China's youngest automobile company - Xiaomi Auto has gained market recognition with its strength and obtained the qualifications to independently build cars.
BYD's move into Thailand has encountered rights protection. When making money in overseas markets, you must first respect the local market order. This is a rule that every car company should keep in mind when going overseas.
The Luobokuaipao driverless taxi is operating in Wuhan. Taxi drivers’ jobs have been taken away. It is regrettable, but it is also the law of technological development.
These phenomena are the inevitable paths for Chinese companies to seek outward and upward.
June 23, 2024, Jinan, Xiaomi xiaomi su7 electric car on the road.
Xiaomi Motors obtains independent qualification
Event overview : On July 12, four "Xiaomi" pure electric cars appeared in the 385th batch of "Announcement on Road Motor Vehicle Production Enterprises and Products" disclosed on the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The new tail label of Xiaomi SU7 was registered, and it was changed from the original "Beijing Xiaomi" to "Xiaomi".
The name of the manufacturer of Xiaomi SU7 was changed to "Xiaomi Automobile Technology Co., Ltd.". Prior to this, the company name reported by Xiaomi Automobile was "Beijing Automotive Group Off-Road Vehicle Co., Ltd."
Comment : There are two main ways to obtain production qualifications. One is to acquire other automobile brands or go the OEM route, and the other is to obtain qualifications by building a factory by yourself. At the end of 2023, although Xiaomi had built its own factory, it had not completely solved the production qualification problem, and the company name it applied for was BAIC Off-Road Vehicle. Now, Xiaomi has applied for independent qualifications and no longer needs to borrow the qualifications of BAIC Off-Road.
In fact, with the rapid increase in new energy vehicle companies, relevant departments stipulated in 2022 that no new "car manufacturing qualifications" would be allowed, and only cancellations would be allowed. However, as the leader in the development of intelligent connected vehicles in Beijing, Xiaomi Motors was finally approved, and accordingly, Beijing Borgward's qualifications were cancelled.
Xiaomi Auto has also proven its strength with nearly 100,000 orders and stable monthly deliveries.
In the first week of July sedan sales list released by Autohome, Xiaomi Motors has entered the top ten, ranking ninth with weekly sales of 3,677 units. The first-ranked Seagull had weekly sales of 7,839 units. As China's youngest car manufacturing company, Xiaomi SU7 has performed well in the market.
BYD frequently cuts prices, prompting Thai consumers to protest
Overview of the incident: The Economic Times of Thailand reported that since the Thai Consumer Protection Agency began investigating BYD dealers' aggressive discount promotion policies, it has received about 70 complaints about BYD cars. These buyers who filed complaints felt that they paid too high a price for Chinese electric vehicles.
It is reported that in order to quickly seize the Thai market, BYD opened its Thailand factory in early July. It is also reported that in order to celebrate the opening, BYD offered a 50% discount promotion, which hurt Thai consumers who bought BYD earlier.
BYD's factory in Nikhom Phatthana, Rayong Province, Thailand, July 4, 2024, local time.
Comment : When billboards reading BYD NO.1 are hung on rooftops, viaducts and buses in Rayong Province, Thailand, BYD should expect that its influence and industry status will be enough to make Thai consumers its fans.
However, when the BYD Dolphin, which originally cost 859,900 baht, became 699,900 baht on the promotion day, users who bought the Dolphin earlier lost one-fifth of the car. In their eyes, BYD may not have a "halo", so it is inevitable to defend their rights.
BYD owners in Thailand, unhappy with the ongoing promotions, have banded together to file a complaint with Thailand's Office of Consumer Protection, which has launched an investigation into BYD and its more than 100 dealers in Thailand.
The incident also alarmed the Thai Prime Minister. When BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu attended the Thai factory and later met with Prime Minister Sreeta Tawisin, the latter mentioned Thai consumers' complaints about the continuous discounting of BYD cars and asked BYD to better manage customer expectations on pricing and ensure that local buyers are protected.
As a major automobile country in Southeast Asia, Thailand is an important fulcrum for Chinese auto companies to go overseas. Although the market has favorable policies and huge potential, Chinese auto companies should also follow the local customs when entering overseas markets, and should not copy and paste the domestic involutionary approach overseas, but should respect the local market order and show the attitude of "in Thailand, for Thailand".
Wuhan taxi drivers protest against driverless taxis for "taking their jobs"
Event overview : Recently, the Luobo Kuaipao driverless taxis have been operating on a large scale in Wuhan and have completed 5 million orders so far.
The cheap prices have taken over the taxi and online car-hailing market in Wuhan, causing a sharp drop in the income of local drivers, which has led to a protest by drivers.
Carrot Run self-driving taxi
Comment : As the wheel of history rolls forward, the moment the concept of autonomous driving was proposed, the profession of taxi driver was threatened.
More than a hundred years ago, British workers smashed their looms but failed to stop the process of industrialization. Coachmen rioted but failed to stop the popularization of cars.
We have a heart for change in the future of autonomous driving, a technological highland for automobiles.
The advantages of driverless taxis over manual taxis are obvious. First of all, they are safe. According to statistics, their accident rate is 7% of that of human drivers.
Then it is cheap because there is no labor cost. Only when problems occur occasionally does the backend need to be remotely controlled by a human operator.
There will be no disputes. Smoking, air conditioning, parking locations, route selection and other issues that are prone to disputes will not exist in driverless cars.
However, self-driving cars are not as skilled as human drivers at driving because they still prioritize safety strategies.
If there is any disadvantage, it is that driverless taxis will make online car-hailing drivers unemployed, and driverless logistics vehicles will make couriers unemployed. These jobs that "feed" a large number of people during the period of poor economic environment may be overturned.
