Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

"Tao Wen, is there a lot of news about Volkswagen's DSG issues on the Internet in the past two days?"

Zhu Zhengfeng thought about it and decided to find someone to discuss it first.

Tao Wen has always been the director of the brand public relations department of Spring City Automobile Group, and he is relatively knowledgeable about Internet-related matters.

"Since the evening of March 15, relevant news has been emerging one after another."

"As of yesterday, it seems that the popularity of this news has not only not decreased, but has increased a lot."

"I feel that there should be some competitors behind this matter."

Tao Wen is not stupid. He has been engaged in brand promotion work for so many years and is familiar with many operating methods in the market.

Some of the methods were even used by her herself.

"Volkswagen's sales in China have actually not increased much. I didn't expect so many companies to target him."

If we were to suppress Japanese car companies before, as one of the joint venture shareholders of Spring City Toyota, Spring City Automobile Group could respond relatively calmly.

Zhu Zhengfeng even adopted a conniving attitude towards this kind of thing.

So this time around the Volkswagen siege, Zhu Zhengfeng's attitude changed a bit.

Spring City Automobile Group's most profitable company is Spring City Volkswagen.

If Spring City Volkswagen's sales collapse, the efficiency of the entire Spring City Automobile Group will be greatly affected.

Then he may not be able to do some of the actions he is doing.

This is a situation Zhu Zhengfeng does not want to see.

However, this situation is very likely to occur now.

"Although Volkswagen's sales have not increased much, the combined sales of North and South Volkswagen still rank first in the country."

"So everyone wants to see Volkswagen suffer, and this is inevitable."

When Tao Wen said this, Zhu Zhengfeng did not refute.

After all, what they said is true.

"The current situation should be a headache for Volkswagen, right?"

"These gearboxes are all produced by their wholly-owned gearbox company."

Speaking of which, Zhu Zhengfeng was dissatisfied with Volkswagen.

Spring City Automobile holds 60% of Spring City Volkswagen's shares and Volkswagen holds 40%.

This is very different from the 50%:50% shareholding ratio of many other joint venture car companies.

In other words, under normal circumstances, Spring City Volkswagen earns 10,000 yuan, and Spring City Automobile Group can take away 6,000 yuan.

But that's not the case at all.

Looking at the problem from the perspective of this industry chain, Volkswagen can completely transfer part of its profits through the gearbox factory.

In the end, the actual profits from the industry chain that Spring City Automobile Group gets will most likely not be as much as 50%.

"I heard that Volkswagen China has held several meetings, but no official results have been released yet."

"I guess if they encounter such a big thing, they should report it to Wolfsburg."

"I have also communicated with Spring City Volkswagen, and they are still waiting for the decision from Volkswagen China."

After Tao Wen said this, Zhu Zhengfeng didn't ask any more questions.

At this time, it seems more appropriate to wait and see.

However, while they were watching, the atmosphere inside the Volkswagen was very depressing.

"Strauss, when the company launched the 1.4TSI+DSG dual-clutch gearbox in its early days, it caused a sensation in China."

"Since then, the 1.4TSI's small displacement and large power, coupled with the dual-clutch DSG's fast shifting, high efficiency, and fuel saving, have made many consumers call it an advanced technology."

"So much so that the sixth-generation Golf at that time became a sacred car. Even in the second-hand car market, models equipped with this powertrain are hot sellers."

"If we choose to recall models equipped with DSG transmissions, the quantity involved will be very huge and the cost will be very high."

Vondel hasn't slept well these days.

When encountering such a big event, no matter how heartless he is, he will never be able to sleep peacefully.

Besides, there is an eight-hour time difference between China and Germany.

In the past few days, he has been having meetings with the headquarters many times in the middle of the night.

"The gearbox is out of gear, unresponsive, and has a strong sense of frustration. All these problems have been pointed out directly by China Radio."

"The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has also officially sent letters to Spring City Volkswagen, Modu Volkswagen and our Volkswagen China."

"If we don't recall, this matter will probably get bigger and bigger, and we will eventually have to compromise."

Strauss was thinking about this matter and hurriedly got over it.

After the new hot news from other car companies comes out, everyone's attention will naturally be slightly lower.

Based on his past experience in China, he felt that Volkswagen could take a breath of relief at that time.

Then after a period of market price reductions, sales may slowly pick up.

It's not impossible to set a new sales record by then.

After all, although the prices of many models of current joint venture car companies have dropped a lot, the room for decline is actually quite large.

Globally, the profit margins of most car companies do not reach double digits.

But in China, the profit margins of most joint venture car companies exceed double digits.

If the few points of technology improvement fees drawn by the headquarters are also included in the profits, then the profit margin will be even more impressive.

So when China's electric vehicles fully emerged and the profit margins of joint venture car companies dropped sharply, many joint venture car companies could not accept it.

"Can we selectively recall some products?"

"Reduce the impact as much as possible first."

"In the future, we will slowly adopt a plan to remedy the situation."

Fondel thought for a while and felt that it would be better to find a compromise method.

Otherwise, if more than 1 million cars were recalled at one time, this would be considered a record for China, right?

But Volkswagen doesn’t want this kind of record.

"Vondel, I have received various news compiled by the marketing department in the past few days. Judging from the current situation, public opinion on the Internet is very unfavorable to us."

"Many car companies have even jumped out and accused us very clearly."

"Marketing staff from Ford Motor, General Motors and many independent brand car companies in China are not idle, and they all want to take a piece of our table."

"At this time, the most important thing we should do is issue a recall announcement as soon as possible to put an end to the problem!"

Strauss felt that long-term pain was better than short-term pain, and it was better to get rid of the problem as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it will be more difficult to end it in the future.

Seeing the firm attitude of his capable subordinate, Fondel slowly made up his mind.

That night, he once again reported to the headquarters, and then at around 12 o'clock in the night, he issued a formal recall announcement on the official WeChat account.

Then Volkswagen filed a recall plan with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine the next day.

According to the announcement from the General Administration, Volkswagen (China) Sales Co., Ltd., Spring City-Volkswagen Co., Ltd., and Modu Volkswagen Co., Ltd. have decided to recall the defective automobile products starting from April 2, 2013, in accordance with the requirements of the "Defective Automobile Product Recall Management Regulations" There are 984,181 partially defective cars in total.

Vehicles within the scope of the recall may have power output interrupted due to an electronic failure of the electromechanical unit in the gearbox or insufficient oil pressure, posing safety risks.

The three companies will replace the vehicles within the scope of the recall with improved transmission electromechanical units for free, and upgrade the latest control software for users free of charge to eliminate safety hazards.

Although some numbers games were played, the total number did not exceed 1 million.

But this is still the largest car recall incident in China in history.

This matter is still a milestone.

"Mr. Cao, the dry DSG problem is a design defect, and even a recall cannot solve the problem."

"This action by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is of landmark significance. Enterprises have changed from active recalls to passive recalls. It should be said that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine requires enterprises to recall more things like this in the future, and it should be normalized."

"This change may have an impact on many car companies."

Zeng Tingting came to see Cao Yang early in the morning and talked about the Volkswagen recall.

"The number of cars has increased, with more than 20 million new cars added every year."

"In order to reduce costs, various OEMs have also resorted to many means."

"And because the cumulative sales volume in the past has been relatively high, the cost of any recall or repair is very high."

"So the enthusiasm of OEMs in voluntary recalls will be affected."

Cao Yang didn't think there was anything special about this change from the General Administration.

However, he didn't have particularly high expectations.

The automobile industry is a core industry related to economic development and a pillar industry in many places.

As long as it is not excessive and does not cause outrage, the General Administration will definitely not force the company to recall.

"That's true. Many companies regard the Chinese market as a money-making market and don't want to invest too much cost in it."

"But I think Huaxia TV did a good job this time. I went to inquire about it, and it seems that Director Xia helped put pressure behind the scenes."

"Otherwise, although this party will also expose the problems of Volkswagen DSG, the wording may not be so harsh."

Zeng Tingting felt that it was necessary to tell Cao Yang this information.

Although the suppression of Volkswagen not only benefits Nanshan Automobile Group, but as the leader of the domestic automobile industry, Nanshan Automobile Group definitely benefits the most.

After all, almost all domestic car companies are using parts produced by Nanshan Automobile Group.

By then, a large part of the market that Volkswagen has lost will definitely be divided up by other companies.

Even part of the market that Audi has lost can be eaten up by Xingchen Motors and Jaguar Land Rover.

"Volkswagen's two joint ventures have a relatively special status in China. Many people have working experience at Modu Volkswagen or Spring City Volkswagen."

"Their rapid development back then can be regarded as making a huge contribution to the career of many people."

"So it's not surprising that most official cars in the past few years were made by Volkswagen and Audi brands."

"The situation is gradually diversifying now. In addition, the relationship between China Television and us is indeed relatively good, and the support from relevant departments to our group is also very huge."

"So it's not surprising that Volkswagen was treated harshly at this party."

"To a certain extent, this can be regarded as defeating a tiger in a mountain."

"After all, China's own-brand cars have been on the road to exporting in recent years, but the journey has not been so smooth."

"Especially in Europe and America, few car companies can successfully enter."

The things played by China Channel often have profound meanings.

With so many car companies on the market now, is it really only Volkswagen that has problems with its DSG?

Are there any problems with GM and Ford cars?

Do self-owned brand car companies have any problems?

No matter which car it is, there will definitely be consumer complaints.

It’s nothing more than a matter of severity and impact.

Even some problems more serious than Volkswagen's DSG problem may not necessarily be selected for exposure.

There are many things to consider behind the scenes.

"That's true, the markets in Europe and America are too difficult."

“It’s not so much that the requirements are high, but that it’s more exclusive.”

"Our independent brand car companies entered these markets and accidentally lost all the money they had earned."

"The key is that there are various industry associations in Europe, which often come up with many weird things."

As a person with a sales background, Zeng Tingting is very sensitive to this kind of thing.

Although the Chinese market requires joint venture car companies to have more than 50% Chinese shareholders, in fact the existence of Chinese shareholders has helped them solve many things.

There is basically no need to worry about various land, taxation, media communication, etc.

The most important thing is that China's automobile market generally has relatively high profit margins.

Even if you only own 50% of the shares and eventually sell a car, you will still make more money in China than in many markets.

It can be said that some car companies are blessed but do not know their blessings.

These words are really Zeng Tingting's sincere words.

"It doesn't matter so much, the things that were arranged before can now be acted upon as soon as possible."

"China Taiwan has already helped us build momentum, and various car companies have also actively participated in the show, so we are welcome."

"Anyway, Volkswagen's cooperation with us, except for a few nut plates and wheel bearings, is basically negligible."

When Cao Yang said this, Zeng Tingting naturally started to move immediately.

The DSG issue, which was already very popular on the Internet, immediately became even more popular.

The key is that other problems with Volkswagen have also been uncovered one after another.

On the entire Weibo hot search list, there are several news related to Volkswagen's bad performance.

This is definitely something that affects sales.

…

"Brother, I think the company's 4S store distribution strategy may need to consider making some adjustments in the future."

"The new stores we opened in the past two years were generally owned by joint venture car companies, and there were relatively few independent brands."

"But last year, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's 4S stores didn't make much money."

"On the contrary, newly opened stores such as Chang'an, Geely, and BYD quickly turned losses into profits."

"The sales of Spring City Volkswagen and Magic City Volkswagen have plummeted again in the past week. It is estimated that those stores will definitely lose money this month."

Guo Shufu has always been in charge of the 4S store business of Yangcheng Huaqiang Group. Since he has many brand stores under his control, he has a relatively clear understanding of the market performance of various car companies in South China.

Sometimes they, the owners of 4S stores, even know the market performance of various models better than the sales staff of many companies.

Everyone opens a store to make money.

According to market performance, each boss will definitely make some adjustments to relevant measures.

It's like Guo Shufu now wants to change the distribution of 4S stores of various brands.

"The Volkswagen DSG problem has been going on for many years. Unexpectedly, not only has it not been resolved, it has become more and more troublesome."

"If other domestic car companies fail to live up to their expectations, then many people may still be able to tolerate it."

"After all, DSG's warranty period has been extended, and many consumers' concerns are actually not that big anymore."

"But there are many choices on the market. When there are obviously other products that are more suitable, this problem for Volkswagen becomes a fatal problem."

Guo Shuyin also sees the problem relatively clearly and knows that the impact of Volkswagen DSG this time will be greater than many people think.

Although it is impossible for Volkswagen to completely withdraw from the Chinese market or even languish because of this incident.

But Volkswagen's sales will definitely decline in the past two years.

Under this situation, Volkswagen's market share in China will decline.

Once this trend is formed, it will be more troublesome to make up for it.

"Yes, that's why I think new 4S stores in the future must be selective."

"We will not increase the number of stores in North and South Volkswagen for the time being. We will wait and see for a year or two before deciding."

"The stores of Jaguar Land Rover, Xingchen Motors and Future Auto can continue to increase, and I think the stores of Mercedes-Benz and BMW can also continue to increase."

"Although there is a certain degree of competition between them, with the development of China's economy, there will still be more and more wealthy people, and there will be many more people who can afford luxury cars."

"In the future, the proportion of luxury cars in new car sales is likely to increase year by year."

Guo Shufu gave his judgment with certainty.

I have to say that his judgment is quite accurate.

At least within the next 10 years, it will be in line with market development trends.

During the conversation between the two brothers, they decided on the company's next development direction.

Guo Shuyinhai specially asked his younger brother to go to Nanshan Automobile Group to report to Zeng Tingting, Rao Yongxiang and others on the future development direction of Yangcheng Huaqiang Group, and contribute their analysis to the other party.

This kind of thing that is informative and can bring people closer together is obviously very good.

And just when each store begins to feel that the sales of different brands of models begin to change, relevant information will naturally be fermented on the Internet.

Some news is directly provided to various media outlets on their own initiative.

Why is there someone blocking the door of a Volkswagen 4S store in Spring City? Someone is holding a banner inside a Volkswagen 4S store in Shanghai.

Or maybe someone's Sagitar has just been driven for a few months, and small videos such as gearbox fault codes appear on the instrument panel, and they continue to appear online.

"Mr. Cao, judging from the current situation, not only the relevant personnel of independent brands are taking action against Spring City Volkswagen and Modu Volkswagen, but even various joint venture car companies such as Modu General Motors, Changan Ford, Yangcheng Honda, and Yangcheng Toyota, etc. They are not idle either.”

"I have been talking to some people from advertising and marketing companies in the past two days, and also asked the troll leader we trained to inquire about the situation."

"Many people have received some new tasks these days, all trying to improve Volkswagen's reputation."

With such a good opportunity to report to Cao Yang, Yu Yu naturally wanted to go there in person.

As the largest automotive media in China, Autohome has a lot of information available.

The most important thing is that Autohome itself has maintained a lot of accounts and trolls. It can be said that sometimes Party A takes advantage of Party B.

However, because I entered the industry relatively early, some accounts are hidden deep enough that most people don’t notice them.

"Volkswagen has set a new record in China by recalling millions of defective models this time. Naturally, other car companies are eager to get a share of the pie."

"But this is a good thing for us."

Nanshan Automobile Group took the initiative to participate in the encirclement and suppression of Volkswagen, and Yu Yu naturally knew about it.

So Cao Yang had nothing to hide his thoughts from her.

Sales volume in China's automobile market is expected to increase to about 30 million vehicles.

If 80% of this market consists of Chinese independent brand car companies, then it will definitely bring the sales of all current companies to a higher level.

By then, if we focus on some overseas markets, there may be several car companies with annual sales of more than 3 million vehicles.

This still has a very different meaning to China.

Japan next door can support a series of car companies such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki, Hino, etc. There is still hope for China.

"Yeah, I think so too."

"In the past two years, everyone has gained experience. Many of the methods have been used against Koryo Motors and Japanese Motors."

"Didu Hyundai, Yangcheng Toyota, Yangcheng Honda and other car companies have also been dealt with before, and now they are very skilled in using the same means to fight back."

"This encirclement and suppression may be the most intense in several years."

Yu Yu made a judgment based on the information he had obtained.

This obviously makes some sense.

"After all, Volkswagen is the single brand with the highest sales volume in China. It won't be that strange to make some big noises when the time comes."

"I just don't know how consumers' impression of Volkswagen will change after this incident."

A quality problem cannot directly bring down the public.

After all, DSG itself already has a long warranty, so consumers’ concerns are not particularly serious.

Now it is just taking advantage of the fact that there are many models to choose from on the market that the original loyal fans of Volkswagen can switch to other brands.

But how long this effect lasts remains to be seen.