“Red Star Automobile” was once a name full of imprints of the times. It once carried the glory of military manufacturing, but also experienced the confusion in the wave of marketization, and set off again to join the team of “new forces” in car manufacturing. Now, the re-defeat of Red Star Automobile has undoubtedly sounded the alarm for the market, and it has also triggered our deep thinking about whether the logistics vehicle market still needs “new forces”.
01 Examples of failures to transform “new forces”
enterNew energyIn the times, many traditional car companies have successfully transformed, and at the same time, a number of new car-making forces have taken advantage of the east wind of subsidies. However, during this period, there are also some brands that have not kept up with market changes in time, facing production stoppages, shortage of capital chains, and even on the verge of elimination, such as Red Star Automobile.
Red Star Automobile is one of the earliest state-owned car manufacturers in China, built in Beijing in 1960, moved to Xingtai in 1970, and launched the HX620 station wagon in 1966 became its iconic product. However, after the 90s, with the rise of private car companies and joint venture brands, the institutional shortcomings of Red Star Automobile gradually emerged, falling into the dilemma of single product and backward technology.
In 2004, Red Star Automobile was acquired by Shuanghuan Automobile and tried to transform into an SUV, but it ended in failure. In 2018, lithium battery material company Duofluorodo acquired Red Star Automobile,This is the direction of the red starNew energy vehiclesThe first attempt at transformationThe following year, the first micro electric vehicle “Red Star Shining X2” was launched, but the sales were mediocre and it is now discontinued, and it is difficult to find traces of this car in the second-hand market.
In 2023, Red Star Automobile will be acquired by Shanzi Hi-Tech and once again embark on a new journey of development. Its first product, BOX1, is a new energy urban logistics model.But so far, sales have been minimal.In 2024, Red Star Automobile’s cumulative sales of new energy logistics vehicles will only be 1,164 units.Cumulative sales from January to May 2025 will be 391 units, a decrease of 13% from the same period last year.
In recent years, although Red Star Automobile has adjusted its strategy,It claims that it is developing new models, focusing on market segments such as electric pickup trucks and logistics vehicles, but over time, there is still no news.
At present, although Red Star Automobile is still there, in today’s era of “involution”, Red Star, whether it is an old car company or a new car-making force, I am afraid that it is really powerless to fight back.
02 What kind of “new forces” does the market need?
Red Star Automobile’s second “folding” reflects the cruel elimination law of the new energy track, but it does not mean that the new energy logistics vehicle market no longer needs “new forces”. On the contrary, in the field of new energy logistics vehicles, the market urgently needs a group of “new forces” with innovative spirit and core competitiveness to provide more value for customers/users to promote the development of the industry.
The tool attributes of logistics vehicles make it difficult to increase the price space through brand premium or functional services like passenger cars.The core value of new energy logistics vehicles is more focused on practicality and cost-effectiveness.With customers highly sensitive to acquisition costs, price is a top consideration, while demand for vehicle performance and supporting services often takes a back seat.
This characteristic leads to the focus of competition in the logistics vehicle marketMore price-oriented, rather than value-added services or differentiated experiences.
At present, the new energy logistics vehicle market is in the dilemma of homogeneity and low-price involution, which is rooted in the solidification of car companies’ thinking, lack of innovation, and at the same time too short-sighted utilitarianism, and fail to be truly guided by user needs and product value.
In terms of product development, the benchmarking development model of fuel vehicles is still followed, resulting in serious homogenization. And the shortcomings of mileage and energy replenishment have not been really solved, but the standard of oil vehicles is used to make trams, which lacks the attractiveness of trade-in. In addition, car companies follow the trend and imitate what sells well, resulting in highly similar products, and finally can only rely on low price competition. In terms of distribution model, some car companies, channel dealers and other vicious competition dumping at low prices to achieve sales targets has undermined the healthy development of the industry to a certain extent.
As the core of the industrial chain, car companiesBuilding cheap and easy-to-use cars is fundamentalWe must return to the essence of the product, create technical barriers, and form core competitiveness, rather than relying on price wars to survive.
Tram Resources believes that the “new forces” urgently needed by the current market can be divided into two categories:
The first category is “new forces” with leading valueAt the same time, it boldly innovates models to create the industry’s first green capacity ecological platform (Green Huilian) that matches urban logistics scenarios, and has taken the lead in entering the ecological 3.0 era and can continue to lead in the industry.
The second category is “new forces” with subversive value, such as the rise of unmanned vehicle technology.Compared with fuel vehicles and ordinary new energy logistics vehicles that rely on drivers and are limited by labor costs, unmanned vehicles have the advantages of automation, cost reduction and efficiency increase, and all-weather operation.
However, in the short term, due to technological maturity, regulations and costs, unmanned vehicles are only the first to land in closed/semi-closed scenarios such as ports, mining areas, and park logistics. In the long run, unmanned vehicles are not only a technological upgrade, but also an innovation in the business model of the logistics industry. It is breaking the comfort zone of traditional car companies and forcing the industry to shift from “car manufacturing” to “car manufacturing + operation + data services” ecological competition. In the future, whether it can seize this trend will determine whether car companies become disruptors or are disrupted.
03 Conclusion
The market does not need “new forces”, but it does not need inefficient players who lack innovation and homogeneous competition. The core of future competition lies in technological breakthroughs and differentiated value, and only the “new forces” with leading or disruptive products can point out the direction of the industry from “price war” to “value war”.
