The cause of anti-monopoly investigation of auto parts: Japanese companies take the initiative to explain

On August 8, Guangqi Honda released official information, “Responding to the concerns of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission on the related parts and components of our company, and lowering the price of some parts and components.” At the same time, it is the same as Dongfeng Nissan in Guangzhou. GAC Toyota also released similar information.

Following an anti-monopoly investigation of luxury brands such as Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Jaguar Land Rover. On August 6, Li Pumin, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, publicly stated that the National Development and Reform Commission has completed the investigation of the implementation of the monopoly case of auto parts and bearings for 12 Japanese companies, and will impose penalties according to law.

According to the 21st Century Business Herald, the reporter learned from the authorities that the anti-monopoly investigation centered on parts and components was caused by the investigation of auto parts in the United States and Europe. Ten Japanese auto parts companies took the initiative to explain to the National Development and Reform Commission. The monopoly of the real situation, in order to protect themselves.

However, the situation of Japanese parts companies in China is different from that in the United States, because Japanese brands are managed with a very closed supply system, and the controllers of the parts chain are not parts companies but OEMs. The anti-monopoly in the United States is dominated by anti-parts companies to manipulate prices, and the domestic situation may be based on the investigation of the monopoly of the main engine factory and the joint monopoly of the parts and components enterprises.

On August 11, a senior dealer of a Japanese brand that has released the price of parts and components confirmed to the 21st Century Business Herald: "The current anti-monopoly investigation focuses on the price of parts and components, not the price of the whole vehicle or the outside world. The problem of pressure storage, tying and so on."

China follows Europe and America

"At present, there is no other aspect involved, focusing on the monopoly of parts prices." The above-mentioned dealers said that they have communicated with the OEM, but have not received formal notice of the price adjustment of parts, and it is not clear about the specific price adjustment range.

Why do anti-monopoly investigations on popular brands involve only a number of Japanese auto companies, but not German and American? In fact, according to the above-mentioned authoritative sources, the source is that after some Japanese parts and components companies accepted anti-monopoly penalties in the United States, they took the initiative to “confess” the illegal facts to the National Development and Reform Commission, and led a series of subsequent investigations.

Before the National Development and Reform Commission launched an anti-monopoly investigation, the US four-year anti-monopoly investigation of auto parts enterprises has entered the final stage, and many enterprises have been severely punished, and most of the enterprises involved are Japanese enterprises.

In September last year, after clarifying that nine parts suppliers based in Japan and two executives had participated in price manipulation, the US Department of Justice issued a total of $745 million in fines for these companies. These companies include Hitachi Automotive Systems, JTEKT, Sanye Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Seiko, T.RAD, Valeo Japan, and Yamashita Rubber.

In February of this year, Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone and the US Department of Justice reached an agreement to recognize that the manipulation of the sales price of auto parts violated the US Anti-Monopoly Law and agreed to pay the maximum fine of the anti-monopoly amount. $425 million.

According to the Detroit News, as of July this year, the US Department of Justice penalized 34 auto parts executives and 27 parts manufacturers, with fines of more than $2.3 billion.

Antitrust is not only carried out in the United States, but also in the European Union, such as Japan and Germany. In July last year, the EU anti-monopoly agency imposed penalties on Japan’s Yazaki, Germany’s Lenny, Japan’s Yasaki’s European subsidiary SY Systems Technology Co., Ltd. and Furukawa Electric’s four auto parts dealers, allegedly forming a monopoly alliance and manipulating product price.

The anti-monopoly investigations in Europe and the United States have not stopped since then. In March this year, six component suppliers confessed to the cartel alliance that had conspired to form a car bearing, including two European suppliers and three Japanese suppliers. Kaifu, Schaeffler, Seiko, NFC and NTT, Japan Seiko and NFC were fined 624 million euros respectively

At 39.6 billion euros, the company was fined 200 million euros.

In order to protect themselves, the out-of-control Japanese parts and components companies began to take active “investigation” measures in China. At the beginning of this year, Japan's parts and components companies took the initiative to explain the situation to the National Development and Reform Commission, hoping to obtain adaptation to tolerance clauses and mitigate penalties.

Whoever stands up and reports, who will be given a lighter punishment. There have been precedents in this round of anti-monopoly in the European Union. Japan’s Yazaki, Sumitomo Electric and Japan’s JTEKT have acted as “whistle-blowers” ​​and have taken the initiative to expose the monopoly of several other suppliers and have been exempted from punishment.

In China, there are also legal provisions for arbitrarily arbitrarily arguing. According to Article 46 of China's Anti-Monopoly Law, if the operator actively reports to the anti-monopoly law enforcement agency about the situation of reaching a monopoly agreement and provides important evidence, the anti-monopoly law enforcement agency may, at its discretion, reduce or waive the operator's Punishment. There are similar provisions in the Provisions on the Procedures for the Investigation and Administration of Monopoly Agreements and Abuse of Market Dominance in the Industrial and Commercial Administrations, which was formulated by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce in July 2009.

Breaking control of parts

Many people have doubts, whether it is Europe, America or China, why is the most extensive anti-monopoly component in Japan? The industrial background is that the Japanese parts industry is very developed, and even in the global market, high-value-added core components such as semiconductors and integrated circuits are controlled. China's auto parts are imported from Japan in large quantities. In 2013, the import volume reached US$9.58 billion, accounting for imports. The total amount is 27%.

In China, the reason why Japanese automakers are caught in the whirlpool center is that the parts supply systems of Japanese automakers such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan are relatively closed, and the supply chain system adopts the manufacturer's cultivation mechanism. The main engine factory not only purchases zero from the parts factory. Components, but also develop long-term training programs for component manufacturers to continuously improve costs, improve technology and quality.

As a result of this long-term model, there are often only one or two suppliers of parts and components of Japanese car companies, which are difficult to replace, and the parts supply system is relatively stable. Second, the main engine factory can control components more firmly. Businesses, even manipulate prices.

"The situation of Japanese parts companies in China is different from that in the United States. Many Japanese parts companies in the United States can supply multiple brands. In China, even Toyota, Honda, and Nissan suppliers rarely overlap. The dominant position in the entire chain is more obvious." Insiders of Japanese car companies believe that.

The Chinese mainframe factory controls the parts and components. In fact, the real controller is the foreign party of the joint venture company. Japanese brands often use the cultivation mechanism as a reason to move their entire supply system in Japan to China after the establishment of a joint venture company in China, and create a closed kingdom. As the other party to the joint venture, it is difficult for China to have the power to decide on supplier selection.

In the Honda production system, the Parts Technology Division was originally placed in the technical department, while the technical department was generally directly controlled by the Japanese side, far away from Honda headquarters in Japan. Suppliers must pass the Japanese assessment in order to enter the Honda supply system. Yao Yiming, the former deputy general manager of Guangben, tried to implement the reform of the procurement system in a drastic manner in order to effectively reduce costs and get rid of the supply system.

However, the Japanese side is very difficult to accept. Soon after the transfer of Yao Yiming, the reform is no longer mentioned. In fact, this reform touched on the fundamental interests of the Japanese side. "Many parts companies in Japan are wholly-owned or joint ventures. As long as the price of parts is increased, they can obtain far higher than the Chinese in the entire automobile production process. Huge profits." The above-mentioned dealers said.

According to national policies, international automobile brands must enter into a 50:50 joint venture with China. The profits must be equally divided with the Chinese, but the parts and components companies can establish wholly-owned enterprises, so they can transfer profits in compliance with regulations. . The above-mentioned Japanese brand dealers believe that this is the root cause of Japanese auto parts prices higher than international prices.

The company that was punished is not willing to give up the after-sales accessories

A number of Japanese parts and components companies have already "submitted", and the National Development and Reform Commission is weighing the severity of the punishment. It is expected that the penalty results will be announced soon, and Japanese parts companies will still receive tickets. This case only involves the front end of the automobile manufacturing industry, and the monopolistic behavior in the parts procurement process. In fact, the anti-monopoly of after-sales parts is a difficult hard bone.

The mainframe plant takes advantage of its dominant position and also controls the components of the downstream aftermarket. "Manufacturers are authorized to operate auto dealers, and parts are also specified. They must be genuine from the manufacturer. The natural price is also determined by the manufacturer. If it is not a manufacturer's parts, it is a counterfeit part, and the manufacturer's monitoring is very strict." The dealer said.

At present, the boutiques sold by dealers, many OEMs also require "authentic" to fully control the procurement channels. Dealers can secretly purchase their own, only a few accessories such as a rack without LOGO. Because of the huge price difference between domestic parts and international parts, in some parts of the South, brand parts that enter China through special channels are very popular.

The model of car brand franchising is the root cause of the price of parts and components far higher than the international price. Automakers often think that it is necessary to maintain customer rights and ensure the quality of vehicle maintenance. However, according to a person familiar with Japanese automakers, there is no such policy in the United States, so there is a lot of room for OEM parts, and the amount of Chinese auto parts exported to the United States is large. In the past ten years, China’s auto parts exports to the United States have increased by 700%, and the share of US parts and components imports has increased from 2% to more than 10%.

"Price reduction is only a measure to cure the problem, manufacturers can call back at any time." In the view of Chen Wenkai, CEO of Gasgoo.com, China's anti-monopoly future should also follow the European model: First, the mainframe factory is required to restrict the external supply of parts and components. The second is that the dealers cannot be restricted from purchasing parts from other channels; the third is to require the main engine factory to open the vehicle repair technology.

As China's anti-monopoly deepens, dealers generally believe that in the future, dealers can also purchase auto parts from various channels, but only if the manufacturer wants to publish information on all accessories, including the release of standards.

However, the above-mentioned dealers believe that the host factory will not easily let go of the Chinese car's business environment. "There are huge interests behind the manufacturers. Even if there is anti-monopoly deterrence, the manufacturers will control the dealers through supervision and incentive policies. At present, manufacturers have a business plan and budget for dealers every year. The Chinese car sales system is already a set of mechanisms."

The dealer is actually on board with the manufacturer. "At present, new car sales have not made any money. Maintenance is the biggest source of profit for dealers. Lowering the price of parts and components is actually compressing the output value and profits of dealers. The days will be even more sad. In the future, only small profits will be sold." Manufacturers' control of parts and components is not to loosen the dealers, and the real benefit is consumers.

Automobile manufacturers will also be greatly affected: First, the Mercedes-Benz and other car companies with high “zero-to-zero ratio” coefficient will fail to recover the investment cost as soon as possible through the profiteering of parts and components; secondly, in order to maintain the stability of sales channels, it may be necessary to have a sales policy. Make major adjustments.

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