-91,800 yuan.

The gasoline model uses Mitsubishi 4G69 series 2.4L engine with a maximum horsepower of 143 horsepower and a maximum torque of 200n·m. The diesel model uses an Isuzu JE493ZLQ4CB 2.8T engine with a maximum power of 102 horsepower and a maximum torque of 220 N.

N1

However, with the strong rise of other independent brands, it is difficult for the weak Huanghai to hold on to the existing market.

From 2012 to 2019, Huanghai’s cumulative sales of SUVs and pickups were only 134,000 units. The cumulative sales in eight years were less than the one-month sales of mainstream domestic car companies. Because of this, Huang Hai began to incur debts and losses.

Once again forced to have no choice, from 2017 to 2018, Sugon Group transferred 19.77% of the shares and 21.27% of the voting rights of Liaoning Shuguang Group Co., Ltd. to Huatai Automobile, and Huatai Automobile became the largest shareholder of Sugon Group.

Huatai Automobile

But the current situation of Huatai Automobile at that time was half worse than that of Shuguang Group. By 2019, Huatai Automobile had 29.4 billion in debt, with only 130,000 left on the company's books. In the first four months of 2020, Huanghai Automobile produced only 676 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 68.66, and sales were 756 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 67.13.

When the era of reshuffle has come, when Lifan, Zotye, Cheetah, and Brilliance have all entered the quagmire of bankruptcy, and the current three have exceeded one million in annual sales, and when the gap is getting wider and wider, Huanghai Auto, what do you think? Do you still have a chance?

Huanghai Automobile

Thank you! I'm a car watcher in Beicheng. Please leave a message in the comment area to discuss and make corrections. If you like it, please recommend it.

One million car purchase subsidies