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In recent years, the international market has been increasingly enthusiastic about four-wheel vehicles, and my country's four-wheel low-speed electric vehicle industry has obvious advantages in international competition, and many car companies have "gone overseas". However, in July, the US Department of Commerce announced an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation on "low-speed passenger vehicles" imported from China, casting a shadow on the bright prospects of my country's four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles "going overseas". In this regard, how should China's four-wheel low-speed electric vehicle industry face this crisis? Can it seize foreign trade opportunities and release more industrial potential?"Old Man's Music" triggers "Global Music"Data shows that the overseas market for four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles is vast. In 2022 and 2023, the global four-wheeled vehicle market will maintain a market size of 70 billion to 80 billion for two consecutive years; from 2023 to 2029, the global market will maintain an annual compound growth rate of 8.4%, and will reach a market size of nearly 130 billion around 2029, which is about 25 times the domestic market size in 2023. After that, the world will still maintain an annual growth rate of 5% to 9%. At present, a global market pattern has been formed led by the three major regional markets of North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe, among which the European market has the strongest growth.It can be seen that the low-speed electric vehicles, which are called "old man's music" in China, are popular as "global music". Comprehensive analysis shows that it is mainly because the low-speed electric four-wheel vehicles in China are cost-effective and have a wide range of applications. On a foreign video website, an American blogger showed the Chinese four-wheel electric vehicle he bought for $3,000. Although it is not good-looking, it has all the configurations such as air conditioning, reversing images, leather seats, etc., and can drift on the spot. The price of the same type of golf carts in the United States is more than doubled, and the functions may not be as complete as those of the Chinese four-wheel electric vehicles.The humble "Laotoule" has stood out in the international competition, and behind it is the strong strength of Made in China. According to the leading domestic low-speed electric four-wheeled vehicle company, the company attaches great importance to product quality and performance, and continues to increase investment in research and development. The product is getting rid of the "low-end" stereotyped positioning. Lane keeping, automatic parking, electronic handbrake, reversing and uphill assist based on low configuration, as well as automatic emergency braking, automatic parking, blind spot detection, and traffic signal recognition technology have matured and are gradually being applied, and the research and development of unmanned driving technology for four-wheeled vehicles has been started. "my country's four-wheeled vehicle technology research and development capabilities are at the global leading level, and it has the ability and level to lead the development of the global four-wheeled vehicle industry."Opportunities and challenges coexistmy country's four-wheel vehicle industry has long formed a complete industrial chain. According to statistics, there were about 1,000 four-wheel vehicle manufacturers in China at its peak, and there are still more than 200 manufacturers at present. At the same time, there are 30,000 supporting enterprises in the industrial chain, which can provide various types of parts to meet the requirements of different manufacturers, and the supporting system is complete.However, for a long time, my country's four-wheeled vehicles and their industries have not been able to obtain legal status, industrial policies have been unstable, traffic management has been disordered, and industrial security has been endangered. As a result, many domestic car companies have turned to exploring overseas markets.Many countries and regions in the world have given four-wheel vehicles a legal status. For example, the United States defines it as a "low-speed vehicle", Japan describes it as a "super-small vehicle", and the European Union describes it as a "light four-wheel vehicle". In terms of technical specifications, the European Union implements a two-level management of light four-wheel vehicles: the L6e level has a maximum speed of 45 kilometers per hour; the L7e level has a maximum speed of 90 kilometers per hour. The United States manages all low-speed vehicles as the same type, with a maximum speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour.Therefore, the "going overseas" of domestic four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles is both a helpless move and a "new path". However, as enterprises and industries continue to seek new growth points, new challenges are also coming one after another.It is precisely because of the hot sales that my country's four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles have aroused the vigilance of the US Department of Commerce. According to the figures released by the US Department of Commerce, in 2023, the amount of related products imported by the United States from China reached 440 million US dollars. This threatens the interests of related domestic automakers in the United States. The "American Personal Transportation Manufacturers Alliance" stated that the US industry is "threatened with significant damage." The US Department of Commerce is currently conducting a "double-reverse investigation" and is expected to make a preliminary anti-subsidy ruling on September 13 and a preliminary anti-dumping ruling on November 27.A leading domestic low-speed electric four-wheel vehicle company said that the industry is watching closely and some small and medium-sized enterprises have slowed down their pace of "going overseas".Further unleashing industry potentialThe vast market for four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles means huge potential. How to further enhance the overseas market competitiveness of four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicles and unleash the industry's potential is also the focus of attention from all walks of life and a research topic for relevant experts.Bi Fengshu, member of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, chairman of the Huai'an Municipal Committee of the China Democratic League, and vice chairman of the Huai'an Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, suggested that relevant enterprises should strengthen international market research, actively use third-party institutions, build foreign trade platforms, strengthen professional services, and create a good foreign trade environment for product exports and occupation of international markets. The focus should be on international product certification, multilingual customer support, fast-response after-sales service, product transportation risks, product design that meets the target country, and the application of foreign patents. The focus should be on gathering the efforts of industry enterprises to strengthen the attention and support of top-level design.Xuzhou's four-wheeled low-speed electric vehicle industry is in a leading position in China. Gong Zhigang, member of the Xuzhou CPPCC and chairman of the Fengxian CPPCC, believes that it is necessary to strengthen international market research and judgment, actively play the advantages of the industry, expand the markets of developed countries and regions, explore and cultivate markets in underdeveloped regions such as Africa, and actively create a good external environment for electric vehicle foreign trade. In view of the fact that most foreign trade enterprises currently conduct domestic research and development, production, and manufacturing, and sell overseas through online sales, we should increase the cultivation of overseas CKD factories, overseas warehouses, and overseas after-sales channels from the policy level to provide a stable platform and guarantee for enterprises to go overseas.Lu Yong, head of the Jiangsu Private Economy United Front Research Collaborative Innovation Base, also pointed out that at present, four-wheel vehicles are facing challenges such as product legalization difficulties, industry compliance difficulties, and the continuous expansion of policy control areas and the continuous contraction of industries. Without a stable industrial environment and domestic trade environment, it is difficult to cultivate foreign trade competitiveness, which is contrary to the national policy of stabilizing foreign trade and cultivating new foreign trade momentum. Clarifying policy orientation, standardizing industrial development, and improving regulatory mechanisms are the only way to support the foreign trade of the four-wheel vehicle industry.
XINDA