Recently, the changes in the epidemic in Shanghai have made the automotive industry face major challenges. To this end, Huanqiu Automobile's "All V Symposium" organized representatives of all V Alliance members to conduct online exchanges with many car companies in Shanghai, sending greetings and blessings at the same time, but also to further understand how car companies respond to the epidemic crisis.
The guest of honor invited in this issue is Ma Zhenshan, Executive Vice President of Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automobile Co., Ltd. and Executive Vice President of Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover Joint Marketing Sales and Service Organization. The following is the transcript of the communication:
Car company guests:
Ma Zhenshan Executive Vice President of Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automobile Co., Ltd., Executive Vice President of Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover Joint Marketing Sales and Service Organization
Participating Media:
Liang Yi, General Manager of automotive industry center of Xinhua net
Li Zhong, CEO of "Car Connection"
Fan Wenqing Editor-in-Chief of the Auto Channel of the Daily Economic News
Liu Shiyu Founder of "Buy Car Network"
He Qiuhui Founder of "Uncle Ball Teaches You to Buy a Car"
Huang Chunmian Is the Executive Editor of the Auto Channel of China Economic Network
Li Hongwu President of "Huanqiu Auto"
Su Yunong, editor-in-chief of Huanqiu Auto
Summer Dragon Executive Editor-in-Chief of AutoMotive Business Daily
Kun Zhang, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Automotive Prophet
Su Yunong: Hello everyone, I am today's host Su Yunong, welcome to the all-V symposium held by Huanqiu Automobile. Today's theme is called "Don't Come Unharmed", which I think has a pun on meaning, first, it is a greeting in itself; second, I also want to pay attention to everyone's health, because the guests who communicate with us today are all in Shanghai. Some places have also begun to work from home arrangements, and production and marketing have been somewhat affected. Even under the influence of the epidemic, it feels very kind and happy to have this opportunity to meet online.
Ma Zhenshan: Hello Rain Farmer, good afternoon teachers.
Su Yunong: Mr. Ma, you are still at work, and Puxi is also ushering in home measures, so I would like to ask you how the work status is in the past few days, what impact has Chery Jaguar Land Rover been affected, and how to deal with it.
Ma Zhenshan: Hello teachers, I am very happy that when it was so difficult in Shanghai, Teacher Wu's team organized so many media friends to communicate with us. I communicate with you what we have encountered these days. Chery Jaguar Land Rover Shanghai employees have been staying at home for more than two weeks, working from home since the 13th. Chery Jaguar Land Rover has three positions, a production base in Changshu Economic Development Zone, in fact, managed by Changshu City, our production in accordance with the policy requirements in an orderly manner; our entire administrative office in Gubei Changning District, this side is Puxi; and then sales (IMSS) is in Pudong, so the entire plate production and marketing is actually three offices. Our stock ratio structure is 50:50, so the whole British side cooperates with us relatively closely.
After the epidemic came, we thought about it, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the whole, Changshu production base is our production and manufacturing base, which is relatively safe and strictly managed. For employees in the Shanghai area, we responded to the government's call to work from home. What are the benefits of staying at home, the whole business is not delayed, so from the 13th to the present, Pudong and Puxi two offices, we have been working from home. The Changshu base is still in normal production. As of now, this way of working for more than half a month, the whole point of view, it should be said that the operation is basically normal, the production has not been delayed too much, and now through video conferencing, conference calls, normal work is being carried out. I live in the apartment, which is almost every day from apartment to unit two o'clock and one line (note: the interview time is March 30).
Employees work from home to promote the progress of the project through video conferencing, from the background point of view, employees' video conferencing and teleconferencing arrangements are also relatively full, so the entire Shanghai area business is running normally.
Now we actually encounter some common problems in the industry in the whole production area. Mainly procurement, especially in the past week, the entire parts have been subject to some constraints, including the localization of parts supply in East China, which has also been affected by the epidemic. Our purchasing department also goes to the supplier's location at all times to stare at the parts, actively communicate, and strive to ensure production. Then there are the British imports, many of which were affected by the war, and production and logistics were challenged. So now it seems that from the perspective of procurement at the production end, the impact on sales has always been troublesome.
From the perspective of sales, it should be said that it still has an impact on terminal retail. Because now, the more serious domestic is Jilin Province and Shanghai Municipality, especially if the entire number of Jilin Province and Shanghai Municipality remains high, other provinces and cities are very cautious and careful, which will cause logistics challenges between provinces and provinces, so that the sales of terminals will also have an impact. I estimate that this month (Note: the interview time is March 30) the overall car market sales will be greatly affected, and it is possible that it should fall by 20%-30%. So, now, we have been running in this situation for nearly two weeks, and we are now ensuring that production is maximized, one piece after another, and then selling this piece is the dealer doing more online during this period.
On this line, I have held discussions for the major regions yesterday and today, and in fact, I am also emancipating the mind. That the entire dealer's marketing to do marketing, inertia is relatively strong. Marketing department, because the marketing department is the spending department, the local to buy booths to do outreach, these fixed routines. But now, in the current epidemic environment, in fact, everyone knows that the opportunity for expansion is not large. So now, we are unifying our minds, emancipating our minds, and how to make good use of some of the communication methods on the entire line, including private domain traffic, to spread and then receive orders.
Su Yunong: Okay. Then I would like to ask all of our media friends here some questions.
Li Zhong: I want to ask Mr. Ma, we actually met a while ago and exchanged, you took office in the past few months, Jaguar Land Rover's annual retail sales increased by 9% year-on-year, but also laid a good foundation for 2022, especially recently, you have been mentioning new luxury, we also made an exchange on British luxury a while ago, then I want to ask you in depth, what aspects of this Jaguar Land Rover new luxury that you understand? How do you deliver a new brand for Jaguar Land Rover? At the same time, because of the impact of the epidemic, you just mentioned that many of our things are put online to do, you originally have a very good experience, that is, when FAW-Volkswagen, then how do we rub this brand connotation into it? And then go online to fuse to do it? Thank you Mr. Ma.
Ma Zhenshan: In February 2021, Jaguar Land Rover officially unveiled its new global strategy "Reinventing the Future". Based on this strategy, Jaguar Land Rover will focus on Jaguar and Land Rover, two brands with unique British characteristics, and interpret the concept and strategic layout of the future development of neo-modern luxury through design empowerment. Neo-luxury is actually the realization of this interpretation of luxury on the basis of simplicity. Like the new Range Rover and The Guardian. In fact, the new Range Rover, the entire element of this design is still concise, there is no excessive line, very concise, and can express the entire aura, including his Range Rover gene, design genes, proportional relationships, including feature lines are very clear.
Because the new luxury is actually the proposition of representing the future of the brand, because as you know, the era of electrification has also arrived. I think in the era of electrification, in addition to this three-electric system, including the electrical architecture, including the Internet of Vehicles, I am afraid that the entire design level, the future is also a direction, especially in luxury cars, is the advantage of differentiation, in the design, the future luxury cars must have their own unique propositions. Otherwise, it's the same and not too much of a rhetoric. So I think design is really the core concept of the future brand, it must be unique, and at the same time he has luxury, the same luxury, it has different propositions, different directions. So the whole, the English term is called modern luxury by design. It is through design that it achieves a modern luxury. Therefore, from the interior and exterior of the new Range Rover, it reflects the style of such a design. I think this is also jaguar Land Rover, the external expression of the future of the shape, a proposition of each brand, an element.
Li Zhong: Mr. Ma, I still have a question, how can you better express these forms online, or do you need the media, including dealers, to convey them together?
Ma Zhenshan: After the epidemic, dealers actually have several resources. I initially calculated that dealer resources include: First, their team, because now there are an average of 100 people in each store, 100 people include management, including the operators below, there are 100 people, which is also a large group of them to spread, this is the first resource; the second resource is investors, store managers, etc. have influence on society, they have some foundation in the local area; the third resource is that each store has five thousand, tens of thousands or even tens of thousands of customers. These retained customers are also an important resource. In fact, if used well, these can now play the role of private domain traffic.
Because of this kind of communication now, I think that relying on the dissemination of this simple advertisement, the cost-effectiveness ratio is getting lower and lower. More rely on this kind of human transmission, rely on word of mouth. When it comes to human-to-human transmission, if we exert the power of each of our stores. Including the power of maintaining customers, including the power of society, I think this is also a very important advantage, which has to be played out.
Now most dealers still have some inertia, thinking that the work of the market, the work of marketing is basically the work of the marketing department, in fact, there must be a concept of full marketing now. Because the weChat of the customer cannot simply stay in the hands of the maintenance consultant. Because the valuable contact information of these customers should actually belong to the store, to the brand. How this is applied, it requires us to organize and promote. I'm communicating these things with the region these days, and I have to organize myself. What we rely on to communicate, may depend on our services, our content.
What you actually need is this kind of content that requires some massive, unique ideas, so look at this piece. This kind of marketing in our region has to work. Because the headquarters looks at the above or in addition to doing some TVC, KV, in fact, more need some decentralized materials. This piece should be diversified, and a lot of UGC (user-generated content) can be produced, so now this is also what we have encouraged in policy since the beginning of this year.
First, open a Douyin account and a Kuaishou video account, and second, encourage merchants to do some videos and live broadcasts to spread themselves. Therefore, it should be said that my ideas are not necessarily the same routine, but each store should combine its own advantages, learn from each other's strengths, and do a good job in this kind of communication with its own characteristics. Otherwise, it will definitely not work, he can't sell it if the wine alley is deep, and Maotai can't do advertising.
So now, we have to increase communication. Because many products are disruptive. It may not require advertising, but something like the traditional field of innovation, without advertising, without dissemination, can't do. Now you still have to go and do the communication. So I feel more and more that this communication science may be more and more useful in the field of marketing circulation in the future, because this thing has a lot of uses. So communication is actually this kind of communication between people. In fact, including OEMs, many of them also lack these professionals.
Chunmian: Mr. Ma I have two questions, one is more realistic, that is, the problem of chips, I want to ask what good measures we have in the chip link, supply assurance, this is the first one; we know that this Jaguar Land Rover two brands, relatively speaking, is not balanced, that is, especially the Jaguar brand in China or the future of the next two years of some play, do you have some of your own thinking? Thank you Mr. Ma.
Ma Zhenshan: The chip thing, last year's contradiction was more prominent, now, from the Jaguar Land Rover point of view, there are two parts, part is local, in the local procurement, part is the British import, the British import has actually been troubled, because the entire British chip Jaguar Land Rover to coordinate on a global scale, so the whole degree of freedom, there are indeed some restrictions. Now, the limitation of the entire resources of the chip is still slightly looser, but other parts are also facing supply challenges, some are imported parts, and the price increase this year is also very strong. Now the whole like aluminum is rising in price, etc., this year, the entire manufacturing industry will face a big wave of price increases. In this context, if the price is not raised, it will eat the profits of the manufacturing industry, which is very detrimental to the healthy development of the entire manufacturing industry.
Of course, this is also affected by the international situation and the epidemic, and I hope it can be quickly passed. We're also losing weight this year. On the one hand, we can dig up the potential, squeeze the water that can be found before, and strive to be able to digest these price increase factors under their own conditions. Because in such a situation, it is not okay not to lose weight, but to do or not to do, it may not be done, and then this input is also a little saving. At present, the Jaguar brand is still dominated by the voice of the United Kingdom. Chery Jaguar Land Rover will now focus on the existing XFL, XEL and E-PACE, our domestic cars to do marketing. The UK has also released its entire Jaguar electric car plan, and I'm still waiting for further information, let's talk about that first.
He Qiuhui: Hello Mr. Ma, everyone knows that the BMW X5 is not already domestic, Jaguar Land Rover in the medium and large SUV, is there any domestic plan? In addition, it is actually this joint agency, how do I feel about this, domestic brands you see now go to the store, then the enthusiasm for selling imported cars in this store is relatively high, the enthusiasm for selling domestic brands is not high, how to solve this problem?
Ma Zhenshan: Jaguar Land Rover is indeed a product line pulled relatively long, high-end can sell to more than 3 million, low-end is thirty-five, four hundred thousand this level, the product line is relatively long, and Jaguar Land Rover global, in fact, in the strategic thinking of some things. Especially in the pursuit of quantity, they are also thinking about how much is reasonable and can maintain the acceptability of profits. However, we also hope that the more domestic products, the better, and provide investors with excellent market performance.
Of course, Jaguar Land Rover product does have its own uniqueness. The whole shape has formed its own unique style, and I think this is also a scarce resource in the future. Because in the era of electric vehicles, I think the most valuable thing is uniqueness. This uniqueness must be recognized, manufactured and created, including jaguar Land Rover's unique styling genes. In the future, in fact, if it is necessary to be able to find such a unique modeling gene. It is also not easy for various brands, because the styling is similar, which may also be a common problem. Relying on this three electricity alone, including this kind of automatic driving, including these things such as the Internet of Vehicles. I feel that the future differences are insufficient and not strong. So I think the advantage of Jaguar Land Rover is that it has a unique brand gene, brand personality, so that in the future, in the market, this kind of bottom card is bigger.
Liu Shiyu: Let me ask you a question, Mr. Ma. Entering the era of the stock market, from a seller's market to a buyer's market, it used to be a selling product, then it was selling products to sell brands, and now it may be selling products, selling brands, and selling services. Now the service may become more and more important, like the service brand built by Weilai, which has seen his success in the market. I don't know if Mr. Ma has any new plans in our service, or to create some new and distinctive services to bless our brand?
Ma Zhenshan: Luxury cars still attach great importance to service. I compared it, the price of the entire luxury car service is higher than the mass production car, so it must provide the connotation of this service that matches this, otherwise, the customer will also have an opinion. From this point of view, since the end of last year, we have introduced a policy called free pick-up and delivery of cars and scooters. The core is to make customers more convenient, more intimate and more comfortable in the process of service. We are also pushing the whole network, and the effect is not bad, we also matched some corresponding budgets. In this way, some of the customer's complaints are solved through scooters, pick up and deliver cars, and avoid customer complaints through this form of service.
The shops we have do are also excellent. We have a Jaguar Land Rover store in Shenzhen, and it's very good, and their theme is for female customers. The whole lounge area is themed with female customers, from color, color including the content of the service, all of which are mainly women, which is very distinctive. Teachers have the opportunity to go to Shenzhen can send me WeChat, I coordinate a visit. As far as Shenzhen Road Leopard is concerned, his group is also selling Rolls-Royce, and the boss is also very delicate. So I think the whole store must be done with personality, that is, it can't be too similar. Because of the luxury car customer, he needs one-on-one customization or specialization of this service. They even have parking spaces for female owners, including their elevators, all pink, with seats, such related objects, including the lounge with spa, including beauty massage services, I think are very distinctive. Made a difference. So I think it's a luxury car that must understand the needs of the customer base.
Since the beginning of the epidemic in March 2020, Jaguar Land Rover has continued to provide customers with free door-to-door pick-up and delivery services, and has completed more than 65,000 door-to-door pick-up and delivery services nationwide by 2022. First of all, we still want to encourage the setting of such a service with characteristics, and then we promote it throughout the network. This has vitality, because if the service field is managed, hard push is sometimes not necessarily grounded. Often found in practice to be good, we are promoting such words, the more feasible the promotion, just say this.
Fan Wenqing: Hello Mr. Ma, I have two questions, the first is that you just introduced, that is, affected by the epidemic, Jaguar Land Rover has also encountered some problems in procurement, especially in East China, so whether these problems are affecting our production links now, and whether the terminal market will be affected by some impact on vehicle delivery or price in the future, this is a problem. The second, which is also what you just mentioned, is that the current situation of rising raw material prices is also more prominent, especially at this end of the new energy industry chain, then you think this is especially for new energy vehicles, and now this continuous rise in price will not have some impact on the development of this new energy vehicle this year, thank you Mr. Ma.
Ma Zhenshan: The problem of the supply chain in east China should also be more prominent in the past few days, and this round of local epidemic has still interfered with the production of the entire Shanghai area. Therefore, we are also looking at it now, looking at the development of the entire epidemic and the requirements of prevention and control, and carrying out production in an orderly manner in accordance with policy guidance. As I said before, the supply of parts is still relatively tight, and now it is also a piece, a piece of grab, so now there are many variables, this is the first.
Second, the new energy price increase, it is true that new energy manufacturers are increasing prices this year, because the entire industrial chain is rising in price, chips are rising, so I think it is possible to think about this problem from the demand side and the supply side. Overall, I have a feeling that I've been observing the overall market for five years straight. Up and down, in fact, it is still around the market of about 20 million. Therefore, from the perspective of careful analysis, from the perspective of the continuity of the population including the subsequent purchasing power of the population, I obviously feel that the lack of purchasing power has actually created a lack of momentum for the overall market. Then, coupled with the transformation of this internal structure of new energy, so from the perspective of demand, I feel that the market is still very weak, especially this time, after the whole epidemic has come down, I feel that the sales of terminals are a big blow. Including the whole of this even if the epidemic recovers quickly, it takes a cycle to experience recovery, that is, from the demand side.
From the supply side, in fact, the production capacity is enough, but if the price of raw materials rises, it will actually lead to an increase in the sales price, in fact, this price increase is actually not conducive to the rapid development of the new energy market. Because the entire battery of a car still needs a variety of scarce raw materials or is relatively large. In general, in a changing environment, it is unfavorable to the demand side and the supply side. Especially this year's epidemic, it is unfavorable, so I feel that the overall market this year will not be as optimistic as at the beginning of the year. Therefore, it has to be too tight, and the whole system has to be too tight.
Li Hongwu: Dear teachers, especially with Ma Zong, a big marketing expert, I think that every time I communicate with Ma Zong, I can benefit a lot and get a lot of new points. First of all, Mr. Ma, we did the full V symposium this time, there are several purposes, one purpose is of course to see old friends, to see how you are in the center of this whirlpool in Shanghai, now a look is still in the same state as always, very abundant, and sitting in the office, so that we can rest assured, this is a very important. Second, because you are a marketing veteran, but also the executive director of our Qianlianghui, in fact, this connection, is not said to be for this Jaguar Land Rover brand, in fact, more like you just talked about a lot of for the supply side, for the production and manufacturing side of some judgments, in fact, we think you are an expert, for the future marketing end, production end of the supply side of some judgments and views, we want to put this thing after summarizing, for many other companies or marketers to refer to.
Therefore, I think, the first one, just now Ma Zong also introduced, although in Shanghai in such a serious situation, but basically from Changshu to Puxi, to Pudong, these three places of office is still orderly, orderly work. Second, in fact, at the end of last year, with Ma Zong did some exchanges, in Shenzhen, in fact, Ma Zong just said that the Shenzhen store, I have been there, but also the first time to see Jaguar Land Rover for female customers service, for quality and a series of new actions, especially including door-to-door delivery, some applications of online APP, it can be said that some digitization, in terms of tools, the use of very good points. So I think overall, I think there is still a certain confidence in the future Jaguar Land Rover brand, I think this confidence comes from what, from some product quality, from the understanding of luxury, including the ma just said, the future Jaguar Land Rover in the luxury of this piece of repositioning, for the design to lead the concept of the entire luxury positioning. Third, I think that although Mr. Ma just said that the judgment of the market is not as optimistic as it was a year ago, it is basically the general trend, or the mainstream, or that the future luxury market still has a certain room for growth. In fact, Ma Zong judged that it was 35% years ago, but in fact, this epidemic is also force majeure, so I think there is still a certain confidence in these points.
Including Jaguar Land Rover's judgment on customer service and user operation, in fact, the last time I was in Shenzhen, Mr. Ma went to Huawei for the first time. I remember going to Huawei to investigate, they were on the product manager side, in the communication end of the user mechanism, but also made us exchanges, so I think these, are to the good level, but there are also dilemmas, that is, as Ma just said, terminal, cost, these things I think are also some irresistible things, then now it can only be to try to guarantee, to maintain to achieve the best and greatest results and effects to the highest. Another is that just now Ma Zong said, the store, 4S stores, including terminals, their inertia is very large, or based on some of the previous advertising, some forms of communication, now all the staff are soldiers, how to do a good job of private domain traffic, I think it may also be necessary for all marketers and now all brands to make up for a lesson. Because Ma Zong said before, digital it is a tool is a means, it is not the end, if it is in the case of the epidemic, and require dynamic clearance, in this case, from the store to the terminal to the brand to the main engine factory to the application of factory digitalization, I think this as a means and tools how to use well, may be a very important topic, the above Ma Zong These, is some of my relatively shallow views, well, thank you Mr. Ma, thank you teachers.
Ma Zhenshan: Hongwu summed up very completely, in fact, I respond to Hongwu's just said digitalization, digitalization is actually a lot of auto companies I think the understanding is biased. I thought that with digitalization, I could sell more cars, and then I could spend less money. But in many painful cases, this may be relatively simple, simply looking at digitalization has suffered a big loss. What problems digitalization solves is actually a problem of access. For example, we can reach customers quickly, we can find customers quickly, we can be effective, simple, but in fact, marketing is actually the core of communication. In fact, the pathway solves the problem of how to communicate what content. Therefore, it cannot be said that once digital transformation, everything can be solved, which is impossible. So now, many of this brand has also gone wrong. So that's one of the points that I'm focused on. Digitalization must be there, but digitalization is definitely not a nuclear weapon. Because it just solves the highway, the people running on the taxi, the goods running, the running car, the equivalent of content, just say this.
Su Yunong: Okay, thank you Mr. Ma, as a practitioner of the digital field all year round, the points you just talked about are actually very important, and we are also deeply educated, I also see that the work arrangements on your side are actually very busy, and our office area is estimated to have entered the home stage in a few days, it is estimated that you have a lot of work to arrange, then our first exchange today, first here, Mr. Ma thank you very much.
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