The automobile industry is the pillar industry of the national economy. The developed countries are all firmly grasping the control rights of the automobile industry. However, in the Chinese auto market, facing the impact of foreign multinational auto companies, the problem of “hollowing out†of the Chinese auto industry has emerged. It not only affects the autonomy of the auto industry, it is even directly related to the independence and security of the national economy. .
I. Specific performance of the "hollowing" of China's pillar industries
1. Core Technology The foreignization of automobiles is an important technology-intensive industry. It is a fusion of traditional technologies and high-tech. Whoever masters the most critical technology in the automotive industry is the winner in the future. This technology not only includes product development and design technologies, but also includes manufacturing technology, electronic technology, information technology, sales technology, and service technology. However, China's automotive industry technology, especially the key core technologies and components of automobiles, has historically been caught in the traditional technology introduction cycle. Nowadays, domestic companies, in spite of the purpose of learning and acquiring technology, have entered into joint ventures and cooperation with foreign companies. However, in fact, the core technologies of China's automobile industry are still in the hands of foreign multinational companies. The key development and design and manufacturing technologies for high-end cars are extremely high. The land relies on foreign parties and the auto industry’s capacity for self-development is seriously lacking. According to statistics, in 2003 more than 30 new models were introduced to the market, most of which were exotic or slightly changed models. The cars designed and developed by China were not only small in number but also weak in competitiveness.
2. Weakening of self-owned brands At present, the mainstream automotive products that are active in the domestic market, besides a few local brands such as Hongqi, Chang'an, Chery, Geely, Hafei, and China, are more of the world’s auto giants. In the Chinese car market, the “foreign brands†produced by joint ventures account for more than 90% of the market share, and China’s own brands are less than 10%. Moreover, some joint-venture Chinese corporate brands are also gradually lost, and the auto industry's own brands are getting smaller and smaller in the market. In the auto industry's authoritative statistics, there are 30 car companies, of which 15 are Sino-foreign joint ventures or Sino-foreign joint ventures. The products they produce are foreign brands of cars; among the other 15 companies, The total number of cars produced by genuine national brands or imported technology is only about 380,000 cars. It is still less than the number one ranked Shanghai Volkswagen (396,000 vehicles), which only accounts for 19% of the total sales volume of domestically-made cars, and accounts for domestic cars. The total market share is less than 9%. Judging from the ranking of car companies, only Tianjin FAW Xiali and Chery are among the top ten domestic cars, ranking 4th and 8th, with the rest mostly after the 15th. In contrast, the brand of the joint venture model was rapidly strengthened. Such as FAW - Volkswagen's Audi A6, A4; Dongfeng passenger vehicle company's sunshine; Shanghai GM's Regal and Excelle, etc., in the rear of the body has clearly not seen the place of origin, not the manufacturer's logo. JAC's Ruifeng body is preceded by a modern elliptical slanted body H, and the tail of the body is marked with JAC's English alphabet abbreviation JAC. It can be seen that multinational car companies have actually regarded China as the manufacturing base for their branded cars (actually an assembly base). Foreign man-made brands, Chinese man-made cars, are sold in mainland China.
3. The passive control of corporate management represents a certain amount of management power, but the controlling power is not equal to control. Only with certain controlling rights and independent intellectual property rights can we have the right to control and say. In the process of joint ventures, Chinese auto companies have a 50% controlling share in form. (Some of the joint venture Chinese companies are actually less than 50% due to the dispersion of their shares during the process of cooperation with a number of multinational companies.) Due to the controlled situation on independent intellectual property rights, lack of management experience and management technology, and lack of financial resources, Chinese companies have lost some of their major economic decision-making powers during the actual operations. On the contrary, due to the monopoly of capital, technology, management, branding, and credibility of multinational companies, they can quickly enter the most profitable product areas, can quickly have the most valuable customers, and can attract the best talents in the local community and continuously improve. The market share has led to the fact that the true control of the company is in the hands of foreign investors. The management of Chinese auto companies has actually fallen into a passive situation.
4. The narrowing of market scope The influx of foreign companies, and the increase in per capita income and GDP of Chinese residents have activated the huge domestic market demand and brought consumers more choices. On the surface, the market share of China’s autos continues to expand, but this expansion is only an increase in the market share of the international auto giants. In fact, the market space of Chinese auto companies is getting smaller and smaller. The lucrative profits in China's auto market have caused some large companies to forget the mission of the industry. They are constantly drawing on the smaller and smaller “cakes†that domestic counterparts are fighting for. However, multinational corporations are building their own marketing network and expanding market channels by virtue of their rich marketing network experience and strong product quality and resounding brands. Today, the brand is in the hands of people and the right to sell is also controlled by others. The market scope and activity space of China's auto industry are shrinking.
5. The rigid development of the development mechanism The good industrial operation mechanism can greatly promote the innovation and development of the industry. In the early stage of the development of the automobile industry in the United States, car prices fell by 58% in only 8 years. Their low cost and practical features have greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of buyers for American consumers. The very strong market demand has also promoted automobile production. The expansion, and the expansion of automobile production, drove down the unit's production costs, thereby providing room for falling prices and creating a virtuous circle of production and consumption. The stiffening of the development mechanism of China's auto industry is mainly reflected in the imperfections of taxation policies and financial policies, the lack of industrial policies, the limitations of industrial entities, and the unreasonable industrial structure. The "scattered, disordered, and poor" situation in China's automobile industry for many years, and the concept of supremacy in the economic interests of auto companies have undoubtedly hindered the development of the industry and the benign development of the market; the heavy burden and rigidity of state-owned enterprises. The mechanism, the high cost, and the serious disconnect between the investor and the operator make the state-owned enterprises disadvantageous in competition. Under the double pressure of multinational companies and private capital, large-scale state-owned auto companies have jointly ventured with foreign countries to find a way out.
In the era of knowledge economy, the comparative advantages of China's auto industry are gradually losing. Primary production elements such as cheap labor and abundant natural resources have gradually lost their advantages in the traditional economic era; the vast market and localized marketing network are being infiltrated and occupied by foreign multinational companies. Without its own core technologies and independent development capabilities, China’s auto market is changing to being led by multinational corporations. Chinese auto companies are changing from market leaders to followers of the market. The Chinese auto industry is facing “hollowing†Dangerous situation.
Second, the development of China's auto industry presents a "Latinization"
1. The Latin American industrial development model and its drawbacks The so-called “Latin Americanization†refers to the overall crisis characterized by economic crisis, regime change, and social disorder in the development process of Latin American countries. Here, it mainly refers to a mode in which the development of industries depends heavily on foreign capital and promotes the development of “foreign capital-ledâ€.
Although the formation of the "Latin American phenomenon" has many causes, such as the financial crisis, political factors, and exchange rate changes, an important aspect is caused by the "opening of foreign capital-led" open road. The unfavorable effects of this development model on Latin America and other countries are mainly manifested in:
First, there is a large shift in industrial profits. The international monopoly capital controls the economy of the capital-funded country and forms a large amount of profit transfer. Through sole proprietorships, joint ventures and other forms, U.S. companies have directly or indirectly controlled more than 70% of resource development and raw material production in Latin America. In Brazil, 100% of the automotive industry, 57% of the chemical industry, 76% of the home appliance industry, and more than 60% of the electricity industry are under the control of multinational companies. Although direct investment has promoted the economic prosperity of Latin America, the multinational companies that hold the lifeblood of Latin America have to repatriate large amounts of profits to their home countries every year, resulting in a large shift in economic surplus.
Second, dependence on foreign capital creates a serious debt crisis. As Latin American countries have drastically reduced tariffs in recent years, the cost of imported products from multinational corporations has dropped, and imports have appeared to be significantly faster than exports, increasing the trade deficit of Latin American countries. According to statistics, during the 1990s, the import growth rate of Latin America was faster than the growth rate of exports by 3.4 percentage points, and the ratio of trade deficit to GDP was close to 1.5%. It was the period with the worst foreign trade deficit after the Second World War. This trend of import over exports will, in the short term, put pressure on the trade balance in Latin America; in the long run, Latin American countries’ related industries may experience idle production equipment and shrinking production capacity, which will adversely affect their development.
Third, the capacity for independent development has been severely weakened. The open economy dominated by foreign capital is not conducive to the absorption and absorption of foreign advanced technologies by the capital-receiving countries, and it is not conducive to upgrading the technology of developing country industries. The main purpose of multinational corporations investing in developing countries is to use local cheap labor, and they pay great attention to the protection of their own technology while investing and building factories. Most of the exports of multinational companies are concentrated in labor-intensive or resource-intensive products, and there are relatively few high-tech products. From the point of view of developing countries, only its labor force participates in the international capital cycle, and there is no or little precipitation of advanced technology. In terms of technology, developing countries should at least provide some support and maintenance. In the long run, the technological development of enterprises in developing countries, especially the ability to develop independently, will be greatly reduced. Therefore, as a whole, the joint ventures and cooperation between multinational auto companies and funded countries do not play a significant role in improving the research and development capabilities of these countries.
Fourth, the radiation effect of the industry has dropped significantly. From the point of view of the management model of multinational corporations, in order to reduce costs, its major raw material inputs, product research and development, and scientific and technological achievements are all derived from the parent company or deployed globally. For example, in Mexico's export processing industry, the purchase rate of local raw materials of multinational companies accounts for about 2% of its total material supply. The trend of the transfer of such elements of multinational corporations has promoted the development of global trade and increased its proportion in global trade. However, it has reduced the effect of multinational corporations’ investment on the host country’s industrial radiation and weakened the economy of the host country. The impact of industrial restructuring.
2. Development trend of China's auto industry From the point of view of the development model, China's auto industry is embarking on a development path from industrial autonomy to industrial dependence, mainly reflected in:
First, from the perspective of the value chain, the key value-added part is gradually controlled by the foreign party. In 2002, most of the dozens of new vehicles listed on the automotive market in China were quickly introduced to the market through CKD (Complete Parts Assembly) and SKD (Half-Parts Assembly) methods, and new products for cars, especially cars. And the important part of the launch is basically controlled by foreign companies. China's auto companies can only take advantage of low labor and resource advantages in production, and in the process of car value creation in other areas are basically drawn by foreign parties. Porter's value-added process of product value indicates that the value-added aspect of product value is mainly research, development, marketing and service, and production is the lowest value-added segment among them. At present, multinational corporations not only avoid the restrictions of local government's tariffs and policies, but also earn maximum profits. The large profits of China's auto industry are flowing to foreign companies and abroad.
Second, judging from the relationship between joint venture and cooperation, China's auto companies and foreign multinational corporations are only at a low level and a low level of cooperation. In the initial stage of the joint venture, Chinese companies were forced to invest in low-cost land, plant, equipment, and other low-priced stocks, which caused these values ​​to be undervalued to varying degrees, resulting in the loss of state-owned assets. In the early days of the joint venture, Chinese companies held “according to the market For the purpose of changing technology, in accordance with China's auto industry policy, it took out a joint venture with a foreign multinational company. When the joint venture entered the profit-making period, the Chinese side was unable to continue investing, and multinational companies took the opportunity to raise capital and expand shares. In the course of more than 20 years of cooperation with foreign countries, China not only failed to master key core technologies, but also forced the transfer of equity and even lost its original brand.
Thirdly, judging from the industry's ability to develop, the competitiveness of China's auto industry is greatly weakened while foreign auto companies continue to create good results. The automobile industry is China's pillar industry. Its strategic position in the development of the national economy is self-evident. However, there is no independent intellectual property rights and development control rights, coupled with weak industrial innovation capabilities, the autonomy of our country's auto industry needs to be improved. Judging from the current operating behavior of Chinese companies, due to various reasons, China's auto companies, especially large-scale state-owned auto companies, are only standing in the interests of enterprises to continuously obtain their own economic benefits. At present, apart from Geely, Hafei, and Brilliance, the auto manufacturers that produce low-end vehicles are striving to develop their own products, China’s large-scale auto companies have not done anything in their own development. Driven by huge market potential, excessive product profits, and local interests, China's auto manufacturing companies have a huge team. However, in these automobile vehicle manufacturing companies, almost all of the powerful, mass-volume, technology-based, and market-based products are from Sino-foreign joint ventures. Almost all of the world’s leading automotive multinational companies have established joint ventures in China. The industry, especially the car manufacturing industry, has almost become an assembly plant for famous foreign brands.
Fourthly, judging from the competition in the market, the competition among China's auto companies gradually evolved into the following: the competition between strong foreign transnational corporations and domestic weak auto companies, and between domestic enterprises dominated by multinational corporations. competition. At present, more and more multinational companies have joint ventures with China's auto companies. There has been a situation in which one company cooperates with multiple multinational corporations at the same time, or when multiple corporations cooperate with a multinational company at the same time. China's auto industry market is becoming a venue for foreign multinational companies to compete. China's auto companies can hardly compete in product price wars, but other areas basically do not have the foundation and strength to compete with foreign multinational companies. Originally, the large scale of the market and low production costs are two major advantages for China's development of the automotive industry. However, the backwardness of the division of labor model restricts the development of low-cost advantages, and the advantages of large-scale market are also greatly reduced.
The automotive industry is a pillar industry in China and a sustainable industry in the world. In the face of the huge technology, capital and brand impact brought by foreign multinational automotive companies, if we do not adopt corresponding innovation strategies, we will not only be passive in the near future, but also more likely to fall into the economic crisis in the long run. In order to change the “hollowing out†phenomenon of China’s auto industry and avoid the mistakes of Brazil’s industrial development, the emergence of a “Latin Americanization†economic crisis is eliminated, and the Chinese auto industry urgently needs to innovate.
Third, the significance of China's auto industry innovation and "two rights" optimization measures
1. The significance of China's auto industry innovation is the need for future economic control. In the face of the huge technology, capital and brand impact brought by foreign multinational automotive companies, if we do not adopt corresponding innovation strategies, we will not only be passive in the near future, but also more likely to fall into the economic crisis in the long run. The fierce competition in the international market and the participation of transnational capital, “hollowing out†will lead to the loss of industrial control rights, control of the industrial economy, and ultimately economic turmoil. People’s employment difficulties, declining living standards, and social instability will increase. Therefore, in order to grasp the control power of China's future automotive industry and economy and ensure the long-term stable development of China's economy, we must vigorously implement industrial innovation projects.
The second is the need for future industry linkage development. The automobile industry is a representative industry in the country's industrial level and has a huge associated role. However, the new generation of automotive technology has a powerful driving role in driving the development of modern high technology. In the United States, for example, it is precisely because of the huge synergy of the automobile industry that the United States has always been at the core in the transformation of the four pillar industries from the 1980s to the 1990s. The United States has adopted the "PNGV" plan and the "Freedom Car" plan. Continue to consolidate the pillar role of the automotive industry. The revolutionary technological achievements created by the huge automotive science and technology research team in the United States have transformed the tens of thousands of cars in the world, and have driven the development of industries such as steel, petroleum and other energy, non-ferrous metals, chemicals and electronics, and will eventually lead to The major changes in the entire industrial production structure.
The new generation of automotive technology not only has a significant connection with China's economy and technology, but also has an extremely important role in the sustainable development of China's auto industry. The new generation of automotive technologies independently developed in China can not only sustain and promote the sustainable development of China’s auto industry and form a strong international competitiveness through energy conservation, less (or no) pollution, new materials, new energy, and new technologies, and it will start China’s The potential family car market will drive sustainable economic development. At the same time, this overall technology will also support the conversion of China's motorcycle industry to mini-vehicles, laying a good foundation for the sustainable development of the Chinese motorcycle industry. The development of a new generation of cars will also greatly promote the improvement of traffic management and road conditions in China and the rational development of urban construction. All countries in the world have demonstrated this without exception.
The future of the world is in the hands of innovators. Whoever has mastered the most critical technologies will be the future winner. China's implementation of the "National Automobile Innovation Project" can not only improve the international competitiveness of China's auto industry, but also will effectively promote the development of China's high-tech and the transformation of traditional industries.
The third is the need to obtain long-term market benefits. With the world auto market becoming saturated, China's auto market has a good momentum of development and has great potential for development. If you do not implement automotive innovation projects, you will not be able to form an independent advantage in the future auto industry. You will lose the market and lose the huge benefits you deserve. You will control the development of the car industry with great economic support in the hands of foreign multinational corporations. What is the loss to our country’s economy? Therefore, in order to obtain long-term market interest and create better economic conditions for China’s national construction and improvement of people’s living standards, innovation in the automobile industry is imperative.
The fourth is the need to improve the country’s competitiveness. Under the development trend of world economic integration, China has formed a certain comparative advantage in the international division of labor system and has become a global manufacturing base for many products. However, the comparative advantage of the country based on cheap labor and high energy and raw material consumption has obvious vulnerability and is difficult to last. Therefore, accelerating the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure and taking the road of new industrialization have become our inevitable choices. Innovation is the source and driving force of economic development. Japan and South Korea successfully avoided the “Latin American phenomenon†in the development process. The reason is that they have formed relatively strong industrial innovation capabilities. In their economic development, it is precisely this kind of strong industrial innovation ability advantage that has replaced the low price advantage of the factor of production, so that the national competitive advantage can always be maintained.
2. "Two Rights" Optimization Suggestions "Two Rights" refers to the equity of equity joint ventures and product intellectual property rights. The essence of autonomous development of the auto industry is to possess capital control rights and independent intellectual property rights. Through the correct handling of the relationship between controlling shareholding and intellectual property rights, China's auto industry will eventually achieve its own development. Of course, the road of self-development will be a spiral, gradual and long-term development process, and its ultimate goal is to achieve a firm control of the automobile industry in the process of economic development.
First, equity control is the key to development. Practice has proved that social production and reproduction are inseparable from capital. Capital has enormous spontaneous power in economic operation. It is a key factor in the market economy and is a very active, active and dynamic endogenous element. variable. Capital, as an indispensable element of the production economy, determines the development and progress of social production, which in turn determines the development and progress of the entire society. The essence of self-value-added and unlimited expansion of capital is the internal driving force for companies to actively accumulate, expand reproduction, and seek long-term development. Whether or not to have control over capital will directly determine the auto industry’s ability to organize, manage, and use capital to realize value-added value, profitability, and profit distribution.
Second, intellectual property control is the key to the development. The modern automobile industry is shifting from capital-intensive to technology-intensive. In the new situation of scientific and technological progress and the rapid development of economic globalization, one of the focuses of international competition is intellectual property rights. Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out in the report of the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party that when it comes to economic construction and reform of the economic system, it specifically mentioned the work of intellectual property rights. He emphasized that we must encourage scientific and technological innovation, grasp core technologies and have a number of independent intellectual property rights in key areas and at the forefront of technological development. At present, China’s auto companies have entered into joint ventures with foreign auto giants. Although most domestic companies are still struggling to maintain a 50% stake, due to the lack of independent intellectual property rights, the domestic market is basically monopolized by foreign brands. In fact, the control of the joint venture has been controlled by multinational corporations. Our auto industry has experienced a serious separation of the “two rights†situation. This situation will inevitably lead to the control of industrial development and pose serious hidden dangers to the development of China’s auto industry. The development of joint ventures at home and abroad shows that emphasizing more than 50% of the controlling stakes does not have much practical significance for a party with no technical advantage. The existing joint venture fully proves this point.
According to the two elements of equity and intellectual property, the development model of the industry can be defined, and four modes of “Chinese-owned holding type, Chinese-owned holding type, foreign-owned holding type, and foreign-owned leading type†can be established.
"China-led" will be the ideal model for the development of China's auto industry. Joint venture Chinese companies can have a certain foundation in terms of equity (including market networks), and they can also have advantages in intellectual property. Enterprises have independent core technologies. , brand and other independent development rights.
"Foreign-funded-type" is the most passive situation in China's joint ventures. It is second only to the concession of equity, and it does not possess its own intellectual property rights. The development of enterprises will have to rely on foreign parties, and the ultimate development The outcome will be a complete industrial passive dependence.
"Chinese-funded holding type" means that a Chinese joint venture company holds more shares in the equity than the other party, or that it has control over capital; however, the company does not possess its own intellectual property rights and does not have the ability to independently develop. This type of joint venture may be initially controlled and gradually forced to retreat from equity, and companies gradually lose the foundation for independent development.
"Foreign-holding type" means that the joint venture Chinese company is less in the equity than the other party's shares, but has its own intellectual property rights. At present, China's auto companies basically have no control over intellectual property. If you have independent intellectual property rights, your company will have a strong ability to compete. In the end, it may also gradually move toward autonomous development.
At present, China's auto companies have entered into joint ventures with foreign auto giants. Although most domestic companies are still trying to maintain a 50% stake, due to the lack of independent intellectual property rights, the actual control of the joint venture has been controlled by multinational corporations. The domestic market is also basically monopolized by foreign brands. Our auto industry has experienced a serious separation of the “two rights†situation. This situation will inevitably lead to the control of industrial development and pose serious hidden dangers to the development of China’s auto industry.
The autonomous development of the automobile industry must possess "two rights", and the control of "two rights" is dynamic. The development of joint ventures at home and abroad shows that emphasizing more than 50% of the controlling stakes does not have much practical significance for a party with no technical advantage. However, in the process of development, the important role of equity can not be ignored.
Without its own core technology and without its own brand, companies cannot form their own core competitiveness, and it is difficult to participate in international competition. The pillar industry cannot be the pillar. The quantity, quality, ability and level of ownership of independent intellectual property rights have become important indicators reflecting the competitiveness of a company. Without their own intellectual property rights, the development of control of the brand and the company became a "castle in the air." Judging from the strategic objectives of foreign automotive multinationals investing in China, the purpose of their joint ventures and cooperation is to use their intellectual property rights to gradually control their shareholdings to share more profits. In the era of technological competition, the importance of intellectual property is increasingly evident in the technology-intensive automotive industry. The controlling stake in capital is the basis for the auto industry to achieve independent development; and the autonomous intellectual property rights reflect the auto industry's ability to achieve independent development. Only with the foundation, but without the ability to develop independently, will be phased out in the competition; while having the ability to develop independently, it will not be able to create greater benefits for the country and the enterprise, thus making the capital's rights and capital's benefits weakened. Therefore, for the Chinese auto industry, only the control of “two rightsâ€, namely, equity and intellectual property rights, can ultimately control the auto industry’s control over economic development.
Equity and intellectual property rights determine the true dominance of industrial development. Only based on equity and with intellectual property as the core,
Only by optimizing the development of the “two rights†can we really improve the overall competitiveness of the automobile industry, grasp the initiative of the development of the automobile industry, and make China’s automobile industry embark on the road of independent development.
The globalization of the economy, the knowledge of resources, and the advantages of primary elements such as labor costs and resources in China will soon be lost. With the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, the problem of resource shortage will become more prominent. The industrialized countries that account for 15% of the world's population currently consume 60% of the world's energy. China's GDP accounted for about 4% of the world's GDP in 2001, but the proportion of oil consumption is as high as 7.4%, raw coal 31%, and steel. 27%, alumina 25%, cement 40%. Innovation is particularly important for China's industrial development. Only by continuously implementing product innovation and promoting industrial innovation can we maintain the country’s comparative advantage. The enterprise is the main body of innovation, but unfortunately, at present, most of the large-scale enterprises in China, including automotive companies, lack the mechanisms, power, and capabilities for long-term development.
The vigorous development of the automobile industry in developed countries such as the United States cannot be separated from the governmental organizations’ strong support for new-generation automobiles in terms of capital. It is under this kind of support and innovation that the US automobile industry has driven all-round leaps in various basic industries. . After large-scale opening to foreign investment from the 1980s to the 1990s, Brazil’s current industries such as the automobile industry, information, machinery manufacturing, rubber and plastics, telecommunications, food, medicine, and home appliances have been controlled by foreign capital. Among the top 100 Brazilian companies, foreign investment accounts for nearly half. The 15 largest banks in Brazil account for 40% of foreign investment. However, after China and other low-cost big countries have opened up to the outside world, multinational companies have turned their investment from Latin America to China. This major global industrial shift directly led to Latin American financial crisis and economic recession. In Latin America and other countries, it is precisely due to excessive dependence on foreign investment and industrial development that lacks innovation, which has led to the continuous decline of the Latin American economy.
Lessons learned, the teacher of later generations. China's auto industry urgently needs full innovation.