According to a report from Report Network, specialty vehicles, as an important branch of the automotive industry, play an irreplaceable role in various sectors of the national economy. In recent years, their development has been driven by market demand and policy guidance, while also facing challenges such as intensified competition and technological bottlenecks. Looking back, in 2023, the sales of specialty vehicles exceeded one million units, a year-on-year increase of 7.75%, and sales of new energy specialty vehicles saw explosive growth, surpassing 220,000 units, with a penetration rate increasing to 20.97%. These figures not only demonstrate the industry's achievements but also lay a foundation for future development. Looking ahead to 2025, the specialty vehicle industry is expected to experience many new changes in technological innovation, market expansion, and industrial collaboration, which is worth further exploration.
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1. Special automobile industry: clear classification, and the gap between China and foreign countries still exists
The "2024-2029 Global and Chinese Special Purpose Vehicle Industry Market Status Research and Analysis and Development Prospect Report" points out that according to the industry standard QC/T836-2010, special purpose vehicles are motor vehicles equipped with specific equipment, perform specific functions, and are used for special work. From the perspective of function and use, special operation vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks are equipped with special operation equipment and can perform specific operations; Transportation special vehicles are like vans and refrigerated trucks, which are used for cargo transportation to meet the transportation requirements of different goods. From the perspective of diversified social needs, special operation vehicles are used in specific occasions or extreme environments, trailers undertake tasks such as cargo transportation and turnover, and new energy special vehicles are powered by clean energy and have the advantages of zero emissions, which is an important direction for future development.
In recent years, the innovation ability of domestic special purpose vehicle enterprises has been improved, and the products have shown the trend of new energy, lightweight, intelligent and networked. However, compared with international markets such as Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, the domestic special purpose vehicle industry started late, has weak R&D capabilities, and insufficient product quality control, resulting in a lack of core competitiveness and difficulty competing with internationally renowned brands in the high-end market. At present, the export market of domestic enterprises is mainly concentrated in developing countries such as the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, and the penetration rate in developed markets in Europe and the United States is low.
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2. The development status of the special purpose vehicle industry: production capacity and market are complex
From the perspective of production capacity, the 2024 data shows that the number of special vehicle companies and trailer companies in the country will exceed 2,000, including 987 special vehicle companies, a decrease of 114 compared with the end of 2023. From 2018 to 2023, the number of new domestic special purpose vehicle companies increased sharply, with a total of more than 980 new ones, but the growth rate gradually slowed down, and the market of car companies tended to be saturated in the first half of 2024, and the number of car companies on sale plummeted. However, with the formation of a number of large-scale and powerful enterprises, the production capacity of special purpose vehicles has increased significantly.
In terms of the domestic market, the overall is still running at a low level. In 2020, the sales of our country's six categories of special purpose vehicles reached the highest point in nearly five years, at 1.63 million units, fell to 979,100 units in 2022, a decrease of 40 percentage points, and sold 1,054,900 units in 2023, an increase of less than 8 percentage points year-on-year from the lower base in 2022. Although the economic recovery and policy regulation have brought some sales boost since 2023, the market is still in a downturn, and the complexity of the global political and economic landscape has also increased the uncertainty of market recovery.
In terms of sales growth, although there was a decline in sales in August and December 2023, with a year-on-year decrease of 21.52% in August and a year-on-year decrease of 11.87% in December, the overall market trend is stable from the whole year of 2023 to the first half of 2024. Although there were fluctuations at the beginning of 2024, the market maintained growth driven by policy support and infrastructure construction, with average monthly sales from 2022 to 2024 and sales trends from February to June 2024 achieving slight positive year-on-year growth.
Market competition is becoming more and more fierce, and the sales of special purpose vehicles nationwide will reach 100% In 2023, the national special purpose vehicle sales will reach more than 1 million, and if calculated according to the number of car companies on sale of 1,000, the average annual sales of each company will be only 1,000 units, and the average annual sales will be lower after the expansion of the enterprise base. In the fields of semi-trailers, sanitation vehicles, and engineering, the formation of industry oligarchs has accelerated, and market competition is fierce. Overseas markets showed a positive trend in export volume, with the total number of special vehicle exports in our country reaching 36,000 units in 2023, an increase of 11,000 units compared with the same period in 2022, an increase of nearly 50% year-on-year. Exports showed seasonal characteristics, with monthly exports rising, and the second quarter was significantly higher, with exports peaking at 3,870 units in May and continuous growth in the following months. In 2023, Russia will become the core market for our country's special vehicle exports, accounting for 13.9% of the total annual exports, and the number of exports will increase from 3,073 units in 2022 to 5,012 units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 63.10%. New energy special vehicles are developing rapidly, with sales exceeding 220,000 units in 2023, an increase of 48.04% over the same period in 2022, and the penetration rate has crossed the milestone of 20% to reach 20.97%. In 2023, the battery swap model has developed rapidly in the field of pure electric special vehicles, with a wide range of battery swap pure electric special vehicle products, with sales reaching 2,706 units, a year-on-year increase of 58.62%, and the application prospects in the field of heavy-duty special vehicles are broad.
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3. The dilemma of the special purpose vehicle industry: competition, sales, strength and other problems are highlighted
With the increase in the number of domestic special purpose vehicle manufacturers, industry competition has further intensified. In the first half of 2024, the number of special vehicle sales companies decreased by more than 110 compared with the end of 2023, and the market living environment was harsh in the entire enterprise group with production qualifications, and the industry reshuffle and survival of the fittest accelerated. The special automobile industry has entered a reshuffle period, and the industry concentration has increased significantly. The leading enterprises have further expanded their market share by virtue of their scale, cost and brand advantages, the profit margin of ordinary special vehicle products has declined, the economic radius of enterprise sales has been shortened, and the difficulty of cross-domain sales has increased. SMEs have tight capital chains and face greater financial risks, and poor decision-making may lead to an existential crisis.
Although our country is the world's largest producer of special vehicles, its export volume has not been dominated by the industry. Export destinations are mainly concentrated in developing countries such as Southeast Asia and Africa, and few products have entered the developed markets of Europe and the United States, and the overall export competitiveness of the industry needs to be improved. In order to achieve long-term development, the domestic special vehicle industry clusters have shifted outward and exported on a large scale, resulting in intensified competition in overseas markets and gradually appearing in the phenomenon of "involution". Focusing on the Southeast Asian, African and Russian markets, the price war between Chinese special purpose vehicle companies has spread from domestic to overseas.
In 2023, there will be a total of 260 new energy special vehicle companies on sale in China, accounting for less than 1/4 of the total number of special vehicle companies on sale. Among them, there are 187 companies with annual sales of less than 100 vehicles, accounting for nearly 72%, and only 8 companies with annual sales of more than 10,000 vehicles, and the overall participation of industry enterprises is not high.
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4. Future Trends of the Special Vehicle Industry: Innovation and Collaboration, Market Expansion
Intelligent manufacturing and high-quality development are inevitable trends for the future of the special vehicle industry. Some companies have distinguished themselves during industry downturns by acquiring international brands, establishing global production bases and sales networks, integrating production elements, developing new productive forces, and improving product quality. In the future, more companies should learn from this model and advance towards high-quality development.
The special vehicle industry’s supply chain covers multiple fields and segments, making it crucial to promote close links and collaborative development between the innovation chain and the industrial chain. Companies across the upstream and downstream of the supply chain should strengthen communication and cooperation to achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages. This requires establishing comprehensive cooperation mechanisms with clearly defined responsibilities and benefits for all parties; enhancing information sharing and collaboration; improving decision-making and response speed; focusing on talent training and recruitment; actively carrying out international cooperation and exchanges; introducing cutting-edge technologies and management models to enhance global competitiveness.
Under the dual-carbon goals, there are huge development opportunities for new energy special vehicles. Analysis of the industry shows that some regions have boosted the development of local new energy special vehicle industries by implementing strong policy measures, thereby increasing market share and penetration of new energy vehicles. Special vehicle companies should seize this opportunity and ramp up research and application of new energy technologies.
Special vehicle companies need to strengthen their research on the markets, policies, and regulations of export destinations. Using cost-effective and high-quality products, they should explore international markets and build a strong brand image for Made in China. When entering different national markets, companies must conduct background research, understand local laws, regulations, and vehicle usage habits, and make localized adjustments.
Opportunities and challenges coexist in the development process of the special vehicle industry. Currently, the industry faces intense market competition, increasing sales difficulties, the need to enhance internal capabilities, oversaturation in overseas markets, and low participation in the new energy sector. However, there are also opportunities, including intelligent manufacturing, coordinated development of innovation and industrial chains, growth of new energy vehicles, and expansion into overseas markets. In the future, special vehicle companies should increase R&D investment, drive technological innovation and product upgrades, improve product quality and brand image, deepen market expansion, stay informed about industry policies, actively respond to challenges, seize development opportunities, and achieve steady and sustainable industry growth.
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