2021 is an extraordinary year, but also the opening year of the "14th Five-Year Plan", the mainland's economic and social development has made new historic achievements, the national economy has leapt to a new level; this year, as an important pillar industry of the national economy, automobiles still show strong resilience under various pressures, and strive to overcome the tight supply of chips, the outbreak of scattered epidemics, policy and regulatory adjustments, etc., and won the world's largest automobile market for 13 consecutive years. In the past year, "new energy, independent brands and exports" is undoubtedly the three keywords of the automotive industry; the industrial structure has further improved quality and efficiency, strong enterprises (or brands) have further consolidated their advantages, new brands have remained active, and electric and intelligent have become a trend.
Based on the observation of the industry, the analysis of the industry and the on-site interviews and reports, the Auto Channel of China Economic Network chooses to take stock of the memorable events, enterprises (brands), people, products, social responsibilities, etc. in 2021 at the end of the year; and chooses a word - "Jian" to summarize and summarize, present the bits and pieces of 2021 to readers, and launch the character article today.
Self-research "blossoming fruit", Wang Chuanfu promoted BYD to join the head camp of independent brands
Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD Co., Ltd., has been labeled "technology maniac" and "battery king" by the outside world. Due to its long-term focus on battery research, BYD has not only gained many technical patents, but also allowed it to sit firmly in the position of "brother" of domestic new energy for many years. In 2021, BYD once again broke the sales record of new energy vehicles. According to the data, BYD's annual sales of new energy passenger cars increased by 231.6% year-on-year to 593745 units, which is a new record in China so far, which is 2.4 times the previous Chinese record.
Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Co., Ltd. (File photo)
The reason why BYD has been able to achieve today's results is inseparable from Wang Chuanfu's strategic determination to adhere to independent innovation and deepen the new energy automobile industry for many years. As a leading car company in the domestic independent brand, BYD has made early efforts in the field of new energy vehicles, has strong technology accumulation, and has deeply laid out core businesses such as vehicle production, power batteries, and vehicle-grade semiconductors, with strong independent research and development capabilities and prominent advantages in vertical integration of the industrial chain.
In the past year, under the influence of the global "lack of core tide", many car companies have "a core is difficult to find". Under the background of limited chips, BYD has supported the continuous surge in sales with the whole supply chain system it has created. Relying on its own strong technical strength and perfect industrial chain layout, BYD not only strongly ranks among the top camp of independent brands with excellent sales data, but also helps Chinese auto brands continue to rise in the world new energy vehicle market pattern.
Adhering to the "China First", Gao Le led BMW to win the "Triple Crown" at Huahao.
Four years ago (March 2018), GaoLe officially became the president and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, and in his first year in office, he helped BMW refresh its sales record in China through effective platoon deployment, and even more with forward-looking investment, it helped BMW lead the high-end new energy vehicle market.
Gao Le, President and CEO of the BMW Group greater China (Corporate Image)
The following year (2019), BMW under Gao Le continued to deepen its China strategy and steadily implemented the "2+4" strategic initiative under the guidance of the new "First Strategy". In the "Year of Products" driven by the "Year of X", "Year of Sport" and "Year of Large Luxury Cars", BMW lived up to expectations and won the champion of luxury car sales in the Chinese market.
In 2021, under the uncertainties of the new crown epidemic, the continuous impact of the "lack of core" challenge, and the high price of raw materials, BMW not only won the title of the domestic high-end car sales champion for the third time, but also opened a gap of nearly 150,000 vehicles with the advantage of "big score" and competitors.
BMW's ability to continue to refresh its own record is inseparable from its "China First" principle. Over the years, BMW has been aligning its corporate strategy with China's development goals, prioritizing the needs of the Chinese market in new product development, and continuously strengthening win-win cooperation with Chinese partners. "Looking to the future, BMW will continue to make China its home, and develop in tandem with China's economy and society, especially to promote the electrification process and support China's sustainable development," GaoLe said.
Based on "Shouzheng Innovation", Guo Yongfeng launched the "battle" of FAW-Volkswagen digital marketing
In 2021, FAW-Volkswagen ushered in the important historical moment of the 30th anniversary of its establishment, and could have "celebrated its birthday" with a record high sales record, but due to uncertainties such as the new crown epidemic, the "lack of core" crisis, and the high price of raw materials, its production capacity has been greatly impacted.
At the same time, the automobile industry is experiencing major changes that have not been encountered in a hundred years, and the superposition of the two major waves of "new four modernizations" and "new consumption" has made the domestic and even global automobile market pattern undergo earth-shaking changes. In the face of the drastic changes in consumer demand and the severe challenges brought about by the chip shortage, the FAW-Volkswagen marketing team has carried out digital transformation with the user as the center, and constantly seeks to achieve market breakthroughs in the sales of new energy vehicles, personalized demand and brand upwards.
Guo Yongfeng, Deputy General Manager (Commercial) of FAW-Volkswagen and General Manager of Sales Company (Courtesy of enterprises)
As the deputy general manager (business) of FAW-Volkswagen and the general manager of the sales company Guo Yongfeng, who lead the digital marketing reform, in the only one year or so of running FAW-Volkswagen Sales Company, they have consolidated the "value price strategy" from the product and market levels, and used the advanced digital guarantee system and excellent product and marketing capabilities to help FAW-Volkswagen "keep" and "create" and repair, and go steady and far. According to the data, in 2021, FAW-Volkswagen will have accumulated 1857777 new vehicles (including Audi imported cars) at its terminals, further consolidating its leading position and advantages in Chinese passenger car companies.
Encountering the "Seven Year Itch"? Whether Li Bin can withstand the pressure of all parties
"I can't understand at all, why do you still buy oil trucks now, in addition to being able to smell some gasoline, what else is good?" Listen? Li Bin, founder and chairman of NIO Motor, made a speech at NIO DAY 2021 on WEIO, which caused great controversy.
Li Bin, founder and chairman of NIO (file photo)
Subsequently, Li Bin explained: "My original intention is that in the past few years, the charging and replacing infrastructure is indeed not convenient enough, and there are few good electric vehicles, and now the infrastructure is developing rapidly, and there are many good products in various price segments to choose from." Now is the time to choose electric vehicles, and this trend is also illustrated by the sharp increase in electric vehicle penetration in China this year. ”
In stark contrast to Li Bin's high-profile remarks, Weilai Automobile, which was founded in 2014, seems to be suffering from the "seven-year itch", and since the second half of 2021, the ranking of "Wei Xiaoli" has changed, and Weilai's monthly delivery volume has been surpassed by Xiaopeng and Ideal many times, and it can only rank second in annual sales. In addition, in the context of the general decline of Chinese stocks, Weilai's stock price has also been close to the waist in the past year. At the beginning of 2021, NIO's stock price once reached $66.99; it then fell and is currently maintained around $30.
Stock prices and sales are both under pressure, in addition to the pressure of chip supply shortage, may also be related to the weak update of Weilai's product line. Although NIO released two new models, ET7 and ET5, in 2021, it did not complete the actual delivery.
While the pace of new product production has slowed down, Weilai has accelerated its infrastructure construction. In 2021, WEILAI will add 505 new supercharging stations and 2598 supercharged piles; 359 new destination charging stations and 1984 destination charging piles were added, and 605 new substations were added. This year, Weilai also officially went to Sea in Europe. In September, NIO opened its first direct-operated store, NIO House, in Oslo, Norway, and sold its cars to Europe. But from a profit point of view, this will put the order under great financial pressure. In the first three quarters of 2021, NIO's net loss was 835 million yuan. (China Economic Network reporter Wang Yueyue)