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Affected by the epidemic, in the just-concluded March, car sales fell by 10.5% year-on-year, and the situation was not optimistic. But Chang'an handed over a beautiful answer sheet.
From the perspective of retail sales, Changan ranked second among the car companies with a total sales volume of 120,000 yuan, an increase of 17.2% year-on-year, and the gap with the first FAW-Volkswagen was only 6,000 units; from the perspective of wholesale sales, Changan Automobile's cumulative sales reached 132,000, surpassing the North and South Volkswagen for the first time and winning the championship of the whole brand.
For Changan, this was an unremarkable victory, and Changan Automobile did not even send a press release for this. After all, this is not the first time that Changan Automobile has stood at the top of a Chinese brand.
Compared with short-term victories, Changan Automobile, which stands at the starting point of the 160th anniversary, will focus more on the brand strategy change.
On April 13, Changan Automobile held the 2022 Changan Automobile Global Partnership Conference in Chongqing, which not only announced the business operation and future development strategy of the group, but also announced that it would invest 80 billion yuan in the future to focus on the new energy industry and release the "Changan Deep Blue" brand to practice Changan Automobile's determination and commitment to transform into an intelligent low-carbon travel technology company.
For a long time, Changan Automobile has been questioned for not being active enough in research and development in the field of new energy. But in fact, Changan Automobile established a new energy research institute in 2001 and developed the first hybrid model in 2002. In 2017, when new energy vehicles were just starting out, Changan Automobile released the Shangri-La plan.
But why in the 5 years when the development of new energy vehicles is in full swing, Changan Automobile has shined in the field of fuel vehicles, but still adheres to the strategic attitude of silently cultivating and steadily fighting in the field of new energy?
In this regard, Yang Dayong, chairman of Changan New Energy Automobile, once said, "Traditional car companies consider business models. In the past, the new energy market driven by only policies had no market momentum, and we could not ignore the many pain points such as battery technology, charging technology, the number of charging piles, and safety at that time. ”
That is to say, the early years of new energy are not unconditional, but Changan Automobile wants to cope with the challenge with a more confident attitude. Since last year, the domestic new energy vehicle market has begun to grow explosively, and the single-month penetration rate at the end of last year has even reached 20%. Even under the difficulties of the epidemic and the rise in chips and raw materials, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in mainland China still increased by 1.1 times year-on-year in March, and the market penetration rate reached 19.3% throughout the first quarter.
In this context, we will make all-round efforts to electrify and intelligentize, and accelerate the transformation to intelligent low-carbon travel technology companies in an all-round way. Therefore, at the 2022 Changan Automobile Global Partnership Conference, Changan publicly released the future new energy planning and matrix layout for the first time, whether it is an investment of up to 80 billion yuan in 3 years, or the goal of achieving an annual sales of 4 million yuan in 2025, or a unique technical advantage accumulated over the years in the field of "three electricity", which is enough to highlight Changan Automobile's confidence and determination to enter the new energy automobile industry.
From Chang'an Deep Blue to Avita, Chang'an New Energy is ready.
Five years to sharpen a sword
Is Changan New Energy ready?
As we all know, Changan new energy vehicles are known for their small and fine. The most impressive Ben Ben E-Star National Edition was called "the challenger of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV" by many media when it was listed, but because of many problems in cost, supply chain and output, it finally had to stop taking orders.
But it is worth noting that even in the many micro pure tram markets with serious price rolls, Changan Ben E-Star is the most reassuring. Previously, well-known car critics compared the endurance, performance, safety and other all-round comparisons of pure electric models below 40,000 on the market, which proved that The Ben E-Star is ahead of the same level in all aspects.
Some Chang'an insiders revealed that Ben E-Star is very popular, but the cost pressure is too great, basically selling a loss. Perhaps starting from the product configuration may reduce production costs, but Changan Automobile did not do so, in fact, it has already reflected The "bottom line" of Changan in product quality.
Compared with the price war in the market segment, Changan Automobile is more willing to invest more energy in technology research and development, which has a long-term "big picture view".
Official data show that Changan Automobile has entered the field of new energy since 2001 and has won more than 20 provincial and ministerial awards, mastered more than 400 key technologies, and applied for more than 800 core patents.
In 2021, Changan Automobile has released a new generation of seven-in-one super-integrated electric drive system with seven major assemblies such as deeply integrated motors and reducers, which reduces the volume by 5%, reduces the weight by 10%, increases the power density by 37%, reduces the noise by 15%, and increases the efficiency by 5% compared with the "three-in-one" electric drive system composed of motors, accelerators and controllers.
Around the seven-in-one super collector electric drive system, Changan has also developed a third-generation battery platform using 590 modules, which can achieve 400-700 km endurance by adjusting the number of modules. The system energy density ≥ 180wh/kg, and the battery assembly can be zero fire.
In addition, Changan's world-first electric drive high-frequency pulse heating technology can use the inductance and switching characteristics of the electric drive to drive the high-frequency pulse current generated between the battery and the electric drive, and realize internal self-heating through the internal resistance of the battery. This means that even in the -30 °C environment, Chang'an new energy vehicles equipped with Changan's new generation of electric drive system can heat up by 20 °C in 5 minutes and increase the cruising range by 40-70 kilometers.
In the future, Changan Automobile will also reduce the weight of the vehicle and improve the performance of the battery through the integrated technology of the battery chassis and the mass production application (semi-solid-state battery).
These technologies will be directly applied to new energy products launched in the future. For the existing new energy vehicle product line, Changan Automobile has also re-sorted, and equipped with a highly targeted new energy platform architecture for different types of products.
For example, in the mass market with the widest audience, Changan Automobile officially announced a new brand - Changan Deep Blue, and the products currently in the plan are C385 and C673, all based on the EPA architecture.
For example, in the mainstream hybrid market, Changan Automobile said it would accelerate the operation of UNI branding and realize the electrification of all products. At present, the first PHEV model in the UNI sequence, UNI-K iDD, has been launched, and the second PHEV model, UNI-V iDD, is expected to be available this year, and these products are based on the MPA architecture that is compatible with fuel and electrification products.
In addition, there is the CHN platform, which mainly serves the Avita brand co-founded by Changan, Ningde Times and Huawei, positioning itself at high-end, and has planned four mid- and high-end models.
Official information shows that there are currently 21 new energy vehicle products in the plan, in addition to the above brands, there are Auchan Z6-PHEV, the first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell car and the boutique pure electric car Changan LUMIN.
This detailed and categorical product plan covers all levels of market segments from low, medium and high-end, from cars to SUVs, fully demonstrating Changan Automobile's determination to develop the new energy field.
Of course, it is precisely because it has enough technical reserves in the field of electrification that Changan Automobile can march into the field of new energy with such a bang.
Seven key actions
Make every effort to promote intelligent and low-carbon transformation
Zhu Huarong summed up the current state of Changan Automobile with the three words of "the most Chang'an", that is, "both scale, efficiency and sustainable development". In Zhu Huarong's view, Changan Automobile is currently in the most morale stage, mainly because of the continuous improvement of the group's sales scale.
In addition to the opening chapter we talked about Changan ranking first among Chinese brands in March, its CS75, CS55, Yidong and UNI series products have been well received. In the new energy sector, after the appearance of the C385, whether it is dealers, media, or consumers, the evaluation of all parties indicates the future market potential of this model.
Based on this, Changan Automobile's profits are constantly improving, and its operating quality has entered a virtuous circle. This also provides sufficient financial support for Changan Automobile's transformation to electrification.
Therefore, Changan Automobile plans to invest more than 80 billion yuan in key areas such as new energy, intelligence, scientific and technological innovation, and digital transformation by 2025.
Such a large-scale investment, based on a grand goal, is expected to reach 2025, Changan Automobile's total sales will reach 4 million vehicles, of which Changan brand 3 million, new energy accounted for 35%; by 2030 Changan Automobile sales reached 5.5 million, of which Changan brand 4.5 million, new energy accounted for 60%, overseas sales accounted for 30%.
And we want to achieve carbon peaking in 2027 and carbon neutrality in 2045.
Ambitious goals, of course, must match a well-thought-out plan. At the Changan Automobile Global Partnership Conference, Changan Automotive Systems elaborated on how to achieve this ambitious strategic goal in the future, which was officially called "7 key actions", mainly focusing on product lines, industrial chains, digital transformation, market development, and resource assurance.
But in general, new energy and intelligence will continue to be the main theme of Changan Automobile's development in the next few years. The 7 major actions will be carried out around the goal of "intelligent low-carbon transformation".
Brands and products are the most direct display of Changan's efforts to new energy. For different segments of the population, Changan Automobile has carried out a systematic brand renewal and reorganized the existing product line.
In terms of brands, there are both Avita for the middle and high-end crowds and meeting the deep emotional demands, as well as Changan Deep Blue for the young Z generation and meeting the needs of the public's green travel; Hybrid New Energy is pinned on UNI and further promotes brand operation. There are also sub-segments for the small car market and the commercial vehicle market.
According to the current strategic deployment, Changan Automobile has 6 major brands of Changan Deep Blue, Avita, UNI, Changan Passenger Vehicle, Auchan and Kaicheng, and it is expected that by 2025, more than 30 new energy models will be launched, including 4 Avita models, 5 Changan Navy brands, 4 new cars in the small car market, and 6 new commercial vehicles.
At the same time, we will continue to consolidate our technical strength in the core field of new energy vehicles, and seize market opportunities through technological empowerment. These new electrification technologies include, but are not limited to, "a new generation of deeply integrated electric drive technology", "energy consumption integrated design", "battery chassis integration and (semi-) solid-state battery technology research and development", "hydrogen fuel technology" and so on.
In terms of industrial chain layout, Changan Automobile will work with upstream and downstream suppliers and partners such as State Grid and Aodong to create a green ecological chain from batteries, energy replenishment and the whole industry chain. It plans to reduce the carbon intensity of bicycle manufacturing by 30% by 2025.
Digital transformation should cover product design, marketing services, intelligent manufacturing and other aspects. It should be known that Changan Automobile has already released the intelligent strategy "Beidou Tianshu Plan" in 2018, and up to now, Changan Automobile has mastered more than 200 core technologies such as visual perception and multi-mode integration, of which 26 technologies such as integrated adaptive cruise (IACC), remote parking (APA5.0), and remote intelligent parking (APA6.0) are the first in China.
Under the deployment of 7 key actions, digitalization and intelligence will be applied at all levels such as manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Through digital transformation, products are more humanized, marketing services are more targeted, and intelligent manufacturing is more efficient and transparent.
For the overseas market, Changan Automobile said that by 2025, it will build 2-3 overseas manufacturing bases and complete the production capacity layout of the first phase of the global automobile market.
Of course, at present, the most concerned in the industry is the supply chain guarantee, Changan Automobile also said that it will go all out to grab resources to meet customer requirements, and build a new supply chain system by improving the cost competitiveness of the supply chain, sharing the results of technology cost reduction, and system reconstruction.
Talent is the basis for the implementation of all strategies, at the beginning of this year, Changan Automobile implemented the tenure system and contractual management internally, dismissed and re-recruited all senior personnel, and carried out a systematic adjustment of talent structure.
In the future, Changan Automobile will continue to optimize the talent structure, promote the organizational reform of "small headquarters + business group + shared platform + incubation and innovation", establish a "smile curve" management logic, and cope with enterprise transformation.
Judging from these 7 key actions, this is not only the charter of Changan Automobile's transformation into the field of new energy, but also a system reform from the inside out, from the beginning to the end.
epilogue
Whether it is for the development of Chinese automobile brands or new energy vehicle brands, Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile, is full of confidence: "Chinese automobile brands have reached a critical moment of accumulation. ”
He said, "Chinese car brands are no longer bystanders, or simple followers, but have become runners, or even leaders." In 2021, the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars has reached 41.9%, exceeding 40% for the first time. In the first quarter of this year, the market share of passenger cars of Chinese brands further increased to 45.2%, and the market share of new energy vehicles reached 83%. ”
Relying on such a forward-looking strategic layout, Changan Automobile has long been fully prepared to deal with the various challenges of electrification transformation. Accumulating thick and thin hair and riding on the momentum is the portrayal of Changan Automobile at this time.