On March 1, Mocha DHT-PHEV announced that the listing price was 295,000-31.5 million, and the last layer of suspense about it was finally unveiled, entering the 300,000 high-end new energy market. But this hammer, the aftersound left behind is still worth savoring, after all, this is related to the complete transformation of Wei Pai to death.
Wei Brand will change from a high-end brand to a high-end new energy brand, which is only a three-word difference, but it means that the brand is zeroed out and reshaped. In 2016, in the environment of being trapped in the attack of independent brands, Weipai shouldered the mission of being born, ending the joint venture profiteering in the 150,000-200,000 SUV market, becoming China's first high-end brand to make an upward breakthrough. In 2021, the development of New Energy Vehicles in China is in full swing, and Weipai resolutely switches tracks and enters the high-end new energy vehicle market. This decisive change, what kind of thinking does Wei Pai have?
On the eve of the listing of Mocha DHT-PHEV, My Car rutted with Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng, Weipai CMO Qiao Xinyu, and Weipai Mocha Global Commodity Director Liu Pengkai, and conducted in-depth exchanges on a series of hot topics of the recent transformation of Weipai.
Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng
Wei brand CMO Qiao Xinyu
Why change? Trends and missions dictate
It is not easy for a new brand to take the first step, Wei Pai spent five years, took 100 steps forward, and now it is on another road to start counting steps again, why? Behind this is not only the market trend, but also the brand mission of Weipai itself is promoting.
From the perspective of market demand, by 2035, the entire new energy market share will reach more than 60%, and PHEV will also reach a volume of millions. In the face of such a large market demand, the transformation of car companies to new energy is a common issue in the industry.
Two years ago, 30-year-old Great Wall Motors proposed the goal of "transforming into a global technology travel company", and then carried out a self-driving revolution from the inside to the outside, from the three major technology brands of "lemon, tank, coffee intelligence" to the intelligent DHT system, from the new product architecture to user co-creation marketing, from tanks to salons, from the Chinese market to the global market, step by step to the center of the era of change.
Weipai, whose strategic position in the transformation of Great Wall Motors has always remained unchanged, is the group's high-end breakthrough stormtrooper, which is its mission from the beginning of its birth. At present, Wei Pai has taken over the responsibility of rushing up as it did five years ago.
Weipai achieved considerable sales scale in 2017 and 2018, winning the first high-end highland for Great Wall Motors, and also setting off an independent high-end brand boom among independent brands. However, in Li Ruifeng's view, if the transformation of Wei Pai is only to regain the market position in the first camp in terms of sales scale, it is meaningless and worthless.
"The mission of Weipai is the most important benchmark for the Great Wall Motor brand to break through upwards, so all the resources of the group will be tilted towards Weipai." The transformation of Weipai's high-end new energy is an important mission of Great Wall Motor in 2022, and only the success of Weipai's high-end brand can lead the future differentiation of various segments of high-end brands upward breakthroughs. Therefore, Wei's mission is not only a brand, but also a variety of responsibilities in one, to break out of a successful road for the upward breakthrough of each brand of Great Wall Motors. ”
From the perspective of market development, Wei Pai should change, and from the perspective of the group, Wei Pai should change even more.
How does it change? Switch tracks and the whole system is renewed
So how does that change? This is a very systematic problem, and no matter what kind of transformation, it is necessarily not something that can be achieved with one or two products or a new slogan. When Wei Pai decided to fight this battle, he already realized that this would be a systemic change. In particular, it is not like the new forces of car manufacturing starting from 0, but from the traditional fuel vehicle to high-end new energy, spanning several stages, and the transformation difficulty coefficient is higher.
"Internally, we also realize that this time is not simply won by brand and product renewal, but the entire group and research, production, supply and sales must face users in every dimension, and realize the all-round renewal of brands, products, channels, users, research and development, production, and technology, so this is an excellent opportunity for Wei Huanxin." From Li Ruifeng's words, it can also be felt that Wei Pai is facing a completely hard battle.
This may also be an important reason why In the process of Wei Pai's transformation from accumulated strength to comprehensive transformation, high-level executives such as Li Ruifeng and Qiao Xinyu frequently convey the determination, direction and significance of Wei Pai's transformation to the outside world. In this exchange, My Car Rudder learned more deeply that Wei Pai had made very full preparations for this turn, including psychological preparation and strategic preparation.
The first is technology and products. Wei brand transformation, the first card to shoot is 300,000 high-end new energy vehicles, with mocha DHT-PHEV long drive straight into the BBA and new forces of the market hinterland. The thinking behind this, in addition to doing the best to do, breaking into the most intense high-end market, there is also the market demand growth driven by consumption upgrades. Qiao Xinyu mentioned in an interview that the current market of more than 300,000 is growing rapidly, an increase of 60% last year. The success of the ideal ONE has confirmed that in the face of this potential market, Wei Pai, which wants to make Great Wall Motors break through the benchmark upwards, must and must have to sell.
The impact on the market, the first comes from technology. Li Ruifeng has publicly stated that "Wei brand DHT hybrid is the best new energy technology in the world". This is true, the technology maximizes the advantages of the engine and motor, realizes the balance of power performance and fuel economy, and solves the travel anxiety of a single power at one time. Coupled with the industry's first intelligent two-stop DHT, the whole system solves the technical pain points of EV and PHEV at the same time.
The second comes from the overall upward product architecture. Mocha DHT-PHEV is the first product of Weipai to reach more than 300,000 ranges, and then Weipai will also launch a dream series and MPV series, which have a high-end market value of more than 300,000-400,000. That is to say, the rush of Wei brand is not by a single product, but by a strain of common lifting. Li Ruifeng revealed that in the future, Wei Brand's more than 300,000 products will occupy a large proportion of the share.
In addition to technology and products, users are also a key part of Weipai's transformation. With the transformation of brand positioning, Weipai's users have also changed from the group that pursues high cost performance and luxury in the past to a circle of about 300,000 middle-class people, and Weipai's service form, business model and service industry also need to be adjusted.
At the Fan Festival in January this year, Wei Pai proposed to change to a user-oriented enterprise, and the construction of the To C model is one of the support points. In the past traditional model, there was always a gap between the brand and the user, which was not conducive to the brand entering the core of the market. The key breakthrough of Weipai at the user level is to cross this gap, face users, and understand and respond to users' needs efficiently and quickly.
In the face of the big issue of building a user service system, Li Ruifeng frankly said that it is very difficult. Because the user operation enterprise does not mean that an organization has changed, a mechanism has been established, or that the dealer has a simple change in the direct operation mode to achieve, and it is necessary to continuously change from the aspects of mode, awareness, ability, system, mechanism, and form.
"But there is no doubt that this direction is right, and it must be changed in this direction." Li Ruifeng did not forget to replenish Wei Pai's determination.
The innovation of technology, products and users is only part of the transformation of Weipai, and it also faces the challenge of renewing in the dimensions of channels and production. This was by no means easy, but Wei Pai did not leave himself a way out.
Even for the global market, Weipai has set very high goals for itself. Li Ruifeng said: "Wei Pai has a sense of mission and responsibility, to conquer the most difficult market, and always to be the pride of the globalized country. ”
Unlike some brands that claim to enter the world with a single product, or speculatively choose a non-core market, Weipai's globalization is comprehensive and strong, and the European market was selected for the first battle. In the first half of this year, WEY Coffee 01 will be launched and delivered in the European market, and Weipai's first European experience center will also be opened in Berlin, Germany, in June, and at the Paris Motor Show in France in October this year, Weipai will also bring a rich product line to Europe. This confidence and courage alone is worthy of our affirmation.
Every new era will give birth to many innovative things with the genes of the times, and in the era of China's automobile electrification, The Wei Pai, which dares to return to zero and does not leave itself a retreat to complete transformation, whether it succeeds or not, will become one of the most representative epitomes of this era.