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Author: Janson
Editor: Zhihao

The joint venture car companies that once enjoyed great success can now not escape the "nightmare" of production cuts.

According to a report from Auto East on August 7, it has been observed that as of the first half of this year, domestic joint venture auto companies have been constantly reporting news of production line closures and annual output cuts.

According to statistics and estimates from Chedongxi,Honda、NissanThe scale of production cuts by joint venture automakers such as GM and Toyota may have reached millions.

Among these companies, GM's decline was the most obvious, producing only 207,000 new vehicles in the first half of this year, a year-on-year decline of 53.97%.

Among Japanese automakers, Nissan closed its Changzhou plant and reduced production by about 130,000 vehicles, accounting for 8.13%.

At the same time, Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Honda also closed production lines, reducing production by 50,000 and 240,000 vehicles respectively.

In general, with the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle market, traditional fuel joint venture automakers are facing relatively great challenges.

The above three car manufacturers have also chosen to reduce production and actively expand new energy production capacity.

1. SAIC-GM's production volume was halved in the first half of the year, resulting in great pressure from overcapacity

Judging from SAIC-GM’s production and sales report in June this year, SAIC-GM’s production in the first half of this year showed a significant decline.

From January to June 2024, SAIC-GM's cumulative production was about 207,000 vehicles, a decrease of 53.97% compared with the same period last year. This decline means that SAIC-GM's production this year is expected to be about 243,000 vehicles less than last year.

▲SAIC-GM's production and sales in the first half of 2024

Based on this trend, SAIC-GM's cumulative annual production in 2024 will most likely be reduced by 486,000 vehicles, approaching the level of 500,000 vehicles.

It is reported that the challenges faced by SAIC-GM mainly lie in the competitive disadvantages of its traditional fuel vehicles in the new energy vehicle market.

General MotorsBuick、ChevroletThe advancement of brands such as Benz and Cadillac in the field of new energy vehicles has been relatively slow, resulting in their market share being gradually eroded by competitors.

In particular, its Cadillac brand is also facing great pressure in the competition in the luxury car market.

As early as 2023, it was reported in the news that SAIC-GM's total production capacity in 2023 was about 1.9 million vehicles, but its actual output that year was only about 1.018 million vehicles, which means that SAIC-GM had nearly 900,000 vehicles of production capacity idle at the time.

This problem of low capacity utilization has further exacerbated the company's operating pressure.

At the same time, in order to cope with the pressure, SAIC-GM is also actively transforming to new energy. It is reported that it is building its third Autoneng super factory in Yantai, which is expected to start mass production in the first half of 2025.

In addition, as of press time, SAIC has not yet released its July production and sales report.

2. Honda and Nissan shut down production lines and strive to transform into new energy

Under strong competitive pressure from Chinese independent brands, Honda and Nissan's sales in the Chinese market have been declining for several consecutive months.

Honda's sales in China fell nearly 40% year-on-year in June, while Nissan is facing similar market pressure.

In response, Honda and Nissan have also made decisive adjustments in the Chinese market.

▲Honda China Factory

Among them, Honda plans to reduce its annual production capacity of fuel vehicles in China from 1.49 million to 1 million, which accounts for about 10% of its global production.

The adjustment reportedly includes the closure of two production lines of GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda, which will be closed or stopped in October and November this year respectively.

Among them, the GAC Honda factory mainly producesAccordThe annual production capacity of sedans is about 50,000 units, while the annual production capacity of Dongfeng Honda's plant is 240,000 units.

It can be seen that thanks to the export supply mission of GAC Honda's global models, the scale of its production cuts is relatively smaller than that of Dongfeng Honda.

It is reported that this move is one of the largest production cuts by Japanese brands in China.

▲Honda China responds to production cuts

In response to this, Honda responded to the production cuts. Honda China stated that the adjustment was to optimize production capacity and accelerate the electrification transformation.

Honda China also plans to build two new electric vehicle plants, one withGuangzhou AutomobileThe joint venture with Dongfeng produces electric models to make up for the reduction in production capacity.

Honda aims to start production at the two new plants later this year and expects to restore production capacity to 1.44 million vehicles.

▲Dongfeng Nissan Changzhou Plant

At the same time, Nissan Motor also announced the closure of its joint venture passenger car plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu, which mainly producesQashqaiThe annual production capacity is about 130,000 vehicles.

The factory went into production in November 2020, and it can be said that it was closed in less than four years.

It is reported that this is the first time that Nissan has closed a passenger car factory in China. After the closure of the Changzhou factory, the "Qashqai" models produced by the factory will be transferred to the Dalian factory for production.

At the same time, Dongfeng Nissan is also actively planning to produce e-power models in Wuhan.

It can be seen that in response to the reduction in production of fuel vehicles, several car companies have begun to "bet" on new energy.

Conclusion: Joint venture automakers actively respond to market challenges

In order to meet the challenges, joint venture automakers have all accelerated their transformation to new energy vehicles on the basis of reducing production, in order to regain competitiveness in the highly competitive market.

However, whether these efforts can effectively reverse the unfavorable situation currently faced by joint venture automakers remains to be further tested by the market.