The 21st Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition officially opened on November 17th. The development of smart cars and new energy vehicles is not only a revolution in transportation, but also a change in lifestyle and mindset. As competition in the new energy vehicle market continues to escalate, more new products and technologies will appear before the public. This year’s Guangzhou Auto Show will be themed “New Technology, New Life”, showcasing the latest technological achievements brought about by the development of smart cars, and the new changes it brings to consumers. In response to this, different executives have expressed their views. Wang Chunfeng, Deputy General Manager of Beijing Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., stated that in terms of user ecological branding, Beijing brand focuses on outdoor activities, aiming to create as many outdoor-friendly conditions for customers as possible. By partnering with numerous cross-disciplinary, cross-sector, and cross-category ecological partners, they aim to create a circle of friends, ultimately forming an outdoor travel ecological community. Together with users and ecological partners, they will continue to innovate and grow together.
The following is a transcript of the interview: Sina Auto: First of all, welcome President Wang to the Sina Auto interview room for an interview. Beijing Auto has been very popular online recently, and many netizens are also paying attention to our unique products. So today, on behalf of the netizens, I would like to ask President Wang some questions related to our products. This year is a big year for the “square box” design, with many products featuring this kind of design. Our new BJ40 is a very eye-catching model that has attracted a lot of attention and expectations from users since its debut. What are the highlights of this car in terms of product features? Could you please introduce it? Wang Chunfeng: This product has indeed gained a lot of attention from its debut pre-sale to its official launch today. The new BJ40 is actually a new generation product based on the classic BJ40 of the past ten years. It is positioned as a world-class urban and wild SUV, including two key words, “trendy” and “wild”, corresponding to the two versions of our product, two scenes, and working conditions. The one being launched today is the flagship “trendy” urban hunter version. We summarize the core highlights of the new BJ40 with a phrase, “naturally daring”. This “daring” is a homonym for the product’s own temperament. Now I will explain to netizens from five points. The biggest change in the new BJ40 is its daring and unique exterior design. Based on the current BJ40, which is the “square box” mentioned earlier, it has added some “trendy” elements to become even more unique. Features like the surrounding grille lights, stylish taillights, and the only frameless door design in tough SUVs, along with a unique “D”-shaped side window, make it very eye-catching and visually distinctive. The second aspect is the daring and innovative intelligent configuration. From the unique five-screen display to a total of 27 intelligent sensors in the entire vehicle, including 8 in-car power sources, we have incorporated many intelligent configurations to meet the high power needs of outdoor scenes, including a 400W high-power inverter. We have integrated many unique ideas into the intelligent details to maximize the customer experience. In terms of comfort, the new BJ40 has undergone a significant upgrade from the traditional rugged SUV, with a much more refined design and luxurious features such as 12-way electrically adjustable, ventilated, heated, and massaging leather seats, as well as zero gravity posture support for the co-driver seat. We have also incorporated new off-road black technology, such as the self-developed ATS all-terrain control system, while retaining the genetic heritage of the current BJ40. In terms of safety, we have implemented an integrated roll bar system in the entire BJ40, enhancing safety without compromising aesthetics. In summary, the new BJ40 embodies clear improvements in design, intelligence, comfort, off-road capabilities, and safety. We welcome all car enthusiasts to experience it up close. The off-road capabilities of the previous cash BJ40 are obvious to everyone. Now, comfort and intelligence have been integrated into hardcore off-road driving, and the feedback has been very positive. Next question, this year, Beijing Automotive has successively released a brand renewal strategy, as well as a technology brand and a user ecosystem brand, which is the final step in our comprehensive renewal. Can you briefly introduce the relevant content? Wang Chunfeng: These three brand renewal actions are actually a trilogy, progressing step by step. At the beginning of the year, at the Shanghai Auto Show, we released the brand renewal strategy, focusing on the core of the brand, centering around the three core user needs of family, outdoor, and fun, renewing the image and mission of our brand. This is the first step. In the middle of the year, at the Chengdu Auto Show, we released a brand new technology brand, mainly including four major platforms: vehicle, off-road, intelligent, and power. In fact, we have better strategic planning and organization of our technological reserves and hardcore strength. Today, at the Guangzhou Auto Show, we have released a brand new user ecosystem brand, focusing on our original intention of “putting users at the center,” getting closer to users, and how to work with users and partners to create an ecosystem, create a circle of friends, and bring better user experience and more added value to customers. So these three steps, we call it the trilogy of the brand renewal for the whole year, and in terms of results, it has gradually shown better results. This year, our sales continue to rise. After moving forward for a while, we need to look back and review some of our most basic support. Sina Auto: In fact, 2023 is also the first year of renewal for Beijing Automotive. You just mentioned the final chapter of the user ecosystem brand trilogy. This year, we have also seen many new marketing initiatives from Beijing Automotive. These series of actions reveal Beijing Automotive’s strategic deployment. Wang Chunfeng: In the user ecosystem brand, actually returning to our Beijing brand’s core element, which is focusing on outdoor activities, means that we need to create as many outdoor-friendly conditions as possible for our customers. We have joined forces with numerous cross-disciplinary, cross-circle, and cross-category ecological partners to create a social circle, ultimately forming this outdoor travel ecosystem community. We work together with users and ecological partners to continuously innovate and grow together. Specifically, we are implementing it in four aspects: First, we are creating fun benefits for users who love to travel. We have partnered with Ctrip Travel and Wanda Hotels, for example, we have joined hands with Ctrip Travel to provide users with over 500 high-quality camping sites nationwide, as well as over 20,000 global quality homestays, and discounts for over 10,000 scenic spots, with the lowest half-price travel; we have also partnered with Wanda Hotels to provide a 12% discount on stays at over 170 Wanda-owned hotels, establishing the entire travel ecosystem and providing exclusive benefits to Beijing brand users. Second, we are working with Tibet Tourism and Mafengwo to deepen cooperation and will regularly launch exclusive activities and travel benefits in Tibet. We have created ten unique self-driving routes with Mafengwo, providing customers with full-service and exclusive services. Third, we are cooperating with Nenglian to provide travel benefits in terms of energy supplementation to users, including discounts at over 22,000 gas stations and over 400,000 charging piles nationwide, so you don’t have to worry about energy supplementation. Fourth, for product customization and user personalization needs, we are working with excellent modification factories to establish an ecological system for modifications, whether it’s heavy modification, light modification, or official modification. So, around “fun travel, fun exploration, creating, and fun change,” we have taken the first step in landing the user ecological brand. In the future, we will continue to upgrade in terms of welfare distribution, making the Beijing® Friends Circle user ecological brand better and bigger. Sina Auto: This is very good. In addition to products, the entire ecosystem is actually very important for off-road users and players. They pay more attention to quality of life and living interests. Only by creating a good ecosystem can we serve them with our products. Thank you, General Manager Wang.