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at last month's tuyue new media analysis meeting, fu qiang, the newly appointed executive vice president of sales and marketing of saic volkswagen and general manager of shanghai saic volkswagen automotive sales co., ltd., made no secret of saic volkswagen's product strategy.

he said that there are two ways to make products. one is to increase the luxury and intelligent experience of the product, and the other is to highlight the cost-effectiveness of the product to the greatest extent.

with the launch of the new tiguan with a starting price of 79,900 yuan and the passat pro's luxurious appearance, everyone realized that saic volkswagen is serious about this.

whether going up or down, all strategies are aimed at breaking through the highly involuted and rapidly changing chinese market. especially for a joint venture giant as large as saic volkswagen, how to successfully transform is an urgent task.

on the night of passat pro's launch, we interviewed tao hailong, party secretary and general manager of saic volkswagen automotive co., ltd., and fu qiang, executive vice general manager of sales and marketing of saic volkswagen and general manager of shanghai saic volkswagen automotive sales co., ltd., to further understand saic volkswagen's "ambition" and "conspiracy."

restore a real saic volkswagen

many people are curious about how many things the new official tao hailong has done in the past 50 days. previously, it was rumored in the industry that he had cut costs by 2 billion yuan after taking office.

in response, tao hailong clarified on the spot, "i would not be tao hailong if i came up with this number without investigation and research. i must investigate and research to see which directions can be optimized before i set the corresponding indicators."

as an "old volkswagen" with a background in quality management, tao hailong believes that "there can be no loss in quality" even if costs are optimized. this is the principle he adheres to and also his promise to consumers.

over the past 50 days, tao hailong has been investigating the quality, quality control and brand genes of saic volkswagen products. the answer he got was, "volkswagen cars are still volkswagen cars. the driving feel, control stability and comfort of volkswagen are all there."

the market environment faced by joint venture car companies today is different from before. the outside world is also concerned about whether the two shareholders of saic volkswagen are in step with each other and whether the distribution system is working together. faced with more realistic issues, tao hailong is still frank.

he admitted that saic volkswagen has its advantages, such as a large base, excellent quality, and a good brand image, which are the weapons and food for a successful transformation. at the same time, he used "walking on thin ice" and "every second counts" to describe the pressure saic volkswagen is currently facing.

how to seize the market under pressure?

tao hailong said that the strategic consensus of both shareholders is to develop oil vehicles, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and intelligent vehicles in multiple dimensions, and to use chinese localized technologies to empower the volkswagen brand. he revealed that both the chinese and foreign parties have a good synergy and cooperative atmosphere, "more pragmatic, more focused on practice, put the problems on the table, and work together to find solutions to the problems."

as a media, we have experienced this deeply over the past year or so. many leading joint venture automakers, due to face, cooperation mechanism, or other reasons, find it difficult to keep pace with the rapidly changing chinese auto market. saic volkswagen is different. it clearly recognizes the changes in consumer demand and competition, and changes its strategy according to the actual situation. from the id.3 2024 model starting at 125,900 yuan, to the value-preserving repurchase policy, to the price change of the tiguan l pro on the market, and the tiguan new rui starting at 79,900 yuan, the passat 380tsi family starting at 159,900 yuan for a limited time, etc., saic volkswagen is more pragmatic and neat in both strategy and market response speed compared with other joint ventures.

the oems' flexible response not only benefits consumers, but also boosts dealers' confidence. as we all know, many oems transfer pressure to dealers, who can only trade price for volume in order to achieve their goals, without any rules, and may even lose money without making any profit.

saic volkswagen's proactive adjustment of its pricing system and sales strategy has not only reduced the pressure on dealers, but also enabled them to cope with fierce market competition more calmly and with ease.

"i feel that the entire system is there, the products are there, the team is there, the market is there, and the strategy is clear," tao hailong used "progress is under control" to summarize the current true status of saic volkswagen.

their difficult sea is my blue ocean

in recent years, there has been an obvious change in the market: many car companies have reduced or even stopped their r&d and investment in gasoline vehicles. with the chinese passenger car market now split 50-50 between gasoline vehicles and new energy vehicles, this phenomenon is likely to continue to deepen.

in saic volkswagen's view, more and more competitors are slowing down or withdrawing from the fuel track, which has brought a new opportunity.

because consumers are still quite receptive to gasoline cars, and saic volkswagen has long been ranked first in the gasoline car market. as tao hailong said, "we must stick to gasoline cars, but we cannot be conservative."

"can't be conservative" has two meanings. one is to focus on new energy, and the other is to innovate in oil vehicle products.

the pro trilogy is an important manifestation of saic volkswagen's product innovation. fu qiang said that the connotation of pro is to make intelligent and internet-based upgrades to products with high market recognition and good mechanical quality, "adding to excellent products to push the entire brand forward."

the first part is tiguan l pro, whose image as the "smartest gasoline car" has begun to show results. since its release, its monthly sales have exceeded 3,000, and the current monthly sales of the entire tiguan family are around 14,000. its position in its market segment is still difficult to shake.

the second part is the passat pro which has just been launched on the market. it adds comfort and luxury on the basis of intelligence. for example, the car is over 5 meters long and has a wheelbase of nearly 2.9 meters. all seats in the car are equipped with ventilation, heating, massage, electric adjustment and other functions, creating a c-class executive car space that is not inferior to the mercedes-benz e-class and bmw 5 series.

currently, the monthly sales volume of the passat family exceeds 20,000. former rivals such as the accord, camry, and teana are no longer as strong as they used to be. the addition of new members will help the entire family establish the "top" position in the entire market. when talking about sales expectations, fu qiang said that 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles is a result worth looking forward to.

the third part is touron pro. there is very little information about the new car at present, but fu qiang revealed that it will definitely continue to add on the basis of intelligence + comfort. as for what exactly it will add, he left enough suspense.

it can be seen that the core value of the pro trilogy is to add intelligent wings to gasoline vehicles. this is what saic volkswagen has been working hard on, including cooperating with dji intelligent driving and baidu wenxin yiyan big model. fu qiang believes that "if the intelligence of gasoline vehicles can be done well, this is a blue ocean market."

in order to reach the blue ocean, saic volkswagen’s innovations are not limited to intelligence.

for example, the policy provides lifetime powertrain warranty benefits to owners of all volkswagen brand fuel vehicles. this policy has three hidden intentions. the first is to directly benefit consumers. this benefit was previously priced at 10,000 yuan; the second is to demonstrate saic volkswagen’s confidence and confidence in product quality, and directly convert system strength into market competitiveness that users can easily perceive; the third is to deter competitors. you can follow up if you want, but can you afford the cost?

after all, whether from the feedback from the insurance market or the probability of returning to the station for repairs, saic volkswagen's advantages are obvious, and these can all be checked.

another example is to drive product rejuvenation through design to meet the needs of young users. take passat as an example. it has always provided pioneer face and starlight face for consumers to choose from. this time, passat pro also added a black warrior shape. according to previous sales data, the average age of users who choose the starlight face shape is about 2-3 years lower than that of those who choose the pioneer face. this is a significant progress in product rejuvenation.

at the same time, saic volkswagen has also boldly used more eye-catching colors such as pulse green and cyber ​​pink to cater to the preferences of young people. the traditional black, white and gray body colors have not disappeared, and more traditional users can still choose them.

fu qiang said that all the measures taken by saic volkswagen, whether it is the upward or downward path of products, whether it is the supplement of intelligence or youth, are to achieve a big ambition, that is, in the price range of 80,000-320,000, to deploy a strong product for every 10,000, and to enter the top three in the market segment.

with the advancement of oil and electricity, there are still many cards to play

what we talked about earlier was more about saic volkswagen’s efforts in the fuel track. in fact, it has never stopped exploring new energy.

"the volkswagen brand is investing in both fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles, advancing both oil and electricity." tao hailong and fu qiang emphasized this more than once at the interview.

whether from the perspective of the media or the consumer, in the field of joint venture new energy vehicles, the volkswagen id. series has the highest presence, and it is also one of the few joint venture pure electric vehicles that will make consumers hesitate between domestic new energy vehicles and it.

this is saic volkswagen's advantage over other joint venture car companies. at the same time, when it upgrades the id. series, it does not simply renew the appearance, but focuses on the interior and software. through the id.3 smart and id.4 x smart, it can be found that the area of ​​the central control screen has almost doubled, and the overall operation smoothness and responsiveness have also made iterative progress, and it is matched with remote parking, lever lane change, and intelligent driving l2++ level functions.

fu qiang admitted: "the gap between us and the new forces is narrowing rapidly and visibly, but we are still lacking in urban navigation, and we are still working hard."

in addition to pure electric vehicles, tao hailong also said that saic volkswagen has a solid foundation in development and has a clear layout in hybrid models. "from a-class cars to b-class cars, and not just a single model but a series, the strategy is very clear."

tao hailong did not reveal more information, but what is certain is that in the future, no matter what form of energy the product uses, it will have intelligent features, german quality, and volkswagen brand genes, and will be integrated into a differentiated competitive advantage.

looking to the future, saic volkswagen still has many cards to play, but tao hailong said that it should not lose its composure when playing these cards, and should replace the short-sighted behavior with the regular military's and systematic approach.

in connection with what fu qiang said before at the chengdu auto show, the transition period means temporarily sacrificing some interests, but what is won is the future battlefield. "i only want tashan, i don't want casualties." it can be found that saic volkswagen, the "elephant", has completed the transformation from thinking to action, and has engaged in a more intense offensive and defensive battle with a pragmatic and daring attitude.

now that the pro trilogy has taken shape, the unreleased smart electric products are also ready to go, and the conspiracy and ambition are open and transparent, what value reference can saic volkswagen bring to the transformation of the joint venture? what role will it play in the industry transformation? although the answer is not written, it seems to be visible.