How much impact will the pneumonia epidemic have on Japanese brands that are still in the period of rising sales?

The recent domestic epidemic has caused a shortage of medical supplies such as masks and protective clothing. The Japanese society has extended a helping hand to us to the greatest extent. Not only has it donated a batch of supplies, but also the use of many ancient Chinese poems has made us unable to help. Few people have felt the kindness and warmth of this neighbor across the sea. The Chinese are very particular about reciprocating a favor. Today we will focus on how the epidemic will affect Japanese car companies domestically.

As we all know, Japanese brands have been making rapid progress in the country in recent years. Not only the old and powerful Nissan brand is still strong, but the sales of Toyota and Honda have been soaring, occupying an increasingly high domestic market share. In terms of data, FAW Toyota's annual sales were 738,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 2.0; GAC Toyota's annual sales were 682,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 17.59; Dongfeng Honda's annual sales were 789,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 13.2, and GAC Honda's annual sales were 770,800 units, A year-on-year increase of 4. Dongfeng Nissan’s annual sales were 1.17 million units, a year-on-year increase of 0.3. Such beautiful data is particularly eye-catching in the context of the obvious decline in the domestic auto market. If there had been no impact from the epidemic, 2020 would have been a year for Japanese brands to flex their muscles in China. As the domestic economic development slows down, Japanese brands with better reliability and economy have attracted the attention of more and more consumers. In terms of products, Nissan and Toyota and Honda have launched many blockbuster new cars this year, trying to further expand their product lines and consolidate their market advantages. However, the sudden outbreak of the epidemic in January caught Chinese society off guard, and the automobile industry suffered an unprecedented impact. In particular, Dongfeng Motor, an important partner of Japanese brands, is located in Wuhan, the center of the epidemic. Nissan and Honda have been greatly affected in terms of production capacity.

The car companies currently located in Wuhan include DPCA, Dongfeng Passenger Cars, Dongfeng Honda Vehicle Factory, SAIC-GM Wuhan Factory, Dongfeng Nissan, Geely Holding Group Lotus and other six major passenger cars. Brand production factory. Due to the seriousness of the current epidemic in Wuhan, the local government has postponed the resumption of work of various enterprises in the province no earlier than 24:00 on February 13. At present, this time may still be delayed.

As the headquarters of Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Honda, in addition to automobile production plants, Wuhan also has a large number of auto parts factories and upstream and downstream industrial chains. For example, Dongben's engine factory is located in Wuhan. The inability of these supply chains to resume will make it impossible for manufacturers in other regions to carry out normal production. Bosch, the world's largest auto parts supplier, has two factories that produce steering systems and thermal technology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, with 800 employees. The continued shutdown will also affect many car companies. Of course, it’s not just Dongfeng Honda and Nissan. The news we know so far is that many Japanese car companies have officially announced the postponement of production. Among them, Honda Motor officially announced on January 30 that it will suspend operations and production activities at its factories in Hubei and Guangdong Provinces in China until February. On March 9, the production of Dongfeng Honda and Guangqi Honda was suspended. Toyota also revealed on January 29 that it would suspend production and operations at four plants in Tianjin, Chengdu, Changchun and Nansha, Guangzhou, China. He also stated that the company will pay close attention to the epidemic situation, and the specific start date has not yet been determined.

Overall, the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic is bound to have a huge impact on the current production of car companies and related industrial chains. We have only assessed the impact on factories and production capacity above. The impact of this epidemic on dealers is undoubtedly huge, especially Japanese brands that have not put much pressure on dealer inventories. The advantage is that dealers are under less financial pressure during the epidemic, but the disadvantage is that dealers may face the embarrassing situation of having no cars to buy once work resumes. The epidemic is still in the development stage, and it is still unknown whether it will have further impact. But it has undoubtedly had a considerable impact on the economy. Consumers' wallets are dry and their desire to buy or replace cars is bound to decline. This has also cast a shadow over the overall performance of the auto market in 2020.

Of course, from an optimistic point of view, this epidemic will also stimulate the desire of some ordinary consumers to buy cars. After the epidemic, the car market may usher in a small explosion, and the advantages of Japanese cars will be further demonstrated.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.