The road to business growth is very long, and there are only a few steps at the critical point. The more critical it is, the more we must pay attention to the pace of development and reduce the probability of making mistakes, so as to better and faster achieve strategic goals, which is the key trick of "slow is fast".
On the evening of January 18, 2022, a new batch of 78 AIWAYS U5s was officially loaded and sent to Israel, which is the first batch of cars sent by AIWAYS to overseas markets in the new year. Customs data show that in 2021, AIWAYS auto exported a total of 1676 vehicles, an increase of 62% year-on-year. Exported to 11 countries in Europe and Israel. AIWAYS has become the new chinese car-making force with the largest sales volume in the EU market.
Of course, because Aichi's sales in China are not as bright as overseas, it can be considered that the development of Aichi automobile is slow. However, from the perspective of development, we should pay more attention to how enterprises solve the problem of "growth". Since its inception, AIWAYS Automobile has gradually formed its own unique new path, new thinking and new direction, and 2022 may be a very important new starting point.
In the "Highland of Quality", "The Land of Science and Technology",
Aichi proved its strength and found self-confidence
In 2021, China's auto exports seem to have pressed the "fast forward button", and the pace of "going out" of Chinese auto brands has accelerated significantly. Aichi is a typical example of this, as evidenced by the aforementioned customs data.
However, to answer the question of "growth" and sustainable development of its overseas markets, AIWAYS Automobile has made answers from three aspects.
First of all, the technical quality of AIWAYS has withstood the test of EU standards and the most discerning European users. Excellent product technical strength is a solid foundation for rapid development, whether it is domestic or foreign.
The internationalization of AIWAYS Automobile first entered the core countries of the European Union such as Germany and France. They are economic powers, but also established industrial powers. After a century of immersion in the history of automobiles, the high requirements of EU standards and the pickiness of consumers have always been regarded as the highest quality of the automotive industry. Being able to obtain the EU model type certification and continue to be favored by users in EU countries fully proves the strength of AIWAYS. For the past year, in reports such as german state television and Reuters, Aichi has been regarded as "a major Chinese car manufacturer exploring the European market."
It should be emphasized that in 2021, many new car manufacturers in China will also begin to lay out the European market, but most of them will start from entering the Norwegian market. Norway's electric vehicle infrastructure is indeed good, and the penetration rate of electric vehicles is indeed very high, but Norway is not an EU country. In a sense, this is a kind of "testing the waters". Only AICHI is the most bold, which also shows that it has great confidence in its own quality.
Germany's authoritative digital evaluation agency "戗行", the first cross-border car review
The data shows that in the 21 months since the first batch of exports to France in May 2020, AIWAYS has successfully landed in 11 developed countries in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Sweden, with a total of 2783 units exported. AIWAYS has become the new chinese car-making force with the largest sales volume in the EU market and ranks among the top three in the Israeli electric vehicle market.
Second, it is particularly important to mention the technology country of Israel, whose consumers not only see the Aichi U5 as an electric car, but also as a technology product.
Israel's car access is equivalent to the use of EU standards, that is, for the quality requirements of the car, Israel and the EU are consistent in terms of regulations, just as stringent. Not only that, Israel, where the world's top technology companies are gathered, the scientific and technological atmosphere and technology culture of its entire society have subtly penetrated into the hearts of many consumers. With the intelligent technology brought by the U5, Aiways Automobile has refreshed Israeli consumers.
Israel's largest and most influential news outlet, Walla! NEWS reported on the AIWAYS U5: "It is a highly competitive model among the compact SUV brands that have entered the Israeli market. In the actual test drive, it is different from every other car on the road, it is the first car of Aiways, the forerunner of China's electric vehicle globalization. From the media's report, it can be seen that Aichi's intelligent central control, virtual buttons, heated seats, panoramic sunroof, electric tailgate and mobile phone interconnection and other functions have completely conquered the Israelis who are full of technology.
According to relevant sources of Aichi Automobile, since last year, Aichi's Israeli order process has exploded, with no less than 1,000 large and small orders, far exceeding the expectations of market sales personnel, and the original supply plan has to be adjusted again and again. Due to the epidemic, chips, supply chain tension and other issues, It has also made Israeli partners and users very anxious. It is reported that the batch of 78 cars issued on January 18 is to pay for last year's orders, and, in the future, it will be shipped one after another to meet the strong demand of the country's market.
It can be said that in Israel, a country of science and technology, Aichi has found the confidence to make the market of a single country bigger.
Third, AIWAYS has established a relatively mature and flexible and professional sales and service network ecosystem in the main sales areas. In particular, the construction of the after-sales service network reflects the determination of AIWAYS to deepen the overseas market. How difficult it is to dare to synchronously lay out the after-sales service system overseas, and the Chinese brand counterparts who have made exports know it.
According to the introduction, AICHI adopts a mature after-sales service network of domestic experts to provide users with after-sales service including technical support and maintenance. These service providers are trained and mentored by U5 and its advanced systems, and working with local partners is a more effective and viable way to provide vehicle maintenance services than building a new AICHI after-sales service network throughout the region.
For example, in Germany, Aichi has established a strategic cooperation with ATU, Germany's leading automotive rapid repair chain, which can achieve a service network every ten kilometers, providing users with a series of after-sales service solutions such as vehicle maintenance, roadside assistance and parts supply during the use of vehicles.
What to do in the Chinese market?
Aichi's success overseas is not questioned because of its small number. The reason is that everyone believes that there is such a forward-looking strategy, such a technical quality foundation, and such a determination and action to deepen the market, and its "growth" is optimistic for a long time.
So, what about the domestic market?
With the entry of major technology leaders into the new energy track, automotive intelligence is the trend of the times. Although Aichi is remarkable in overseas markets, it has been submerged in China. On the one hand, this shows that China's intelligent new energy vehicle market competition is fierce, on the other hand, it also shows that AICHI needs to exert its strength.
Last year's second smart pure electric coupe SUV AIWAYS U6, people are eye-catching. With the continuous disclosure of the technical details of aiways U6, the intelligent driving technology of AIWAYS has gradually begun to be revealed. According to reports, AIWAYS U6 will be equipped with a full-stack self-developed AI-Cruise intelligent driving assistance system, covering 27 intelligent driving functions such as DCLC turn signal lane change assist, NGA high-speed pilot assist, NRP narrow road auxiliary traffic and VRP self-parking within visual distance, among which the NRP narrow road auxiliary traffic function is the world's first of Allied Cars, exploring a new development direction in the field of automatic driving.
Judging from market feedback, with Chaoku design, intelligent technology and global quality, U6 has gained a large number of media and user attention and expectations, and won the honors of "The Most Anticipated Pure Electric Coupe SUV" and "2021 Recommended Chinese New Energy Vehicle".
At the beginning of 2022, the good news continued, hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, and a new management team injected new impetus into Aichi. Today's AIWAYS has the ability to make intelligent manufacturing, has new scientific and technological products, has capital injection, and has team blessing. Now everything is available, only the East Wind is owed. And this "East Wind" may be "innovative" thinking. Only by daring to use new thinking, new technologies, and new ways of playing can we rise in a market where there are many masters.
It was the worst of times and the best of times. It gives everyone on this track the same opportunity and challenge. In 2022, can AICHI live out what it should be? It's up to Aichi itself to prove it.