Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

Various brands have not yet jumped out of the Range Rover Extreme Challenge event, but they were immediately confused by a pop-up advertisement on Autohome.

[Autohome will test the climbing performance of SUV models from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Porsche in Tianmen Mountain tomorrow. Everyone is welcome to watch the live broadcast! 】

This small advertisement immediately made people from several luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW nervous.

I originally wanted to watch the excitement, but I didn't expect that the heat would get to me.

"Holman, can our X5 climb the 999 steps of Tianmen Mountain like the Range Rover?"

When Aimoha, the general manager of BMW China, learned about this, he immediately made a call to the technical director Holman.

He has long seen the power of China's Internet.

He could guess the purpose of Autohome's sudden move.

On the one hand, there are of course Autohomes who want to use Land Rover’s activities to generate buzz and attract traffic to their own websites.

But behind the scenes, Autohome may want to help Land Rover to step on other companies.

After all, it is no secret that Autohome is the property of Nanshan Group.

Within the scope allowed by the rules, it is almost inevitable that Autohome's butt will sit on the Land Rover side.

"Our X5 is developed based on the 5 Series sedan. Although it is an SUV, it is actually an urban SUV and its off-road performance is not that good."

"And in order to fully improve ride comfort, our ride height is not as good as that of the Range Rover."

"I have also seen the video of the Range Rover climbing the steps of Tianmen Mountain. Although I have not confirmed it on the spot, the steps of Tianmen Mountain are relatively steep and require relatively high requirements on the car chassis."

"I'm not sure if the X5 can climb up."

Naturally, Holman would not dare to vouch for it in front of Aimoha.

The company has never tested the X5 in Tianmen Mountain. As a German engineer, Holman will naturally not speculate easily.

Moreover, in his opinion, whether the X5 can climb that level is not essentially a technical issue, but a marketing issue.

Since it is a marketing issue, you should ask the sales director instead of me.

Of course, he would definitely not dare to say this directly.

"In other words, the performance of the BMW X5 may not be very good in tomorrow's live broadcast?"

Aimoha frowned and looked at Holman. The answer just now was obviously not what he wanted.

"There is a possibility, but if the X5 cannot be mounted, there is a high probability that the Porsche Cayenne cannot be mounted either."

"Audi's Q5 and Mercedes-Benz's GL series are similar to the X5."

"At most, the Audi Q7 or Mercedes-Benz ML series may succeed."

After Holman explained this, Aimoha felt a little better.

It's not enough to just have the BMW X5 at the bottom. That would have a big impact.

"Okay, I understand."

Aimoha quickly hung up the phone and called sales director Mike Dee.

"Immediately arrange personnel to go to the Tianmen Mountain site to assist Autohome with this event."

"Our company also has cooperation with them. Since they want to use X5 to do some tests, we naturally have to cooperate."

Instead of letting things get completely out of control and waiting passively, Aimoha felt that he should take the initiative.

People who own BMW cars are present at Tianmen Mountain. At least Autohome will not deliberately hack BMW when conducting tests.

Otherwise, who knows if the driver inside would deliberately step on the accelerator halfway and then stop halfway?

It would be too insulting to deliberately arrange for a group of people to carry the X5 down the steps.

If we really encounter this scene, Aimoha feels that the hot search on Weibo tomorrow will definitely be about the BMW X5.

However, he doesn't want this kind of hot search.

"I was just about to report to you. I don't think the situation at Tianmen Mountain is very favorable to X5."

"But if Autohome wants to do it, it's best for us to arrange for our own drivers to drive, so that we can maximize the power of the X5."

As the sales director of BMW, Mike is naturally very concerned about every move at Autohome.

But this time Aimoha's reaction was a little faster than him.

"Take our own driver there?"

Aimoha figured out the logic in an instant, "No problem, it's best if you take people there in person, so you don't mess up the matter!"

If BMW's response is relatively fast and timely, Audi's situation is a bit different.

Strauss was a little angry and scolded Autohome at home.

But in the end, there was no other way and an emergency conference call was quickly convened.

"Vondel, judging from the preliminary judgment given by the technical department, there is definitely no way for the Q5 to climb such a steep step."

"But I'm not sure yet whether there is any hope for Q7."

"After all, we have not conducted such testing during the development of new models. No one knows what the final result will be."

"So now we are considering making some official statement preparations for different results, so as not to be caught off guard by Autohome."

Strauss's response plan was to prepare an explanation that everyone could accept for various possible outcomes in advance.

In this way, the impact on the sales of Q5 and Q7 can be avoided to the greatest extent.

After all, most consumers don't really care whether the car they buy can climb the steps of Tianmen Mountain, and no one would be so bored as to drive the car to Tianmen Mountain to climb the steps.

However, consumers can easily be led astray by some marketing measures or public opinions from OEMs or the media.

Ultimately, it had a direct impact on the sales of the model.

In this regard, Strauss has a very deep understanding.

Just like Audi cars can be on par with Mercedes-Benz and BMW in China, even in the "ABB" statement, Audi is at the forefront.

There are a lot of propaganda and guidance factors involved.

Even the proud Strauss actually dare not say in his heart that Audi can be on an equal footing with Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

"Autohome's test this time was obviously caused by bad intentions, but it was also a bit sudden. Have you figured out why the other party did this?"

Vondel did not deny Strauss' plan, but he couldn't help but discuss the reasons for this matter with everyone.

"We are still learning about this situation. It is estimated that the other party will not be willing to tell us the truth until after tomorrow's event."

"But our people have heard some news. I don't know if it has anything to do with tomorrow's event."

When Strauss said this, Vondel immediately became interested and said: "What news?"

"China's Great Wall Motors is said to have reserved the venue the day after tomorrow in Tianmen Mountain, and is planning to hold an event similar to that of Range Rover."

"According to the information we heard, the other party probably wants to take this opportunity to market their flagship SUV Great Wall H8."

Tianmen Mountain is now the focus of the automotive industry, and every move there naturally attracts great attention from car companies.

Like the situation where the Tianmen Mountain steps are reserved, it doesn't sound very difficult.

"If this news is true, then I can probably understand why Autohome is so suddenly launching this event tomorrow."

"People are not coming for us, but for Great Wall Motors."

"We just fell victim to this."

Strauss felt baffled by Vondel's words.

However, Vondel then said: "The competition among China's independent brand car companies is also very fierce now, and everyone wants to get more of this market."

"Especially after entering the last quarter, the automobile market is obviously not as prosperous as before."

"Some car companies even experienced a year-on-year decline in sales in September."

"Against this background, competition among various car companies has become more intense."

"Great Wall Motors wants to use the body of Range Rover to enhance the brand power of its H8 model. I guess Xingchen Motors will not be happy immediately, so it asked Autohome to urgently arrange such an event."

"If there was no event tomorrow, and Great Wall Motors' H8 successfully climbed the steps of Tianmen Mountain the day after tomorrow, then the results of Range Rover today would not be surprising, and many people would even put Range Rover and H8 together. By comparison, this is certainly not what Land Rover wants to see."

"As a shareholder of the company, Xingchen Motors will definitely take action."

"As for the relationship between Autohome and Xingchen Automobile, I don't need to say more, right?"

It was a rare opportunity to show off his knowledge in front of his subordinates, so Fondel was quite serious about what he said.

After listening to Vondel's explanation, Strauss and other participants all understood the current situation.

In this way, they are not so nervous.

After all, this matter is not about the Q5 or Q7. Even if something goes wrong, BMW and Mercedes-Benz will be there to take care of it.

Of course, not everyone can understand this.

At this moment, the lights inside the Mercedes-Benz China Company were still bright.

General Manager August, Sales Director Yang Ming and others are still holding emergency meetings.

Naturally, they all knew about the activity organized by Autohome.

Now that Mercedes-Benz is entering the Chinese market in a big way, it is most afraid of any unfavorable news.

"Yang, is there any way for the sales department to quickly resolve this crisis?"

August pressed his forehead with his fingers and closed his eyes slightly.

In the past year, he felt that he was a little tired.

The level of competition in China's automobile market is no weaker than that in Germany.

"Autohome has always had technical institutions such as car dismantling workshops, which specialize in dismantling and comparatively analyzing popular models of various car companies."

"At the same time, they will also carry out some testing work, but in the past they did more disassembly work and less testing."

"I think it's very strange that people are suddenly joining in the fun of climbing the steps of Tianmen Mountain."

"No car company will directly specify a test requirement like the Tianmen Mountain Steps in its new model development requirements."

"Under such circumstances, even an SUV with excellent off-road performance may fail in this test."

"Even to a certain extent, Autohome can completely control this ending."

"After all, to complete such a test, in addition to the performance of the car, the driver's level is also very critical."

"If an ordinary consumer were to drive a Range Rover, there would be no way to climb those steps."

Although Yang Ming is in sales, he also knows some technology.

After all, I still studied to get a Ph.D.

In Germany, after doctoral students enter a company, they have many more opportunities than ordinary people.

Of course, it’s not that easy to get a doctorate degree.

"Then do you think Autohome will take any action against our SUV models?"

August is obviously most worried about being targeted by Autohome.

After spending so many years in China, he is well aware of the influence of Autohome on Chinese consumers.

Otherwise, they would not still advertise on Autohome when they knew that Autohome was a related industry of Nanshan Group.

Because if you don’t advertise, the other party will blackmail you.

Or even if someone doesn't deliberately try to discredit you, they will intentionally or unintentionally give you some unfavorable guidance from time to time, which is very troublesome.

"Judging from what we know so far, the other party should have no reason to deliberately blackmail us."

"We even felt that the other party's event was a bit hasty."

"Normally speaking, if they want to make profits through this kind of activity, they should reserve enough time for everyone in advance. Otherwise, even if everyone wants to go to Autohome PR, they won't have enough time."

“Applying for additional budgets and funds will take time.”

"There's no reason why people at Autohome don't know these principles."

After Yang Ming said this, August felt a little better.

But he was still worried.

Things were a little out of control after all.

"Let's do this. Contact the other party urgently and say that in order to boost sales at the end of the year, we are going to place some additional ads on Autohome and see when they are free. Let's discuss it in detail."

The money that should be spent cannot be spent less. August feels that this time it is better to spend money to buy peace.

Now that the car market is suddenly not so prosperous, he is also under great pressure.

If spending money can solve the problem, then he is willing to do so.

After all, the income situation of Mercedes-Benz China is very good. Earning tens of millions less will not have a big impact on my performance.

But if a few thousand fewer cars are sold, it may have an impact.

ABB's reaction was naturally reported to Cao Yang by Yu Yu himself.

"So, ABB each adopts different countermeasures?"

Cao Yang did not expect that an impromptu event organized by Zeng Tingting and Pan Jianghui would alert ABB.

This shows that Autohome’s influence is growing.

"Yes, BMW directly arranged for personnel to come over and said that they would assist us in the whole process of testing."

"And Mercedes-Benz even contacted us about advertising, and they obviously gave in."

"Although there is no movement from Audi, I inquired and found that they also have special internal meetings."

Yu Yu is now very glad that he changed his job and came to Autohome. Otherwise, how could he have become an influential person in the Chinese auto market?

Power is not something only men like, women also like it.

"They were accidentally injured this time, but it would be best if they could help Land Rover during the event."

"However, Autohome must also ensure its fairness as much as possible. Tomorrow's activities will be carried out as fair and just as possible, and no one will make mistakes in the procedures."

Cao Yang still cherishes Autohome's feathers very much and does not want Autohome to ruin its reputation because of this incident.

If the media's reputation is ruined, the loss will be difficult to measure.

"Don't worry, we are also going to take the initiative to invite local Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche dealers to witness this event tomorrow, so that everyone can see how the event is held."

Yu Yu can naturally understand why Cao Yang told him this.

She is even more worried than Cao Yang about the impact on Autohome's reputation.

After Yu Yu finished talking to Cao Yang on the phone, he quickly went about other things.

Autohome suddenly arranges this event, and there are a lot of things to prepare for.

Yu Yu even invited the media who attended the Range Rover event today to stay and witness tomorrow's event.

Anyway, most of these people have been invited by Great Wall Motors to participate in the activities the day after tomorrow. There seems to be nothing wrong with following them to participate in the Autohome activities tomorrow.

Of course, there will probably be no travel expenses for tomorrow’s event.

Everyone just thought it was fun.

"Editor Fang, Nanshan Group responded very quickly this time."

"As soon as Great Wall Motors made a move, they responded. I guess the people at Great Wall Motors are still depressed at this time."

Although it was already eleven o'clock in the evening, Lin Jiayan and Fang Dawen were still drinking wine at the small bar next to the hotel.

At the Land Rover dinner party, everyone drank more restrainedly, so after it was over, they all went to have their second party.

"Nanshan Group not only owns Autohome, but also has public opinion platforms such as Weibo. No one knows the importance of publicity."

"As long as Great Wall Motors makes a slight move, they will know what the other party wants to do."

"After all, what Great Wall Motors plays with is what the other side plays."

"However, after this incident, I estimate that the relationship between Great Wall Motors and Nanshan Group will be affected to some extent."

"Xingchen Motors spent a lot of money to buy back Jaguar Land Rover. They were thinking of doing a good job in marketing, but they almost got screwed by Great Wall Motors."

"It's surprising that they can't be angry."

Fang Dawen also sees the problem very thoroughly.

He participated in the entire Land Rover event today, and also knew about Great Wall Motor's arrangements for the day after tomorrow. He also wanted to continue participating in Autohome's event tomorrow.

With so much information gathered together, he could naturally figure out the reason.

After all, things are not very complicated.

Just think about it and you will be able to understand the thinking of all parties.

"It seems like Great Wall Motors screwed up this time, doesn't it?"

Lin Jiayan quickly figured out the ins and outs.

However, Fang Dawen's point of view is a little different from hers.

“It’s not necessarily a mess, it’s just not as effective as they thought.”

"According to my estimation, when Autohome arranges to test ABB and Porsche models tomorrow, not every model will be able to climb up smoothly."

"And if Great Wall Motors dares to pull the H8 over for testing the day after tomorrow, it will most likely be confident that it can climb up."

"After all, although the price of the H8 is not as good as that of ABB, it is modeled after Toyota's Land Cruiser, and its off-road performance is still very good."

"In this case, Great Wall Motors H8 can climb up, but some ABB cars cannot climb up. For H8, it is also a selling point."

Lin Jiayan understood when Fang Dawen explained it.

For those in the media, the more events, the better.

However, for Great Wall Motors, the mood at this time is a little different.

"Liaoning, have you seen all those actions of Autohome?"

It was late at night, but Wang Ying was still in the company.

As a woman, she is able to secure the position of general manager of Great Wall Motors. In addition to her strong personal ability, she also works very hard.

While others are still complaining about the high amount of overtime in the Internet industry, she is already living a life without a break 365 days a year.

Even for her, most days she doesn’t get off work until after 10 o’clock.

It is not uncommon to even work until early in the morning and live directly in the company.

"Mr. Wang, I'm worried this time!"

"I should say hello to Xingchen Automobile for this event."

Lian Furong is not stupid, and he naturally knows why the situation is like this.

I only thought about maximizing the interests of Great Wall Motors, but I didn't expect Xingchen Motors' counterattack to come so fast and fiercely.

Sure enough, when it comes to core interests, no one will give in easily.

"This can be regarded as a lesson. In the future, we should be cautious about taking advantage of the hot spots of Xingchen Motors and Jaguar Land Rover, and don't lose the big for the small."

Lian Furong's plan was also reported to Wang Ying, so she couldn't blame him too much.

They also think about the company wholeheartedly.

"Well, I'll call Xingchen Automobile early tomorrow morning and apologize to them."

"And after the event the day after tomorrow, we won't do any related marketing plans, it will just be a simple test."

Lian Furong knew that it was inappropriate to cancel the event at this time, but if the event continued as planned, the relationship between Great Wall Motors and Nanshan Group would definitely be greatly affected.

This is a situation he doesn't want to see.

After all, Great Wall Motors is now dependent on Nanshan Group, not what the other party depends on Great Wall Motors for.

"I will also call Mr. Cao tomorrow and explain it clearly to him!"

Wang Ying sighed and acquiesced to Lian Furong's approach.

An event that has not even begun is bound to end in a tumble.