Wang Changqian: Chery still has strong brand appeal and the auto market will eventually return to rational competition

In the first quarter of this year, Chery Group sold a total of 330,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 44.1%, setting a record high.

At the just-opened 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, Yin Tongyue, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Chery Holding Group, also shared a series of innovative and forward-looking hard-core products, conveying to the outside world Chery’s future-oriented market layout and transformation and innovation. .

In Yin Tongyue's view, today's Chery is a "technical Chery", a "user Chery" and a "global Chery". In the future, it will accelerate technological iteration and industrial upgrading, and accelerate its transformation into a global technology company.

The dealers who are on the front line and can hear the sound of gunfire the most are undoubtedly the key to determining the success or failure of the company's transformation.

Recently, Automobile Industry and Economics also interviewed Wang Changqian, chairman of Chengxinda Group. As an old Chery dealer with a history of 20 years, he said that even in cities with purchase restrictions like Beijing, the Chery brand still has a strong appeal. Appealing power is the basis for their long-term success.

When it comes to the Chinese auto market, Wang Changqian believes that the current product strength of independent brands is not inferior to that of joint ventures, and they also have more advantages in price. Therefore, it is not surprising that independent brands surpass joint ventures in terms of share.

The following is the transcript of the interview:

Automobile Industry: In my impression, there are not many dealer CEOs who can focus on only one company for 20 years. Could you please tell us about your reasons and motivations for persevering over the years?

Wang Changqian: When I entered the automobile industry and cooperated with the Chery brand to become an authorized dealer, it coincided with the explosion of domestic automobiles into the household. I was lucky enough to earn my first pot of gold in life, so I have always cherished the Chery brand. Gratitude and reluctance. Despite the purchase restrictions in Beijing and the popularity of new energy, I still persisted with Chery.

Automobile Industry and Commerce: On the one hand, the auto market has shifted from incremental competition to stock competition, and on the other hand, there are cities like Beijing with purchase restrictions. It can be said that these objective factors pose great challenges to traditional car dealers. I also want to hear about it. Can you share your personal feelings and thoughts along the way?

Wang Changqian: The automobile retail industry has already returned from a blowout to a slight growth. Gone are the days of making money just by opening a store. Now it has moved from the price competition stage to the service competition stage. stage. I opened my store relatively early and was one of the first Beijing Chery dealers to join the network. Over the years, I have accumulated many loyal customers who support my store.

As the saying goes, what you eat is what you eat and what you do. Our store's service has always been consistent and constantly improving. There is no reason for customers to lose. This is also the basis for the company to continue to operate. At present, the most profitable 4S stores in Beijing Auto Circle are basically old stores that opened relatively early and provided good services. Car models are produced by manufacturers, store hardware is purchased, and service software is the core competitiveness of a store.

Automobile Industry News: Chengxinda used to be Chery’s sales leader in the Beijing market. How did it do this?

Wang Changqian: The superposition of multiple factors. First of all, the Chery brand has appeal and product quality is excellent. Secondly, my store layout is relatively reasonable. At that time, I had six or seven stores distributed in the core area of ??Beijing. At the same time, it was still the same store just now. In a word, it caught up with the blowout of China's auto market. In the words of your Internet industry, even a pig can fly if it sits on the wind. Of course, it would also be inseparable from the efforts of myself and my brothers. I was fortunate enough to become the Chery sales champion in the Beijing auto market at that time.

Automobile Industry: Which Chery model is selling best at this stage?

Wang Changqian: The best-selling cars at this stage are the SUV Tiggo 8, Chery’s flagship product, and the sedan Arrizo 8.

Automobile Industry: With the popularization of intelligence and digitalization, what targeted optimizations have been made in our stores?

Wang Changqian: We cooperated with the manufacturer to upgrade the store and added a large digital screen. It facilitates customers to intuitively select cars and choose different color configurations. At the same time, it provides online feedback of customer needs immediately, which facilitates manufacturers to collect data and serves as a bridge for future product iterations and upgrades.

Automobile Industry: Not long ago, Chery just released a super hybrid platform under the Mars architecture. Compared with Geely, BYD and other companies, the implementation of Chery’s hybrid technology is slightly lagging behind. In your opinion, , can Chery be able to take the lead in the new energy field?

Wang Changqian: It’s not easy to talk casually about taking advantage of others, but at least I firmly believe that Chery can do it as well as others. In the past two years, traditional brands represented by BYD and new forces represented by "Wei Xiaoli" have become prosperous in the field of new energy. At the annual meeting of Chery dealers held in Wuhu in January this year, Chairman Yin Tongyue said that Chery, a man in science and engineering, should also change. The smell of wine is also afraid of deep alleys. Firstly, we cannot focus on making products. Secondly, we have to promote it. I have suffered a lot. Encouraged, I think the manufacturer’s leaders hit the pain points directly. Last week at the Water Cube in Beijing, Chery released its new Spark hybrid platform. I believe Chery will definitely be able to carve its own niche in the new energy field.

Automobile Industry News: Chery has lowered the starting price of its latest flagship SUV Tiggo 9 to 160,000. Many people believe that this also reflects Chery’s determination to go higher. From a dealer’s perspective, you What do I think of the price strategy of Tiggo 9?

Wang Changqian: With the increase in the number of families with two and three children, consumers are choosing more and more multi-seat cars. The increase rate of MPV sales in the past two years has greatly exceeded the overall sales commission rate of the car market, which is enough to illustrate the problem. . However, in terms of maneuverability and passability, MPVs still have natural deficiencies compared to SUVs. When fully loaded, MPVs may be more comfortable than SUVs, but how many scenes do we have where six or even seven seats are occupied? Woolen cloth.

The launch of Tiggo 8 complements the product matrix of Chery brand SUV products, meets the needs of families with two and three children, and takes into account comfort, passability and controllability. It can be said to be both civil and military. In particular, the starting price of 160,000 is even more surprising. It will significantly increase the influence and appeal of the Chery brand. I have high hopes for this car.

Automobile Industry: From Ruiqi in the past, to Qoros, and now to Xingtu, Chery’s mid- to high-end models have been somewhat well-received but not popular. Judging from your personal experience in the past 20 years, what’s behind the scenes? What's the problem?

Wang Changqian: Not only Chery, but also many independent brands in China have experienced the same problem. my country's independent brands all have a high-end dream and a vision of multi-brand strategic layout, but they have all gone through detours more or less. I believe that as the car market returns to rationality, car manufacturers have also returned to rationality, and they must be cautious when launching new brands and new models in the future.

Automotive Industry: There are good products but no marketing. This is the industry’s inherent impression of Chery in the past. Especially compared to the emergence of the Jietu brand, the Chery and Xingtu brands are slightly less popular. Not enough, do you have similar feelings? What comments or suggestions do you have?

Wang Changqian: My following answer is based on myself only and is not representative and universal. In the Beijing area, Chery's brand recognition and influence are still significantly higher than that of 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 has been around for at least 30 years and is a trustworthy brand, but she did not know what brands Jietu and Xingtu were.

My understanding is that the Chery brand is the foundation, and Jietu Xingtu is the icing on the cake. Jietu meets the individual needs of young people who like to make friends and travel, and Xingtu meets the needs of customers who slightly exceed Chery models. Then targeting specific segmented groups, advertising in their favorite life consumption scenes will definitely achieve better results, rather than placing traditional media in a hodgepodge of traditional media.

Automobile Industry and Commerce: In front of the media, Chery has always created an image of a technical Chery or a science and engineering man. From your observation, what is the image of Chery in the eyes of end consumers? Is it consistent with the brand label Chery wants to create?

Wang Changqian: The competition in the auto market is fierce, and there are no weaklings who can survive. Joint venture brands such as Guangzhou Peugeot, Dongfeng Renault, and independent brands such as Huatai Shuanghuan have been eliminated by history. Chery, as an independent brand, can survive and still survive. Living better is enough to illustrate the problem. This brand and the products produced by this brand are worthy of trust.

Chery Group took ten months to reach one million sales for the first time in 2022, with annual sales of 1.23 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 28.2. The proposition of brand image is relatively abstract. Chery's technical advantages may give people a clearer impression than marketing propaganda, but it is not impossible for a man from science and engineering to become a social cow.

Automobile Industry: How would you evaluate Chery’s business policies for dealers in recent years?

Wang Changqian: Beijing’s auto market does not represent the whole country. I can only answer Beijing’s business policies. The manufacturer has indeed given targeted and strong support. Whether it is the arrangement of tasks or the distribution of products, they have made targeted arrangements based on the current situation of Beijing's auto market. Of course, privately, I will accept all incentives and subsidies from manufacturers and hope that the more the merrier, the specific terms involve commercial secrets and it is difficult to discuss them publicly.

Automobile Industry News: Since the beginning of the year, Chery has brought Tiggo 9, Jietu has launched Traveler, and Xingtu has launched Yaoguang. It can be said that the entire Chery series product line has taken on a completely new look. What do you have in mind for 2023? What kind of expectations and small goals?

Wang Changqian: I have Chery authorized stores and Jietu authorized stores, but I don’t have Xingtu authorized stores. I also have a Chery commercial vehicle brand Kairu authorized store. I look forward to the Chery Group’s three major passenger car brands forming a tight firepower network. They will bloom equally well inside and outside the wall. They will not only do better in exports, but also catch up with and even surpass their peers in the domestic market within a few years. Self-owned brand BYD Geely Changan.

With the end of the epidemic and the recovery of the economy, Chery commercial vehicles have good development prospects. Chery has long laid out new energy commercial vehicles, which means pure electric light trucks and trucks. Ranked first in the country’s comprehensive market share.

Automobile Industry and Commerce: From a macro data perspective, the market share of independent brands last year surpassed that of joint venture brands in some months. Looking at the actual situation of terminals, do you think consumers recognize independent brands? , How has the favorability degree changed in recent years?

Wang Changqian: Look at how many people who buy TVs around you still buy Panasonic and Sony. Look at how many people who buy mobile phones around you still buy Samsung and Motorola. I think it is a historical necessity for independent brands to surpass joint venture brands. I also feel that this day has come a bit late. Today, the product quality of our own brands is not inferior to that of joint venture brands, and the prices are more advantageous. There are no entanglements between Chinese and foreign parties. We focus on making good products and providing good services. Consumers do not buy expensive products but only choose the right ones, surpassing those of joint venture brands. Is there anything strange? And this is also a reflection of the self-confidence of the nation in power, are you right?

Automobile Industry: With Tesla’s price cuts at the beginning of the year, many new energy brands have chosen to follow suit. At the same time, in the fuel vehicle market, we have also seen joint venture models like Sylphy. The price has been lowered to less than RMB 80,000. How do dealers objectively view and respond to the price war in the auto market?

Wang Changqian: China’s auto market is far more complex than any other country in the world. People are interested in cars ranging from 30,000 to 30 million, and hundreds of brands and thousands of models exist. This is It is unthinkable in other countries. Price war is a double-edged sword, hurting the enemy by one thousand but oneself by eight hundred. Production costs can basically be calculated. Joint venture brands may not necessarily have lower production costs than us. If they engage in price wars, they may not necessarily squeeze the living space of independent brands.

Tesla’s product line is too short, and the price war can indeed attract some consumers, but the blank areas not covered by its product line can still support many new energy brands. Again, the market has returned to rationality, and price wars cannot solve all problems.