Audi suffers from growing up: Zhang Xiaojun denies the crisis

Earlier this year, in order to alleviate the lack of capacity, Audi stopped production adjustments in January. This seemingly normal movement made Zhang Xiaojun not expect it. With the lack of supply from Audi, BMW has expanded its share of the market in just six months with sufficient production capacity and overall pricing strategy. The outside world shouted wolf!

What is even more frightening is that BMW has surpassed Mercedes-Benz in the measurement of word-of-mouth and the brand's imported car business. Stango led BMW to advance on the double line, and it was a bad signal to walk long-term on the domestic business and hope that Audi, through forward-looking domestic production, would maintain its gap with competitors.

According to the data, from January to May this year, Audi's sales in China reached 139,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 28%, and the follow-up BMW sales also reached nearly 120,000 units, an increase of over 60%. In this shift, the industry generally predicts that Audi is facing the most powerful challenges in the past 12 years. As the situation continues to develop, BMW is likely to even outweigh or even exceed Audi during the year.

Against the outside world, on the morning of July 11, FAW-Volkswagen General Manager An Tiecheng led Zhang Xiaojun, general manager of the Chinese and German companies of Audi Division, and Fu Shi, and held a half-year performance briefing session in Changchun. Intent to set the chaos in public opinion.

"From January to June this year, our opponents have already reduced the year-on-year gap with Audi from 37,000 vehicles last year to 25,000. Audi has overtaken rivals in China and chased Audi in China. Why do I say that Chinese opponents chase after Audi? Instead of catching up with Audi, that's because I don't think opponents will exceed us.” Facing the doubts of the reporter “How long Audi can lead”, Zhang Xiaojun said bluntly: He has enough confidence in maintaining Audi’s leading position.

The luxury car market that is constantly misjudged

In the Spring Festival of 2011, FAW Audi stopped production of its 35-day production line, but it caused a loss of 22,000 vehicles in the first quarter, and it directly gave up its share to BMW. A typical example is: In the first half of this year, the Audi A6L sales growth was basically the same as last year, while the direct competition BMW 5 Series sales doubled.

“Fu Shi and I did not have less production capacity for Xiang An, but FAW-Volkswagen itself is also facing capacity problems. Changchun’s production capacity has reached the limit, unlike competitors, which have surplus resources to tilt to the Chinese market.” Zhang Xiaojun explained that Changchun’s Audi Although there are 300,000 production capacity in the final assembly shop, the other three processes must compete with FAW-Volkswagen for production capacity. Even if the production capacity of the automaker is solved, there are still problems that parts suppliers can not keep up with.

As a result of the approval process, the new Guangdong plant has just been approved and it will take another two years to start production. Therefore, prior to this, FAW-Volkswagen could only produce "a limited capacity schedule" within its existing capacity to reduce Jetta's output to produce Audi.

After this production upgrade, the company increased the production capacity of 80,000-90,000 units on the basis of 2010, temporarily easing Audi's capacity crisis. "It's like Audi just won the championship of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the process, Audi spent more than one time in the pits for various reasons. The opponent took the opportunity to shorten the distance." Zhang Xiaojun jokingly stated that after out of the repair area, Audi began to accelerate.

Audi's capacity shortage in China is the result of Audi's rapid global growth in recent years. Since 2009, Audi has pursued BMW at an annual global growth rate of 100,000 vehicles. Half of this increase has come from the Chinese market.

According to the plan formulated by Audi in 2008, China's performance was 150,000 in 2009 and 200,000 in 2011. Actually, Audi sold more than 220,000 vehicles in China in 2010. Because it has repeatedly underestimated the performance in China, Audi's headquarters had adjusted its sales target for China for many times. The new sales plan set last year is expected to achieve sales of more than 250,000 vehicles from 2012 to 2013. In fact, Audi's actual sales this year are likely to exceed 250,000 vehicles.

Accompanied with high-speed growth in performance and frequent decision-making underestimation, Audi has faced global production shortages for three years. Especially European suppliers, due to Audi's record growth worldwide, these suppliers face their own capacity problems. And the supply chain is tight and it is difficult to get a system solution in the near future.

Under the background of the overall growth of the Chinese auto market in the first half of this year, the overall growth of luxury cars is still over 34%. According to Audi's global plan for hegemony in 2015, the Chinese market will have annual sales of 700,000 vehicles. At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Beijing Benz engine plant on June 29, Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Automotive Group Corporation, predicted that the company’s production in China will reach 400,000 units by 2015. According to the Audi, Mercedes-Benz's goal, BMW's theoretical production capacity should reach 600,000, and the production capacity of the three luxury cars will reach 1.7 million. The overall luxury car market is likely to reach an annual sales volume of 2 million vehicles.

"The mature market's luxury car sales account for about 10% of total sales. China currently has 6%, and there is still room for growth." According to Zhang Xiaojun, according to surveys, 70% of luxury car users are second-time buyers.

Position vs. Blitz

Under the dual background of the first wave of car purchases in 2010 and the overall rapid growth of luxury cars, due to the long-term shortage of production capacity, Audi was also affixed with a negative label such as “Sales dealers increase prices and sell cars, and orders take too long”.

“Some media think that Audi's models are not as fast as their competitors. In fact, every time we introduce a model, we will do sufficient market research and local adaptive research and development to ensure that every car can be recognized by the market and maintain quality. Growth.” Zhang Xiaojun explained that this posture is based on system competition considerations.

However, Audi's stability and stability have precisely provided BMW with the opportunity to catch up. After successfully launching the global brand route in 2009 and taking the "BMW of China" on the Chinese route, Shi Dengke, president of BMW Greater China, accelerated the integration of sales and brand resources. The core idea is to accelerate localization.

Especially the channel, BMW's dealer development is no longer limited to the second and third tier cities, but is advancing to the fourth or even fifth-tier cities; the original advisory team to assist the development of service dealers has increased from 2 to 5, Calculating monthly service for one store per group, at least 60 new 4S stores can be added every year.

Through BMW's blitzkrieg, BMW has been targeting Audi in China for the past three years, and the competition for the German luxury car giants in China is already heating up. It is understood that BMW's research on Audi has penetrated into daily marketing and after-sales conferences. This atmosphere has allowed FAW Audi to feel an unprecedented sense of crisis since the second half of last year.

BMW has occupied the first place in the global luxury car market for many years. Once it is close to Audi in China, Audi's chairman Stiete’s goal of “become the first brand in the global luxury car market in 2015” will be variable. Therefore, it is undisputed that Audi is the No. 1 luxury car market in China, but how long will it take for the first time when opponents are pressing harder and harder? If the brand does not have an advantage, will it fail to follow up? This is a topic of continuous controversy in the industry recently.

How does Audi respond?

On the second floor of the “full value chain” at the performance briefing session on July 11, Zhang Xiaojun repeatedly emphasized “localization of the entire value chain”. Previously, Audi's full-value-chain localization strategy was relatively vague in the eyes of the outside world in comparison with its competitor's "BMW's" user experience strategy. Although this is a more systematic and forward-looking brand strategy system, it covers areas ranging from “R&D, manufacturing, marketing” to “energy and environmental protection”.

Three years ago, when the goal of “sales to exceed Mercedes-Benz and BMW” was put forward, “letting brand power continue to improve” was another commitment that Steady had to the board of directors. Previously, Audi's sales and after-sales have been repeated for years. D. Power is the top three, and has generous sponsorships in culture and other fields, but this is not enough to completely bridge the gap between the status of the latecomers and the No. 1 luxury car in China.

Audi Ag, director of public relations, Lu Agile revealed that the next step will be to explain “full-value chain localization” in a more forward-looking concept than the competition. The dominant competition in the first two years of the luxury car based on the marketing level has become obsolete.

In May 2011, Audi announced for the first time in Hamburg, Germany, the e-gas project “Zero Emissions in the Whole Industry Chain”. It uses green energy for production in factories and will use green energy for its e-tron electric vehicles in the future. Power eventually reaches carbon neutrality. According to Styte's plan, Audi will have to realize the electrification of all models in 2020. The pollution of electric vehicles has always been the focus of disputes in the automobile industry and is an obstacle to the industrialization of electric vehicles.

On July 12, Zhang Xiaojun started the "Green Driving Elite Training Camp" in Beijing. As part of the strategy of “individual value chain localization”, last year, FAW-VW Audi initiated the "Green Source Special Fund," and planted 2,000 acres of forest trees in advance to implement "carbon offsets" and established a special network carbon sink. Purchase the platform.

Audi is playing an environmental protection brand in China and is paving the way for advancing new energy vehicle strategies. The "Audio Tongji Joint Laboratory" jointly established by FAW-Volkswagen, Audi and Tongji University in October 2010 was established in response to Audi's global vehicle efficiency strategy and Audi's high-efficiency module technology that significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions. All Audi models currently produced and sold in China have been matched to Audi's high-efficiency module technology to varying degrees.

“Ten years ago, who said that the Volkswagen brand is better than Toyota, certainly no one believes. Now many people will believe it.” Industry insider Li Anding believes that in the past few years, the Volkswagen Group’s high-density playing technology brand in China is receiving results. The next step in car competition is to play a technology card that includes environmental protection solutions.