How to grow from big to strong?

There was once an industry insider sighing at reporters: The bigger the Chinese auto market is, the more it can bring out the blemishes of Chinese auto brands. In fact, the United States, Germany, and Japan, which are recognized as the world's most powerful automakers, are not judged entirely by the size of local capacity, but are determined by the influence of technology, brands, and products on a worldwide scale. The weaknesses of technology can be remedied. Through "joint autonomy" to learn and improve, but the brand's weak position can not be changed overnight, increasing the influence of Chinese car brands in the world is the only way for the Chinese auto industry to move from a big automobile country to a powerful automobile country.

We have seen the country’s support for increasing the influence of Chinese auto brands, such as requiring joint ventures to develop, produce, and sell brand new independent brands, such as the relevant departments’ strong support for Geely’s acquisition of Volvo, and the country’s support for China’s multinational automotive companies. Doing all kinds of efforts and so on, but the power of Chinese auto brands still depends on whether the companies themselves can find a model that truly suits the actual situation of the company and has a sustainable development prospect. Great Wall Motors, Geely Automobile, Beijing Automotive, Beijing Automotive Industry Co., Ltd., China FAW Group, and Chery Automobile all fumbled forward for the growth of their own brands. Among them, there are smooth and bumpy steps. They are risky and rewarding, but all major companies seem to have a lot of fun and perseverance. Efforts, because they know that the development of independent brands is not only important for China to realize its dream of building a strong country in the automobile, but also the key to how to survive in the future.

Great Wall Model: Wang Fengying, the young CEO of Great Wall Motors, has repeatedly submitted proposals on “going out” and creating “Chinese cars” for Chinese cars in the “two sessions”. In her view, Chinese cars can only go out boldly. It will really speed up the process of Chinese cars enhancing their international influence and competitiveness. This is also the model that Great Wall Motor has developed its own brand for many years. Starting from pickup trucks and SUVs, it has stepped into the car, step by step, and has a solid foundation. It has steadily grown from the largest domestic market share and the largest exporter to pickup truck manufacturers. As a result, it has become one of the domestic automotive companies with the clearest thinking and the most reasonable planning of the auto brands.

Wang Xia, president of the China International Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), apparently agrees with the “Great Wall Model.” He pointed out that “going global” should be achieved in the state of healthy operations, if it is “going out” and “going out”, at the expense of profits, Sacrificing brand image, such "going out" is negative. Great Wall Motor has achieved high-quality “going out” in high-end markets such as the European Union. In some countries, product prices have become comparable to those of European and American brands. This “going out” has positive implications for the industry.

The China Economic Times reporter learned that, in fact, from the first export to the present in 1998, Great Wall Motor’s overseas development has been 14 years old, and the export volume and export amount have been ranked for the first time in more than 10 consecutive years. At present, it has achieved sales in more than 100 countries and regions, and has established sales networks in more than 80 countries, with 581 overseas sales networks. In 2010, the Great Wall achieved an export of 55,000 vehicles and an export amount of 3 billion yuan, both of which grew by more than 60%.

Because of its excellent product quality, the Great Wall has established a foothold in the EU and pan-European markets in the past two years. In September 2009, the Great Wall 4 models took the lead in obtaining the EU's entire vehicle-type certification; at present, Great Wall Motor has been favored by consumers in high-end markets such as Italy and Australia. Haval SUV sales in Australia have surpassed that of Korean brands.

Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, stated that the goal of the Great Wall is to create an excellent independent brand that has international influence and can represent the highest level of Chinese cars; the Great Wall’s brand slogan is “China Great Wall Motors”. The "Made in China" banner is not only a confidence in the quality of its products, but also an ideal and pursuit for China to become a powerful automobile country.

It is understood that the internationalization strategy of Great Wall Motors is based on the internationalization of product quality and technology research and development, and the “three-high” strategy (high-tech, high-performance, high-quality) for the internationalization of technological research and development. It can be said that it is the cornerstone of the Great Wall internationalization strategy.

In an interview with the China Economic Times, Wei Jianjun said that although Great Wall Motors has already exported to many regions of the European Union and the Pan-European market, the Great Wall has more ambitious internationalization goals and plans to enter the United States, Canada, Japan, and other high-end countries by 2015. The market, which requires more specific R&D safeguard measures in terms of product quality internationalization, is not an empty slogan. There are detailed goal plans for each module of technology R&D.

According to Huang Yong, director of the Technical Center of Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd., in order to better achieve the "go global" strategic goal, and produce and develop internationally high-quality products, the Great Wall has formulated a comprehensive internationalization of technology research and development, including: Internationalization The concept of development and design, international advanced cutting-edge R&D equipment, international integrated capability for performance innovation, top international engineering development partners, world-class supplier networks and more.

"If you don't master the core technology, you can only be controlled by people forever; if you don't have high value-added products, you can only paralyze in the low-end market; if you do not take the road of independent development, there will be no future for China's national automobile industry." Wei Jianjun said, whether it is through Integrate global resources for innovative R&D, or cooperate with top international technology companies and stand on the shoulders of giants to carry out “integrated innovation.” The Great Wall firmly holds the ace of “autonomy” and laid a good foundation for international development. basis.

Beiqi Mode: Using chicken eggs as one of the "four small", Beijing Auto Group's desire for the development and expansion of self-owned brands has never been more urgent, and Beijing Auto Group has also boldly stepped out of the new path of development of independent brands through acquisitions. Saab's intellectual property rights, Beiqi achieved the "borrowing chicken eggs," and obtained relatively advanced world passenger car production technology at a relatively low price, which laid a good foundation for Beiqi's own brand development. It has become a typical case of domestic auto companies developing their own brands.

On April 9th, Beijing Auto's self-owned brand passenger car base construction project was fully launched. This meant that after 53 years of development and after several generations of Beiqi people's efforts, Beijing's own branded car dream was about to come true. The start-up of Beiqi's own-brand passenger car base construction project is a key step for BAIC to develop mid-to-high-end self-owned brand passenger vehicles since the acquisition of some of Saab's core technologies, marking that Beiqi's own-brand passenger car construction has entered the core level.

After purchasing Saab Intellectual Property, how to digest and transform and produce products that are truly suitable for the Chinese market through localization is the key. Since the successful acquisition of Saab-related intellectual property rights in 2009, Beijing Automotive Group has accelerated the technical transformation and application of Saab's entire vehicle and core powertrain, and has comprehensively promoted the development of independent brand passenger vehicle R&D and manufacturing systems. The acquisition of core technologies such as vehicle platforms and engines by Saab has undoubtedly added significant weight to BAIC's R&D of its own brand passenger cars. Saab vehicles known as "Sticky Space Vehicles" are the world's best in both body technology and engine technology, and these will be inherited and carried forward by BAIC. Beijing Automotive will rely on Saab's advanced technological advantages and will focus on self-research and development to create products that align with European standards.

According to the plan, Beiqi's own-brand passenger vehicle base will mainly produce Saab-powered high-end sedan cars in the future. Its products include C80K and C70G sedan mainly for domestic medium and high-end official markets, and C60F and C50E sedan for medium and general income consumers. As well as derivative models such as MPVs, SUVs, and new energy vehicles developed on these three platforms, they cover various market segments in the mid-to-high end passenger vehicle segment and will occupy an important position in the domestic high-end passenger car market for domestic brands.

Currently, BAIC Group has established three vehicle platforms based on Saab Technology and completed the prototype production of the first self-branded mid-to-high-class sedan C70G based on Saab technology. It is expected that the vehicle will be able to complete the production of the entire vehicle by the end of this year. At the same time, research and development of two mid- to high-class cars based on Saab technology and independently developed C50E and C60F have been started, and it is expected to achieve phased results this year.

It is worth mentioning that, while inheriting Saab’s excellent power performance, excellent aerodynamics, extraordinary chassis handling performance and excellent collision safety performance, Beiqi is based on the Saab platform in the interior and exterior design of mid- to high-end models. There have been drastic improvements.

In order to meet the aesthetic needs of Chinese consumers, BAIC has commissioned Pininfarina, the world’s most prestigious automotive design company, and has commissioned designs for the world's top luxury car brands such as Ferrari, which has shaped the company’s own brand cars. Meet the new image of the world's automotive design fashion trends.

According to the Beiqi Research Institute's relevant personage, the full shape of the BAIC C60F is full of muscle, making the entire vehicle full of vitality from the inside out. In the combination and processing of lines and surface details, the fineness and inspiration of sculpture art are reflected. The simple body surface of the C70G, rhythmic lines, such as the details of the Rodin White Jade sculpture, embodies the elegant sense of quality.

With the advent of Beijing Auto's own-brand passenger car, the greatest benefit for car consumers is undoubtedly to enjoy high-end car products and services that are truly comparable to European quality at much lower prices than in foreign countries. The "Beijing" card will hopefully change the image of China's self-owned brand cars at affordable prices, become a good car that most car consumers can afford and can afford, and fully enjoy the sense of happiness that industrial civilization brings to life.

Chery model: multi-brand pains as one of the typical representatives of domestic self-owned brand companies, Chery's development model is slightly unique, when unknown, relying on a "Chery QQ" sword striker, hit a few tens of thousands of young people in the pursuit of fashion market As soon as it became popular, hundreds of thousands of domestic young people who didn’t catch cold like the traditional entry-level brands such as Xiali and Geely realized Chery’s QQ dream and also allowed Chery’s car to grow rapidly, supported by local SASAC in Anhui Province. , Has become the mainstream domestic passenger car manufacturers.

However, when the Chery QQ opportunity no longer comes, and even now even Chery QQ are facing Chang'an Ben Ben, Jiangyin Huai Yuet, Great Wall Lingao and other independent brands to attack and the scenery is no longer, Chery chose to avoid its cutting edge to develop the entire system of products The sequence, the so-called multi-brand strategy, launched several brands including Wei Lin, Rui Qi and Kai Rui, and even acquired quantum cars. On the surface, the outlook is promising. It covers a wide range of products ranging from low-end to high-end products. , Will soon start in the market Chery own brand name.

Regarding the multi-brand strategy, Chairman Yin Tongyue of Chery once said, “In the world, no one of the world-class auto companies is based on small cars and mid- to low-end vehicles. World-class auto companies need mid- to high-end products, technologies and brands.” Unlike Geely, which is a self-owned brand, adopting Volvo to acquire high-end brands, Chery is completely on its own. With the launch of the four major brands, Chery Automobile also established four sales companies, Chery, Kirin, Karry and International.

In early 2009, Chery officially released its microcar brand Karry. Kerry is positioned in the low-end and mid-range commercial vehicles market, mainly consisting of vans and new vans. It also includes single- or double-row minivans. In mid-March, Chery also announced the launch of the mid- to high-end passenger vehicle brand "Ruiqi" and the mid-to-high end all-round commercial vehicle brand "Wei Lin." Qilin Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., which is in charge of the sales of the two large and middle-end brands, was also formally established. In this way, together with Chery and Quantum, Chery's brand of mid- to low-end passenger cars that have been painstakingly managed for ten years, Chery’s brands have reached five, and built the most complete branding matrix of so-called local car companies.

However, the reality of cruelty is a heavy blow to Chery’s dream of multi-brand companies of independent auto companies. An important reason is that Chery is eager to go on high-end steps too much and the serious loss of talents. In people’s impression, Chery’s QQ is deeply rooted in the hearts of people. Chery seems to be just a manufacturer of low-end passenger cars. Suddenly the so-called high-end products and commercial vehicle products suddenly become unacceptable to consumers. Li Feng, Yang Bo and other backbone forces have left Chery’s multi-brand strategy. A major blow.

Not long ago, Chery announced the cancellation of the establishment of the Wei Lin Division for half a year. The Weilin brand was included in the Chery Sales Company's operations as the Ruilin brand. The deputy general manager of Chery Automobile and general manager of the sales company, Ma Dejun, stated that Chery’s multi-brand strategy has not changed. This is a reintegration of resources, but this statement does not change Chery’s profitability, and the market performance alone cannot support Wei Lin’s business. Department of the operation of the reality.

Analysts pointed out that the core idea of ​​Chery’s large business division is Yin Tongyue’s “more children fight” and Li Feng’s sub-net sales policy, although Chery’s sub-brands are more (12 product brands, 35 product models), However, with the exception of QQ and Cowin, the sales and profits of each sub-brand are not high enough to satisfy Chery, and they have always been in the circle of “pushing new cars to promote brands, lowering prices for sales, and pushing new cars to enhance brands”.

Xu Changming, director of the Resource Development Department of the State Information Center, believes that Chery, Geely and other self-owned car companies that started with low-end economic vehicles are faced with great challenges. They want to avoid losing their roots and at the same time pursue upward development, and establish a new brand. Developing high-end brands is a better choice.

In spite of this, if the steps are too big, Chery is "very injured."