Go-kart competition, future car design competition, automotive technology science exhibition, automobile safety training camp, automobile manufacturing theme research ...... Nowadays, there are endless car activities for teenagers, imagine the generation that grew up on wheels, immersed in car culture since childhood, and exposed to all kinds of cars, their cognition and understanding of cars is not limited to transportation, the high-quality development of the automobile aftermarket and even the shaping of car culture, perhaps it should start from the baby.
01
"Li Xiaohai looks so handsome when he drives seriously"
To the delight of racing fan Mr. Wu, after watching the movie "Flying Life", the girl was infected by the love of racing and the spirit of not admitting defeat of the Zhang Chi team in the film, and also developed a strong interest in racing. Some time ago, as long as I saw a racing game console, my daughter would always take the initiative to ask for a few games with Mr. Wu. Recently, Mr. Wu also took his daughter to experience go-karting. Looking at her focused expression when driving, her happy smile after driving and her better and better lap times, Mr. Wu planned that he would definitely take his daughter to experience the charm of professional automobile events in the future.
Wang Xiao, assistant president of Lisheng Yundong (Shanghai) Sports Technology Co., Ltd., said that in European and American countries, the group of automobile enthusiasts has been cultivated with the development of the automobile industry in the past 100 years, so there is still a long way to go in the mainland. However, it can be seen that the current people involved in motor sports are getting younger and younger, and a large number of "post-00s" have participated in racing parent-child activities under the leadership of their parents. Go-karting, in particular, is aimed at teenagers, and is perfect for car initiation at a young age.
Founded in 2021, Jifeng Racing is the only go-kart sports institution in Shanghai with indoor and outdoor tracks. Tang Yi, the person in charge of the company, said that there are many teenagers who come here every week to participate in karting, and their age is between 5~18 years old. Children who have participated in go-kart can explore and cultivate their interest in car sports while driving, and experience the feeling of unity between people and cars in control.
Go-karts have the characteristics of simple structure, high safety and high racing. Through competitions, it is easier for people to understand the relationship between car performance and driving skills. Karting is often seen as the cradle of the Formula One World Championship, which is the ceiling of automotive technology and performance. Teenagers who have come out of go-kart must be car savvy people who are proficient in car control technology and are most willing to accept new car technology in the future.
02
Competitive competitions cultivate fans and deliver talents for the industry
In recent years, some domestic sports car brands have also paid attention to go-karting, such as Lynk & Co, which often uses go-kart racing as an interactive way between riders and riders, and between riders and brands. By sponsoring go-kart competitions, it has not only attracted a group of brand fans, but also cultivated a large number of go-kart enthusiasts.
The relevant person in charge of Lynk & Co told reporters that in recent years, Lynk & Co has actively promoted automobile sports culture by participating in top touring car events at home and abroad and holding a series of track activities. As a Chinese automobile brand, Lynk & Co has the responsibility to promote the popularization of automobile safety knowledge, let young people understand automobile sports through rich activities, improve their safety awareness and driving skills, and cultivate and deliver a steady stream of talents for the development of automobile sports in China.
In July last year, Lynk & Co Motor Sports launched a summer camp for young drivers aged 6~16 at Ningbo International Circuit, which stimulated children's competitive and teamwork spirit, released children's imagination and creativity, and planted a seed of racing dreams for them through double-first-class professional teaching and immersive experience.
It is reported that the Lynk & Co 2024 Peak Driver Series competition system has been fully upgraded, consisting of three sub-competitions: touring car race + go-kart race + e-sports simulator, and online and offline events go hand in hand. This year, in addition to the men's and women's sub-categories, the new junior group will be added, and the champions of the men's and women's sub-categories will receive a national B-level training worth 19,800 yuan, and the top 2 drivers in the junior group will qualify for the European Karting Championship. In addition, the 2024 Lynk & Co Motor Sports will also enter 10 universities such as Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University to hold the Lynk & Co Peak Driver Simulator E-sports event, providing a broader stage for students who like motor sports.
Wang Hongchang, secretary general of the Automobile Tangible Market Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that the participation in go-kart is constantly expanding. Go-karting itself has a strong competitive nature, which can stimulate the participants' motivation to constantly challenge themselves. In addition, each racing track organizes competitions, and in team competitions, not only individual ability but also team cooperation is required. Teenagers participating in go-karting can improve their concentration and ability to find and solve problems, and they can also expand their circle of friends, most of them are of the same age, have common hobbies, good academic performance, and respect for rules. As adults, many of them have gone on to work in automotive-related jobs.
03
The car education culture has taken root on campus
Located in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shenlong Primary School was founded in 1997 and is a primary school for the children of automobile companies built with the construction of the automobile city.
According to Han Min, the executive principal of Shenlong Primary School, the middle of the school's automobile hall displays the first car model of Shenlong Fukang in 1995, and the car culture room has set up disassembly, racing, 3D simulation driving and other projects. The textbook won the special prize for the development of school-based textbooks in Hubei Province, and the characteristics of car education were formally formed and began to be systematically constructed.
After years of practice, the school's 2015 national key project "Research on the Construction of Vehicle Education Culture in Shenlong Primary School" was completed with excellent grades, and in 2017, the only 500-square-meter capsule-shaped car education theme maker space in the country was created, which became a scientific and technological innovation base for regional students. In addition, the school has also participated in the Wuhan Youth Vehicle Model Competition for many times, and has constructed five categories of discipline integration courses: drive navigation, sensing intelligence, battery life health, transcendence and beauty, and linkage engine.
On March 4 this year, under the guidance of the China Association for Science and Technology and the support of the Youth Science and Technology Center of the China Association for Science and Technology, the World New Energy Vehicle Conference and the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, together with Autohome, Guangzhou Xiaopeng Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. and other units, launched the 2024 Youth Automobile Unlimited Creativity Collection Activity in Beijing No. 109 Middle School, and released the theme of this year's event "Colorful", conveying the concept of low-carbon environmental protection to young people around the world in the form of painting collection, and advocating green travel. Since its launch in 2021, this initiative has been held for three consecutive years, and has successively entered Xibaipo, Huining, Lvliang, Hefei, Xiangyang, Shanghai and other places to carry out a wealth of automotive science popularization activities, and the activity has collected more than 15,000 creative paintings from all over the world. In 2023, the 50 outstanding works selected by the event went abroad to be exhibited in Munich, Germany, showing the infinite creativity of Chinese teenagers in automobile design to automotive technicians from all over the world.
The relevant person in charge of Autohome told reporters that as the largest automobile Internet platform in China, Autohome not only continues to innovate in the field of automobiles, but also pays more attention to social responsibility and actively participates in various public welfare undertakings. In response to this activity, Autohome has built a normalized online science popularization platform and helped carry out offline diversified science popularization public welfare activities, regarding the popularization of automobile knowledge and the dissemination of automobile culture as one of its corporate responsibilities.
04
Culture has the characteristics of long-term and repeated consumption
In the 751 Art District of Chaoyang District, Beijing, Chen Yunna, the manager of the AceGear Chegu Town project, pointed to the scene with a contemporary art atmosphere and told reporters that it is the core venue for various automobile cultural activities, and the scenes such as old factories and locomotives are easy for young people to integrate into the atmosphere of industrialization. Every year around May Day, a car culture carnival will be held here, integrating many activities for teenagers such as go-karting, digital simulation driving experience, car design, and global car culture explanation, and at the same time attracting car manufacturers, dealers, and private car clubs, thousands of people will participate in the interaction, shaping a car consumption culture scene belonging to China, so that young people can enjoy the process of car life, and establish a cognition of the car brand.
Zhang Shili, secretary general of the Automobile Club branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that almost all aftermarket activities held by car brands and dealers should be individually designed around the theme of teenagers. Through the infection of immersive family life and parent-child theme activities, we can not only give back to customers, but also drive car sales.
Zhang Shili believes that the so-called culture should be content that can be consumed repeatedly for a long time and based on the characteristics of a region. For example, in Europe and the United States, the sales of magazines explaining car maintenance and tools are very popular, and car owners have mastered basic car maintenance skills. In the early days, everyone thought that because European and American labor was very expensive, they had to repair it themselves. But in fact, in their cultural tradition, it is a matter of course to understand the construction of the car, to be able to troubleshoot and even repair the car by yourself. For this reason, parents are the best mentors for their children. Americans will take their children to watch modified car shows and rallies to experience the joy of racing, so when children can choose their first car, they will pay more attention to power and driving feeling, and often choose high-horsepower models. On the contrary, Chinese car owners are more interested in the appearance of the vehicle, electronic equipment, luxury configuration, vehicle problems, accustomed to go to 4S shops and auto repair shops to solve, only a very small number of enthusiasts who understand the mechanics of automobiles, power, will do it themselves. As a result, domestic automakers have naturally complied with consumer demand and offered automotive cultural activities that focus more on technology than skills.
"The demand of the automobile market may be the vane of future automobile design and production. Zhang Shili emphasized, "We don't need to evaluate the merits of Western and Chinese automobile culture, each inheritance is based on the history of domestic automobile development." In the trend of electrification and intelligence of automobiles in the future, what kind of car culture activities for teenagers should be planned based on the development vision is the topic that aftermarket practitioners need to think about. He said.
Text: Chen Meng Editor: Jiao Yue Layout: Wang Kun Image source: official website of the company
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