For ZTE Automobile, an automobile company of the same age as gong (gong) and (he) guo, the development along the way can be described as extremely arduous, but its car-making spirit with the purpose of positive research and development has always made the author sincerely admire. ZTE Automobile is the first in various leading positions in the industry, which also makes the industry popular and promotes the development of Chinese automobiles. Over the years, various factors have made it questionable, one of the points of doubt is that it is in the same city as the domestic momentum of Great Wall Motors, but Great Wall Motors has turned over and led the industry after years of development, and the voice of ZTE Motors has become smaller and smaller. Today, taking advantage of the recent topic of capital related to ZTE Automobile, let us take a peek at the end.
A few days ago, Zhengdao Group issued an announcement that the company and ZTE Automobile entered into a memorandum of understanding to acquire no less than 51% of the equity interest of ZTE Automobile. On March 31, Xiao Wei, general manager of ZTE Motor, responded to the matter at a media online communication meeting, saying that there was "indeed contact" with Zhengdao Group, but it was limited to the initial stage of contact.
It can be seen that the value and concept of ZTE Automobile have always been unswerving. Xiao Wei said: "Being able to receive the attention of capital and the outside world also proves the value of ZTE Automobile from the side - ZTE Automobile has products, resources, bases, and '1, 5, 6, 7' production qualifications." In order to be able to do a good job in the product, we have not interrupted the efforts to negotiate with the capital market, and whether the intention between zhengdao and Zhengdao can eventually be transformed into actual cooperation still needs further negotiations, but no matter how the acquisition develops, ZTE Automobile adheres to the quality commitment, does a century-old enterprise and the original intention of being the best enterprise for users, and will never change. ”
It is obvious to all that there are not many enterprises that are more qualified than ZTE Automobile in terms of adhering to the original intention: ZTE, founded in 1949, is the same age as the Republic and was formerly known as the Jizhong Automobile Repair Brigade, which has been injected with military quality and red genes from the beginning of its establishment. In its 73-year development history, it has set a number of firsts in China's automotive field, and has begun to build its own car from 1958. In 1986, China's first pickup truck with independent intellectual property rights was born here.
So far, ZTE pickup truck has formed a "Lion Tiger Series" product matrix composed of Little Tiger 2022, Weihu 2022, Weishi 1986 and Weishi 1949, especially after the launch of Weishi 1949, ZTE Automobile has become the first enterprise in China to achieve full coverage from full-size, to high-end commercial and passenger, low-end tool vehicles, and then to entry-level economic pickup trucks, which can meet the needs of different user scenarios such as commercial, home, and off-road. At the end of 2019, the "1, 5, 6, 7" production qualification of ZTE Rizhao Factory was approved, the whole vehicle was put into operation, and the pattern of division of labor and cooperation and mutual support between the two production bases of Baoding and Rizhao was announced.
Epidemic (yi) situation (qing) air defense needs, ZTE Automobile cloud release, also let the media reporters see the whole picture of the thriving ZTE automobile factory through the cloud. According to reports, Rizhao ZTE Automotive Intelligent Industry 4.0 Factory began construction in 2017 with a registered capital of 1.5 billion yuan, covering an area of 552 mu and an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles. This factory is committed to creating intelligent punching, welding, coating, total four major processes, with digitalization as the core drive, combined with big data, Internet of Things and other new technologies, to achieve intelligent, customized, precise and flexible production process. Following the live camera, the media community witnessed the process of ZTE Weishi 1949, Weishi 1986 and other products from the initial opening of the roll to the final assembly, and then through the assembly and distribution to all parts of the country and even overseas.
This also confirms Xiao Wei's statement on the ZTE automobile market situation at the communication meeting: ZTE's Weihu and Xiaohu series classic models are still widely recognized by users, and Weishi 1949 has been highly concerned since its launch, and it is currently orderly departures throughout the country and overseas exports are very good.
When talking about the impact of supply chain problems such as epidemic (yi) (qing) and lack of "core", Xiao Wei said: "Car companies facing 'core shortage' are actually reflected in the market is a state of 'car shortage', on the one hand, we buy chips at any cost to meet the production needs as much as possible, on the other hand, according to the needs of the market to arrange early production, there are many products have been produced, and when the chips arrive and are installed, they can be shipped to the world." ”
In the face of some sharp questions, Xiao Wei did not shy away from it and answered them openly and honestly. Some media asked whether the 2.3T engine equipped with Weishi 1949 is small, he said that the mainland's requirements for environmental protection are becoming more and more stringent, low displacement and high output of small displacement quantitative scheme has become the current inevitable trend of pickup products, Weishi 1949 diesel version is equipped with Renault / Nissan jointly built 2.3T diesel engine, in the 1500-2750 speed range can maintain ultra-wide maximum torque output, for heavy load, get rid of difficulties and other scenes that require explosive force, especially practical, The gasoline version is equipped with a 2.0GDI gasoline engine, which achieves an optimal level of power and economy.
Both engines performed very well in the most important low-torque range of pickup models, with no compromises on power output thanks to high-rise power. Coupled with the low drag coefficient appearance design, lightweight body design, engine calibration and other 8 major breakthroughs, to achieve both power and energy saving and environmental protection, not only to meet the power needs of full-size pickup trucks, but also to comply with the trend of environmental protection, but also to save the cost of the car for car owners.
In the face of the question of "core components such as ZTE automobile engines are from external procurement, whether to consider self-research", Xiao Wei said: "The close cooperation between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain and the integration of global resources to purchase parts and components is the healthy development direction." ZTE Automobile chooses parts for external mining, but has its own core technology in key aspects such as calibration, chips, and molds. ”
He took mobile phones as an example, Apple and Huawei have some injection molding and accessories produced by industry chain partners, but the design and technology are their own. The same is true for ZTE Automobile, parts are provided by global high-quality suppliers, but the design, mold, software calibration, etc. are their own, which is the core technology and competitiveness of ZTE Automobile. In this way, it can not only flexibly choose the parts that are suitable for itself, but also obtain good product strength and market feedback that consumers are satisfied.
As an asset-heavy OEMs, they should focus on their core competitiveness. In the future, ZTE Automobile will adhere to its original intention, continue to consolidate the development foundation of 'secondary entrepreneurship' with high-quality products and high-quality services through the focus strategy, and continue to move towards the goal of building a 'century-old enterprise'. ”
The second venture is an important strategy that ZTE opened in 2017 and officially announced in April last year. The low-key and pragmatic ZTE Automobile has gone through many ups and downs along the way: it has fallen into operational difficulties due to corporate system reasons, and even been in a state of semi-suspension due to debt, but since the bankruptcy and reorganization in 2008 and entering a new stage of development, ZTE Automobile, although its development is difficult to call rapid, has also been working hard and steadily: In recent years, ZTE Automobile has invested 2.25 billion yuan of its own funds for the research and development of the product system without relying on bank loans, excluding factories and land costs.
No one understands better than Xiao Wei the huge investment in the development of enterprises and the hard-won success. When he said at the meeting that "ZTE people do not forget the mission of China's manufacturing power, to be a respected enterprise, to be the best enterprise for consumers, and to achieve the 'ZTE' of the old ZTE", many participants emotionally commented: "ZTE come on!" "I hope that ZTE Automobile can achieve its second entrepreneurial goal as soon as possible and write more wonderful books."
When talking about the development plan of the enterprise, it revealed that ZTE Motor's next major initiative - in order to adapt to the mainland's environmental protection regulations and market demand, it will increase investment in the field of new energy. According to him, ZTE Automobile is cooperating with the best domestic new energy brands to develop range extender hybrid pickup models, the preparation of related hardware facilities has been completed, the product has entered the trial production stage, and it is planned to be put on the market in the first half of next year. In addition, five models of the passenger car platform, including new energy products, have also been announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and will be listed one after another.
ZTE Automobile has a magnificent history of development, in the 73 years of development, ZTE Automobile continues to lead the innovation of the pickup truck industry, we have reason to believe that since ZTE adheres to the original intention of "grinding a century-old brand with quality", this pursuit of innovation and breakthrough will not stop.
Standing on the new bridgehead of 73 years, rizhao factory will be a new starting point for ZTE Automobile, and whether the capital rumors of the Zhengdao Group are empty or windless, we have not heard the nail on the board. If the capital intervention of Zhengdao Group is a fact, it will become a new opportunity for ZTE Automobile, if there is no follow-up, then from the current pragmatic style of ZTE Automobile, ZTE Automobile, which takes the Rizhao factory as a new starting point, will also "return the king"!