On September 25, according to the notice of appointment released by the official website of China FAW, China FAW Group Co., Ltd. held a cadre meeting a few days ago, announcing that Zhou Zhiping, a former director of Changan Automobile, was appointed as a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of China FAW Group Co., Ltd.
According to public information, Zhou Zhiping was born in 1973, graduated from Beijing Institute of Technology majoring in management science and engineering, and served as deputy director of the Motorcycle Department, director and deputy director of the Development and Planning Department of China Southern Industrial Group Corporation, vice chairman and general manager of China Southern Industrial Asset Management Co., Ltd., director of employees of China North Industries Group Corporation, secretary of the party committee, chairman and president of China Changan Automobile Group Co., Ltd., and director of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. One of the closest resumes is at Changan Automobile.
Zhou Zhiping's entry into Changan Automobile can be regarded as a dangerous order. In September 2018, in order to make positive adjustments under the fierce market competition, promote the transformation of traditional products to intelligent and new energy products as soon as possible, and promote the strategic deployment of "intelligent" and "new energy" products, Changan Automobile frequently underwent personnel changes, including the appointment notice of Zhou Zhiping as a director.
But at that time, Changan Automobile's operating conditions were not ideal.
According to the data, in the third quarter of 2018, when Zhou Zhiping joined the company, Changan's net profit attributable to shareholders was -446 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 137.52%. At the same time, changan's net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in the first three quarters of the year was a profit of 1.163 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 79.98%.
During his tenure, Zhou Zhiping achieved the entry achievement of "taking 'firm confidence, only seizing the day, market orientation, cost reduction and efficiency increase' as the key in the future, going all out to complete the annual task goals of China Chang'an, and making due contributions to the realization of high-quality development" through measures such as reorganizing Changan's brand structure and upgrading its product line.
As of July 2021, when Zhou Zhiping stepped down, Changan Automobile's operating income was 56.785 billion yuan, an increase of 73.22% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 1.729 billion yuan, a decrease of 33.55% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies, net of non-recurring gains and losses, was RMB739 million, up 128.27% year-on-year.
All this is supported by Changan Automobile's sales of 1.2008 million units in the first half of 2021, an increase of 44.5% year-on-year. Among them, the increase of Changan New Energy is also more prominent, with sales of 37,300 vehicles in the first half of this year, an increase of 321.4% year-on-year.
In addition, unlike large state-owned automobile groups such as SAIC, FAW and Dongfeng Motor, which rely more on joint venture brands, Changan's sales structure is dominated by its own brands. According to the data, the sales volume of Changan brand vehicles in the first half of this year reached 965,600 units, an increase of 53.5% year-on-year, accounting for 80.41% of total sales.
During Zhou Zhiping's tenure, Changan Automobile has improved its new energy and independent brand sectors, which is faw's next focus, from which it seems that the purpose of FAW's appointment of Zhou Zhiping has also been clarified.
It is precisely because of the deployment in the leadership team, product planning and other aspects that FAW has added some confidence to the development goal of "by 2025, faw-style group's new energy accounted for more than 20%, Hongqi brand more than 1 million vehicles, and independent brands more than 2 million vehicles" and its own brand "walk on two legs".