Chairman Yin Tongyue of Chery Automobile said in an interview, "Strong exports are also a sign of China's transition from an automobile power to an automobile power, and the vast overseas market contains huge opportunities for Chinese auto brands. ”
In recent years, with the rapid development of China's auto industry, some Chinese car companies have set their sights on overseas markets and opened the process of globalization of Chinese auto brands, including Chery Automobile, which has been "fighting" in overseas markets for 20 years.
According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, 2.015 million vehicles were exported in 2021, an increase of 1 times year-on-year, accounting for 7.7% of total automobile sales, an increase of 3.7 percentage points over the previous year, a record high. It is worth mentioning that the export of mainland automobiles exceeded 2 million for the first time, achieving a breakthrough of hovering around 1 million for many years.
As a veteran power car company that has been working hard in overseas markets for many years, Chery Automobile's export sales in 2021 reached 269154 units, a year-on-year increase of 136.3%, refreshing the new record of Chinese brand passenger cars "sailing to the sea", and has ranked first in the export of Chinese passenger car brands for 19 consecutive years.
Of course, Chery Automobile has achieved such brilliant results in overseas markets is no accident, behind which is inseparable from the support of strong technology, excellent quality and cultural integration, under the guidance of adhering to the strategic principle of "no internal instability, no external strength", Chery Automobile has taken the lead in forging a path for Chinese brands overseas and guiding Chinese brands to the world.
The "Technology Chery" label is deeply imprinted in consumer cognition
In the automotive industry, many countries have set up strict technical barriers, which is also the biggest obstacle to Chinese brands going to sea, Chery Automobile knows the importance of firmly grasping the core technology in its hands, so Chery Automobile chooses to break the situation through the core technology, rather than opportunistic in price.
In order to let more Chery cars drive in the streets and alleys of foreign countries, Chery takes technology as a stepping stone and breaks down technical barriers at any cost. This is also the case, through technological breakthroughs, Chery's performance in overseas markets has flourished, and the label of "Technology Chery" is also deeply imprinted in consumer cognition.
Chairman Yin Tongyue once said: Technology is the "root" of Chery, and only when it has deep roots can it be leafy. Chery's technological innovation adheres to the principle of "standing on top of the sky", making traditional automotive technology solid and thorough; making new technologies such as chips, software, and batteries high and cutting-edge.
In order to make the technology go further, Chery invests 5%-7% of its annual sales revenue for technology research and development, from the engine to the gearbox, from the core components to the vehicle platform development, from the traditional automobile technology to the new energy, intelligent network connection, software, chips and other "new four" technologies, and now Chery has broken one after another core technical barriers that have been monopolized by foreign brands.
Take the Kunpeng Power of the global architecture of Chery 4.0 era, the Kunpeng 2.0TGDI engine promoted by the main pusher integrates the second generation of "i-HEC" intelligent combustion system, high-strength rolling current combustion system, 350bar ultra-high pressure direct injection and other leading engine technologies, which can achieve 38.2% of the gold thermal efficiency and achieve the maximum effective thermal efficiency of 41%, and the overall level has entered the world's first-class.
Excellent technical accumulation makes Chery's products more reliable. It is understood that in chery Longshan test center, Chery Automobile will invest more than 300 real car collisions and more than 500 trolley simulation collisions every year, the crash test room is an EU-certified test institution, in the form, angle, strength and other aspects of the collision can meet the most demanding collision conditions. After continuous testing, Chery products can meet the national standard, as well as European standards, American standards and other standards when they finally go offline, ensuring the absolute safety of the products, so that Chery Automobile can truly become a national brand that consumers can rest assured.
In order to bring users a quiet cockpit environment, Chery has invested heavily in the construction of the NVH laboratory, the ambient noise is less than 19 decibels, and a needle can be heard. In the NVH laboratory, after the adjustment of Chery Golden Ear team, the test vehicle can control the idle noise within 38 decibels, and it still remains at the level of 38 decibels silence after 3 or 5 years of driving.
Whether it is crash safety or silent performance, chery's tests are behind the dedication to technology, quality and performance.
In fact, it is not difficult to imagine, if you just want to be a company chasing short-term sales figures, you will not invest such a huge amount of money to focus on technology, obviously Chery Automobile is not a company that pursues short-term interests, it will focus on the broader international market, and examine the development of the automobile industry with an international perspective.
In other words, excellent technical accumulation not only makes Chery's products more reliable, but also gives Chery the strength to continuously improve its market share in domestic and foreign markets according to the different environments, market conditions and consumer behavior habits of overseas markets.
The transformation from "going out" to "going up"
Looking at many international famous automobile brands, all of them have become international first-class brands by going to the global market. From the very beginning of its establishment, Chery has established the goal of "building a world-class brand" and adhered to the strategy of "no internal instability, no external strength". Chery has experienced the "three-step" internationalization of the overseas market for 20 years, from the initial simple trade of "going out" to the current brand "going up".
To say that the cornerstone that supports Chery's sail in overseas markets is excellent technology and quality, and the second is the recognition of Chery's brand and services by local car owners. In other words, if you want to gain a foothold in the local market, you need to conduct in-depth research on the local market and culture, and launch products that are more in line with the territory, which is often referred to as "localization".
As Yin Tongyue said: "An enterprise has mastered the core technology, but it only has the basis for survival, and only by establishing a guarantee mechanism for sustainable innovation can it take root in the hearts of foreign consumers." ”
Chery is well aware of the importance of this, deeply integrated into the countries where overseas markets are located, and achieved win-win cooperation with local areas through localization development. For example, in Central and South America, the local house is built on the mountain, the terrain is undulating, the user parking is upside down, which has higher requirements for the torque of the engine, so Chery's technicians improve the engine for special scenarios to meet the local users' car scenes; and in the perennial high temperature area, long-term idle speed causes a great load on the engine, so the technicians have made adjustments to the parameters of the engine.
In order to make the brand really "go up", in addition to targeted research and development at the product level, it is also necessary to truly understand the users of overseas markets, understand them, and become friends with them, so Chery also provides exclusive services for the characteristics of users in different markets.
For example, in order to understand the car habits of Russian consumers, Chery Automobile has made more than 3,000 face-to-face in-depth communications in the Russian market, and learned that they like to drive out to travel or fish. As a result, Chery and local riders' clubs organise a variety of self-driving tours, barbecues, and fishing competitions. By hosting these events, many other consumers have also been affected. It is understood that chery's old customers have exchanged for new cars, and 20% of the customers in new car purchases have come from friends' referrals. These data in the past may not have dared to think.
It can be seen that "going out" is only the beginning, and truly entering the hearts of local consumers is the test of a brand's foothold. Today, Chery has established global R&D bases in Wuhu, Shanghai, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Brazil, with 10 overseas factories, dealers and service outlets reaching more than 1,500, and Chery's products have entered thousands of households around the world.
A textbook for Chinese brands to go global
Since China's accession to the WTO in 2001, China's auto industry has begun to flourish with the scale and cost advantages of manufacturing. However, because of the late start, China's automobile industry has not been able to take off the label of "big but not strong", and at that time it was based on the market for technology. However, although the start is late, but the Speed of Chinese car companies running up is very fast, the Chinese car brands represented by Chery focus on the accumulation and precipitation in technology research and development, about 2016, Chinese car companies began to upgrade their brands, from the market for technology to the technology for the market track switch, and then with years of technology accumulation precipitation Chery Automobile stands out.
Since Chery opened the road to sea in 2001, 20 years later, in 2021, Chery Group has exported nearly 270,000 vehicles, overseas users have exceeded 1.95 million, won the "Top 20 Overseas Images of Chinese Enterprises" for five consecutive years, spread "Chinese Business Cards" in more than 80 countries and regions around the world, and Chery Group's users in the world have exceeded 10 million.
Over the years, Chery Automobile's overseas layout has been closely following the national "Belt and Road" strategy, and while going abroad, it has also brought the self-developed core technology of automobiles to the world. It is reported that in 2013, Chery has increased its layout in Ukraine, Russia, Egypt and other countries along the "Belt and Road", bringing Chery's technology and Chery's services to the countries along the "Belt and Road", and driving the development of local employment and economy and society.
Chery's strategic thinking of both internal and external implementation coincides with the domestic and international dual-cycle strategy proposed by the country in recent years, and under such a grand strategy and system policy, Chery has been able to continue to rise. While expanding the market scale, it also improves the anti-risk ability of enterprises. Nowadays, Chery's products can directly compete with other international brands, and the bargaining power of brands in the international market is getting higher and higher.
More than 80 national flags are hoisted in the car collision laboratory in Chery Wuhu, which means that Chery has been exported to more than 80 countries and regions, and on the road of export, Chery Automobile has become the business card of Chinese car brands going out. In addition, Chery Automobile closely follows the national market double cycle strategy, while expanding the market scale, the future will also be a textbook for more Chinese brands to go to the world.
summary
"20 years ago, a door opened up China's connection with the world, and also opened up the infinite possibilities of Chery Automobile's overseas journey." As Yin Tongyue said, in the face of overseas markets full of opportunities and risks and challenges, Chinese entrepreneurs and independent brands should not only maintain curiosity and competitiveness, but also have patience, and opportunities in overseas markets are always available to those who are prepared.
Although the repeated epidemics, chip shortages, and rising raw materials have once put the auto market under pressure, Chery is still determined to change and innovate, consolidate its foundation through "technology Chery", accelerate transformation with user thinking and Internet thinking, and maintain a growth trend. In 2022, Chery will set its annual sales target at 1.5 million vehicles and export 500,000 vehicles, accounting for up to one-third, and this confidence also allows us to see Chery's confidence. In a way, the success of Chery Automobile's going abroad is also a microcosm of the national enterprises embracing globalization after China's accession to the WTO, and Chinese auto brands with a globalization strategy and vision like Chery are growing into world-class auto brands and going global.