At the just-opened 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, Yin Tongyue, Party Secretary and Chairman of Chery Holding Group, also shared a series of innovative and forward-looking hard-core products, conveying Chery's future-oriented market layout and innovation to the outside world.
In Yin Tongyue's view, today's Chery is a "technology Chery", "user Chery" and "global Chery". In the future, it will accelerate technological iteration and industrial upgrading, and accelerate the transformation to a global technology company.
The dealer who can hear the gunfire most in the front line is undoubtedly the key link to determine the success or failure of enterprise transformation.
Recently, Auto Sankei also interviewed Wang Changqian, the chairman of Wanda Group. As a 20-year-old Chery dealer, he said that even in a restricted city like Beijing, the Chery brand still has a strong appeal, which is the basis for their long-term foothold.
When it comes to the automobile market in China, Wang Changqian thinks that the product strength of independent brands is not less than that of joint ventures, and they also have more advantages in price, so it is not surprising that they surpass joint ventures in share.
The following is an interview record:
Automobile sankei: In my impression, there are not many dealers who only focus on one enterprise for 20 years. Can you talk about the reasons and motivation for your persistence over the years?
Wang Changqian: When I entered the automobile industry and cooperated with Chery brand to become an authorized dealer, it happened to catch up with domestic cars and enter the family blowout. Fortunately, I earned the first bucket of gold in my life, so I have always been grateful and reluctant to the Chery brand. Although I met Beijing's purchase restriction and new energy boom, I still insisted on being with Chery.
Automobile production: on the one hand, the automobile market has entered the stock competition from incremental competition, on the other hand, it is a restricted city like Beijing. It can be said that these objective factors have brought great challenges to traditional car dealers, and I also want to share with you many personal feelings and thoughts along the way.
Wang Changyu: The automobile retail industry has returned to a small growth from the blowout trend. Gone are the days when I opened a shop to make money. Now it has entered the competitive service stage from the competitive price stage. I opened my shop earlier and was the first dealer of Beijing Chery. Over the years, I have accumulated many loyal customers who support my store.
As the saying goes, our store's service is consistent and constantly improving, and there is no reason for customers to leave, which is also the basis for the company to continue to operate. At present, the 4S shops that Beijing Steel Circle can make a profit are basically old shops that opened earlier and provided services in place. Car models are produced by manufacturers, and the hardware of the storefront is purchased. Service as software is only the core competitiveness of a storefront.
Auto sankei: Da was once the sales champion of Chery in Beijing market. How did you do that?
Wang Changqian: Multiple factors are superimposed. First, Chery brand has appeal and excellent product quality. Secondly, my store layout is reasonable. At that time, I had six or seven stores in the core area of Beijing, and that sentence caught up with the blowout of China automobile market. In the words of your internet industry, pigs can fly when sitting in the air. Of course, it was inseparable from my personal and brothers' efforts, and I was fortunate to be the Chery sales champion in Beijing auto market at that time.
Automobile sankei: Which model of Chery sells best at this stage?
Wang Changqian: The best-selling car at this stage, the SUV is Chery's famous Tiggo 8, and the car is Arrizo 8.
Automobile sankei: With the popularization of intelligence and digitalization, what targeted optimizations have been made in our stores?
Wang Changqian: We cooperated with manufacturers to upgrade the store and increase the digital big screen. It is convenient for customers to choose cars intuitively and choose different color configurations. At the same time, it is also convenient for manufacturers to collect information online at the first time, which plays a bridge grafting role for the iterative upgrade of products in the future.
Automobile sankei: Not long ago, Chery just released the super hybrid platform under the Mars framework. Compared with Geely, BYD and other enterprises, the landing speed of Chery hybrid technology is slightly lagging behind. In your opinion, can Chery become a latecomer in the field of new energy?
Wang Changqian: It is not easy to be a latecomer, but at least I firmly believe that Chery can do it without losing others. In the past two years, the traditional brand represented by BYD and the new force represented by Wei Xiaoli have made great progress in the field of new energy. At the annual meeting of Chery dealers held in Wuhu on June 5438+ 10 this year, Chairman Yin Tongyue said that Chery, a scientific and technological person, should also change. The smell of wine is afraid of the depth of the alley. First, we have to make products. Second, I can't help but publicize. I am deeply encouraged and think that the factory leaders have hit the pain point directly. Last week, in Beijing Water Cube, Chery released a brand-new Spark hybrid platform, and I believe Chery will definitely break out of its own world in the field of new energy.
Automobile production: Chery lowered the starting price of its latest flagship SUV, Tiggo 9, to 654.38+0.6 million. Many people think that this also reflects Chery's lofty determination. From the dealer's point of view, what do you think of the price strategy of Tiggo 9?
Wang Changqian: With the increase of two-child and three-child families, more and more consumers choose multi-seat cars. The increase of MPV sales in the past two years has greatly exceeded the overall sales commission rate of the automobile market, which is enough to explain the problem. However, in terms of handling, MPV still has natural shortcomings compared with SUV. On the premise of full load, MPV may be more comfortable than SUV, but how many scenes do we have to fill six or even seven seats?
The launch of Tiggo 8 supplements the product matrix of Chery brand SUV products, meets the needs of two-child and three-child families, and takes into account comfort and handling, which can be described as elegant. In particular, the starting price of 654.38+0.6 million is a surprise, which will obviously enhance the influence and appeal of Chery brand. I have high hopes for this car.
Automobile production: From Ruiqi in the past, to Guanzhi, and now to Xingtu, Chery's mid-to high-end models are somewhat popular. Judging from your personal experience in these 20 years, what is the problem behind it?
Wang Changqian: Not only Chery, but also many domestic independent brands have had the same problem. China's independent brands all have the heart of a high-end dream and the vision of multi-brand strategic layout, but all have gone through detours more or less. I believe that as the automobile market returns to rationality, automobile manufacturers have already returned to rationality, so we must be cautious in launching new brands and models in the future.
Automobile production: there are good products, but they cannot be marketed. This is the inherent impression of Chery in the past. Especially compared with Jietu brand, Chery brand and Xingtu brand are slightly insufficient in size. Do you have similar feelings? Do you have any comments or suggestions?
Wang Changqian: My following answer is only based on myself and is not representative and universal. In Beijing, Chery's brand awareness and influence are still significantly higher than Jietu Xingtu. Yesterday, a retired aunt who went to the store to choose a car told my clerk directly that she had the impression that Chery was a trustworthy brand for at least 30 years, but she didn't know what brands Jiewei and Xingcheng were.
My understanding is that Chery brand is the foundation, and Gateway Star Road is the icing on the cake. Jiewei meets the individual needs of young people who like to make friends and travel, and Xingtu meets the customer needs slightly higher than Chery models. Then, for specific segments of the population, advertising in their favorite life consumption scenes will definitely achieve better results, instead of putting traditional media in a pot of stew.
Automobile Production and Marketing: In front of the media, Chery has been shaping the image of a technical Chery or a technical person. Through your observation, what kind of image is Chery in the eyes of end consumers? Is it consistent with the brand label that Chery wants to build?
Wang Changqian: The competition in the automobile market is fierce, and there are no weak people who can survive. Joint venture brands such as Guangzhou Peugeot Dongfeng Renault and independent brands such as Huatai Shuanghuan have all been eliminated by history. Chery's survival as an independent brand is enough to show that this brand and product are trustworthy.
In 2022, Chery Group achieved a million sales in ten months for the first time, with an annual sales volume of 6.5438+0.23 million vehicles, up 28.2% year-on-year. The proposition of brand image is abstract. Chery may be the advantage of technology, giving people an impression that obviously exceeds the propaganda of marketing, but it is not impossible for science and technology men to become social cattle.
Automobile production: how to evaluate Chery's business policy towards dealers in recent years?
Wang Changqian: Beijing auto market does not represent the whole country. I can only answer Beijing's business policy. The manufacturers have indeed given strong support in a targeted manner, and both the task layout and product distribution have made targeted arrangements in combination with the current situation of the Beijing auto market. Of course, privately, I will still reward and subsidize the manufacturers, hoping that the more the better. It is not easy to make public the specific terms involving trade secrets.
Automobile sankei: Since the beginning of the year, Chery has brought Tiggo 9, Gateway has released Voyager, and Xingwei has been listed in Eta Ursae Majoris. It can be said that the entire Chery product line is completely new. What are your expectations and small goals for 2023?
Wang Changqian: I have a Chery authorized store and a gateway authorized store, but there is no Xingtu authorized store. I also have a Chery commercial vehicle brand Kerry authorized store. I expect the three major passenger car brands of Chery Group to form a tight firepower network, and the flowers will be fragrant inside and outside the wall. We should not only do a better job in export, but also catch up with or even surpass BYD Geely Changan, a self-owned brand, in the domestic market within a few years.
With the end of the epidemic and economic recovery, Chery's commercial vehicles have a good development prospect. Chery laid out new energy commercial vehicles, that is, pure electric light trucks and trucks, very early, ranking first in the national comprehensive market share.
Automobile production: From the macro data, the market share of independent brands has surpassed that of joint venture brands in some months last year. From the real situation of the terminal, what changes do you think have taken place in consumers' recognition and goodwill towards their own brands in recent years?
Wang Changqian: Look at how many people around you who buy TV have bought Panasonic Sony. See how many people around you who buy mobile phones are still buying Samsung Motorola. I think it is a historical necessity for independent brands to surpass joint venture brands. I still think this day is a bit late. Today, the products of independent brands are as competitive as those of joint venture brands, and the prices are more advantageous. There is no dispute between China and foreign countries. We are committed to making good products and services. What's so strange that consumers only choose the right ones and don't buy expensive ones, surpassing joint venture brands? And this is also the embodiment of national self-confidence in the national tide, right?
Automobile sankei: With the price reduction of Tesla at the beginning of the year, many new energy brands have chosen to be forced to follow up. At the same time, in the fuel vehicle market, we also see that joint venture models like Sylphy have reduced their prices to less than 80,000. For dealers, how to treat and deal with the price war in the automobile market objectively?
Wang Changqian: China's automobile market is far more polluted than any other country in the world. From 30,000 to 30 million cars, people are interested, and hundreds of brands and thousands of models exist, which is unimaginable in other countries. The price war is a double-edged sword, which hurts the enemy by one thousand and damages the enemy by eight hundred. The production cost is basically worked out. The production cost of the joint venture brand is not necessarily lower than ours. If they fight a price war, they will not necessarily squeeze the living space of their own brands.
Tesla's product line is too short, and the price war can really attract some consumers, but the blank areas not covered by his product line can still support many new energy brands. Again, the market returns to rationality, and the price war cannot solve all problems.