It has been more than a month since the official implementation of the National IV emission standard nationwide. In interviews with multiple automotive urea companies, a reporter from Commercial Vehicle News learned that although the sales of automotive urea in January did not meet the expected target and the overall market growth was slow, the companies still consider 2015 as the year of development for automotive urea.
Automotive urea companies are optimistic about 2015
Slow growth in January, companies remain optimistic
Entering 2015, the domestic economic environment remained sluggish, and the sales of commercial vehicles, which are closely related to the economic situation, did not show any improvement, resulting in a lower than expected demand for automotive urea. Liu Ming'an, Deputy General Manager of Liaoning Rundi Automotive Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., analyzed the reasons for the slow overall market growth of automotive urea in January.
Regarding this, Qin Jian, the general manager of Jiangsu Kelansu Automotive Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., also expressed the same view. He added, "Due to the cold weather in January, many construction projects were suspended, and the amount of urea required for construction vehicles also decreased
Despite an unfavorable start to the year, companies remain optimistic about the overall situation of the automotive urea market in 2015.
Liu Ming'an analyzed that after entering March, with the arrival of the traditional peak season for truck sales, the automotive urea market will usher in a period of rapid growth.
Liu Ming'an's optimism has received support from other automotive urea companies.
Qin Jian pointed out, "According to my estimation, the demand for automotive urea in 2015 will grow rapidly by 3-6 times compared to 2014
According to enterprise data analysis, the demand for automotive urea in the market was estimated to be around 3 million tons in 2015, and conservatively estimated to be between 2.5 million tons and 2.8 million tons. Xia Chaoyong, General Manager of Yitong Environmental Protection Technology (Xiamen) Co., Ltd., also expressed the same view.
● Accelerate the layout to meet the challenges of 2015
As the first year of the implementation of China IV emission regulations, 2015 was also a year for automotive urea companies to seek development. Xia Chaoyong clearly stated in an interview that in addition to the three production bases in Fujian and Hubei regions, Fujian Yitong will also add one new factory in each of the northern and southwestern regions in 2015 to meet the huge market demand.
Enterprises that expand production capacity and actively layout include Jiangsu Kelansu.
In 2015, our work will be carried out in a multidimensional and three-dimensional manner. In terms of factory layout, the factory located in Tianjin will be built. In addition, the construction projects of the southern factory are also being intensively arranged, and it is expected that 10 factory projects will be implemented by the end of the year to solve the problem of logistics costs. Qin Jian said, "In terms of channel layout, we will accelerate the layout of the vehicle factory and social channels, and also strengthen cooperation with gas stations to promote products to the market in multiple aspects
Our current channels are mainly focused on purchasing from vehicle manufacturers and repair stations, supplemented by agent sales models. In 2015, the company will increase the scale of product agents on the existing basis and gradually penetrate downwards. The product layout will cover terminal sales outlets such as the automotive market and auto parts cities. Of course, the layout of gas stations is also our focus, and this part of the business is progressing rapidly, "Liu Ming'an told a reporter from Commercial Vehicle News.
Fujian Yitong's product sales strategy is also quietly undergoing a transformation.
This is reflected in product packaging, "Xia Chaoyong pointed out." Currently, our products are mainly in small packaging. In the future, with the increase of large logistics companies and enterprise users, products in large packaging will gradually be favored by the market. At the same time, as an environmental protection enterprise, reducing resource consumption during the production of small packaging is also a social responsibility. In addition, we have developed urea related refueling equipment for vehicles, which is very convenient for large packaging products. It is expected that the proportion of large packaging products will increase from 5% in 2014 to 20% in 2015
Difficulties persist, and enterprises seek development
According to reports from automotive urea companies, although 2015 was a year of development for automotive urea, the company still faced many difficulties.
Qin Jian stated in an interview that the National IV emission standard has been officially implemented nationwide, but users are still unwilling to voluntarily add urea, and there is still prejudice against adding urea to vehicles, believing that it invisibly increases the cost of use and leads to a low refueling rate.
Liu Ming'an also pointed out that due to the low entry threshold and large market space of automotive urea, market competition has become increasingly fierce, product prices have repeatedly fallen, and enterprises are facing difficulties such as meager profits.
Nowadays, there are some unscrupulous enterprises in the market that are driven by profit to produce counterfeit and inferior products, seriously disrupting the development of the industry, "said Liu Ming'an.
Faced with challenges, automotive urea companies have also developed strategies to address them.
Xia Chaoyong emphasized, "Yitong will always adhere to the principle of 'putting myself first', continuously improve its own construction, enhance product quality, improve sales and service network construction, accelerate the research and development speed of new products, and provide users with more convenient and high-quality solutions for the use of automotive urea
I think the first problem to be solved is user bias. While ensuring product quality, we need to increase publicity efforts to help users understand the benefits of using automotive urea and cultivate their correct usage habits. If users accept it, the door to the market will naturally open, "Qin Jian told a reporter from Commercial Vehicle News.
Liu Ming'an, on the other hand, called on relevant national departments to strengthen market supervision, curb disorderly competition, clean up the market environment, and help the healthy and sustainable development of the automotive urea industry.
