German traditional automobile new energy automobile

As the birthplace of cars, German cars have a strong appeal all over the world. China auto market is no exception. Whether it is the traditional first-line luxury brand Volkswagen, BBA, or even the ultra-luxury brand Porsche that can "go", it is the best in its class. However, as the saying goes, it is difficult for the ship to turn around, facing the "curve overtaking" of car electrification, and the rise of electrified cars such as China and the United States, and even counterattack. Can German cars, once regarded as the standard by consumers and industries, continue to be brilliant? By referring to their financial data last year, maybe we can find out.

The profit growth rate is much higher than the sales volume, and fuel vehicles contribute a lot. Although the performance of mainstream German brands in total sales is different, everyone's performance in making money is surprisingly consistent. For example, among the five German automobile groups or brands mentioned above (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen Group, Audi and Porsche), only Mercedes-Benz and Porsche achieved positive year-on-year sales growth last year (2022). And the increase is not big, only 5% (Mercedes-Benz) and 2.6% (Porsche) respectively. According to the Volkswagen Group, the annual sales volume decreased by 7% year-on-year. Sales of its luxury brand Audi decreased by about 3.9% year-on-year. Sales of BMW Group, another German luxury car company, also decreased by 4.8% year-on-year.

However, in terms of making money, the performance of German car companies is almost red. Except for the operating profit of Volkswagen Group excluding special project expenditure of 22.5 billion euros, which increased by 65,438+02.5% year-on-year, the other two major groups and Porsche brands are expected to achieve an exaggerated growth rate of more than a quarter. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, which have already announced the answers, are the simplest. As the first financial report after IPO, Porsche's sales profit reached 6.8 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 27.4%. Earnings before interest and tax of Mercedes-Benz increased by 28% to 20.5 billion euros. Last year, after the total revenue increased by 28.2% year-on-year, the BMW Group, which reached 65.438+0426 billion euros, almost caught up with the performance of Mercedes-Benz.

Only from the internal comparison of these mainstream German car companies, it is not difficult to find that the Volkswagen Group, which is relatively more expensive and the overall price of the car is relatively close to the people, will perform slightly better in the report card. According to the statement in audi ag's financial report, the Group was greatly affected by chip shortage and supply chain pressure, especially the delivery volume in the first half of the year decreased by 22% year-on-year, resulting in huge losses. This objective factor just confirms the impact of cheaper models on making money. Mercedes-Benz, which clearly made product adjustments, is another "lesson" for fellow villagers. In 2022, the average price of Mercedes-Benz products increased by 9% year-on-year, and increased by 43% compared with 20 19. Its Maibakh series sales increased by 465,438+0% year-on-year. If you sell more expensive cars, you will have a higher premium. After efforts are made to increase the sales ratio of high-end luxury and core luxury products and reduce the so-called "new generation luxury", the sales profit of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars will further increase from 13. 1% to 14.6% in 2022.

The problem is that although high premium fuel vehicles are still "harvesting" the global market, most German automobile companies have stopped investing in R&D in this field. Take 20 18 as an example. At that time, the collective profit of BBA declined and it was not fully electrified. Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz invested nearly 7 billion euros in R&D that year. Even for Mercedes-Benz, which is good at making money, this R&D cost is quite close to the net profit level of that year. However, after the net profit almost doubled compared with 20 18, Mercedes-Benz's R&D investment only rose to 8.5 billion euros last year. Electrification and two-legged fuel vehicles have not increased the research and development pressure of traditional German giants such as Mercedes-Benz. On the contrary, it can further enhance the premium ability of fuel vehicles with little or no investment.

Playing with electric cars, China people's money, German cars will continue to earn, but the electrification of the global mainstream car market is developing very fast. For example, the China market is a traditional fertile ground for German cars, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeded a quarter last year. The European hometown of German cars is also being captured by Tesla Expressway. Even if German cars can continue to harvest at the end of the fuel truck, I am afraid this good day will not last long. If you think so, simply think about them.

If we say that in the large-scale sales of fuel vehicles, the overall data of German cars is tepid. Then, after the divestiture of new energy vehicles, the sales performance of German cars is also quite dazzling. Take Mercedes-Benz for example. Last year, the sales volume of pure electric vehicles alone was close to 6.5438+0.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 67%. The sales of pure electric vehicles of BMW next door have doubled, accounting for about 9% of the total sales of the group. Even Volkswagen Group, which has the greatest pressure on German cars, delivered more than 570,000 pure electric vehicles last year, with a growth rate of more than a quarter.

Taking China automobile market as an example, China automobile market can lead the world in terms of industrial chain integrity, consumer acceptance and selection richness of electrified products. Only the Volkswagen brand delivered more than 200,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of more than 37%, of which pure electric vehicles accounted for nearly 70%, and ID series sales basically doubled. Sales of Mercedes-Benz brand new energy vehicles in China market increased by 143%, and sales of BMW pure electric vehicles in China also increased by more than 90%. More importantly, in terms of new energy automobile products, German brands are still on the rise. Taking BMW brand as an example, how many 1 1 pure electric products will be brought to consumers in China in 2023?

The new energy field can't stop the continued expansion of German cars. On the one hand, it is influenced by traditional product reputation, on the other hand, it is the recognition and word-of-mouth blessing of the brand itself. The representative aspects of the former, such as BMW X 1, Mercedes-Benz GLC and other fist products to be launched this year, will bring corresponding deeply electrified products such as insertion and mixing. On the basis of the word-of-mouth of the original product and the overall improvement of the product strength after replacement, it will also be related to the recognition of the electrified product line. Needless to say, the latter, but after electrification, German cars have added new ways to play. Take smart and MINI for example, their pure electric products come from the deep binding with China car companies after "deep authorization" and "participation in R&D". Coupled with the popularity of pure electric intelligent products, this is not only the affirmation of new energy technology by China automobile enterprises, but also the recognition of German automobile brands.

In fact, the logic of new energy can also be pushed back to the overall market performance of fuel vehicles and German brands. From the day the car track was formed, German car companies have never stopped on this track. The precipitation of more than one hundred years has created a brand moat that is extremely wide all over the world. Electrification gives Tesla, a new car-making force in China or a new energy car enterprise an opportunity to approach German brands. However, this distance will not be the final decision when the track of new energy vehicles is still in its infancy.

This article comes from Luca Auto, the author of Easy Car, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author if reproduced in any form. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.