On April 25, 2024, the Beijing Auto Show officially opened. At the W2 pavilion, Dongfeng Nissan unveiled a series of major announcements, including the debut of four new energy concept cars and Nissan’s new energy strategy. The event also revealed Dongfeng Nissan’s brand renewal plan and future direction for intelligent products. Following the event, key media engaged in further dialogue with senior executives from the automaker.
Interviewed Leaders: Liu Xinyu, General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. Gao Zhenghao, Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. What is the difference of Dongfeng Nissan’s “GLOCAL new model”? At this auto show, many joint venture car companies have proposed cooperation models that include the keywords Global+Local. Each car company has its own global advantages and local plans. At the Dongfeng Nissan press conference, we clearly heard the keyword “GLOCAL new model”. How will Dongfeng Nissan address these two points? Especially in the entire intelligent industry chain, what local advantages will be reflected? In response to this question from the media, Liu Xinyu, General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., stated: Firstly, what we often hear at auto shows is “in China, for China”. In this regard, Dongfeng Nissan is “in China, for China”, while also “from China to global”. This is the first difference.
Second, now everyone is hearing about the concept of “GLOCAL new model”, which is Global+Local. It’s easy to say, but there may be a big difference in implementation. For example, when it comes to Global, everyone knows that Nissan has been around for 91 years, while Dongfeng Nissan is celebrating its 21st birthday this year. The accumulation of history, including the experience in car making, is undeniable, it’s a level. At the same time, why is it called Glocal and not Local+Global? Actually, it echoes what I just mentioned, from china to global. Initially, global technology was brought to China, now with time, the focus is on how to bring Chinese passenger car experience to the global market, which is what Dongfeng Nissan and Nissan Group are working on. Moreover, during the speech by Zhou Feng, Vice President of Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Vice General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Car Company, he mentioned how important it is for “Glocal” to excel in the future new energy strategy.
Providing new comfort for family is crucial for the brand. Comfortable sofa has been Nissan’s signature in all past models. Now, with time evolving, how to achieve new comfort, smart comfort, extensive expansion, multiple power options, and super safety are all important points to discuss further. “New comfort” is crucial for us. Dongfeng Nissan’s “Oil-Electric Intelligence” plan specific routes and measures: Regarding the key phrase “Oil-Electric Intelligence” repeatedly mentioned at this auto show, Dongfeng Nissan’s top executives also provided answers to media inquiries.
In the opinion of Liu Xinyu, General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., the integration of resources, strengths, and intelligent partners is essential to achieve true synergy in the “oil-electric-intelligence” field. He believes that each company has its own solutions for “oil-electric-intelligence”, some develop in-house, others rely on third parties. Dongfeng Nissan also collaborates with leading intelligent companies while combining in-house development to create differentiation in various product lines, better meeting consumer needs.
For the specific route and measures of implementing the “oil-electricity-intelligence” plan, Gao Zhenghao, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., said: First of all, previously everyone thought that new energy was electrification, and electric vehicles were new energy. But electrification is actually the first step, only after reaching intelligence, can it pull away from traditional fuel vehicles. However, fuel vehicles can also be very intelligent. The intelligence of fuel vehicles, whether it is intelligent driving or intelligent cockpit, after integration, there is no difference in intelligence compared to electric vehicles. Therefore, this strategy must be adhered to. For traditional joint venture brands like Dongfeng Nissan, walking with “two legs” of fuel and new energy, neither leg will be relaxed. Therefore, intelligence is definitely the direction, this is the first point.
1. Media mentioned the cooperation between Dongfeng’s Lantu and Mengshi with Huawei, including the collaboration between Dongfeng Nissan and Huawei, Moment, and other brands. 2. This will change our perception. I used to prefer driving. I thought that as long as the car provides some assistance and safety features, it meets my needs. I used to think that the smart cockpit was not useful for me. After working in the Greater Bay Area and visiting Huawei, experiencing their views on autonomous driving and future trends, as well as product experiences, my perception has improved. We must improve quickly. Safety assistance alone is not enough for intelligent cars, we must move towards smart cockpits and intelligent driving. This is one of our future directions. 3. In summary, first, fuel vehicles need to be intelligent, and this will be introduced in high-end flagship models. Second, new energy vehicles will cooperate with leading intelligent companies in the industry to launch intelligent driving cooperation. 4. Promoting overseas, with a focus on exporting new energy vehicles: 5. Regarding the topic of globalization, especially going overseas, the leaders present also expressed their views. 6. According to Gao Zhenghao, Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Motor Sales Co., Ltd., technology going overseas is like a 3.0 version of technology feedback for joint venture brands. Chinese technology and models will be used by joint ventures and then brought overseas. After feedback, the products and brands are taken abroad, which Dongfeng Nissan is currently doing. 7. Dongfeng Nissan established an overseas business unit last year and is actively promoting it. The technology of joint ventures has gone from global to China, and now Chinese technology is entering joint venture brands. Next, joint venture brands will go from China to the global market, following our “three-step” plan, which should be very clear. This also echoes the concept of “from China to global,” which we will continue to uphold.
Regarding this, Liu Xinyu, General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., also stated: In the corporate philosophy of Dongfeng Nissan, there is no emphasis on being a joint venture. Now, joint ventures and more brands, in a sense, have little difference for the younger generation of customers. Therefore, we emphasize more on how to implement the Glocal concept into our daily work. The first very symbolic thing about the transition from Local to Global is the export of joint venture companies. In fact, in October 2023, when the brand celebrated its 20th anniversary, it was already proposed that we will have 100,000 exports starting in 2025. We are still continuously implementing this plan, and there have been some substantial progress, including overseas channels and products, which are very practical. Objectively speaking, our first consideration is definitely exporting new energy. How to feed back from the concept of Local to Global is a very important step for us.
Regardless of the speed, the export is crucial for all companies. As a joint venture, taking this step will truly show that we are benefiting Global by supporting Local. Joint ventures with both brand and technology have seen better results in the market recently. Adapting products and services to better meet customer needs is essential for progress. At the auto show, every company talks about going global, but what concrete actions are being taken behind the slogan? We are taking real actions. Our CEO mentioned organizing a technical seminar to explain our technology in detail. Sharing information and implementing it will be discussed in the next technical seminar.