Interview with Hu Jun, Vice President of Marketing and Service of Chery Jaguar Land Rover.
[Pacific Auto Network Industry Channel]The first domestically produced new product of Automobile Co., Ltd. was officially listed in Shanghai today (February 1st). We were honored to have an interview with Mr. Hu Jun, Vice President of Marketing and Service. This interview is of great significance to the joint venture, its products and future planning.
Brief introduction of interviewed leaders:
Hu Jun, Vice President of Marketing and Service of Chery Jaguar Automobile Co., Ltd., concurrently serves as Executive Vice President of Joint Marketing and Service Agency.
Mr. Hu Jun has rich experience in automobile industry for nearly twenty years. From 1996 to 1997, Mr. Hu Jun worked in Swire China as the general agent and service manager of automobiles. From 1997 to 2007, Mr. Hu Jun worked for GM China Investment Co., Ltd. as the marketing director of GM China Investment Co., Ltd. and the general manager of the sales company. From 2008 to 2011, Mr. Hu Jun worked for Inner Mongolia Lifeng Automobile Group as the CEO. In 2012, Mr. Hu Jun joined Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automobile Co., Ltd. as the vice president of marketing and service; Since May this year, Mr. Hu has also served as the Executive Vice President of Joint Marketing and Service Agency.
editHello, Mr. Hu, I am the editor of the new car channel from Pacific Auto Network. I’m glad to be near the interview room with you before Chery Land Rover goes public. I hope to take this opportunity to let more domestic consumers know about Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automobile Company, a new joint venture.
General manager HuHello, let’s get started.
editHow has the sales network of Chery Jaguar Land Rover been set up now?
General manager Hu: Now we haveSigned 248 contracts,175 dealers have been put into operation.. These dealers are certified by both parties and meet the specifications of Jaguar and Land Rover within the brand framework.
editIn 2014, we heard a lot of contradictions with dealers. Is there any way for Chery Jaguar Land Rover to help dealers?
General manager HuThe relationship between manufacturers and distributors is the embodiment of the relationship between supply and demand. The imbalance between supply and demand will produce many strange things, but the imbalance will not last forever. After the pain has passed, the market law will make the relationship between supply and demand return to normal. Chery Jaguar Land Rover has not positioned itself as the first phalanx brand.We have a good relationship with dealers.The ultimate goal is to do their own work well and manage the market well.
editWhat are the advantages of the joint marketing and service organization established after Chery Jaguar Land Rover is connected to the grid compared with the relevant market departments of other joint ventures?
General manager HuJoint marketing and service organization is the result of resource integration and sharing, and it is also a brand-new attempt in this industry. We firmly believe in the law of 1+1 > 2.Joint institutions can reduce internal friction.Since its establishment in May 2014, it has been operating well. Of course, we don’t compare with other joint ventures, we just evaluate whether we have done it right.
editWhy did Jaguar Land Rover choose this time point for localization? What do you think of the fake aurora?
General manager HuChina’s market is very good, and no one wants to give up the number one automobile sales market in the world. Jaguar Land Rover’s sales in China have reached the number one in the global market.After localization, Jaguar Land Rover is more likely to gain a foothold and respond faster to the market.. As for the shanzhai Aurora, the shanzhai products can’t reach the genuine manufacturing quality of Land Rover, and the shanzhai can at least prove that this model is successful, although we don’t encourage shanzhai.
editThe localization rate of domestic Aurora in the initial stage is only 10%, which will increase with time. How to ensure the perfect quality? Will imported models conflict with the positioning of domestic models?
General manager HuNowadays, the localization rate of domestic Aurora is far more than 10%, and the localization rate will not affect our quality at all, because all suppliers have been strictly screened and are completely consistent with the imported quality.Imported models will gradually withdraw from the China market, leaving only some limited-edition models..
edit: Chery Jaguar Land Rover’s production experience has been questioned in online comments. Do you have any methods to help the joint venture company establish a good start?
General manager HuThis is indeed what our company has been working hard for some time in the past. We demand that the joint venture products must exceed those made in Britain. Chery Jaguar Land Rover’s joint venture factory is world-class in terms of factory hardware, staffing and supplier selection.Must reach or even exceed the level of Britain.. In the production process, we have made many improvements and optimizations. However, this process needs to be verified by the market, and we also welcome everyone to experience and verify our products.
edit: Jaguar Land Rover Group’s sales in China in 2014 was 120,000, with a year-on-year increase of 28.1%, ranking fourth; The sixth place got an increase of 32.8%, largely relying on three new joint venture products of Volvo Asia Pacific. Will Chery Jaguar Land Rover worry that the joint venture project will not take the lead and affect its ranking in the next few years?
General manager HuIt took Jaguar Land Rover only 26 months to choose a partner in China, from the approval of the National Development and Reform Commission to the launch of the first new car, which was not bad under the condition of ensuring the quality of the products. Volvo was earlier than us, but in fact, the gap between us and ABB First Corps is still quite large.
edit: The Changshu joint venture project laid by Chery Jaguar Land Rover at the end of 2012 has a superior geographical advantage in terms of capacity building. Therefore, we would like to know when we can complete the production capacity construction of 130,000 vehicles in the first phase (which has exceeded the sales volume in China in 2014), and whether there is a capacity expansion plan for the second phase?
General manager HuThe production capacity has been built theoretically, but there is still a process of climbing.A few months later,,The design production capacity of 130,000 vehicles per year will be reached.At this time, the factory will produce in two shifts every 12 months (now it is only a single shift). The second phase of the capacity expansion plan is already in progress. At the right time, we will meet everyone and go to Changshu to announce this.
edit: Is the next domestic model also from the Land Rover brand, especially the most concerned? Does Jaguar have any confirmed domestic models?
General manager HuWe will announce the specific mass production plan later this year. In 2015 and 2016, this joint venture will have2 Land Rover models(including aurora) and1 jaguarLaunch the market.
editIs there a product plan for a joint venture independent brand?
General manager HuThis project has been under planning, and it is still in the stage of feasibility demonstration for the time being.
editSome people say that 2014 is the bottleneck period of automobile production and sales in China. How do you evaluate this phenomenon?
General manager HuIn China, automobile products are spreading rapidly, and luxury brand products are gradually sinking, gaining more audiences, and the growth rate in the past few years is very good. However, there have been some setbacks recently, such as anti-corruption, butThe market will gradually return to a healthy state. The situation in 2015 is cautiously optimistic. Although the growth rate will not be as high as in previous years, the market will gradually become rational.
editThank you, Mr. Hu, for sharing the product and development plan of this new joint venture with us.