"Tesla is a catfish, and I want it to live well because I'm a 'fat head Yu.'"
"Cars have evolved (evolved) this way for 130 years, and smart cars are not disruptors of cars. Future (disruptors) may not need roads anymore and will be able to fly in the air. If you still need a road, it's definitely a car. ”
"Gasoline to electric is irreversible. We were the king of gasoline cars before, and we want to become the king of electric smart cars. ”
……
It has been half a year since Yu Jingmin served as the executive deputy general manager of sales and marketing for SAIC Volkswagen. In the past six months, this car circle Internet celebrity executive has continued his own Internet celebrity style, frequently going out of the circle and reaching users. A few days ago, Yu Jingmin accepted an exclusive interview with the "Extremely Intelligent People" column of the Pacific Automobile Network and confided his heart.
1. Car circle net red "fat head Yu"
Thick eyebrows, big eyes, high nose bridge, often with light in the eyes when speaking. In the eyes of outsiders, Yu Jingmin is the standard handsome uncle image, but netizens who know him prefer to call him "Fat Head Yu". There are few executives in the car industry like him, and the "stage name" is louder than the real name, so many people say that he is a stefan who is delayed by the car.
Yu Jingmin does not seem to reject the label of Internet celebrity. In the interview, he repeatedly ridiculed himself with "fat head Yu". When it comes to some netizens praising him, he laughs and says that he is now like a braised fathead fish, blushing. Previously, he had responded to the outside world and said, "I am not a net red network green, there is no ability to carry goods, can only take the lead." He hopes that the image of "Fat Head Yu" can have a certain driving effect on the whole team. He said that in addition to saic-volkswagen's Volkswagen brand, the men's group will debut. The purpose of debut is to make the brand more grounded, essentially to communicate better with users, especially young users.
Yu Jingmin said to do what he said, when the ID.6 X was listed this year, he grasped the hot spot of "Shenzhou XII lift-off", dressed in spacesuits, and was instantly teleported back to the SAIC Volkswagen new energy automobile factory with an investment of 17 billion yuan from the simulated space station, announcing the listing of ID.6 X, which surprised the audience. In addition, he also invited Liu Yifei to endorse and even play cross-border sponsorship of the glory of the king. It is clear to the outside world that SAIC Volkswagen's marketing is getting younger and younger.
Anyone familiar with "Fat Head Yu" knows that he did not do so on a whim, but continued his previous online style. As early as the epidemic in February last year, he opened a live broadcast on multiple platforms, and a live broadcast can easily attract the interaction of more than 500,000 people, becoming a classic case in the live broadcast of car circle executives. He participated in a number of reality shows and talk shows throughout last year, and played on the same stage with popular stars such as Da Zhang Wei, Li Shi, yang Chaoyue and so on. The image of an influencer brings him closer to the user.
Although most of the time he shows himself as an Internet celebrity, Yu Jingmin's essence is a powerful cadre. For example, since he began to serve as the deputy general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicles in 2014, he has led SAIC Passenger Vehicles from an annual sales volume of more than 100,000 units to 700,000 units, which has been praised by the media as a change of life.
In April this year, Yu Jingmin took on a new task. His opponents are not only traditional car companies, but also new car-making forces represented by Tesla and Wei Xiaoli. Some people worry that in the face of new forces, Volkswagen's brand will look a little old.
But apparently, Yu Jingmin has a different view.
2. SAIC Volkswagen is flourishing
"Compared with those teenagers (new car-making forces), SAIC Volkswagen is a little older. But in fact, 37 years old, isn't it flourishing? Even if you are 100 years old, you can still be prosperous and timeless. Yu Jingmin said confidently.
"The country's first 4S store Huang mentou, SAIC Volkswagen, 1996." China's first regional marketing service center, SAIC Volkswagen had 2000 years ago. In the past ten years, the more fashionable reality show running man, the first cooperative brand is SAIC Volkswagen Lingdu. Since graduating from university, Yu Jingmin has joined volkswagen. Speaking of the glorious past of the public, he is like a family treasure. The tone reveals pride, bluntly saying that there is no fat head Yu without the public. In his view, SAIC Volkswagen has the gene of "tide", and many times it is at the forefront of the industry, constantly capturing young users.
In the interview, Yu Jingmin gave a set of data. He said that last year, the proportion of post-90s users in China's passenger cars reached 27%, while SAIC Volkswagen was 32%, 5 points higher than the average, and will be a little higher this year. However, he believes that rejuvenation is not just the average age of users, he is more focused on younger, content and communication.
In fact, since taking office, Yu Jingmin has been working rejuvenation. Even in the eyes of SAIC Volkswagen employees, one of the outstanding changes he brought about was that "the determination to become young is particularly strong." As soon as he took office, Yu Jingmin clearly emphasized the concept of "going younger" at the company's board of directors: the essence behind "going younger" is "2C".
In terms of content and communication methods, Yu Jingmin also frequently enters the world of young people in the form of Internet celebrities, such as IP marketing of King glory and Pikachu co-branding. In the post-covid-19 era, SAIC Volkswagen is holding more and more online events. In almost all online platforms, including e-commerce, short videos, and various communities, there have been strong official check-ins. At present, the number of users of the public APP has reached 3 million, and the number of fans of the official account of the social platform has exceeded 13 million, which is a proper traffic influencer.
Unlike most Internet celebrities who like to say planting grass and mowing grass, Yu Jingmin rarely says "planting grass", and he himself never says "cutting grass". In his opinion, it would sound uncomfortable and a little exploitative. He believes that the most important thing for car companies is to create value for users and be user-oriented. At this year's Chongqing Auto Show, he even shelled Tesla, "Tesla is not user-centric, it is supply-oriented." This sentence caused a lot of controversy on the Internet at the time, but when the news of Tesla recently countersuing the two owners and claiming 5 million yuan was swiped, it seemed that more people agreed with his statement.
Although he became an Internet celebrity online, Yu Jingmin did not give up offline, and after taking up his new position, he frequently visited dealers. In the interview, he revealed that the relationship between SAIC Volkswagen and dealers and agents is now very harmonious. Talking about the direct sales model that is very hot in time, he said that he is very much in favor of direct sales, the direct sales model is to go online and offline, SAIC Volkswagen now has some direct sales, there are more than 30 business circle stores, planned to next year there are 120. At the same time, SAIC Volkswagen did not give up the 4S store, "I never say anything about subverting the 4S store." Yu Jingmin believes that the model is not the most important, the most fundamental thing is how to serve users. "Regardless of the white cat or the black cat, the one who catches the mouse is the good cat."
From a marketing point of view, SAIC Volkswagen, the overlord of the gasoline car era, not only did not have an old age, but also walked close to young people online and offline. But in the end, whether you can enter the world of young people depends on the product.
In Yu Jingmin's view, SAIC Volkswagen's products have undergone unprecedented changes.
3. Smart cars are not disruptors
"There are 3 electric cars out of a year, and the speed is amazing. I am the 'old man' of the masses, and I have never seen this happen. For the product, Yu Jingmin said that Volkswagen has been electrified in ALL IN, there is no turning back arrow to open the bow, Volkswagen used to be the king of gasoline cars, and now Volkswagen wants to become the king of electric intelligent cars.
Speaking of tesla and other new forces, Yu Jingmin frankly said, "Tesla is a catfish and a representative of intelligence. I want him to live well because I'm 'Fat Head Yu'." Compared with the mobile phone circle, the big guy in the car circle seems to have more respect and understanding for friends and businessmen, and less tearing. He praised Musk as an amazing person, saying that he admired these new forces in China, such as Li Bin and He Xiaopeng, who were all Chinese, they all had their own capital stories, and he hoped that they would all develop well.
Although the relationship at the private level is good, it is undeniable that the new car-making forces are accelerating the cutting of the traditional car market represented by Volkswagen. When asked whether he is worried that smart cars will subvert traditional cars like smart phones replacing functional machines, Yu Jingmin seems very confident, "Smart cars can't subvert cars, it's not flying in the sky, it's still running on the road, it's still a car." He explained that in the past 130 years, the automobile has developed and evolved step by step, and intelligence is a key step in evolution, but it cannot be said to be subversive.
"Anyone who has worked in cars knows that no matter how you subvert, the scale effect cannot be subverted. Because it has high requirements for capital-intensive, technology-intensive, and talent-intensive. It's not a sprint, nor is it an 110-meter hurdles. Yu Jingmin revealed that on the last Sunday of September, SAIC Volkswagen's 24 millionth car officially rolled off the production line.
In the eyes of the outside world, although Volkswagen's scale advantage is still huge, the current competition between new forces and traditional cars is very fierce in user competition, especially for those who pursue avant-garde experiences. Yu Jingmin said that this part of the user Tesla wants to grab, the new forces want to grab, the public also want to grab. However, for users who upgrade their cars, Yu Jingmin believes that Volkswagen's brand appeal is greater and the user's trust is higher. He also stressed that electrification is irreversible, and he himself drives an electric car. Volkswagen entered the electric vehicle market, not to engage in stock fighting, but to work with new forces to make the cake bigger.
The implication is that Yu Jingmin does not pursue a winner-take-all situation, but prefers to coexist and win with the new forces. Just like in a sea, there can not only be "fat head Yu", catfish, but also striped fish, carp, crucian carp, grass carp, perch...
4. Epilogue
As an executive of a first-class car company, it is difficult to see Yu Jingmin sitting with a serious face. He often laughs and jokes that he is a "fat head Yu", and one of the motivations is to get closer to users. In a small talk before the interview began, he said, "If a car company is afraid to face his users and dare not face the media, then he should not do it." If you get it out, you must face the user."
Today, Yu Jingmin, who has a heart of users, has been in charge for half a year. Whether it is from the current market competition pattern or from the perspective of SAIC Volkswagen's own development, the burden on him is not light. At this time, it is inevitable to recall that when the Internet version of MG GS was released 4 years ago, he chose to cooperate with the new film "Soul on the Leather Rope" by "Kailash" director Zhang Yang, but it was neither implanted nor exposed in the film. He said that the scene of the mountain turner prostrating his head deeply shocked him, and walking a thousand miles not only requires accumulated steps, but also the persistence and tenacity supported by faith.
Zhang Yang said that Kailash, at an altitude of 6,656 meters, is known as the "roof of the roof of the world", and the peak is covered by accumulated rain and auspicious clouds all year round. Locals believe that those who can keep the true appearance of Yunkai are fortunate in their three lives.
Nowadays, the film seems to shine into reality, and on a path called electric intelligence, people see an unswerving "fat head Yu" swimming step by step to the Kailash in his heart with his faith and tenacity.
--- Related Reading ---