Cheng Yuan: Guangzhou Automobile "Tsao" to give Chinese cars their own brands

One of the most common words on the auto market today is "expectation." Almost every new car is listed by the manufacturers as "the expectation." In these "expectations", Guangzhou Automobile's own-brand passenger car "Xiang" is considered one if it is true.

As we all know, after Peugeot had withdrawn from Guangzhou Auto at a price of one franc, not many people believed that Guangzhou could make a car for a long time. Lu Ruihua, governor of Guangdong Province, made a high-profile announcement at the “two sessions” in the country: “Guangdong no longer regards the automobile as a pillar industry” and was widely acclaimed by the public opinion in the country, arguing that this is a wise move. However, the city of Guangzhou insisted on continuing to build cars, saying that “the fact that Guangdong Province does not use automobiles as a pillar industry does not mean that Guangzhou does not use automobiles as a pillar industry”. Guangzhou Honda started in a controversy.

However, in the past ten years, Guangzhou has not only operated Guangben in an impressive manner, but it has also attracted Toyota and Nissan to settle in Guangzhou one after another. Recently, Fiat and Volkswagen have also demanded investment in Guangzhou. The Guangzhou auto industry has entered a period of rapid development. In front of the facts, everyone acknowledged the ability to build a car in Guangzhou.

However, the lack of self-owned brands is a short version of Guangzhou Automobile, which is often criticized by people. It feels that Guangzhou has a weak industrial base, lacks a history of building cars, and has no independent development capability. A dry joint venture can, and its own brand cars cannot absolutely come out. of. When GAC made disclosure of its own-brand sedan, some people spread it as a joke.

However, no matter how the media comment, GAC is really hard work. Zhang Fangyou, chairman of GAC Group, stated: “The self-owned brand passenger vehicle is the top priority in improving the core competitiveness of the company and carries the hope of sustainable development of GAC in the future.” They transferred Zeng Qinghong, general manager of Guangzhou Automobile Group, who was in a peak state, to take command. In May 2007, the project team was established. In November, the foundation for the R&D production base was laid. In July 2008, the passenger vehicle company was established. In December of the same year, the plant was piled. In December 2009, the plant construction was completed and GAC was approaching success step by step. However, when GAC released "concept cars" at several major auto shows, people have the feeling that they "listen to the floor and not see people down." While everyone looks forward to GAC's own-brand cars, others are waiting. Look at the joke.

On the morning of September 3, 2010, GAC's first self-owned sedan "Chuan" was unveiled in front of more than 1,000 guests and media professionals: inside and outside modeling atmosphere, fashion, dynamic, luxury, five-star security collision, intelligent electronic and electrical systems , A number of advanced and mature technologies of the engine, the maximum speed of 200 kilometers, a comprehensive fuel consumption of 8.8 liters per hundred kilometers, drag coefficient of 0.29, emissions can meet the national IV standards, etc., a series of beautiful data, causing the audience to burst into joy, GAC surrender A satisfactory answer sheet.

Wu Song, general manager of Guangqi Passenger Car Company, was very confident in the market prospects of “Chuanyu”. The reason given by him is that after more than 20 years of joint-venture construction, GAC has gathered and cultivated a large number of talents, laid a strong foundation for independent development, and built a "state-owned enterprise platform, the efficiency of private enterprises, joint venture processes" and efficient operation. Management model. "Chuanyu" has integrated global superior resources and absorbed the technological advantage of having a hundred-year brand history. The factory's main equipment is from world-class suppliers, and it has built a leading domestic auto parts supply chain system. The world's top ten suppliers. There are 8 companies supporting the "Biography" system; the technology has the advanced level in the world, and its comprehensive performance can be comparable to that of imported cars of the same level. Huang Xiangdong, director of the Guangzhou Automobile Industry Research Institute, said even more outspokenly: “The Chuan Kai is like a BMW and sits like a Mercedes, but it is certainly not a BMW Mercedes-Benz price.” Of course, what is the market performance of "Chuanyu"? Guangzhou Automobile did not say it himself. The final evaluation required consumers to vote with banknotes.

It is not difficult to see that the independent brand of GAC has indeed achieved the goal of “market for technology”. In order to enter the Chinese market, Fiat made important contributions to GAC's own brands. Honda and Toyota also strongly supported them from different perspectives. This is not like the general public. Since they entered the Chinese market at the earliest and occupied the most favorable position, they felt that they did not need to show their interest to the Chinese people. It set obstacles to the development of independent brands in China and looked at the autonomy of its two partners. The brand, one that relied on Toyota and Mazda, was a GM. The goal of the public was to earn the money of the Chinese and let the Chinese car cry.

Looking back at the development path of China's auto brands, it basically relies on cost and price advantages, starting from the low-end market, and “melee” with joint venture products. Of course, everyone understands that only in the low-end market and not in the mid-to-high-end market, it is impossible for the self-owned branded cars to continue to develop. There is absolutely no way out. The impact on mid-level limousines is not only a deep complex of self-owned brand cars, but also an insurmountable obstacle. Since the Brilliance China Car began, including the sons of Chery Oriental, Jianghuai Tongyue, etc., China's own brands have hit the high-end market, but they have failed to return, and eventually retreated to the low-end market. Since last year, Chery and Geely have released mid-to-high-end brands: Rui Qi, Wei Lin and Di Hao. Rui Qi and Wei Lin are very hard to fight in the market; Geely's real "middle and high-end" models are still waiting. GAC started directly from "middle and advanced level" and "promoted enthusiasm" for independent brands.

Today, Guangzhou is the country with the largest number of vehicle companies in the country, and there are so many world-renowned supporting companies that gather in Guangzhou. Guangzhou has become the region with the most abundant automobile resources in China. Coupled with the economic development of Guangzhou, it is the “squeaking ground” for the flow of talents. In particular, the Pearl River Delta region in South China is the largest automobile market in China, covering all models from high-end to low-end, with unique advantages in the market.

Before the financial crisis, there were not less than 5 cities claiming to create "China's Detroit." It seems that the closest city to China’s Detroit is Guangzhou. We expect that GAC’s independent brands will perform better.