April light truck sales fell again, and the inventory has reached 630,000!

April truck production and sales data was released, and as expected, the entire truck market showed a sales waterloo. Light trucks are no exception. The sales in April were only 107,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 54.2%, the lowest sales in recent years. Under the influence of the epidemic, the development of the industry has become increasingly difficult.

When it comes to light truck sales hitting a new low in April, we believe that the main reasons are as follows.

First of all, the sales of light trucks fell sharply in April, and the impact of the epidemic will inevitably bear the brunt. Since March and April, the new crown epidemic has occurred frequently in many parts of the country. Changchun, Shanghai and other places have closed cities. The epidemic prevention and control policies across the country have been continuously extended, and transportation and logistics have been severely hindered. The reduction in the flow of goods will naturally affect the application scenarios of urban distribution. The main blue card SINOTRUK light truck brought a greater impact. In addition, many key sales areas of blue-brand light trucks are already in the epidemic risk control and control area, and sales and business activities cannot be carried out normally, which has a great impact on sales.

Secondly, after the official implementation of the new blue card regulations, many people still have a wait-and-see mentality. As we all know, the problem of blue-brand light trucks with large ton and small standard has a long history, and it cannot change the current status of vehicle use overnight. "We also want to respond to the national policy. The 2.1-meter-1 model of the Hehehui can't receive the compliant supply of goods at all. The market is full of overweight, ultra-wide and high-bar models of goods, but the compliant vehicles have no goods to pull." A HOWO card friend told us helplessly. In such a market environment, some car lovers who have their own car buying needs have to get into trouble. Buying compliant cars is afraid that they will not have the conditions for market competition in the next days. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles have become a pile of scrap metal.

Of course, the current overall logistics industry is in recession, which is not conducive to the rise in truck sales. The epidemic has affected the smooth flow of logistics, the international environment is complex and changeable, and the price of diesel has been raised for several rounds, but the price of freight has not risen significantly. Under the influence of multiple factors, it is difficult for everyone in the current freight industry. Someone once calculated that the freight rate of light trucks is about 3 yuan per kilometer, the oil price is nearly 8 yuan per liter, and the highway toll fee is about 40 yuan per kilometer. If there is no return shipment, you will have to lose money if you include the depreciation and the maintenance cost of the vehicle. The cargo owner calculates as two tons of cargo, and each ton-kilometer is 15 yuan. Ordinary cargo can't bear it at all. The truck itself is a means of production. If you can't make money, there will naturally be fewer and fewer people buying cars, and it's not surprising that sales have declined.

Judging from the current light truck market, the market performance in the first three quarters is particularly important for light trucks. As of May 2 this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has successively released three batches of product information on applications for extension of sales of inventory vehicles. So far, the number of light trucks and small and micro passenger vehicles with extended sales periods has reached 630,000. These vehicles need to be sold before September.

Last year, the sales of all-young cards were 2.11 million. Although it was not the highest sales year in the past, it was definitely in the forefront. Even in the market last year, 630,000 vehicles could reach 30% of the annual sales. Now that April has passed, the sales of light trucks totaled 574,000 units, which is far from the market performance of last year. In addition, the impact of the epidemic is difficult to completely eliminate in the short term, there are many variables in the international environment, and the contradiction between vehicles and goods is intensified. The large-scale inventory needs to be digested, and the pressure in the second half of the year is still great.

Of course, challenges and opportunities coexist. With the advancement of the dual-carbon goal and the tightening of overload control, there will be many market opportunities for blue-brand light trucks in the future.

The first is the development of new energy vehicles. In the first quarter of this year, the sales volume of light trucks was 467,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 20.7%. However, the sales volume of new energy light trucks reached 8,211 units, a year-on-year increase of 180%, achieving rapid growth against the trend. Recently, many provinces and cities such as Beijing and Tianjin have issued the transportation development and construction plan during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, and key arrangements have been made in optimizing and adjusting the structure of cargo transportation in the plan. Among them, Beijing pointed out that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, 100% of the logistics and distribution (excluding hazardous chemical transportation vehicles and cold chain transportation vehicles) of less than 4.5 tons of truck passes are new energy vehicles. Tianjin also issued a document saying that by 2025, the sales volume of new energy vehicles will be It accounts for about 25%, which is definitely a major opportunity for the development of new energy light trucks.

Secondly, although many car buyers are still waiting and watching in the short term, compliance with blue card light trucks must be the general trend. From the release of relevant national policies in recent years, mainstream media attention and local law enforcement dynamics, it is not difficult to conclude that overload and over-limit governance and maintaining a legal freight environment are the eternal themes. After the transition period ends in September this year, the light truck market will be comprehensive. Entering the era of compliant vehicles, with the continuous advancement of road inspections, vehicle inspections and other methods, illegal light trucks will gradually withdraw from the historical stage. The end of illegal light trucks will inevitably release the original capacity market, and the elimination and upgrading of vehicles will naturally promote the increase in sales of compliant light trucks.

In addition, with the improvement of people's living standards and the development of urban logistics, cold chain transportation has also developed by leaps and bounds in recent years. The new blue card regulations give special regulations for refrigerated trucks. In the continuous promotion of relevant policies to promote stable growth of consumption, the cold chain transportation market segment will also become the focus of various OEMs, thereby driving the increase in sales of light trucks.

Since CCTV exposed the large-ton and small-standard problem of blue-brand light trucks, the pains of the industry have continued after three years. Currently, the pressure on the industry is increasing due to the dual impact of the epidemic and new regulations, and everyone's life is difficult. However, we must clearly know that the transportation scene of blue-brand light trucks is directly related to the daily life of urban and rural residents, and is related to the national economy and people's livelihood. The market demand has always been there. Only by looking in the right direction and grasping the opportunity can we quickly welcome the spring flowers after the cold winter.