In the SUV, which was a two-year-old Suzuki car, the voice of pop singer Dao Lang, who is now popular, is echoed. "The sound of this car does not seem too good." The reporter noticed a problem.
"Prepared to be eliminated, for subwoofer, Sapphire's." Xiaoji said that he prepared to use the full set of 6-disc CD system to equip his own car.
It is said that Sapphire, known as the "first brand of European car audio," has recently accelerated its pace of entry into the Chinese market. Xiaoji is very happy. His friend Xiao Wang is more interested in another news: Not long ago, Japan's Sony Corporation has just released six models of car audio products for the Chinese market.
However, not all people like these car audio enthusiasts are so obsessed with imported car stereos. The boss of a car audio production company lamented that business is getting worse and worse. When he talked to reporters about these things, he couldn't stop sighing.
Recently, the first China (International) car audio industry development forum was held in Shanghai. Representatives of professional authorities and merchants from the domestic and international automotive industry, car audio industry and electronic technology industry sat down together to discuss the status quo and development trends of China's car audio. Many people are concerned that for many domestic automobile manufacturers, there is no opportunity for the car audio market? How great is it?
10% aftermarket: newly developed "virgin land"
A market that can't be ignored in car audio is the aftermarket. Many car audiophiles or enthusiasts are not satisfied with the original audio after buying a car. They must choose according to their own preferences. In foreign countries, car users often regard the car as a mobile entertainment place and are very particular about the selected audio.
"The entry of foreign brands has indeed put pressure on domestic manufacturers, but it cannot be said that there will be no chance. In fact, based on my experience, domestic companies still have a comparative advantage in the car audio market, especially in the aftermarket. Great opportunity.†Mr. Yan of Fengshen Automobile Company told reporters that he had worked on audio sales for many years at Alpine and had a deep understanding of the car audio market.
“It's not an exaggeration to describe China's car audio aftermarket with 'virgin'. Indeed, so far almost all internationally renowned car audio brands have landed in China, but less than 10% of domestic car users Replaced the original audio equipment. This is compared with the scale of 70% of the after-sales market in developed countries, it is really trivial." An industry source told reporters.
The reporter learned that in the domestic automotive audio OEM market, several large multinational companies almost hold the entire market share, and this market is known as the "oligopoly" market. Domestic companies basically do not have any advantage in this market. Because auto manufacturers generally choose a fixed brand support, it is difficult for other brands to squeeze in.
Last year, China's OEM-supported car audio market, the annual demand is about 5 million units, while the national car audio sales total more than 4 billion yuan. Experts believe that the current scale of the domestic car audio aftermarket is still relatively small and there is great potential to be tapped.
It is reported that the major goals of the world's larger car audio manufacturers are for the aftermarket. In the aftermarket of domestic car audio, Japan's famous car audio professional manufacturers such as Alpine, Clarion, JVC, Sony, and Pioneer have already occupied half of the country.
“But this is still a small market. Due to the Chinese people’s consumption concept, it has determined that the retail market of China’s car audio is relatively limited. Therefore, one of the main directions for the future development of China’s car audio should be to guide the concept of consumers. Change, nurture and develop the retail market for car audio," said the industry source.
Key Technologies: Opening up the Market
Nowadays, when it comes to the key technologies of automobiles, people in the industry think of the key components in automobiles, such as engines, transmissions, and ABS. A person engaged in car audio development and design told reporters that in fact, the key technology of car audio is also very important, the reason why domestic companies can not occupy a place in the field of car audio, not mastering its core technology is an important reason.
“At present, China is still focusing on digital tuner recorders, CDs, etc. From the perspective of international trends, HD-CDs, automotive VCDs, automotive DVDs, MP3s, etc. are gradually becoming mainstream products. In China, these products have to mature. It will take a long time," said Fan, who works in car audio repair.
How important is the development of car audio technology? One person gave an example to reporters. According to him, Japan’s Alpine company had similar time to Panasonic and Pioneer’s entry into China, and the early market was very hot. However, due to the lack of attention to product development, especially in the world's more front-end 6-disc CD audio system is not enough investment, resulting in two years of market share has slipped.
Domestic companies do not possess the core technology of key components of automobiles. This is a pain in the depths of the entire Chinese automotive industry. And because of its unique characteristics, car audio makes domestic companies more vulnerable to core technologies.
“The international development trend of car audio is to shift from mechanical to electronic, that is to say, no longer use movements, but use memory cards instead of mechanical control and computer control. This is actually a good thing for domestic companies. "Ane of Fengshen Company is very optimistic about this.
"Why?" asked the reporter.
"In terms of audio computer software, China has a lot of talented people. Some of them are transferred from the electronics or electrical industries. This is a big advantage for us. In addition, through the software control of computers, modern car stereos can achieve many functions. Without having to redevelop it, this would be good for domestic companies, because we are not very weak in the development level of computer software."
"Even if it is an after-sales market, if there is no key technology, it will not be competitive enough. The eyes of consumers are bright," said a professional.
Self-owned brand: "Fuse" in the new round of market competition
In addition to key technologies, car audio is more often referred to as a brand.
"I know Kenwood, Panasonic, Pioneer, and... Sony." Xiao Gu is a car audio enthusiast known as a "fan". However, when asked about domestic audio brands, most of them are Japanese brands.
In the past two years, at large and small auto shows, people can often see the domestic car audio manufacturers known as the “Mission Armyâ€. In the small booth space, music is often loud and loud, and various new audio gadgets are also attracting the attention of the audience.
But when it comes to domestically produced car audio brands, how many people in the industry can call out? According to statistics, foreign brands have occupied more than half of the newly-developed "virgin lands" in China's car audio retail market.
Japanese brands have a market share of more than 50% in China's car audio market. Its main products are host computers and speakers, including Pioneer, Panasonic, Sony, Alpine, Clarion, JVC, and Kenwood. Most of these brands have set up factories or SKD assembly lines in China.
European and American brands include Philips, Siemens VDO, KICKER, Laifu, MT, JL, MA, and major earthquakes. Their market share in the Chinese market has reached 30% to 40%. Among them, American brands are known for their power amplifiers and speaker products, which are suitable for playing pop music and rock music. European brands pay great attention to sound quality, and their products are known for their pure and natural sound quality and meticulous design.
There are still less than 10% of the market left, leaving domestic domestic brands. At present, there are mainly Freeway (Flying Rhyme), Supersonic, Rui Sheng, Botu, Wan Hua Long, etc. These brands are all emerging brands.
Some experts believe that the brand will be the key to the success of domestic car audio companies, because the brand of car audio is one of the main factors that influence consumers to make purchase decisions. For domestic car audio companies, it is a good time to cultivate superior brands. Only by grasping market development opportunities and establishing, nurturing, and developing their own brands can they have a place in the market.
Some experts also believe that the loss of China's own brand has caused most of the Chinese car audio industry's industrial profits to be divided by foreign brands. At present, domestic agents have begun to operate the market independently, and some domestic independent brands have also emerged. The rise of this kind of power shows that the domestic car audio field has begun a new round of market competition and the original market system structure will be broken.