In 200 days, Xpeng Motors came back to life, what did the "Iron Lady" Wang Fengying do right?

On August 25, the 26th Chengdu International Auto Show officially opened.

Xpeng Motors unveiled all models including G6, G9 and P7i, and also opened a separate intelligent cockpit area and XNGP experience area in the 800-square-meter booth. Five years have passed since the delivery of the first model, and Xiaopeng still seems to be the same Xiaopeng, still the most technological new force.

But few people know that Xiaopeng has walked through the "ghost gate" for most of the past six months. The current situation is largely due to the new president Wang Fengying, who has just taken office for 200 days in August. This famous iron lady in the industry has given Xpeng Motors a new look.

What magic did Wang Fengying cast on Xiao Peng? How did she change Xpeng? Let Kung Fu Cars take you to see it together.

(1) From "random mandarin duck spectrum" to "match made in heaven"

When it comes to the "big guys" in the automotive industry, they are basically mostly men, after all, the industry itself has its own "hardcore" temperament. But there are exceptions to everything, and Wang Fengying is that exception, as the famous "number two person" in the history of Great Wall Motors, she was once more famous than the boss Wei Jianjun.

At the beginning of the establishment of Great Wall Motor, the boss Wei Jianjun frequently went abroad to study and explore new car manufacturing models, and Wang Fengying was responsible for "guarding the home" of Great Wall Motor. Later, Great Wall transformed from a pickup truck manufacturer and successfully achieved a first-mover advantage in the SUV track, including Wang Fengying.

In 2015, Wang Fengying was named one of the 25 most influential business women in Asia Pacific by Fortune magazine; In 2021, Wang Fengying ranked 8th on the Forbes China Best CEOs list; In 2022, she was once again selected as "China's Outstanding Business Woman", which can be described as an honorary status.

But Rao is so, Wang Fengying's entry into Xpeng Motors is still widely regarded as a "random mandarin duck spectrum". After all, Wang Fengying's success is based on the traditional automobile system, which is not consistent with the aura of Xpeng Motors' Internet brand and technology brand. Coupled with the fact that the "iron lady" born in 1970 is in her 50s and is close to the retirement age of most professional women, many people are not optimistic about Xiaopeng's decision.

But He Xiaopeng tried to get out of the crowd, and in January 2023, Wang Fengying officially joined Xpeng as the company's president, and also became the number two person in Xpeng Motors.

January 2023 was the lowest point for Xpeng Motors, with monthly sales of only 5,218 units. Several of its models are also "dying" and do not seem to see much hope. But after Wang Fengying's arrival, Xpeng Motors immediately returned to the growth track, until its sales exceeded 10,000 again in July, which can be said to have successfully passed the most dangerous period. As the G6 begins to continue to make efforts, Xpeng's growth is expected to continue for some time.

In fact, at the end of last year, many people had already sentenced Xiaopeng to death in their hearts. After all, the new forces are all indomitable, and once sales begin to decline, it is difficult to recover. But Wang Fengying, as a manager of a traditional car company, has made Xiaopeng undergo such a transformation, which is really remarkable.

(2) Dead pinching positioning, Wang Fengying's "magic"

As a "veteran" who has been in the automotive market for more than 30 years, Wang Fengying's experience mainly focuses on marketing and strategic planning. And what she brought to Xiaopeng was the transformation in this regard.

From 2021 to 2022, Xiaopeng experienced a real double heaven of ice and fire. The first half is a comedy, the first model G3 has gained a foothold, and the second flagship model P7 has directly caught fire, fighting back and forth with Model 3 and BYD-Han; But the second half is not so optimistic, the Xpeng P5 positioned as an intelligent family sedan does not sell well, and the next SUV flagship G9 has experienced a 72-hour "price change" on the market, and finally failed to catch fire.

For Wang Fengying, the biggest difficulty is how to sell the next new car. Judging by the results, her performance was perfect. The first is the "semi-finished" model P7i, which was actually close to development before Wang Fengying came, and the rest is on the market. Wang Fengying's change is to greatly streamline the SKUs of the new car, only launching two versions, rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, completely solving the problem of redundant old P7 subdivision models.

In the next G6, Wang Fengying arranged the price at 209,900 yuan, and only retained 5 versions. Her thinking is very clear, P7i is mainly a technology flagship, then go to the high-end, directly the whole series is equipped with high-end intelligent driving as standard. G6 focuses on technology + home, so try to keep the entry price down and win with comprehensive cost performance. The P7i and G6 were hot when they went on sale, which also proved Wang Fengying's vision.

Wang Fengying also reorganized Xpeng's sales system, integrating the user service development center and auto trade sales system, and reorganized the sales channels. Previously, Xiaopeng's sales method was divided into four major regions of "southeast, south, north and central", but after Wang Fengying's arrival, it was changed to 25 "war zones", eliminating the concept of direction. This distinction is indeed more reasonable, and the enthusiasm of the entire sales system is mobilized.

The most powerful thing about Wang Fengying is that she knows what consumers need, and she has enough prestige and ability to implement her ideas. Such as the chaos of sales channels and the complicated problems of subdivided models, all belong to Xiaopeng's old diseases, and many people's opinions have not been able to solve them. But Wang Fengying eradicated these problems in just 200 days after joining the company, and it has to be admirable.

(3) It's all car-making, no different?

Everyone has always had an inherent impression about building cars. For example, when it comes to new forces, they all feel that it is a PPT car, which is technically a patchwork; When it comes to traditional car companies, they think that marketing and service are not good. "Traditional car people" and "new forces in car manufacturing" seem to be a bit incompatible.

Even when He Xiaopeng invited Wang Fengying, although the latter was already well-known in the industry, most people still felt that they would encounter unsatisfactory.

Judging from the results, Wang Fengying's experience is also applicable in the new forces. As an old man in the automotive industry, Wang Fengying's work is characterized by resolute and efficiency, which does not seem to be suitable for the new force Xiaopeng. But after she focused on Xiaopeng's marketing, she did greatly improve the efficiency of problem solving, achieve rapid feedback, and let everything be implemented.

Another example is the "renaming" of the G6, originally this car was named G7. But Wang Fengying clearly pointed out that in the current domestic market, SUVs are more expensive than cars of the same class. The P7i is mainly high-end, the whole series is equipped with high-end intelligent driving as standard, the starting price has reached 249,900 yuan, if the G7 is listed, the positioning must go up, otherwise consumers will be confused, and will also launch an impact on the existing system. In the end, the number shrank and the G6 sold well, thanks to Wang Fengying's sensitivity to the market.

With veterans at the helm, it is very effective to create an efficient system. This is true in technology, but it is also true in marketing. Of course, the premise is that the person found does have enough ability and enough courage.

A while ago, He Xiaopeng gave a preliminary comment on Wang Fengying, "not like an automobile person, more like an entrepreneur", which seems to still separate the traditional car man from the new generation of entrepreneurs. In fact, there are only suitable people, regardless of their "origin". Although many executives of traditional car companies defected to the new forces, they eventually returned. But the most crucial point may still be that the selected person is not suitable.

(4) Kung Fu shooting

Xiaopeng and Great Wall are two completely different enterprises, and the volume and positioning of the two are very different. But there are some universal things that are still common, that is, build good cars and serve target users well. Although she is not from a new force, Wang Fengying's control of the new energy market is still accurate, which is the key to her ability to achieve "plug and play" to Xiaopeng.

Wang Fengying also mentioned that joining Xiaopeng is an important opportunity to demonstrate, practice and upgrade his strategic thinking. It remains to be seen what step she can do in this new system, or where she can lead the big ship of Xiaopeng.