New home appliance subsidies will begin, and many home appliance giants are not welcoming

With the withdrawal of the "Energy-Saving Products for the People Project" in the home appliance subsidy policy, whether a new round of subsidy policy will be implemented has become the biggest suspense for the home appliance industry, which is undergoing industrial structure upgrading and sales format changes this year.

Recently, there is news that a new round of home appliance energy-saving subsidy policy, the "Energy Efficiency Leader System", will be launched as early as next month, and relevant departments have begun preliminary design. However, this statement has not been confirmed by enterprises and the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

Generally speaking, when new subsidy policies for the home appliance industry are launched, relevant departments will notify manufacturers at least three months in advance to give companies time to make arrangements in advance. However, many home appliance giants said: "The company has not received any relevant notification yet."

A senior executive of a well-known home appliance company believes that in the Chinese home appliance market, the visible "visible hand" should be withdrawn and the invisible "invisible hand" should be allowed to come in. The real support for home appliance companies should start from the perspective of tax reduction. Another dealer revealed that if supervision is not strengthened, the new round of subsidy policies will undoubtedly become a hotbed for companies to use subsidies to defraud funds.

Several home appliance giants have not received subsidy notifications

According to interviews, the news of implementing a new round of home appliance energy-saving subsidy policy has not been confirmed at the enterprise level.

A senior executive of Gree Electric Appliances told reporters: "Currently, all statements about the new round of subsidy policies are vague. Based on past experience, the launch of a new subsidy policy will be notified to manufacturers at least three months in advance to give companies time to prepare in advance, but the company has not received any relevant notification yet."

A source from Midea Group’s marketing department said: “Midea has not received any notification from relevant departments regarding a new round of energy-saving subsidies as in the past.”

Tao Jun, brand director of Changhong Air Conditioner, said: "At present, the company has not yet participated in specific subsidy-related matters."

A person from the China Household Electrical Appliances Association said: "The implementation of the 'Energy Efficiency Leader System' has been circulating, but the specific implementation details and time have not yet been officially announced."

There are also reports that, unlike the previous universal system of home appliance subsidies and energy-saving subsidies, the so-called "energy efficiency leader system" this time has a limited coverage, and most of them are products with higher energy efficiency levels on the market. The specific form is that manufacturers declare independently, and subsidies are issued after passing the review. It is mainly aimed at the corporate end and does not involve consumers.

It is worth mentioning that for white goods companies, the basic market pattern has been established. Even if the "Energy Efficiency Leader System" is implemented, it may mainly target the most energy-efficient terminal energy-consuming products on the market, such as air conditioners and refrigerators, and will not have much impact on black goods companies.

Home appliance companies generally do not buy into the "subsidy" account

In today's home appliance market, companies that are doing well are doing better, while companies that are in trouble are having a harder time. As of now, more than half of the performance reports of major home appliance giants have been released. Looking at the first half of the year, the performance of home appliance companies presents a mixed bag.

However, despite this, the reporter found during the investigation that home appliance companies generally responded coldly to the implementation of the "Energy Efficiency Leader System".

Tao Jun told reporters, "The implementation of a new round of energy-saving subsidy policies has both advantages and disadvantages. This year, air conditioners of various brands have performed well, but the market environment is fully competitive and the impact of subsidies on enterprises is limited."

In view of this, although the home appliance industry has been circulated in the market for some time to continue to implement new fiscal stimulus, it has not attracted the interest of major home appliance companies. The reporter learned from Gree that Dong Mingzhu is not in favor of the implementation of the new round of subsidy policies.

A senior executive of Haier also said: "In China's home appliance market, the effects of previous policy stimulus implementations have not been ideal at the enterprise level, and we need to provide a battlefield for truly powerful players."

Liang Zhenpeng, an industrial economist, believes that "there is no need to implement the 'Energy-Saving Leader System'. The continuous introduction of previous policies has caused most home appliance companies to lose the motivation to vigorously develop upstream core industrial chains and core technology patents and innovate products. In the past, when policies were introduced, companies produced models collected by policy subsidies to the maximum extent possible. Every time a policy ended, they adjusted their plans significantly, causing severe shocks to the industry."

During the interview, the reporter found that most people from home appliance companies said that the first problem to be solved for their companies at present is the problem of excessive taxes and fees.

An executive of a well-known home appliance company said that home appliance companies generally feel that the tax burden is too high. To truly support the development of home appliance companies, we should start with tax reduction to create a healthy market environment.

The phenomenon of corporate subsidy fraud is difficult to curb

In fact, the so-called "energy efficiency leader" originally originated from Japan's home appliance subsidy policy. Its essence is to focus policy support on ultra-energy-saving home appliances, that is, to give ultra-high subsidies to ultra-high-efficiency energy-saving home appliances, while giving less or even no subsidies to products with average energy-saving levels.

Liu Buchen, chief consultant of Kuafu Enterprise Management Consulting, said: "Home appliances are a highly open and competitive market. The purpose of energy-saving subsidies is to develop high-efficiency products and promote industrial upgrading. Japan's 'Top Runner System' was implemented when frequency conversion technology had not yet developed, and this policy was used to promote technological development. At present, China's home appliance industry has solved frequency conversion technology, and Gree and Midea have done it quite maturely. The 'Top Runner System' is no longer suitable for China. The excessive stimulation of home appliance policies has led to a decline in the competitiveness of home appliance companies. The cost of companies cheating on subsidies is too low, and the implementation of this policy will only accelerate the deterioration of the phenomenon of cheating on subsidies."

Liu Buchen believes that "the 'Energy Efficiency Leader System' will become the second version of energy-saving subsidies if it is truly implemented in China. However, the energy-saving subsidies implemented previously were full of problems. Many companies made their products highly energy-efficient overnight, and fraudulent subsidies were serious. This is a shame for the industry."

In fact, after the energy-saving subsidies were withdrawn last year, the "aftereffects" and loopholes left behind are unforgettable. Quite a number of well-known home appliance giants have engaged in subsidy fraud. In June last year, the National Audit Office issued an audit announcement showing that Galanz and other companies had engaged in false application materials, embezzlement, and subsidy fraud, and these companies defrauded a total of more than 90 million yuan in subsidies.

A dealer told reporters that many home appliance companies and dealers use fake ID cards to defraud subsidies, and a lot of funds are obtained through various improper means. Although the "Energy-Saving Leader System" is not for consumers, if supervision is not strengthened, it will undoubtedly become a hotbed for companies to use subsidies to defraud funds.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.