For the Japanese car cycle low tide

Recently, the Japanese car was a bit weak. Toyota not only lost the rank of global sales champion, but also ranked third; Honda's global sales fell sharply by 13% year-on-year!

The most frustrating part of the Japanese is about the Chinese market. The main reason why Toyota lost to GM and Volkswagen is to lose the Chinese market. Last year, the total sales volume of North and South Volkswagen was nearly 2.2 million. The Shanghai GM reached 1.23 million while the FAW-Toyota and GAC Toyota only achieved sales of 530,000 and 270,000 respectively. The two Honda conditions were even more dismal, with only 360,000 respectively. And 260,000 vehicles. Japan, represented by Toyota and Honda, is in China – the current weakness in the world’s most important auto market seems to continue in 2012. In January of this year, due to the impact of the Spring Festival holiday, sales of all manufacturers declined year-on-year, but Toyota and Honda fell far more than their competitors.

Many people will say this is due to the Great Japan Earthquake. The big earthquake certainly has a major impact, but is it just because of the earthquake? Conservative market strategies, lack of attractive product design, and poor decision-making efficiency in large companies are the root causes of Japanese competition in this round of defeat.

Lexus’ delay in domestic production is the most concentrated reflection. Mercedes-Benz and BMW have already started production in China and achieved brilliant results. Toyota is still worried that Lexus may have adverse effects on the brand! Lexus’ position in the luxury car market in China was once infinitely close to the German Big Three. However, in the Chinese market in 2011, Audi sold more than 300,000 vehicles, BMW was close to 220,000, Mercedes-Benz was close to 200,000, and Lexus was only 56,000. Vehicles, this magnitude gap, has created an almost irreversible gap in brand status. In the future, unless the Germans themselves make mistakes, Lexus basically loses the possibility of becoming the most mainstream luxury car in China.

As soon as Mr. Toyoda took over as president, he proposed to create a dazzling product, and he saw the key to the problem. However, the Japanese are still adhering to the design style of the golden mean, and are still building cars out of obsolete pragmatism. Toyota and Honda have recently replaced several strategic models, but unfortunately, from the design point of view, it is really disappointing. Comparing Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Magotan, especially the modern Sonata and the Kia K5, the Japanese are really outdated.

Where are the biggest opportunities for the global auto industry? Of course it is China. However, Honda and Toyota are not willing to take more models to China. Today, Guangzhou Automobile Honda still has only four series of models in essence. The largest A-class car in the market, no, the fastest-growing SUV, and no. How to fight? Guangfeng also faces similar difficulties. Ten years ago, it was said that the Japanese know the Chinese market best, and now the Japanese really have to learn to learn from European and American opponents.

However, I do not think that Japanese cars will decline for a long time. On the whole, the Japanese company still has advantages in various aspects such as industry ecology, technical strength, lean production, global level, and brand appeal.

In terms of environmental protection and energy conservation and product quality, the Japanese still have a strong advantage. JDPOWER's list of reliability surveys has long been ruled on a daily basis. Recently, the German Automobile Industry Association released its 2011 eco-model list. Seven of the 11 vehicles are Japanese cars. Hybrid power is a development stage that cannot be bypassed, and it has gradually become the consensus of the automotive industry. Toyota’s leading edge in this technology has almost formed a technical barrier that is difficult for opponents to overcome.

Last week, in the program of “Chetianxialu Lutong” of the Yangcheng Traffic Station, I said that the price of oil would rise and it would rise that night; Wang Canbin said that the myth would be destroyed and the second day Weibo said that golf would use 6AT instead. I also said that the world’s top leaders in the next three to five years should still be Toyota. Will this be the case? It depends on whether Toyota can really find the problem and make the right choice, especially in the Chinese market.

In short, this round of the Japanese system is only a cyclical ebb in development. There is no serious illness. At most, it is a little bit of food, mental retardation, and more exercise. It is easy to start sweating. However, we must also pay attention to the issue of exposure.