As a new energy giant ship, BYD is moving forward at a rapid pace, and it is soaring all the way in the capital market, and the market value in 2021 was once close to trillions. Wang Chuanfu, the helmsman, has always maintained confidence in BYD's technological innovation, but the market is unpredictable, and he is more worried than ever about the reef beneath the water.
Wen | Wang Xuanxuan, a reporter for China Entrepreneur
Edited | Ma Jiying
Head Photography | Steven Wang
This is not the first time THATD has won the championship, but for Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD Group, this victory is particularly precious.
In 2021, BYD's full line of passenger car sales reached 730093 units, an increase of 75.4% year-on-year, of which the annual sales of new energy passenger cars reached 593745 units, an increase of 231.6% year-on-year, ranking first in China's new energy vehicle sales.
At present, the automobile industry is in the midst of major changes, and electrification is accelerating. According to the data of the Association of Passenger Vehicles, the retail sales of new energy passenger cars in the mainland will reach 2.989 million units in 2021, an increase of 169% year-on-year. Whether it is a new car-making force or a traditional car company, they are striving to seize this rare market blowout period, from products, technologies to business layout, all of which are frequently moved.
According to the data of the Association of Passenger Vehicles, the market penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in mainland China was 5.8% in 2020, and in December 2021, this figure has reached 22.6%. In 2021, the market share of Chinese brand cars exceeded 44%, close to the best level in history.
This made Wang Chuanfu recall the rapid blowout period of traditional fuel vehicles in the Chinese market more than a decade ago. "That very prosperous scene seems to be back now, of course, it is not a fuel vehicle, but a new energy vehicle."
Watchmaking: Xiao Li
Lu Tian, general manager of the sales division of BYD Dynasty Network, told China Entrepreneur that the previous two rounds of explosive growth were the misplaced competition between the price competition of low-cost products (2003~2009) and the SUV strategy (2010~2017), and the value of this round of explosive growth was higher, and it was the independent brands that launched a counterattack under the background of mastering electrification and intelligent hard-core technology.
In mid-December 2021, although there are many things to be happy about, sitting in the newly renovated conference room of the Hexagon, Wang Chuanfu does not look happy. The new energy giant ship he built is moving at a rapid pace, and it is soaring all the way in the capital market. In 2021, BYD's market value once approached trillion yuan, becoming the third largest car company in the world by market capitalization, after Tesla and Toyota. As of press time, its market value has been reduced, becoming the fourth largest car company in the world by market capitalization (surpassed by Volkswagen). Some brokers estimate that BYD's market value will reach 1.34 trillion yuan in 2022.
Wang Chuanfu has always maintained confidence in BYD's technological innovation, but at the same time, in the fast-changing market, he is more worried than ever about the reef under the water that cannot be clearly predicted.
Lu Tian introduced that when BYD's first F3DM was launched in 2008, the market penetration rate of new energy passenger cars was almost zero. According to the data of the Association of Passenger Vehicles, in 2018, the national penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles reached 4%, and by the end of 2020, this figure reached 5.8%. In 2021, the penetration rate of new energy passenger cars has soared to 14.8%. "One year has gone through the last 12 years. In the past 12 years, we have made technical reserves and talent reserves, and even so, we are not completely ready when new energy vehicles break out. Lu Tian said.
Wang Chuanfu's sense of crisis is also even worse than ever. "The biggest difficulty now is that we can't see through the market, the changes are too fast, so we have to look at the penetration rate every week and go to the front line to see the trend." Wang Chuanfu said.
"At this stage, it is not too much to use the term 'fighting', fighting a war should be made quickly, correct if it is wrong, adjust in the implementation process, and iterate quickly." We believe that BYD can ultimately win this war. Wang Chuanfu said, "In this change, it must be fast fish eating slow fish, and it is definitely not big fish eating small fish." ”
For BYD, the replacement of fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles is an iteration spanning a decade, or self-revolution. Source: Visual China
With the sudden change of market situation, with the successive launch of products of various car companies, how long can BYD's sales advantage be maintained? From the level of the enterprise itself, how to change the situation of increasing revenue without increasing profits, and realize the reversal and improvement of brand image? The deep-seated changes at the industry level are also accelerating - a new type of user relationship is being built, intelligence has become a new arena for all parties to compete, what kind of report card will BYD hand over? These questions are waiting for Wang Chuanfu to give answers.
Outbreak: An iteration spanning a decade
The DM-i plug-in hybrid system has become the most powerful technical support for BYD's soaring sales in 2021.
"We are taking our own lives and cutting off our own hands." Speaking about DM-i, Yang Dongsheng, vice president of BYD Co., Ltd. and president of the Institute of Product Planning and New Automotive Technology, told China Entrepreneur.
Yang Dongsheng joined BYD in 2005 and has served as deputy manager of the chassis department of the Automotive Engineering Research Institute, senior business secretary of the president, general manager of the product and technical planning department, and currently the president of BYD's product planning and automotive new technology research institute, mainly responsible for the research and development of plug-in hybrid and intelligent technologies.
Yang Dongsheng, Vice President of BYD Co., Ltd. and President of the Institute of Product Planning and New Automotive Technology. Source: Respondents
Walking on two legs of pure electric and plug-in hybrid is BYD's strategy at this stage, in which plug-in hybrid is regarded by BYD as the vanguard of alternative fuel vehicles. The "revolution" in Yang Dongsheng's mouth refers to the replacement of fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles, and in the latest generation of DM-i hybrid system, the engine of fuel vehicles has been completely abandoned and special engines have been developed.
For BYD, the replacement of fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles is an iteration spanning a decade, or self-revolution.
In 2008, BYD launched the first plug-in hybrid F3DM. Since then, BYD's plug-in hybrid technology has developed two generations, using the engine of fuel vehicles, that is, BYD's self-developed 1.5T engine, and relying on the industrial chain of fuel vehicles for product development. But this is not an optimal solution, because the engine of the fuel vehicle cannot perfectly meet the hybrid system in terms of power consumption and demand. However, due to the large sales of fuel vehicles, BYD lacks enough courage to invest in the development of an engine for hybrid systems.
Until 2017, Wang Chuanfu put forward a high goal for Yang Dongsheng's team, requiring them to break the inherent thinking, further reduce energy consumption and cost, and develop a plug-in hybrid special engine.
At this time, BYD is in a critical period of transformation, and from the perspective of urgency and basic accumulation, BYD must come up with new technologies to meet challenges. In 2017, Tesla has released and begun to deliver model 3 in the United States, and this "popular pure electric car" has put new energy vehicle companies under pressure. In China, with the decline of new energy subsidies, the growth momentum of new energy vehicles has gradually slowed down, wang Chuanfu said at the Hong Kong performance conference that BYD's sales of new energy vehicles in the first half of 2017 fell by nearly 20%.
With the existing experience in developing three generations of hybrid systems and developing 1.5T engines, Yang Dongsheng led the team to start looking for solutions to problems.
In the final proposed new plan, the plug-in hybrid special engine adopts a dedicated motor and electronic control architecture, which is deeply coupled, which makes the indicators of the new system better than the previous plan, and the cost is also controlled.
BYD has built the R&D and manufacturing capabilities of the whole industry chain. Source: Visual China
But Yang Dongsheng also faces a problem, this engine fuel vehicle can not be used, which means that the engine production of fuel vehicles in the past had to be rotated to produce new engines. "What if dm-i doesn't sell well?" There will be such contradictions within all car companies. Yang Dongsheng said. How much the new car can sell, how much of the original production capacity needs to be reduced, and how much it will be invested in the production of new engines, all of which must be planned in advance.
Yang Dongsheng told "Chinese Entrepreneur" that because the base of BYD fuel vehicles is not large, it is not very difficult for the engine production line to turn.
Another background is that at that time, BYD's internal seventeen divisions responsible for engines and transmissions and fourteen divisions responsible for the core components of electric vehicles had been merged, which was equivalent to the merger of the core divisions of traditional and new energy, and the gap between the new and old forces was broken, and the resistance was much smaller.
In January 2021, BYD unveiled the DM-i platform and launched three new models based on the platform. The new car lives up to expectations and has become an important engine driving up byBYD's new energy vehicle sales.
Taking Qin PLUS DM-i as an example, it achieved monthly sales of 17,286 units in December, becoming the best-selling model of BYD's entire series.
Blade batteries are one of BYD's latest weapons. Source: Visual China
Another weapon that brings BYD's new energy vehicles back to the top is the blade battery. In March 2020, BYD released blade batteries. In July 2020, BYD's first model equipped with blade batteries was launched. According to public data, the average transaction price of BYD Han exceeded 250,000 yuan.
For BYD's technological innovation, Wang Chuanfu has a "fish pond theory": "BYD has a technical fish pond, which raises a lot of fish, and when the market needs it, it will fish out, such as blade batteries and DM-i." "The latest big fish in Yuchi is the e platform 3.0, and the Dolphin model developed on this platform is expected by BYD to be the next "blockbuster", and after being listed in August 2021, it achieved single-month sales in December.
In order to have a more direct access to the sound of artillery fire on the front line, ATD has also carried out major reforms at the organizational structure level.
On February 3, 2021, official information shows that BYD Automobile adjusted the company's organizational structure and established four major divisions: Dynasty Sales Division, e-Net Sales Division (later renamed Ocean Network Sales Division), Brand and Public Relations Division, and After-sales Service Division. The main sales models of Dynasty Network are Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan and their derivative models, and the sales coverage models of Ocean Network include the marine life series represented by Dolphin and the upcoming warship series. The general managers of each business unit report directly to Wang Chuanfu.
"The next 3 to 5 years is a big war, and decision-making should be accelerated and flattened as much as possible." Today, the commanders on the front line are under my direct control, so that the decision-making can be made quickly, and there is no need to report at all levels, otherwise the fighter will be delayed. At present, this organizational structure is more effective. After this war is over, some modest adjustments can be made. Wang Chuanfu said.
Marketization: An imaginary space open to the outside world
In February 2021, Hillhouse Capital will spend $200 million to participate in BYD's new round of private placement, like a hidden and important signal, indicating that more and more capital is chasing BYD.
In the past two years, BYD's stock price has risen fivefold.
"Behind the rise in BYD's stock price, part of the reason is the increase in vehicle sales, but more from the imagination space of power batteries." Zhang Junyi, managing partner of Oliver Yvrux, told China Entrepreneur.
BYD's lithium iron phosphate batteries had lost years. Compared with ternary lithium batteries, lithium iron phosphate has a lower energy density and is more difficult to meet the endurance requirements. In addition, the national support policy includes the energy density of the battery system into the assessment standard, and the ternary battery enjoys policy preferences. Coupled with BYD's previous vertical integration of the industrial ideas, the Ningde era that focuses on the layout of ternary lithium batteries has taken advantage of the momentum, and in 2017, the shipments of the Ningde era surpassed BYD and continued to lead, and currently occupies an absolute leading position in the battery industry. Public data show that in the whole year of 2021, the installed capacity of the Ningde era was 80.51GWh, accounting for 52.1% of the domestic market, ranking first, and bydir, ranking second, had an installed capacity of 37.92GWh.
Lian Yubo, executive vice president of BYD Co., Ltd. and president of the Automotive Engineering Research Institute, told China Entrepreneur that BYD regards safety as the most basic and important performance, so it has been adhering to the lithium iron phosphate route.
With the launch of the blade battery in March 2020, Lian Yubo believes that it "solves the contradiction between high energy density and high safety". As a display of safety, the "acupuncture experiment" is still a reserved program in BYD's exhibition hall, on the one hand, the explosion of ternary lithium batteries, and the blade battery is safe and sound.
Lian Yubo, Executive Vice President of BYD Co., Ltd. and President of automotive engineering research institute. Source: Respondents
The launch of the blade battery also allowed Wang Chuanfu to realize the idea of "correcting deviations". According to the data of China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, the cumulative loading volume of power batteries in mainland China in 2021 will be 154.5GWh, an increase of 142.8% year-on-year. Among them, the cumulative loading volume of ternary batteries was 74.3GWh, accounting for 48.1% of the total installed vehicles, an increase of 91.3% year-on-year; the cumulative loading of lithium iron phosphate batteries was 79.8GWh, accounting for 51.7% of the total installed vehicles, an increase of 227.4% year-on-year.
"Driven by the blade battery, lithium iron phosphate has achieved a counterattack." A person in the power battery industry told China Entrepreneur.
Zhang Junyi's judgment is that with the rise in the price of rare metals nickel and cobalt, the installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate, which does not contain nickel and cobalt, may further rise.
In order to find a larger market, Wang Chuanfu promoted market-oriented changes internally.
BYD's spin-off of the battery business to establish Fordy Battery became a key event. "Because car companies and battery suppliers need in-depth cooperation, only by completely splitting it out will car companies dare to cooperate with BYD." The above-mentioned battery industry insiders said that after the Split of the Fordy Battery, because BYD's systematic ability is very strong, it quickly increased.
The splitting and opening up of The Fordy battery represents the future direction of BYD. Since March 2020, BYD has spun off five subsidiaries, including Fordy Battery and Fordy Power.
"The future goal is to be fully marketized, and the group is the majority shareholder. BYD Semiconductor went public first, and will be listed after the maturity of Fodi batteries and Fodi power in the next one or two years. Li Yunfei, general manager of BYD's brand and public relations business unit, said in an interview with China Entrepreneur in September 2021. The sign of maturity that he is talking about is that more and more brands are buying the technology and products of the branches.
The latest news about BYD Semiconductor is that on January 20, according to the announcement of the 5th Review Meeting of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Startup Listing Committee in 2022, BYD Semiconductor will be the first meeting on the ChiNext board on January 27.
Behind the comprehensive marketization is THE REFLECTION OF BYD and even Wang Chuanfu on the previous vertical integration model.
It is undeniable that the path of vertical integration has accumulated the ability of the whole industry chain for BYD and cultivated talents. Taking the chip crisis of the past year as an example, BYD has not been affected too much. Yang Dongsheng said that there are many suppliers of chips, each supplier's scheme is different, the functions are similar, when a supplier can not supply the goods, you need to quickly change the chip. Because BYD is self-contained from development to production, it is relatively familiar with chip characteristics and suppliers, and can find alternatives faster.
"In our options, a considerable part of the replacement solution performance is redundant, the cost is higher than before, we still have to choose in order to maintain production capacity and delivery." Yang Dongsheng said.
But Wang Chuanfu also found that the vertical integration model has also reached a point where adjustments must be made. Due to the lack of competition with the outside world, the performance of some parts lags behind its peers, and the company has appeared to eat a big pot of rice and not think of making progress, "not compared with peers, compared with yourself, even if you grow, but compared with peers without growth, you still lose competitiveness."
Around 2016, Wang Chuanfu began to think about market-oriented reforms, introducing external suppliers at the same time, letting the internal parts department go out, adding "competition" in corporate culture, and formulating clear market-oriented requirements for each business. "Making BYD's money is not called a skill, you have to make money from other car companies, that is called a skill." Wang Chuanfu said.
He defined the parts division going out to sell products as the "1.0 version" of BYD's market-oriented reform.
It was painful in the beginning. For example, Wang Chuanfu said that in the past, it was easy to meet and communicate internally, "all brothers", and when contacting and cooperating with the outside, a vice president of BYD sometimes had to take a 5-hour plane to reverse the plane twice to see a section chief-level docking person below the main engine factory. Stimulated by similar experiences, internal adjustments, reflections and improvements are constantly being made.
Yang Dongsheng saw the positive effects brought about by this change. He told China Entrepreneur that the biggest help of marketization to products and research and development departments is to let excellent external partners come in. For example, the air conditioning system of dm-i models has both internal suppliers and external suppliers, and the bidding mainly considers who has a better technical solution, forming healthy competition and reducing risks.
Two or three years later, the product was sold, and Wang Chuanfu proposed a market-oriented version 2.0. The so-called 2.0 version, in the words of Wang Chuanfu, "You just sell the product is not the real skill, the enterprise 'sell' is the real skill." You have to list the company and let the capital market recognize your valuation, that is the biggest skill. ”
In order to mobilize the enthusiasm of the team, Wang Chuanfu gave about 10% of the equity to the management team after the business was split. But it's not easy to get equity. "To get this benefit, we must drop three layers of skin, continuously improve our competitiveness, continue to do a good job in strategy, and be a 'little BYD'." Wang Chuanfu said.
An auto industry veteran told China Entrepreneur that BYD was right to spin off its business. "The practice of splitting up the business is related to the development stage of China's automotive industry. The reason why European and American car companies do not split the related business is because the company has strong financial strength, and there are not so many 'Wei Xiaoli' abroad. However, domestic enterprises are not rich in funds, there is a need for open equity financing, and in the face of the flexible mechanism of the 'Wei Xiaoli', traditional car companies must also change. ”
But BYD still has a long way to go to achieve overtaking in the industry towards opening up.
Taking the battery business as an example, it is not easy for BYD to shake the hegemony of the Ningde era. "The Ningde era has a strong appeal at the C end, we see in the 4S store, many consumers do not understand the battery technology, but just want to choose the first brand, ningde era already has such a positive cycle effect." Moreover, CATL has a deeply bound relationship with major car companies at home and abroad, and its financing capabilities, industrial chain layout, word of mouth, and brand have produced potential energy. The above-mentioned battery industry insiders said.
At present, on the "gossip list" of BYD's cooperation, Tesla and other car companies are in sight. However, for the specific external supply objects, BYD has never announced. "As long as you think of car brands are talking to us." Li Yunfei said.
Li Yunfei, General Manager of BYD's Brand and Public Relations Division. Source: Respondents
The latest news is that in January 2022, Fordy Battery and FAW officially established a joint venture company, named FAW Fordi New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Among them, Fordy holds 51% of the shares, and FAW holds 49% of the shares. The joint venture is mainly engaged in the production and manufacture of core components such as new energy cells, modules and related supporting industries, and will achieve an annual output of 45GWh of power battery production capacity, which will supply blade batteries for more than 1 million vehicles.
Challenge: intelligence and brand upwards
In December 2021, BYD's core team held a "Baoji meeting" in Shaanxi, one of the topics was how to avoid falling into a crisis after the highlight.
Wang Chuanfu did not want to repeat the mistakes of ten years ago.
BYD's first sedan, the F3, went on sale in 2005 and became the top seller of all the models sold in China that year in 2009 and 2010 with annual sales of 290,000 and 260,000 units.
However, as independent brands have fallen into a trough, BYD's decline is particularly prominent.
China's passenger car sales increased by 33.17% and 5.2% in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and BYD's sales growth in 2010 fell from 162% in 2009 to 15.8%, and then fell continuously in the next two years, with 16% and 6% in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
In terms of funds, the balance of operating cash flow in the first half of 2010 was 3.156 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.81 billion yuan compared with 2009, a decrease of more than 36.45%, and the cash and equivalents in hand showed negative growth for the first time since 2008.
"We had three relationships that were not handled well, the relationship between the customer, the relationship with the distributor, and the relationship with the media, which caused some of my crises later." Wang Chuanfu reflects.
In order to avoid the crisis as much as possible, it has become one of BYD's choices to increase the layout of intelligence.
Yang Dongsheng said that BYD has invested a lot in the smart cockpit, "seamless connection on the mobile phone", including the APP on the mobile phone that is 100% compatible with the mobile phone, the APP on the mobile phone for remote control of the car, and the mobile phone opening the door.
A person engaged in intelligent related work in a car company told "China Entrepreneur" that BYD's car machine service is doing well, and the more unique is the central control screen rotation function, the mobile phone APP can be displayed on the vertical screen, and the function feedback is better. Its intelligent cockpit function is "more competitive" than that of new car-making forces.
For autonomous driving, BYD mainly relies on suppliers to provide solutions in the first phase, and the second phase is being laid out, using external cooperation and self-research. The joint venture between BYD and Momenta at the end of 2021 is a typical example. "Momenta's strength is recognition, and car companies are regulated and executed, each taking its own strengths." Yang Dongsheng said.
Yang Dongsheng said that there is a hard indicator of R & D investment, that is, the number of engineers. In the field of intelligent cockpit + intelligent driving assistance, BYD has invested 2,000 people, and BYD's emphasis on intelligence can be seen.
Wang Chuanfu is no stranger to Nokia-style failures. Previously, BYD was the foundry of Nokia mobile phones. In his view, Nokia fell not because of product quality problems and management problems, but because of ecological loss. He always reminded himself, "BYD should not repeat the precedent of Nokia's failure. ”
If intelligence is a hard-core battle, then brand rebranding is a test of BYD's "soft power". In terms of branding, FOR many years BYD has often been associated with "cost performance" or even "cheap". At the end of 2020, BYD began to emphasize brand rejuvenation and user image reshaping.
Li Yunfei introduced to "China Entrepreneur" that in addition to the ocean series, young people pay more attention to new technologies, and BYD is developing new products such as game cars and music cars. Some users have reported that the LOGO is not good, and BYD will open a few letters, which means to tear down the yard wall. Regularly held meetings with car owners, Wang Chuanfu also participated in several times, as well as planning the well-known car friends association "Hantang Elite Club".
Li Yunfei said that in the past, what people saw was that "BYD's car configuration is high, cheap, and promotional", which makes people feel that "no one cares about face, only cares about the stomach", and now more emphasis is placed on scientific and technological confidence, quality confidence, and Chinese confidence. In order to establish brand confidence for sales staff, the company held an "iron army training camp" for dealers, and dealers took turns to conduct 10 days of intensive training to strengthen the understanding of the brand and improve service capabilities.
In order to carry out more targeted marketing, the company has also adjusted its organizational structure, that is, 4 business units established in early 2021.
Lu Tian, general manager of the sales division of BYD Dynasty. Source: Respondents
Lu Tian said that after the separate management of Dynasty Network and Ocean Network, differentiated sales channels, product strategies and communication methods can be adopted for different groups of people. The Dynasty Network, which Lu Tian is responsible for, covers the mainstream high-end market.
"There are still challenges in brand recognition," Lu Tian told China Entrepreneur, "At present, there are some brand negative assets in domestic cars, and the average price of Tang and Han is more than 250,000, and it is an unprecedented challenge to break through in the high-end market of Chinese automobiles." "BYD has set up a 40-person Tang product sales team, and the market performance of high-end models is an important point for the brand to rise."
As the flagship model of the BYD brand, Han cut into the medium and large new energy sedan market, with cumulative sales of 117,000 units in 2021. However, in 2022, the medium and large pure electric sedan track will also usher in a number of models, including Weilai medium and large flagship sedan ET7, medium-sized coupe ET5, Zhiji's first model L7, etc., Han's sales will be more challenged. The above-mentioned auto industry veteran believes that "these new cars will not have a particularly large impact on BYD this year, because the newly listed models need time to climb, so BYD should be good in 2022." The key year is in 2023. ”
BYD wants to break through the high-end market of Chinese automobiles and faces unprecedented challenges. Source: BYD official website
Another person who undertakes the upward mission of the BYD brand may be Denza. Back in 2015, BYD and Daimler set up a joint venture at a 50%-50% ratio, and two years later launched the Denza brand. But Denza's development was not as expected. At the end of December 2021, BYD announced that it and Daimler intend to increase deforestation by 1 billion yuan in monetary terms. At the same time, BYD and Daimler signed an equity transfer agreement on adjusting the structure of the joint venture. After the completion of the transfer, BYD and Daimler will hold 90% and 10% of desir shares respectively.
"Automotive products are becoming more and more complex, it is impossible for one company to do all the things, and it is an inevitable trend to cooperate in car manufacturing." Lian Yubo said that BYD will treat industry cooperation with an open attitude, combine the experience of vertical integration and external development of enterprises, and think about the industry division of labor and cooperation model.
In the first quarter of 2022, BYD's high-end brands will also be unveiled. The price range of the high-end brand model is expected to be more than 500,000 to 1 million yuan, and the first model is a hardcore off-road vehicle, which will be released in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why are high-end brands launched during this time period? "Technology accumulation, vehicle accumulation, design accumulation, performance accumulation are natural, the parent brand has also improved significantly in the past two years, and the launch of high-end brands in 2022 will have more recognition and many fewer obstacles." Li Yunfei said.
Ocean Network undertakes the mission of bydiring the BYD brand to become younger. As the first model in the Ocean series, Dolphin's target customers are post-90s and even post-95s.
"When we were dolphins, we were miserable." Zhang Zhuo, general manager of the sales division of BYD Ocean Network, said. He introduced that Generation Z users have a common channel, in order to achieve effective communication with target users, Dolphin's team planning and dissemination is basically the same post-90s and post-95s, using their own words to their own people on the same channel. Dolphin vectors have also changed. Since Dolphin's customers are currently post-95s or post-90s mothers, women account for 75%, so Jingdong and Taobao have become the main ways to reach these users.
"The new forces have a great advantage in user stickiness, user activity, and user relationship construction, which is something that our traditional OEMs are relatively scarce." Zhang Zhuo said. To this end, Ocean Network is also exploring new channel models and sales models, channel layout ideas from the original people looking for cars to find people, "where are the people, where the store is"; Dolphin is also bydie's first model that can achieve online orders.
Chief Engineer: Change and change
Since the second half of 2020, Wang Chuanfu's figure has begun to appear more in front-line sales stores.
There is only one reason to attract this "technology maniac" from the laboratory and workshop to the store: BYD will have a blockbuster new car on the market, and visiting the dealership in advance will help the team predict what feedback the market will have after the car is launched, and whether it will increase production capacity.
In the front-line sales stores, Wang Chuanfu sometimes stayed for more than an hour, listening to the clerk talk about the store situation and what difficulties there were. Wang Chuanfu said to the staff, "I can't solve many problems, but I can cheer up." It also provides access to more direct and comprehensive market information for better judgment. ”
Wang Chuanfu, a 55-year-old native of Wuwei County, Wuhu, Anhui Province, said he was BYD's chief engineer and spent 60 to 70 percent of his time researching technology and the rest of his time managing.
Wang Chuanfu said that the biggest difficulty now is that it cannot see through the market, and the changes are too fast. Photo by Steven Wang
In recent years, Yang Dongsheng feels that Wang Chuanfu's understanding of consumers and the market side has become more comprehensive. What remains unchanged is Wang Chuanfu's dedication to technology. Inside BYD, some people use the phrase "20 years as a day" to describe Wang Chuanfu's concentration on technology: the daily working state is the same, exploring technical problems day and night.
Yang Dongsheng was most impressed that once he got up early in the morning and was pulled to a meeting, Wang Chuanfu said that he dreamed of a solution to the DM-i bottleneck at night. Later, this plan really became an introduction, inspiring the team to make the final plan.
"This incident has a great impact on me, as the chairman of the company, the pursuit of technology, products, and the desire for solutions have touched our engineers to do their best to play their value." Yang Dongsheng said.
In 2021, BYD invited Zhang Chaoyang to make a brand promotion film called "Zhang Chaoyang Only Sleeps Four Hours a Day", and some employees joked that Wang Chuanfu slept no more than Zhang Chaoyang, and may sometimes be like him or even less than him.
Wang Chuanfu's style is projected on BYD, allowing BYD to form an engineer culture that advocates technology. Many respondents said that this style is somewhat similar to Huawei.
The investment in research and development also reflects BYD's technical background. "It's a pleasure to do technology at BYD." Lian Yubo said.
Judging from the public financial report, BYD's R&D investment has increased year by year. From 2016 to 2020, BYD's R&D investment was 4.52 billion yuan, 6.27 billion yuan, 8.53 billion yuan, 8.42 billion yuan and 8.56 billion yuan, respectively, and in the first half of 2021, its R&D investment increased by 36.5% over the same period last year to 4.4 billion yuan.
For this fierce and unprecedented game, BYD is still replenishing ammunition. On November 1, 2021, BYD issued an announcement that the company will issue 50 million new H shares with a par value of RMB 1 per share in the registered capital. The placing price of each Placing Share is HK$276. If all the shares are placed, it is expected that the proceeds will be approximately HK$13.8 billion and the net financing will be HK$13,744 million. For the use of financing, BYD also gave an explanation in the announcement. BYD said that the net proceeds from the placement in terms of the purpose of the fundraising are intended to be used for the Group's supplementary working capital, repayment of interest-bearing debt, R&D investment and general corporate purposes.
"The engineer culture has accompanied us to the present, we adhere to the technology as the king, innovation-based development concept unchanged; what has changed is that the core values have developed from equality to competition, emphasizing the competitive culture." Lian Yubo told Chinese Entrepreneur.
But at present, Wang Chuanfu has to deal with a bit of "Versailles" troubles: DM-i models due to the long delivery period, more than 4 months, resulting in a large number of user complaints, "we are under a lot of pressure, but also constantly bow to review, but more is to grasp production, how to dig up every link of production capacity, to do a good job in delivery." Wang Chuanfu said, "In recent years, we have made continuous efforts and hope to seize this round of change and win this war." ”