Author: Guan Hongye
In December 2021, the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the automobile is undoubtedly the most successful link since China's accession to the WTO. In the past 20 years, China's new car sales have more than tenfold, from 2.06 million to more than 25 million; in industrial cooperation and innovation, the Chinese auto market and domestic and foreign car companies have achieved each other and achieved unprecedented prosperity.
In the 20 years of star-like brilliance, Audi cars are particularly eye-catching. In July, Audi reached the 7 million delivery milestone in China, becoming the first high-end car brand to achieve this achievement. From the perspective of business changes, Audi has cultivated the Chinese market into a second hometown and the world's largest single market, and has embarked on a path of Success in China that belongs to Audi.
The point of view is not only the scale and achievements accumulated in the past, but also the exploration and innovation of the future. On December 7, Audi announced a new appointment for its core management functions in the Chinese market: from January 1, 2022, Dr. Wen Zeyue will become President of Audi China, leading Audi's business operations in China. The current President of Audi China, Mr. Anschho, is retiring.
With the full shift of product technology to electrification, the joint venture operation of the two joint venture structures of North and South Audi is imminent, and Audi is about to open a new chapter worth looking forward to in China.
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Since entering the Chinese market, Audi has continued to make breakthroughs and innovations, creating a number of "firsts": the first luxury car brand to enter the Chinese market, the first high-end car brand to carry out localization production in China, and to a certain extent, it has defined the market's cognition of high-end cars and established the localization standard of the whole process.
In 1988, since the Audi 100 entered the Chinese market, "Audi" has become synonymous with luxury cars in that era, which not only opened the prelude to China's domestic high-end cars, cultivated and developed the high-end automobile market, but also established a domestic high-end automobile manufacturing system and procurement standards, known as the "most understanding of China" luxury car.
"Understanding China", the key lies in In China, For China, which is inseparable from Audi's keen sense of market smell, and even more inseparable from the determination to deepen China and build a "second hometown".
As early as 1996, Audi developed the Audi 200 specifically for the Chinese market, and created a precedent for the lengthening of domestic models, lengthening the original Audi A6 by 100mm;
After the millennium, Audi introduced the global unified high-standard sales and service system into China for the first time, and built the first Audi standard dealer showroom;
Not only manufacturing and production, but also the development function front. Audi China has built the Beijing Design Center into one of the world's three major design centers, regarded China as the forefront of innovation, transformed the needs of Chinese consumers into model design, and created exclusive luxury cars for the Chinese market;
In 2021, Audi further expanded the connotation of joint venture cooperation, joined hands with two local partners, and together with China FAW and SAIC Motor, established the most powerful combination in China's high-end car field, opening up a more imaginative picture of the future.
It is also based on the success of the Chinese market that Audi depicts the most wonderful scene in the brand's century-old history: based on the annual sales of nearly 2 million vehicles, it has become a world-class high-end car brand; following the brand genes of Vorsprung, it is still "enterprising" on the road of industrial transformation.
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There are many reasons for Audi's success in China, always adhere to In China, For China, and the same frequency resonance with the times; always adhere to the win-win situation of all parties, and achieve each other with partners... There are many elaborations. In my opinion, Audi's ability to achieve such impressive results also confirms a core concept in the development of the brand - People Make the Brand - people create brands. Since entering China for 33 years, Chinese and German employees have worked together with one heart and one mind, with enthusiasm and sweat, persistence and professionalism, to make a perfect annotation for "People make the brand", providing the best example of the importance of "people" to the brand.
Among the many "people" worth detailing, mr. An Shihao, the outgoing president of Audi China, is quite outstanding and one of the most memorable "people". He is affectionately known as "Hao Brother" by many domestic auto people. On the one hand, his kind and elegant image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people; on the other hand, he has created many brilliant chapters for audi's development in China.
In China, the honorific title "brother" has two meanings, one is to love kindness, and the other is to respect and identify. As a foreigner, Hao Ge has won the respect and recognition of almost all local business partners with his wisdom and charm.
In 2006, Nesper was inaugurated as the first general manager of the AUDI sales division of FAW-Volkswagen. As I learned more, I found that this handsome German was very different from the German I had previously been: he was confident but not blind, and he always sought the advice of his partners before taking any decision; he was rigorous but humorous enough that even a stranger would be impressed by him within 5 minutes.
The main reason why people trust "Hao Ge" is that in the face of an urgently needed luxury car market, Nexerho and his team completed the integration of the sales network, and left in 2008, moving Audi China's sales from 60,000 to 100,000 vehicles, achieving the goal of "catching up with the British Premier League" in the Chinese market and making China the second largest market in the world.
Although he left China, Nexper's vision never left China. After returning to Germany, Nexer was promoted to Director of Marketing and Sales for the Skoda Brand, allowing him to continue to focus on China from another perspective. And it seems destined that the Chinese market has once again directly intersected with him. In April 2020, Nexer came to China for the second time as President of Audi China.
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If he was pioneering 14 years ago, then 2020 is reloaded, facing a lot of pressure and responsibility: the ups and downs of the SAIC Audi project is imminent, how to improve cooperation, unity and proper handling of multi-party partnerships; China's auto market competition intensified, how to reshape the brand, and further enhance Audi's gold content in China.
Back in China again, Nestarol is more mature and capable. Shortly after taking office, Audi launched Audi's "Golden Decade" strategy in China, clarifying that the brand's growth strategy in China will revolve around three pillars: strengthening the management structure, developing a partner strategy and a strong product lineup. A strong product lineup is the top priority of Audi's "Golden Decade" strategy in China, with a strong product offensive, excellent service and innovative business model, Audi has more confidence to respond to market changes.
What is impressive is that at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, when the latest models from the "North and South" Audi jointly appeared on the stage, when The hands of Nexer and the hands of the heads of FAW Audi and SAIC Audi were tightly clasped together, applause and cheers resounded throughout the exhibition hall.
To a considerable extent, it is under the active promotion and influence of Neschau that Audi has achieved the strategic layout of working with two local partners, and the successful establishment of the two joint venture models means that Audi has opened the valve for the next step of great development.
Obviously, Nexer lived up to expectations, the mission will be achieved, and handed over a satisfactory answer sheet to the group and all parties.
Mr. Dusman, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, commented: "Over the past two years, Nexro has successfully written a new chapter in the development of Audi's business in China. On behalf of the Audi Board of Management, I would like to thank Nexerau for his contribution and wish him every success in this new phase of his life. ”
Time flies, but the feelings are still the same. Since joining Volkswagen in 1982, Howger has contributed nearly 40 years of his career to the Volkswagen Group, of which nearly 17 years have been spent at Audi. More than a year ago, talking about returning to China, Nexro told this writer bluntly: It's destiny, fate arrangement. For him, fate is elusive, but the future is fairly certain. Talking about his imminent retirement, he said emotionally: "For me, the Audi brand has been engraved on my heart, and I can't wipe it off. ”
Since coming to China 15 years ago, "Hao Ge" and China's feelings have been deepening. He himself has a feeling of being a relative to his "second hometown". "Working in China for a few years has been the most valuable asset and life experience in my career."
Not long ago, in an interview he talked about it. "Here, I have made a lot of excellent colleagues and friends, and I feel the professionalism and enthusiasm of everyone, which is very precious to me. Audi's success in China has never been the achievement of one person, but the joint efforts of a group of people with ideals, courage and strategy. I believe audi is now ready to deal with the challenges of industry change. In the future, I will have more time to return to my family and spend time with my relatives and friends, but at the same time, I will continue to pay attention to and wish Audi's development in China. ”
Apple founder Steve Jobs once said that when you look back on the past of life, some inadvertent bits and pieces may not feel meaningful at the time, but when you string them together, you will find different values. Brother Hao said that connecting the dots and lines in his life, he was very grateful for the arrangement of fate.
Bless "Brother Hao", China goodbye!
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As the new President of Audi China, Dr. Wen Zeyue will officially take office on January 1, 2022. It is worth looking forward to that Dr. Wen Zeyue is also an old friend of China, and this time coming to Audi China is not only a new mission, but also a continuation of the frontier.
Dr. Winzer was born in 1965 in Rastatt, Baden-Voltenburg, Germany, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He joined the Volkswagen Group in 2004 and held management positions in the production departments of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Audi, as well as in the production planning and production strategy departments of the Volkswagen Group.
In 2013, Dr. Wen Zeyue came to China as deputy general manager and director of FAW-Volkswagen (Technology), responsible for technology research and development, product management and manufacturing.
In the next seven years, FAW-Volkswagen achieved a stage of rapid development, and the system capacity reached an annual production and sales of 2 million vehicles. During this period, FAW-Volkswagen put into operation ten new plants, including new Audi production sites in Foshan, Tianjin and Qingdao.
RENFA Media believes that the selection of Dr. Wen Zeyue as the head of Audi China is based on his deep understanding and rich experience in the Chinese market on the one hand, and on the other hand, he also values his high-level business capabilities in technology research and development, product management and manufacturing.
With the full support of the headquarters, the foundation of professional skills, and the blessing of China's experience, RENA Media believes that Wen Zeyue is likely to play a "key role" at a "critical moment" like his predecessor.
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But success is by no means easy, and to a considerable extent, Wen Zeyue faces a more difficult and difficult test than his predecessors. In the author's opinion, the challenge is mainly manifested in three aspects.
First of all, as soon as possible to correct the name of the traditional luxury brand electric vehicle.
In 2021, China's new energy vehicle market is expected to exceed the 3 million mark, but including Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, including the traditional haoqiang did not achieve the expected results, but the new car manufacturers who were unknown in the past attracted market attention.
In the past, the core criterion for measuring the success of an automobile company was: cost, price, channel, brand, and industrial chain integration, that is, judgment based on the traditional manufacturing base. In just a few years, new equations are taking shape: big data, Internet of Vehicles, intelligence, ecosystems... Obviously, business models are already very different, and laying the foundation for success in the past is not a guarantee of the next success.
Just a few months ago, Audi unveiled its new "Vorsprung 2030" strategy in Germany, which clarified the three major priorities of electric mobility, autonomous driving and digitalization. As for China, Audi and volkswagen groups will invest up to 15 billion euros in China by 2024 in the field of electrification, including infrastructure, electric vehicle research and development, intelligent transportation technology and so on.
In fact, just this year, Audi has achieved the world's first L4 autonomous driving demonstration of converging V2X signals on public roads, and has taken the lead in applying 5G communication modules with C-V2X functions in the Chinese market to audi A7L and Audi A6L, and will also promote related hardware and functions to more mass production models in the future.
RENFA Media believes that in the starting stage, traditional luxury brands hesitated, but their accumulation and scale are not in the same order of magnitude as new players, and mature systems and technical capabilities are still a strong guarantee for the future.
Second, consolidate the layout of dual joint venture partners and truly realize the vision of "1+1>2".
33 years ago, Audi introduced the world's advanced automotive technology and experience to China, and through the sincere cooperation between China and Germany, it opened up a successful joint venture cooperation road.
Today, with the efforts of many parties, Audi has built two local joint venture partner frameworks. According to Audi's vision, in the future, FAW-Volkswagen Audi will be responsible for domestic models, imported models and PPE platform models that are synchronized with the world, and SAIC Audi will produce additional and complementary products tailored to the needs of Chinese users.
Next, how to promote the innovative sales model through the synergistic and complementary product layout of the two joint venture partners and truly realize the strategy of "1+1>2" will greatly test The wisdom and skills of Wen Zeyue will be greatly tested. After all, there has never been a precedent. "High-end car double joint venture partner" is an opportunity and a challenge.
Third, accelerate the layout of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and effectively promote the localization of front-end value such as research and development and procurement.
In the 33 years since China entered the country and 20 years since China's "accession to the WTO", under the joint coercion of repeated epidemics and scientific and technological iterations, we are accelerating towards an uncertain future. Many of the rules, methods, and patterns with which we were familiar with the past will never return. The author believes that the future unknown can be defined by three "post-eras" - the post-epidemic era, the post-joint venture era, and the post-dividend era - behind which reflects the collapse of the inherent pattern and the swing of the new order.
The causes are not limited to the auto industry itself, but the slowing market rhythm, the gradual centrifugal industrial policies and the more mature and diversified consumption patterns have put forward new requirements for the Chinese positioning and resilience of multinational companies.
The gradually clear consensus is that the post-joint venture era must be built on a deeper integration of local needs and a greater degree of localization of the whole value chain, which is a new era proposition for foreign auto brands to take root and develop in China.
An era has the characteristics of an era, and a generation has a mission of a generation. From Neseo to Wen Zeyue, successive Presidents of Audi China have faced different challenges and need to undertake different missions, but what does not sway with the changes in the outside world is that the "avenue" of Chinese cars is there - as long as it can grasp the core of the needs of the times and resonate with Chinese users at the same frequency, then Audi can always win in China.