The "disappearance" of the Beijing Auto Show

Four years ago, the Beijing Auto Show stumbled into people's sight in September. At that time, the uncertainty under the mask incident caused major car companies to disrupt their communication rhythm to varying degrees, resulting in Beijing losing its original luster.

Four years later, the car market has dispelled the haze of the black swan incident, but it has also changed its past appearance. In the ultra-competitive and normalized price war in the car market, gritting one's teeth and pushing forward, experiencing ups and downs to make a living, has become the daily life of people in the automotive industry. The 18th Beijing International Auto Show with the theme "New Era, New Cars" is coming as scheduled against this backdrop.

Four years have left long tracks in the car market, with companies dancing with the times and the market advancing in its unpredictable nature. Some gain while others lose, some meet while others part ways. Now they finally have the opportunity to gather at the Beijing Auto Show again, to express their feelings and talk about their aspirations.

However, the car market is cruel, and not all those who long to meet can appear in Beijing at the end of April.

The International Exhibition Center in Shunyi District is surrounded by congested traffic, which excludes any "idle people." Even if you are determined to enter the exhibition hall, you will have to endure one test after another, climb over obstacles, and face ridicule, cold stares, and unexpected blows before reaching this exhibition center.

People and businesses are alike in this regard. Those companies that have not overcome obstacles have become the abandoned children of the times, hidden beneath the sands of the era.

According to the exhibitor map, compared with the previous two auto shows, more than 10 brands that participated independently in the previous show have skipped this year's Beijing Auto Show. These include GAC Group, WM Motor, Horizon Robotics, Qoros, GAC Mitsubishi, GAC Fiat Chrysler, GAC Acura, Subaru, SAIC Volkswagen Skoda, Dongfeng Citroen, Dongfeng Peugeot, FAW Pentium, Tesla, Aston Martin, and Maserati.

These brands include independent and joint venture brands, covering traditional fuel companies, new energy companies, and ranging from affordable cars to ultra-luxury cars. With the exception of Tesla, Aston Martin, and Maserati, most of them have encountered more or less significant problems, and some have even closed down or exited the Chinese market.

First, let's talk about Tesla.

It was not surprising to many that Tesla was absent from the Beijing Auto Show. The last time Tesla participated in a domestic A-level auto show was three years ago at the Shanghai Auto Show, where there was a roof rights protection incident. At that time, I also complained about this absurd drama in the article "When Tesla Violently Removed the Rights Protection Woman, the Car Was Entering the Golden Age."

Although Tesla's absence from the auto show has nothing to do with the rise and fall of the company, as the global electric car giant, Tesla is indeed facing the biggest challenge in its history.

Data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Tesla's global cumulative delivery volume was 387,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 8.5%. This is the first time in nearly four years that Tesla's quarterly delivery volume has declined year-on-year, and it is also the worst performance in the past five quarters.

Before this, market institutions expected Tesla to deliver 457,000 vehicles in the first quarter, but the actual delivery volume fell far short of this expectation, even raising doubts among investors.

At the same time, since entering 2024, Tesla has also faced global layoffs and forced price reductions, which can be described as significant pressure. According to the newly released financial data, Tesla's total revenue in the first quarter was only $21.3 billion, a 9% year-on-year decline, failing to meet Wall Street's expectation of over $22.2 billion.

GAC, WM Motor, Skywell, and Qoros were absent from the Beijing Auto Show due to operational issues.

Take GAC for example, as the first car company to announce a production halt after the Chinese New Year, news of the shutdown was announced at an internal meeting in February. This was followed by the release of a related plan for compensating departing employees, and Ding Lei's public apology, confirming the rumors.

In order to stabilize the teetering company, GAC started live streaming to sell steaks, and news of visits to Changan Automobile and subsequent announcements of merger agreements with Changan, Avita, and other car companies followed. However, the future of GAC remains a mystery, and they have no intention of participating in the Beijing Auto Show.

Other companies like Weima have already fallen into a serious debt crisis; Tianqi's suspension of production was reported last year; GAC Motor has accumulated more than 1 billion yuan in executions... With the reshuffling of the domestic car market and the increasingly fierce competition in the new energy field, as the old pattern is broken and new business models are established, more good money is needed to drive out bad money.

In addition, joint ventures and import car companies such as GAC Mitsubishi, GAC Fiat Chrysler, GAC Acura, Subaru, SAIC Volkswagen Skoda, Dongfeng Citroen, and Dongfeng Peugeot were absent from this year's Beijing Auto Show.

GAC Mitsubishi has completed its business name change in the first quarter of this year, and the original factory has been taken over by Evergrande; GAC Fiat Chrysler and GAC Acura have already exited the Chinese market; SAIC Volkswagen Skoda, Dongfeng Citroen, and others are on the verge of danger, with occasional rumors of delisting.

Apart from the above-mentioned car manufacturers, Aston Martin and Maserati also did not make an appearance at this year's Beijing Auto Show.

Of course, as super luxury brands, Aston Martin and Maserati's absence is not due to operational issues. However, an undeniable fact is that the current appeal of super luxury brands to Chinese wealthy individuals is continuously declining.

Data shows that in 2023, the overall sales of the super luxury market decreased by 14%, marking the first decline in nearly five years. Apart from McLaren, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin all experienced year-on-year declines, most of which were in the double digits.

As mass consumer products, their brands are well known, and whether they appear at the auto show has little impact on their brand promotion and sales performance. For example, Aston Martin sold 532 cars in China last year, but few people would go to the auto show to pick up an Aston Martin. On the contrary, they have to bear high costs such as booth, transportation, and manpower, which is not worth the loss.

In summary, there are many reasons for the absence of car companies at the Beijing Auto Show, and it is not all due to poor management. In addition to the imminent demise of some companies like High Moral Weimar, Tesla and some luxury brands do not value the influence of the auto show and are focused on reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Because it is reported that the booth prices at this year's Beijing Auto Show are not low, many companies consider the fierce competition in the current car market and their own development situation, and hope to invest resources in places that can effectively increase sales.

However, it must be acknowledged that some of them will reappear in the center of the auto show stage in the future, while others will never appear on the sales chart again. After all, the car market is cruel, and not all those who aspire to the peak can appear at the peak as they wish.