People born in 1984 should be 37 years old by this year. China's auto industry has opened up to the outside world and embarked on the road of joint ventures, which happens to be the 37th year this year. Today, I want to talk about the story of a 37-year-old "car breaker".
Pioneer of the modernization of China's automobile industry
Young people who have just entered the workplace will always be eager to show what they have learned and thought, in their eyes, everything in the company's past is a rule, which should be broken and subverted. Just like the new car-making forces now, they like to talk about "defining cars with software" at any time, and like to plan "about the future of travel changes".
Is this idea wrong? Of course not! If everyone had stuck to the rules, the world wouldn't have gotten where it is today. However, it needs to be clearly recognized that the new forces of car-making cannot change anything out of thin air, and the solid foundation laid by giants such as Volkswagen and Toyota has created an indispensable soil for the growth of new forces today.
It's as if the smartphone you can't put down at any time originated from the iPhone that Jobs pulled out of his jeans pocket in 2007. One of the pioneers of China's auto industry on the road to modernization is SAIC Volkswagen, 37 years old.
Before the birth of SAIC Volkswagen, many people did not know how to use modern industrial technology to build a car. In the 30 years after the founding of New China, the total production of domestically produced cars was less than tens of thousands, and the assembly line was even a strange term for the Chinese automobile industry at that time.
In 1984, SAIC Volkswagen was founded, which became the beginning of the Chinese auto industry to "open its eyes to the world".
In the history and huge product camp of SAIC Volkswagen, the name Santana cannot be bypassed under any circumstances. As the first model of SAIC Volkswagen, "owning Santana, not afraid to go all over the world" was a household name at that time - but few people know that Santana also faced a huge dilemma that year.
In 1983, the first Santana from the SAIC Motor Plant to roll off the production line was assembled in CKD parts. A few years later, Santana's domestic production rate is still less than 4%, and the localization of parts has become a top priority. In 1988, the "Localization Community" composed of key parts suppliers, sales companies and research and development institutes was established, focusing on the localization of parts and components. After unremitting efforts, the localization rate of Santana in 1990 has risen to 60.09%, and by 1996 it has reached 90%, and key components such as body, engine, gearbox, front and rear axles have all been localized.
The component system is the foundation of the automotive industry, and the "Santana Community" has become one of the many contributions made by SAIC Volkswagen to the Chinese automotive industry. In addition, in the past 37 years, SAIC Volkswagen has played a unique role at every inflection point of China's automobile industry: for example, the "POLO colorful car life" that many people have deeply impressed, borrowing football to talk about cars, opening up a precedent for cross-border marketing that is still very popular; for example, the establishment and launch of the 4S store model has made Chinese auto people realize the importance of user service.
Early layout, a blockbuster
At the age of 37, the most appropriate adjective should be "young and powerful", and this stage is at the peak of ability, energy, and experience. For the 37-year-old SAIC Volkswagen, it also has enough imagination and vitality to face every new inflection point in the automotive industry. Now, this inflection point has come, and it is a once-in-a-century opportunity.
The development trend of intelligence and electrification has become the consensus of the automotive industry. The new car-making forces have taken advantage of this wave and the mature supply chain system to quickly knock on the door of new markets. In contrast, some car companies that have been deeply engaged in fuel vehicles for many years have become "hesitants" in the eyes of many people.
But the truth is far from this, such as SAIC Volkswagen, has long had a deep insight into the development trend of intelligence and electrification, and launched a layout in advance.
In 2017, with the joint support of both shareholders, SAIC Volkswagen released the "Co-creation 2025" strategy, comprehensively laying out products, technologies and businesses, and clarifying the focus of future efforts, namely: new energy, intelligent networking, forward-looking research and intelligent driving.
With the "Co-Creation 2025" strategy as the source point, SAIC Volkswagen has methodically opened the road of "new generation" development. In 2020, the MEB factory, an exclusive electric vehicle factory with an investment of 17 billion yuan and the largest and most efficient domestic production scale, was officially opened, and the annual production capacity reached 300,000 units.
In the following year, SAIC Volkswagen successively launched three pure electric vehicle models on the MEB platform of ID.4 X, ID.6 X and ID.3, and quickly completed the product layout of THE first year of ID. Judging from the current market feedback, the SAIC Volkswagen ID. family has achieved sales growth for seven consecutive months, of which 3507 units were sold in August, 5001 vehicles were sold in September, and the monthly sales mark of 7000+ were established in October and November.
Build an electric car from the essence of the car
Over the years, SAIC Volkswagen in China has been considered by many to be "always being chased and never surpassed". In the new track of electrification and intelligence, all participants start from the same running line, so does SAIC Volkswagen still have its own "key to winning"?
The answer is yes, this key is to return to the essence of the car and adhere to the original intention of building the car.
Technology products, Internet terminals, user contacts... Such "new definitions" of automobiles often appear in the slogans or PPT of new car-making forces, but SAIC Volkswagen's 37 years of "experience in the industry" always reminds itself that whether it is building electric vehicles or intelligent cars, we must avoid the virtual reality and do "model research and development that returns to the essence of the car".
Therefore, SAIC Volkswagen first studied the platform before building a car - the concept of platform is also one of the modernization cognitions that SAIC Volkswagen brought to the Chinese automotive industry. The ID. family is based on the new MEB platform, a modular architecture that flexibly adapts to different types of electric vehicles, enabling diverse performance while sharing components and assembly processes.
Handling, safety and comfort are the three keywords that SAIC Volkswagen adheres to in the era of fuel vehicles, and the same is true in the era of electric intelligent vehicles. Handling, representing the most original driving attributes of the car, SAIC Volkswagen's professional chassis research and development team ensures that the ID. family electric vehicle has the same smoothness, comfort and handling stability as the fuel vehicle.
Safety, is the most important attribute for consumers when buying a car, SAIC Volkswagen R & D center complete test field, test center, for the product to provide the whole process of system to ensure safety, in addition, 338 far beyond the national standard brand standard battery safety verification, covering temperature shock, chemical corrosion, extreme collision and other scenarios, fundamentally guarantee the battery safety and vehicle durability.
Comfort is the best embodiment of the hedonistic attributes of the car, and the data accumulated by tens of millions of domestic car owners has helped SAIC Volkswagen create a "Volkswagen" electric vehicle that is more in line with the needs of users.
While the new car-making forces are racking their brains to create a new label for themselves, SAIC Volkswagen upholds the reverence for the car and builds a corporate moat with technology and sincerity. It's as if young people are keen to play the "catfish" that stirs up the dilemma, but the 37-year-old SAIC Volkswagen, no matter how the environment changes, can quickly adapt to the new market rules, because they know the nature and truth of life better than their younger generations.