The fifth "China Automotive Market Trend Summit" made its debut
author：开云（中国）kaiyun·官方网页版newstime：2012-04-23
On April 22, 2012, the fifth "China Automotive Market Trend Summit," organized by "Auto Fan" magazine, was grandly held. The event was large in scale and had many highlights. According to attendees, it was rare to see such a large-scale integration of three events into one summit, seamlessly connected, with many successful experiences worth learning from.
The entire event lasted about three hours and consisted of three parts: the new car trend release, the Auto Fan Joy Drive Track and Car Club display, and the automotive aftermarket summit forum.
New Car Trend Release
The "New Car Trend" is an annual predictive report on international and domestic automotive technology trends jointly released by "Auto Fan" magazine and its partner, the American "MOTOR TREND" magazine. This report has been released during the Beijing/Shanghai International Auto Show for the fifth consecutive year. As an industry-leading multimedia organization and opinion leader among automotive consumers, "Auto Fan" is committed to exploring the depth and breadth of cutting-edge automotive technology fields, boasting an extensive model database and knowledge reserve.
This trend release was innovatively connected through a jigsaw puzzle format. Five experts from "Auto Fan" magazine—Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor Jin Jun, Executive Deputy Editor Wang Shihua, Senior Editor Zhao Pu, Testing Director Wang Chaohui, and Creative Director Deng Xiaogang—spoke in turn to predict the future of automotive life.
Trend 1: New cars are becoming larger and lighter, with fuel economy and carbon emissions reaching new levels. Urban SUVs are moving from fields to high-end clubs, dominating the multifunctional vehicle market. New energy vehicles are emerging rapidly, making a transition seem inevitable. From FAW Toyota Prius to Lexus CT200h, hybrid vehicle thresholds have been lowered by mature technology.
Trend 2: Future cars will not only be larger, faster, and more environmentally friendly but also more diverse. The new Audi A6L is much larger than 13 years ago, with new materials and technologies making it lighter and stronger, excelling in both comfort and sportiness. Jetta merges with a certain design style, MINI evolves into many series, and the Jaguar XK series will break the 300 km/h speed barrier.
Trend 3: LCD screens dominate interior design. With the rapid development of large-size touch screens and multi-touch technology, interior designs have undergone revolutionary changes. Future interior styles will increasingly be dominated by LCD screens.
Trend 4: New energy, new generation methods. The essence of new energy vehicles lies in the "source." Photovoltaic, wind, hydro, tidal, and biofuel power generation, as opposed to traditional coal and oil fuels, define new energy. While developing new energy mobile terminals, adopting clean, sustainable power supply methods from Nordic countries is a wise future energy solution.
Trend 5: Hybrid vehicles will become stars of the future. Initially, the boundaries between various vehicle types were not clear, often using the same chassis with different body forms. With technological advancements, multifunctional vehicles that combine performance, comfort, and convenience have emerged. In a sense, multifunctional hybrid vehicles that meet almost all consumer needs are the ultimate evolution of future cars. Representative models include Citroën C4 Aircross, Subaru XV, and GAC Freemont.
Trend 6: More independent brands, lower market share. Despite significant support from national laws and policies, the number of independent brands has increased significantly in recent years. However, contrary to this, the market share of independent cars has shrunk to the lowest level in recent years. In February, the sales of independent brand models fell by 11.5% year-on-year.
In 2011, the total volume of China's auto parts market reached 430 billion yuan, and in 2012 it is expected to exceed 550 billion yuan, ushering in a boom period. However, due to the lack of relevant laws and regulations and the monopoly of parts supply by auto manufacturers to 4S stores, the business environment in the auto parts market remains chaotic, and domestic brands lack momentum. As the number of vehicles continues to increase, the demand for the automotive aftermarket is also growing. The rapid growth of private cars and the increasing use of cars for medium and long-distance travel have led to the rapid rise of independent aftermarket channels and the emergence of diversified business formats. There will be intense competition between traditional wholesale distribution formats and new chain formats.
Against this backdrop, experts and industry leaders such as Professor Chen Rongzhang, Dean of the School of Automotive Engineering at Tongji University and Director of the Automotive Aftermarket Research Institute, Zhu Kongyuan, Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Wang Beili, President of Continental Automobile Club, Zhang Zhen, Brand and Communication Director of Michelin (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Mitsumura Kazuhiko, Head of Business Planning Department at Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Li An, General Manager of China Location Service Center at United States & Space Technology Co., Ltd., and David Colley, Executive Vice President of Harman International and President of Automotive Business in the Asia-Pacific Region, shared their insights on the industry and the challenges it may face in the future, making this forum highly distinguished in both scale and content.
