At the end of 2019, Cheetah took the final step back

2019 is coming to an end, and the cold winter of the auto market has also entered a new stage.

Just when everyone thought that the difficult 2019 was finally over, some media revealed that in order to get out of the predicament, Hunan Changfeng Automobile Group decided to retain only the Chuzhou base, and the remaining three bases would be sold or handed over to the local government. , what needs special attention is that the Changsha factory will plan to manufacture for Geely Automobile and be managed by Geely Automobile. The "Matthew Effect" in the automobile industry is becoming more and more intense.

The official website of Cheetah Motors shows that Changfeng Group Co., Ltd. was founded in June 1950. It was restructured and established in October 1996 by the former 7319th Factory of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It was transferred to Hunan Province by the army in September 2001. People's government management. It can be seen that Changfeng Group has a very long history and has been a military industry enterprise for a long time. Although this transfer and custody seems to be an act of self-rescue, everyone here knows what the probability of success is.

In addition to handover, what other self-rescue measures does Changfeng have? An email sent by Changfeng Automobile to its subsidiaries and suppliers shows its complete self-rescue route, including:

1. The Yongzhou base is determined to resume production in March next year, with 200 units in March; 4 700 units per month; 1,100 units in May; follow-up planning from June to December.

2. The Changsha factory is under contract manufacturing (Geely Automobile);

3. The Jingmen factory is handed over to the government;

4. Chuzhou is sold;

5. Fund raising: 1 billion yuan in the initial stage (SASAC 600 million, Changsha City 300 million, Yongzhou City 100 million), which can be expanded to 5 billion if development needs later.

6. Implement debt-for-equity swap to increase Changfeng’s net assets, improve financing capabilities and reduce financial costs.

7. Changsha City, Hengyang City, and the Department of Natural Resources formulate policies to support the change of the nature of Changfeng’s land from industrial to commercial;

8. Changsha City, Yongzhou City formulate no less than 3 Tax refund support policy for 2020 (2020-2022);

9. Formulate support for the purchase of Changfeng Automobile.

Among the above-mentioned self-rescue tactics, they always focus on reducing financial pressure, reducing taxes and fees, and then asking the government for money. Regarding debt issues, negotiate slowly if you can owe them, and ask suppliers to Signed with the newly established "Changfeng Parts Holding Company". In the above 9 points, you can only see the present and not the future. All the provisions seem to be focused on helping companies bail out, but in fact they are more about stabilizing workers' emotions. After all, everyone needs to support their families.

The fall of Changfeng is just a microcosm of weak automobile companies. The paths they have taken are so similar. In the early years of the SUV boom, the Cheetah CS10 once sold more than 15,000 yuan a month, but it never diverted the profits generated into research and development to improve car quality. However, strong independent brand car companies have a very significant feature. They update very quickly, and their design, technology, and technological configurations are advancing rapidly. Over time, weak brands become unattractive because they have been content with the status quo for a long time.

Due to the serious lack of research and development capabilities of disadvantaged car companies such as Cheetah, the product technology is seriously lower than the mainstream industry level. Until now, Cheetah still does not have an engine that meets the National VI emission standards. And due to the long-term lack of research and development, the quality of the cars has been criticized. In January this year, Cheetah Motors recalled 147,136 CS10 models.

If the product loses its appeal, sales will inevitably plummet. Data shows that the entire Cheetah brand sold only a measly 65 vehicles in November, a year-on-year decrease of 98.7%. The cumulative sales from January to November were 33,100 vehicles. With sales plummeting and without profit support, Changfeng has already made two salary cuts this year, with a total of up to 50%. Subsequently, it laid off employees with less than 5 years of service, resulting in a continuous loss of talent. No cars, no money, no technology, no talents, and no quality, leaving Changfeng in an endless loop.

If you don’t want to be overtaken by the big one, transformation seems to be the only way out

There is no doubt that it is difficult for weak car companies to see a future in China, and the Matthew Effect has become more and more intense. In a near-death situation, transformation may be the only way out. We might as well look at the operation of Haima Motor on the other side.

Data show that Haima Motors sold 1,348 units in November, including 38 Haima S5 sales and 1,310 8S sales. In other words, there is not a single car produced by Haima at its Hainan base. If sold, it is very similar to Changfeng's now. Currently, Haima only has a 1.6T engine that meets the National VI standards, and the rest of its models are all National V. The Haima 8S is in the extremely competitive independent compact SUV market segment.

Recently, some media revealed that Haima Motors will make a transformation plan. It is understood that this document comes from within the Haima Group. Information shows: Due to work needs, after research, a company transformation research office will be established. Judging from the personnel list, it can basically be determined that the transformation belongs to Hainan FAW Haima.

It is still unknown how Hainan-based FAW Haima Motors will transform.

Judging from the current data, after Jingzhu returned to the helm of Haima, Haima has taken many actions to cope with the cold winter of the auto market, such as cashing out 120 million yuan by selling houses, launching a new 1.6T engine that meets the National VI standards, etc., in terms of sales In terms of means, they even tried to use e-commerce channels such as Tmall. Faced with the idle productivity, they did not let it continue to be idle. They turned to OEM production for Xpeng Motors, which obviously made more than Changfengjin.

Regarding Haima’s transformation, many online media speculated that it would leave the automotive industry. For this reason, the author does not think that, after all, automobile production is the root of Haima and it is also its strongest area. According to Hainan's current policy on electric vehicles, it is very likely that Hainan's FAW Haima will no longer produce gasoline vehicles and concentrate on the research of electric vehicles.

A previous news about Haima entering the Indian market seems to confirm this idea. According to foreign media reports, Haima plans to display multiple pure electric models during the 2020 World Auto Show in India. Currently, Haima is discussing cooperation matters with the central and local governments of India. It is understood that Haima may have a cooperative relationship with Indian local manufacturer Bird Electric Company, but Haima has been silent on cooperation. But it is basically certain that Haima will launch a series of its own special electric vehicle models at the Indian Auto Show in February 2020.

Qianfianjun

In another stage of the cold winter of the car market, the strength of car companies is bound to be polarized. It is an irresistible trend for a few strong car companies to dominate one side. You might as well take a look at the U.S. auto market. In fact, there are only three automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Weak car companies do not want to be washed away by the cold wave, so transformation and OEM may be the best way out. Since you can't seize the present, then bet on the future.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.