2024 is destined to be a milestone year for the development of the mainland auto market, with new and old potentials constantly changing, new models springing up like mushrooms after a rain, and consumer market demand constantly changing...... All of the above methods reveal that the domestic auto market is accelerating towards the goal of high-quality development.
After four years, the 2024 Beijing International Auto Show is finally coming as scheduled. As a leading brand of high-end intelligent manufacturing of Chinese automobiles, Changan Automobile has released a series of new technologies, new products and new services. After the launch conference, we also participated in Changan Automobile's media conference, where Zhu Huarong, Chairman of Changan Automobile, and Wang Jun, President of Changan Automobile, also shared their thoughts on highlight topics such as user consumption scenarios and hot new cars on the market.
Adapting to the needs of the consumer market is key
In the past two years, with the acceleration of the transformation of the old and new kinetic energy of the automobile consumer market, and the change of consumer market demand, the value chain of the automobile market is quietly changing. Standing at the crossroads of development, an ecological evolution around consumers and car companies is not only related to the long-term and healthy development of the automobile market, but also related to the vital interests of consumers.
Talking about the change of the development model of automobile enterprises, Zhu Huarong said that driven by scientific and technological progress, the entire automobile industry and consumer demand have undergone major changes, whether it is the supply side of the deep reform to meet the needs of various changes, or the demand side because of scientific and technological progress to bring more changes. For example, under the empowerment of Internet technology, automobiles have evolved from traditional means of transportation to more possible interactive carriers that give people more possibilities, bringing people a common and new car experience, which will be the development direction of future automotive products.
In fact, in the era of "software-defined vehicles", automotive products are like technology products, and the frequency of iterative upgrades is accelerating.
In response to this phenomenon, Zhu Huarong said that the fundamental reason for the rapid iteration of automotive products is that OEMs should do everything possible to quickly meet the demands of the demand side in order to enhance their competitiveness. In addition, changes in the development tools of automotive companies are another major factor in the rapid iteration of products.
Different from the traditional production model, today's digital management model allows automotive companies to see the entire procurement, logistics, production, and manufacturing processes from the time the order is placed to achieve a completely orderly and transparent state, thereby improving production efficiency.
As for the executives of car companies who are now "competing for traffic", Changan Automobile has also made a lot of innovations.
Zhu Huarong said: "We need to focus on short-term traffic and long-term traffic respectively. For short-term traffic, we can get it through personal IP or some very exciting releases, which is very good, and it is very good for our product promotion and brand promotion marketing. ”
At present, car companies must pay close attention to innovation communication, and we can see that brands such as Changan Automobile and Deep Blue are undergoing a major change, and the leaders are personally going down to do communication.
Zhu Huarong said that this era is changing. Many of our traditional marketing methods are ten or a hundred times worse than new marketing methods, and this is the data I see in the background. Obviously, in the field of consumer electronics, such as Lei Jun and Yu Chengdong, it must be their personal fan ecology and personal IP that have a great advantage, and traditional cars are really at risk of being eliminated if they do not change, so we are now working hard to change.
At the same time, for an automobile company, core technology has always been an important weight for an automobile company to compete.
In this regard, Zhu Huarong said that the real long-term traffic still has to return to whether it can be user-centric and create product value, service value or other new value. Therefore, whether it is a traditional car company, a new ICT company entering the industry, and other new forces, they should focus on creating value for customers, creating good products and services for a long time, and enhancing long-term sustainable traffic.
He believes that no matter how the automotive market changes, technology-oriented has always been the inherent advantage of traditional car companies. For example, Changan Automobile has a R&D center covering 12 major automotive technology fields such as simulation analysis, noise and vibration, collision safety, etc., and has more than 180 laboratories in new energy, intelligence, big data, new power, new materials, etc., among which the automotive noise and vibration and safety technology laboratory is a national key laboratory.
In terms of technology, Changan Automobile did not skimp on investment. At present, Changan Automobile has formed a R&D layout in six countries and ten places, with a R&D team of more than 18,000 people, and the cumulative number of new patents of Changan Automobile will reach 5,739 in 2023, with an average of 16 new patents per day. In terms of contribution to the release of external standards, Changan Automobile has also led and participated in 55 items, and has become the first Chinese car company to lead the formulation of ITU series of international standards.
In addition, Changan Automobile's R&D investment in 2023 will reach nearly 6% of total revenue. According to Zhu Huarong, Changan Automobile's R&D investment will continue to increase in the future.
Provide users with the most valuable products
In the face of unprecedented market competition, major car companies can only win the trust of the consumer market by showing excellent product strength.
Up to now, there are nearly 200,000 users of Deep Blue Automobile, and such a market performance is particularly difficult for China's earliest brands to enter the field of new energy vehicles.
Wang Jun said: "The cumulative number of users of Shenlan has exceeded 200,000 in two years, and I think that in the very changing Chinese new energy vehicle market, Shenlan's achievement means that the Shenlan brand has been widely recognized by the consumer market, and the brand has basically reached a stage with clear positioning." I believe that automobiles are a long-cycle industry, and consumers' concerns about brands, scenarios, and the ability to continue to provide high-value services.
In order to provide consumers with a better car experience, Shenlan has insight into the changes in consumer market demand and has innovated the price of the channel, which shows that it will provide more professional services for Shenlan's consumers. For example, the delivery of the dark blue car now, one click on the APP, it can quickly send the car to the door, which is very different from the traditional car company delivery mode.
Wang Jun said that in addition to delivering the car to the door, we can also send the car to the door for a test drive, and the user does not need to run to the store, which is a new change we have made in this field.
In the face of multiple factors such as technological upgrading and changes in consumer demand, the competitive pressure of the mainland auto market has increased sharply in recent years. In 2024, which is defined by the industry as the first year of development of the stage of 30 million vehicles, the competition in the automobile market will be more intense. From the beginning of the year when new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles started a collective "price reduction tide", to this month, many car companies have successively experienced unfavorable operations, which is a true portrayal of the current automobile market.
Zhu Huarong believes that only volume or fierce competition can bring the entire industry back to the track of healthy competition, realize the expulsion of bad money from good money, and Changan Automobile strives to keep its own value bottom line in the competition.
In this context, Zhu Huarong believes that providing users with the most valuable products is the key to enhancing brand competitiveness.
For example, safety has been the focus of attention since the development of the new energy vehicle market. However, it is regrettable that new energy vehicle safety incidents still occur from time to time to this day. And behind every security incident, it comes at the cost of overdrawing the trust of consumers.
In order to alleviate the safety concerns in the hearts of consumers, Changan Automobile will build the world's leading self-developed battery brand Changan "Golden Bell Jar", through the internal and external repair of the battery and the whole vehicle, comprehensively solve the user's anxiety in energy density, charging and discharging efficiency, cycle life, low temperature performance, etc., and bring users a new experience of "long life", "true safety", "ultra-high efficiency" and "fast energy replenishment".
It is understood that Changan Automobile's battery planning is a solid step for Changan Automobile to accelerate its transformation into an intelligent low-carbon travel technology company under the guidance of the new energy "Shangri-La" plan.
In recent years, the trend of transformation and upgrading of the automobile consumer market has become increasingly clear. In this context, how to continue to meet the demand for cars in the consumer market is a test of the ability of automobile companies to respond to market changes.
Zhu Huarong introduced that high-tech brings quality enjoyment, and now car intelligence, voice interaction, and intelligent safety are the results of high-tech transformation. For example, in terms of safety, it was impossible to take measures if you encountered a ghost probe, but now you can achieve emergency braking in a short time through lidar, which improves the safety of vehicle driving. At the same time, the intelligent cockpit allows drivers and passengers to sit in the car and enjoy more in-car entertainment facilities, enriching people's car experience.
He said that this round of technological transformation of new energy is only a prologue, and the real digital car is the future. Because new energy is a problem of energy and power change, real intelligence is the commanding heights of this round of scientific and technological progress and development of future competition. Changan Automobile has about 5,000 to 6,000 people engaged in software intelligence and other technologies, and our talent structure has also changed rapidly from the original mechanical engineers to software intelligence and sensing, which is the direction of technological development.
summary
In fact, through this interview, we can see Changan Automobile's comprehensive layout and far-reaching planning. Whether it is technological innovation or marketing methods, Changan Automobile has demonstrated its vision and determination as an industry leader. At the same time, Changan Automobile's intelligent R&D and digital technology will also provide new impetus and direction for the future development of the automotive industry.