Cui Dongyou, general manager of Beijing Hyundai
When the market ushers in the dual challenges of the epidemic and supply chain problems, and the urgency of the transformation of the "new four modernizations" is increasing day by day, how should Beijing Hyundai break through? Looking back at the past 2021, it is obvious that Beijing Hyundai has gathered new energy for its own rejuvenation by reshaping the value coordinates and actively responding to industry changes.
In 2021, Beijing Hyundai sold about 385,000 vehicles, a decline compared to 2020, which is not an ideal result. However, Cui Dongyou, general manager of Beijing Hyundai, said recently, "Although sales have declined compared with the previous year, the gold content of business operations has been relatively improved." The development of Beijing Hyundai last year has changed from the original sales-oriented to high-quality development based on enhancing internal strength."
Cui Dongyou's two sentences allow the outside world to glimpse the upward curve of Beijing Hyundai in the value level in 2021 from behind the sales, and the reshaping of the value coordinates of Beijing Hyundai from a single pursuit of development speed to a comprehensive pursuit of development quality.
Beijing Hyundai Kustu
In 2021, Beijing Hyundai's four high-value models - the seventh generation Elantra, the fifth generation Tucson L, the new ix35 and The Kustu have all achieved different degrees of explosion, and the proportion of high-value models in overall sales has further increased, and the proportion of low-end products below 100,000 yuan has been further reduced.
Corresponding to the high value of the sales structure, the product price system is strong. "Many people think that in the past, Beijing Hyundai promoted cost performance, why not reduce prices now, is Beijing Hyundai not wanting to sell cars? Of course, this is not the case, we are fully aware that as a manufacturer, do not do product market price management, in the end, it is our customers who suffer losses. Cui Dongyou said.
Strengthening price control and getting rid of the shackles of the past "price war" is also a part of Beijing's modern high-quality development. In fact, under the trend of consumption upgrading, Beijing Hyundai has chosen to strengthen price control, which also aims to protect the interests of consumers.
Cui Dongyou believes that because China's automobile consumption environment has changed, exchange consumption will become more and more common, if the car manufacturers do not effectively manage the market price of products, then consumers will suffer greater losses due to the low residual value of second-hand cars in the process of exchange.
The concern for the interests of consumers is based on such a humane concept - "It is not easy to establish or form a 'popularity' with a certain person, but once the 'popularity' is established, it must be well maintained and cannot be easily destroyed." Although Beijing Hyundai is now encountering some difficulties, once the 'popularity' is established, we will be responsible for all relevant parties to the end. Cui Dongyou said.
The relevant parties in Cui Dongyou's mouth include not only customers, but also dealer partners. It is understood that after a series of structural optimizations, the number of dealers in Beijing Hyundai will drop to about 590 at the end of 2021, while the profitability of dealers in 2021 will rise sharply from 20% in the past to 80%, higher than the industry average.
At present, the automotive industry is in a period of major changes once in a century, and the wave of electrification and intelligence is both a challenge and an opportunity for Beijing Hyundai, which is seeking rejuvenation.
Cui Dongyou said that Beijing Hyundai has been keeping up with the pace of the times, the future of Beijing Hyundai and the past Beijing Hyundai will be different, the future direction of Beijing Modern new technology development direction will also focus on considering the environment, safety, convenience and economy of these areas.
In terms of electrification, Beijing Hyundai has gone through the stage of "oil to electricity" and is preparing to launch a new round of offensive for electric vehicles. According to reports, Beijing Hyundai plans to introduce the mid-term modification of the IONIQ5 into the Chinese market, and launch an electric vehicle exclusive to the Chinese market in the middle of next year.
At this stage, the Chinese market will enjoy the highest priority. Cui Dongyou stressed that the listing market of IONIQ5 mid-term redesign in China will not lag behind the European and American markets, but will be listed simultaneously in the global market. In addition, the first market for this model to be launched in China next year is also China.
Beijing Hyundai IONIQ5
It is worth noting that the advent of the "carbon neutral" era has also made electric vehicles an excellent platform for various car companies to compete in new technologies.
"Beijing Hyundai has always kept pace with the times, and the Beijing Modern of the past and the Beijing Modern of the future will be different." Cui Dongyou said that in the future, the development direction of modern new technologies in Beijing will focus on considering the areas of environment, safety, convenience and economy. The next step to launch the electric vehicle, to add the new intelligent network, OTA, assisted driving and other state-of-the-art technology.
In the sales link, almost all car manufacturers want to adopt different sales channels or strategies from the past when launching electric vehicles, among which the network sales and direct sales models brought by emerging car companies represented by Tesla have brought a huge impact on the industry.
For channel issues, Beijing Hyundai wants to leave the decision to customers. "The sales model of Beijing Hyundai New Energy Vehicle is not something that can be decided by ourselves, but by our customers, we will adopt diversified sales channels for sales according to changes in customer needs, and we will become a customer-oriented brand, rather than a brand-oriented." Choi said.
From the perspective of time, the development trough of Beijing Hyundai in the past few years from 2016 to the present is only a "fragment" in its 20-year enterprise development history. Beijing Hyundai, backed by multinational giants, seems to have a much greater staying power in the period of industry change than the outside world thinks.
From tearing off the "cost performance" label to reshaping the corporate image with technology, Beijing Hyundai's "broken" and "standing" are more like a round of "squats" that accumulate strength before a new "jump".
Text/Wang Ziyang