Header image source | Jiangling Ford Technology
Editor's Codex:
Here is the interview column "BOSS Says" planned by Future AutoMotive Daily. In 2022, the second wave of new car-making and entrepreneurship wave accelerated, and the first models of Youjia NV, Qingjie M5, and Jidu were successively launched; "Wei Xiaoli" frequently exerted force, Weilai ES7, Ideal L9, Xiaopeng G9 besieged the field of medium and large intelligent pure electric SUVs, and the new energy vehicle market entered the Spring and Autumn Warring States period of hundreds of controversies. Li Bin, the founder of Weilai, had expected that 2025 would usher in the decisive year of smart electric vehicles. Before that, the car companies secretly accumulated strength. With the theme of "Dormant Spring and Autumn", we will talk to the boss of all new energy vehicle companies and how to prepare for 2025. In the second issue, we interviewed Xiang Jinping, president of Jiangling Ford Technology.
When interviewing Xiang Dongping, he was being "trapped" at his home in Shanghai. Although people can't go out, they keep a full working state - suits, shirts are not messed up, and the shelves in the study are full of marketing books, which are the lighthouses when Xiang Dongping is confused.
During this time, Xiang Dongping has been interviewed by a number of professional media, and the background is this bookshelf. It can be seen that Jiangling Ford Technology and Xiang dongping have ushered in a time node that needs to be disseminated. There may be many questions, Xiang Dongping has listened to the media more than once, but when he was interviewed by Future Auto Daily, he still patiently and sincerely answered - trying to get rid of the set of media routines that most marketing bosses are familiar with.
Jumping out of the background of the joint venture car company and the new forces, what kind of spark will collide with Xiang Jinping and this "new force of the joint venture car company"?
After 23 years in the automotive industry, "marketing veteran" Xiang Jinping locked the next stop of his career as Jiangling Ford.
At the beginning of January 2022, a new joint venture company, Jiangling Ford Automotive Technology, was established, and Xiang Dongping became president. The company positioned as a "new force of joint venture car companies" was born, and a new entrepreneurial journey was opened to Xiangping.
"I didn't expect the pace of work to be so fast," Xiang Dongping sighed. "The day's work starts from the morning meeting at 8:30," said an insider of Jiangling Ford Technology, a busy day, and in the evening, Xiang dongping will also hold a "guarantee meeting" with members sent by the procurement, logistics, production and other departments - to ensure that production under the epidemic is not affected as much as possible.
The listing of The knife is the first major thing that Xiang Jinping did after joining Jiangling Ford Technology. On March 28, Lingrui was launched, which is the first model launched after the establishment of Jiangling Ford Technology.
On the day of the listing of Lingrui, Shanghai opened the "Mandarin Duck Pot" lockdown. Fortunately, before the lockdown, we got everything needed for the new car conference, "before the conference, we hurriedly went to record the new car materials, and then it was blocked", talking about the listing of Lingrui, Xiang Dongping still feels thrilled, "In fact, it is a day or two away."
A smooth listing is just the beginning, and Lingrui will face more tests. Since the 1990s, Jiangling and Ford have been associated, and Jiangling Ford's positioning has always been limited to the field of commercial vehicles. At present, Lingrui needs to tear off the stereotypes of the past and make efforts to the passenger car SUV market.
Jiangling Ford Technology first started from the price, and directly cut the price of lingrui's joint venture medium-sized SUV to less than 140,000 yuan, which was more than 20,000 yuan lower than the threshold of the same level of joint venture models, and also equipped with the same 50-meter track reversing of BMW, Tesla's same DCLC light lane change and other cross-level configurations.
"The quality of the joint venture, the price of independence, the intelligence of the new forces." Xiang Dongping summed up Lingrui's advantages.
At present, the price of parts and components has risen, and the logistics cost has risen, which has brought a lot of pressure to lingrui, which is mainly cost-effective. "We have taken a lot of measures to digest and absorb the impact of rising costs. ”
The so-called "new force of joint venture car companies" is, of course, not just a false name. At the same time as the launch of new models, Jiangling Ford Technology has also carried out a complete organizational change.
"The construction of our overall team is carried out with reference to the direction of Internet companies and technology companies." Xiang Dongping revealed that Jiangling Ford Technology abandoned the traditional functional organizational structure, did not set up a sales department, a marketing department, but a user-oriented "cutting-edge" organizational construction, and set up a user insight center, a brand center, a communication center, a user product center and a digital innovation center.
The marketing service system is also moving closer to the new forces. Jiangling Ford Technology canceled the traditional 4S store model and replaced it with a "Family Space" experience center, emphasizing the service concept of "hospitality as a family", and also organized staff to provide customers with "many-to-one" exclusive services through WeChat groups.
After more than 20 years of racing the automotive industry, Xiang Dongping has been in the hands of traditional car companies and new car-making forces, witnessing the rapid iteration of the automotive industry, such as shortening the average life cycle of a car from 6-7 years to 2 years; the role of marketers has also changed from "like an artist to more like a scientist".
Compared with the previous platform, Jiangling Ford Technology has more autonomy and decision-making power in Dongping. He hoped that Jiangling Ford Technology could act as a "challenger" to "shake or even subvert some of the old orders and rules of the market."
The following is a conversation between Xiang Dongping and Future Auto Daily:
How did the "new joint venture force" come about?
Q: Compared to your previous jobs, what was the biggest challenge for you to join Jiangling Ford Technology?
A: I officially joined Jiangling Ford in August last year, and more than a month later, the shareholders of the two sides decided to establish a new joint venture company, Jiangling Ford Technology, which was officially established in mid-January this year. From the formation of a new company to the establishment of a new organizational structure, and then to the gradual development of the entire team, the time has not been long.
For me, the most laborious things are two aspects, one is to build a team, and the other is to promote the launch of blockbuster products and communicate with users, including the new Jiangling Ford Lingrui, which was launched in March.
I used to work for many joint venture car companies, and I also worked for new forces. Now this experience, I think it is very special. Jiangling Ford Technology is a start-up company, and we want to use an innovative organizational structure to build a new company.
Lingrui listing conference site Source: Jiangling Ford Technology
Q: Why should a new joint venture be established on top of the joint venture? That is to say, what is the difference between Jiangling Ford Technology and other joint ventures?
A: We hope to make a joint venture that is different from traditional car companies. There is a very important word in the name of "Jiangling Ford Technology Company" - "technology". This includes the ardent hope of both shareholders for us - different from traditional car companies, with technology companies as the positioning and direction, there is a change, innovation, breakthrough of the original intention.
We are a new force formed in the form of a joint venture, and our significance and identity are very special.
The advantage of Jiangling Ford Technology is that it is not completely unfounded and has no foundation, but is backed by the two major shareholders of the parent company, Ford and Jiangling, and they also have complementary advantages.
As a century-old car brand, Ford has a DNA that emphasizes innovation. The production mode of T-type vehicles and assembly lines has promoted great changes in the automotive industry. Under the wave of new energy, Ford proposed the "Ford+" plan to actively participate in the competition as a challenger. Jiangling Motors has advantages in manufacturing, supply chain management, cost control, and is a pragmatic and down-to-earth enterprise.
Therefore, the new joint venture company combines the superior resources of both shareholders, and also carries the expectations of both shareholders for future strategies and business.
Q: How does Jiangling Ford Technology achieve "different from traditional joint ventures"? What have you done since its official establishment more than 3 months ago?
A: Different from traditional enterprises, Jiangling Ford Technology focuses on front-end business such as marketing, service and brand.
As a technology company, the construction of our entire team is based on the direction of new Internet companies and technology companies. We have abandoned the traditional functional organizational structure, did not set up a sales department, marketing department, but the user as the "cutting edge" of organizational construction, built a user insight center, brand center, communication center, growth center and user experience center, as well as a user product center and a digital innovation center. Among them, the status of digital innovation center is very important. In the future, we will use digital technologies to improve organizational efficiency and user service experience.
At this stage, the mass market has become more and more homogeneous, and the personalized and differentiated market has not been fully tapped. From the perspective of organizational goals, we do not want to cover "all aspects", but more want to focus on differentiated market segments, focusing on the layout of SUV and pickup trucks. At the same time, to provide users with personalized products, services and experiences.
Q: It is not easy to adapt to the previous traditional concepts. In the process, do you have any meaningful cases or lessons to share?
A: As a joint venture, it does require a lot of communication and collaboration to exchange the resources, wishes, values and culture between the joint venture itself and the shareholders of both sides. Ford is an American culture, Jiangling is more Chinese, and there are many different cultures between the two sides.
But both Ford Global and Ford China are in a strategic period of change. Ford's determination to break the tradition and break through is very firm. The two shareholders are highly compatible and agree on innovation, new organizational models, new businesses and how to better participate in market competition in the future. Based on this understanding, we can be very efficient in advancing the project.
Q: Where did the personnel of the new joint venture come from?
A: Our talent is diverse.
We want the members of the team to be very open to the new company. Our requirements for innovation are that team members do not use inertial thinking and traditional practices, but use the idea of "clearing zero" to think about what should be done from the deepest perspective of the work, including how to use better methods and better technical means to achieve the deepest and most essential needs of the business.
We also emphasize the power of action, to translate strategy into every step forward. Trial and error are allowed, but keep trying, constantly iterating, optimizing, improving, and improving from zero to one.
Cross-level configuration, dimensionality reduction strike
Q: Lingrui is the first model launched by Jiangling Ford Technology since its establishment. At present, the order volume of Lingrui exceeds 5,000 units, how is this done?
A: Compared with the strongest SUV of the joint venture and The Chinese brand, Lingrui's positioning is "wide-body, high-energy, pioneer SUV", which is very competitive from the perspective of the entire market segment. I will focus on three aspects:
The first is the wide-body aesthetic design. The Lingrui body is 1935mm wide, which is wider than the Highlander (the latter is 1910mm wide). The length, wheelbase, head space and rear knee space of the vehicle are all called "large space" SUVs, and Chinese consumers' requirements for vehicle space are very high. In terms of appearance, Lingrui adopts the aesthetic design of potential energy, with flexible shape and aura.
The second is pioneer intelligent technology. For example, dclc light lane change function, after the driver presses the turn signal, the vehicle will automatically detect and judge the surrounding environment, in a safe situation, it will help the driver automatically drive the vehicle to the adjacent lane. In the same class of models, this intelligent driving assistance function is relatively rare, and only highly intelligent electric vehicles such as Tesla have such a configuration.
Source: Jiangling Ford Technology
The third is high-energy quality. The body is made of boron steel, which is the material of the aircraft landing gear level, and the cockpit is the intelligent health cockpit of the CN95.
At the same time, we have the most sincere price, the lowest reached 139,800 yuan, that is, the level of 140,000 yuan, which may be 40,000 or 50,000 yuan cheaper than the Japanese, Ashkenazi and other similar level friendly products.
This also reflects our positioning, called "Compete Like a Challenger", we do not position ourselves as a traditional brand, but with very competitive products and the most sincere price to impress consumers.
Source: Jiangling Ford Technology
Q: This car has a lot of powerful intelligent functions, in order to achieve this function, Jiangling Ford Technology has its own special team in intelligent research and development?
A: Both shareholders have R&D teams. Ford has a dedicated design center and R&D center in China. We also maintain open cooperative relations with many suppliers, such as more than 20 sensors in the whole vehicle, which use mobile EYEQ4 smart chips. (Remarks: The same model equipped with this chip is also Weilai ES6, Extreme Kr 001, etc.) Lingrui product landing, is the result of self-development + fusion supplier research and development capabilities.
Q: After you have an order, you also need to consider delivery. Since last year, the supply chain situation is not optimistic, the lack of core and batteries has encountered raw material price increases, and recently superimposed on the epidemic factor, how is the situation of Jiangling Ford Technology?
A: At the end of March, our supply chain was basically guaranteed. In April, the supply chain is currently experiencing many challenges due to the epidemic in Shanghai, including across the country.
We hold a guarantee meeting every night, and the procurement, logistics, production, research and development departments send dozens of people to form a joint working team. The factory R&D and manufacturing teams are also working in an all-round and all-weather manner, which is very hard. Many of our employees are laying floors in factories (closed-loop production), and sometimes need to work overtime to "grab" our production capacity.
At present, the supply chain situation as a whole is not stable, and it is a dynamic process. But we are also matching the supply chain with the front-end market situation, with limited resources, as soon as possible to deliver to users.
Q: At present, which kind of parts are you most concerned about?
A: The chip bottleneck lasted for a while, and the most discussed thing at that time was, "How to get more chip resources." Now it is scattered, and wherever there is a bottleneck, we must pay attention to it.
Each component is equally important, without one, the long-term continuous tension may be the chip, but other components will have sudden fluctuations.
Q: Our distribution channel is called Family Space, how is it different from a traditional 4S store?
A: Many places in traditional 4S stores have been criticized by users, including opaque prices, mandatory consumption, and gray areas.
We have made a lot of improvements and enhancements to these situations, such as the use of one price, unified quotation, no mandatory consumption, etc.
We do not want to contact users with the cold image of traditional 4S stores, but replace it with "Family Space Home Space Ford Experience Store", emphasizing the service concept of "hospitality as a family" and treating customers like relatives. In addition, we also have a joint team, including service experience officers, sales consultants, and service consultants, to carry out "many-to-one" user services through WeChat groups. At present, we have more than 20,000 users in the country WeChat group, which can serve users 24 hours a day × 7.
From hardware facilities, service processes, to organizational design, etc., we all hope to make breakthroughs and bring warm feelings to users.
Q: Is the location of Family Space upgraded or relocated in the 4S store before Jiangling Ford? How many Family Spaces are planned for the end of the year?
A: Previously, we will choose a 4S store with a good location to upgrade, and now it is more to expand a new experience store. About 180 Family Space home spaces will open in 150 cities this year, and by the end of this year, the number could exceed 200. But we will not simply emphasize the number, how to better serve users, is our more concerned indicators.
Lingrui brand close friend Aoyama Zhouping Source: Jiangling Ford Technology
Q: Where is the personalization of Jiangling Ford Technology user service?
A: Compared with some traditional car companies and new car-making forces, we are still groping. Like social services, it is still very lightweight. I feel that service is an evolutionary process that needs to be continuously improved.
Q: Now that car companies are emphasizing being good to users, where do you think the limits of being good to users should be?
A: There is no end to the user's service concept, service awareness, service attitude, service innovation, etc.
The automotive industry has not evolved into a service industry for a particularly long time, so the gap is very large compared to the real "Haidilao-style service" or five-star or higher service. There is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of service experience, service awareness, service concept, etc.
Any service, you have to consider the cost. However, from the perspective of service efficiency, it is not necessary to pass on some costs to users, but to optimize through technical means to provide users with better, more convenient and lower-cost services, which I think can be completely achieved. For example, according to the user's usage habits, give them some suggestions on how to optimize fuel consumption, etc., and carry out active services.
The future service will be more diversified, not limited to the sale of the car itself, but also includes travel services, maintenance services, financial services, insurance services, traffic services, Internet products and other services, all products in the future are services.
A new generation of marketers needs to be like engineers
Q: You have more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, and you have work experience in joint venture car companies and new forces. Has there been any significant change in the way automotive marketing has been done in 20 years?
A: As a marketer, I focus on the entire marketing industry, including service concepts and technological changes.
The automotive industry attaches great importance to products, and overall, the product cycle is relatively long. However, today, the speed of product iteration has accelerated, and the life cycle has changed from 6-7 years to an average of 2 years before a new generation of products may appear.
The marketing side is changing faster and bigger. The original marketing had a lot of creative components, and the marketer was more like an artist, emphasizing creativity, innovation and breakthrough. Now marketing, and digital technology are more combined, marketers have to be like scientists, engineers.
The digital front has also undergone a transformation. Originally, it was website 1.0 and 2.0, and now it is mobile Internet, social platform marketing, such as WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and the operation of some private domain traffic.
Today's marketing needs to be more integrated with digital technology. We monitor the data on the marketing side every day, paying attention to the volume of users in different channels and the degree of user engagement, all of which can help us see the current state of marketing.
These data are getting deeper and more detailed, such as the cost-effectiveness ratio of marketing, the investment situation, has it generated sound? What is word of mouth? Is there any effect? Whether it is really converted into terminal traffic, customers to the store, etc., can be truly feedback. We operate through data.
In the future, marketing is a process in which the left brain and right brain are interconnected.
Q: What is the status of your work in the new joint venture car company?
A: I didn't expect the pace of work to be so fast, much faster than I expected, equivalent to a startup. Our entire team is also growing, and different teams need to better integrate with each other to form the company's goals, vision, guidelines, culture, work framework, etc.
We are in accordance with the standards of a startup to demand ourselves, such as Lingrui listing, every week there must be a new promotion, "to burst the point, weekly waves", and then through a rapid combination of punches, better participate in market competition.
The author | Wu Xiaoyu
Edit the | Li Huanhuan