In the first half of the year, the general loss of new energy motor industry will change day?

On October 18, Huayu Motors announced that the company plans to jointly invest and establish Huayu Magna Electric Drive Systems Co., Ltd. with Magna International (Taicang) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Magna International. , Deepen the electric drive system business joint venture and cooperation.

Another joint venture company wants to enter the Chinese motor market. In contrast, in the first half of this year, the revenue and profit of the domestic motor industry showed a dismal performance. Data show that in the first half of this year, Shanghai Electric Drives realized operating revenue of 20,876,770 yuan, net profit of -844.72 million yuan; Zhenghai Magnetics new energy vehicle motor drive system operating income of 117 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 60.03%; Wolong Electric The profit decreased by 9.33%.

At present, the development of new energy vehicles is in a good position, and its related industries should also take advantage of the situation. However, the actual status of new-energy automotive electric control companies is not optimistic. In the first half of this year, there was a trend of decline in revenue and net profit for the new energy vehicle motor segment. In addition, even if profits have not declined, the growth rate of some motor companies has not reached the previous expectations.

It can be said that the new energy motor has been caught in the dilemma of "internal and external problems." Does the industry expect the rapid growth of new energy motors to appear a downturn, does it mean that the motor industry will usher in a new round of changes?

Many factors have caused the industry to decline

"The operating conditions of motor companies in the first half of this year were greatly affected by the adjustment of national policies." Cai Wei, founder and CTO of Jingjin Electric Technology Co., Ltd. told reporters that the state has adjusted its subsidy policy for the new energy auto industry at the end of 2016. A new version of the "New Energy Vehicle Promotion Subsidy Program and Technical Requirements for Products" was issued. New energy models need to be re-applied to the "New Energy Vehicles Recommended Model Catalog for Promotion and Application" in 2017. Therefore, in the first quarter of this year, commercial vehicles in particular fell into a state of zero-clearness, so the matching of motor companies was also significantly reduced. In the second quarter, there were relatively few models available for production, affecting the entire first half of production.

In addition, there is a very important reason is that the cost of motor raw materials rises. Cai Wei pointed out that in the first half of this year, the prices of motor raw materials rose sharply, by 10%-50%. For example, the price of permanent magnets has risen by 50%.

Wang Xiaoquan, director of the Southeast Automotive New Energy Technology Department, also expressed similar views. In his view, the reason why the motor industry generally failed to meet the expectations in the first half of this year was that the cost of raw materials for electrical machinery increased. Material costs such as silicon steel and copper rose by 20%-30%. The amount of motor used for these materials is very large, so the entire machine The price has a great impact. Coupled with the host plant will have a certain part of the supplier price reduction, so the motor company's performance in the first half of the year has declined. In addition, the output of new energy vehicles in the first half of this year was not as expected, and the average expenses did not fall.

Shanghai Electric Drive also stated that its performance in January-June 2017 was lower than expected, and the most important impact was the impact of changes in relevant industrial policies on the overall production and sales of new energy vehicles since 2016.

From January to June this year, the production and sales volume of China's new energy vehicles were 21,200 and 195,000, respectively, which represented a year-on-year increase of 19.70% and 14.40%, respectively. The growth rate slowed down significantly and did not reach market expectations. Judging from the vehicle data, the new energy vehicle industry has not reached the market's expectations and it has caused a significant impact on the production and sales of the upstream new energy vehicle powertrain system.

Jiang Tao, chief engineer of Shanghai Futian Electric Technology Co., Ltd., believes that although the output of new energy vehicles has increased, the pressure from vehicle manufacturers to reduce the price of motor companies is also very large. Therefore, when the cost rises, it is normal for the motor company to have a profitable slope.

Does the main plant start singly thresholds high or low?

At present, there are more than 200 domestic motor companies. The scale of production varies from small to large, and their technical strength varies. Like BYD, more and more OEMs are starting to produce their own motors. In addition, some OEMs have begun to cooperate with motor companies and set up joint ventures.

For the production of new energy motors, there are differences between the views of the main engine factory and the motor factory. Motor companies stated that the threshold for new energy vehicles is very high, and many core technologies are still in the hands of foreign investors, and the products with excellent performance must have professional suppliers. The OEMs stated that the threshold for motor technology is not high, and we are fully capable of producing motors.

So, as one of the three major electric vehicles, where is the technical threshold of the motor?

A new energy motor senior engineer Wang Xuefeng (a pseudonym) told reporters that the new energy motor technology is not as good as the engine, some of the industry's host technology is no less than some of the motor companies. Based on factors such as core technologies that they must master, low prices, timely delivery, and ease of communication, some OEMs prefer to produce their own motors. However, the requirements of the motor are that the product quality is stable and the price is low. The cost performance of the OEM's own production of motors is not necessarily higher than that of suppliers. Therefore, whether or not the main engine manufacturer makes its own motor must be measured in conjunction with its actual situation.

"The use of cost-effective materials and parts can produce cost-effective products. Motor technology is not a matter of whether it will be, but it will be less and less good and bad problems." Cai Wei said that from the perspective of foreign development trends The more detailed the division of labor and the higher degree of specialization, the more profitable the production model. The host plant itself will inevitably encounter problems in both cost and quality control.

Where is the future?

In 2016, there were more than 100 domestic motor companies; in 2017, the total number of motor companies was nearly refurbished. With the encouragement of new energy policies, domestic motor manufacturers have mushroomed. In addition, foreign-funded companies such as Toyota also began to seek joint ventures to produce new-energy vehicle motors and build factories in China. It can be foreseen that the competition in the domestic motor industry will become more intense. Under the pressure of internal and external pressures, how should the motor company's future development go?

In this regard, Jiang Tao believes that from the perspective of foreign development trends, it is a trend for vehicle manufacturers to produce their own motors or joint ventures. Domestic will also develop toward this trend. In the future, the motor will be oriented toward mass production and stable quality development, and will require leading production technology and product technology. In the face of the pressure of foreign investment, domestic motor companies have a cost advantage, so there are still opportunities and there is a lot of room for development.

Cai Wei said that with the intensification of competition, companies without strength will be phased out. Therefore, motor companies should innovate and develop products with better performance and more advanced technologies. In addition, the phenomenon of joint venture production will also increase.

Although the overall development of the motor market in the first half of the year was unsatisfactory, motor companies are still optimistic about the future development of electric vehicles in the world. Some motor companies believe that with the gradual dispersal of fraudulent inspections in the first half of the year and the stabilization of policies, the new energy vehicle is expected to recover in the second half of the year, and new energy motors will also continue to develop.

According to Wang Xiaoquan, motor companies can use joint ventures to seize opportunities, or innovate on the technology route, and use technology leadership to gain market recognition.

Ocean Motor also said that it will make strategic adjustments in three areas. First, actively expand the company's existing main business market, increase the efficiency of use of raised funds, actively explore product sales channels, increase market development efforts, adjust business ideas, actively develop related technologies such as technology development and after-sales services, and further expand technical services, etc. The profit growth point of the business; the second is to improve the company's daily operating efficiency and reduce operating costs; the third is to improve corporate governance, strengthen business management and internal control, and enhance the company's operating and management capabilities.