Entering December, 2009 is considered to have come to an end.

For all automobile OEMs, the last month must be a sprint again.

But this year's pattern has basically taken shape.

In order to cope with the growing Huaxia automobile market in the future, various OEMs have also begun to expand their own ideas, thinking about whether there is a better way to increase their sales.

GM, Ford, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Nissan......

This issue is being considered internally in various companies.

If there is no pressure on the prosperity of Huaxia's own brands, even if the Huaxia automobile market continues to expand, they can continue to lie down and enjoy a good life, and they don't need to worry so much.

But now it's clearly not going to work.

If there is no new action, then the new car market is likely to be eaten by Huaxia's own brands.

This is clearly not the situation that those international auto giants want to see.

"President, our best-selling models in the world have basically been introduced or are being introduced into the Chinese market."

"But because we have two joint ventures in Huaxia, all the products are distributed to Chuncheng Toyota and Yangcheng Toyota for production."

"This leads to the fact that the product lines of the two companies are not so rich."

"For example, Chuncheng Toyota's RAV4 sells very well, but Yangcheng Toyota does not have a mid-level SUV."

"Similarly, Yangcheng Toyota's Highlander sales are acceptable, but Chuncheng Toyota does not have the same type of model."

"Other models, such as the Camry and Yaris, also have similar problems."

Inside Toyota, a special meeting is being held for the Huaxia automobile market.

As the person in charge of design, Tetsuaki Kobayashi mentioned an issue that everyone knew in the past, but did not pay enough attention to.

Toyota has ambitions to become the world's largest car company.

But in the Chinese market, Toyota's sales are far from worthy of this ambition.

Naturally, this issue is also being discussed within Toyota.

"What Kobayashi said is very reasonable, we do have some problems with the layout of our product line in Huaxia."

"At the beginning, we established two joint ventures to prevent Chuncheng Automobile Group from being too strong and affecting our interests in Huaxia, so we cooperated with Yangcheng Automobile Group to establish Yangcheng Toyota."

"But this has also led to two joint ventures, each of which is not particularly rich in product lines."

"This issue really needs to be taken seriously."

As the head of the sales headquarters, Wu Zhihui naturally recognized the problem mentioned by Tetsuaki Kobayashi.

For OEMs, to a certain extent, the more models, the higher the sales.

At present, the product lines of Toyota's two joint ventures in Huaxia are no longer able to compete with Huaxia's own brands.

This is something that needs to change as soon as possible.

"In Huaxia, there are two joint ventures like us, and the most typical representatives are Volkswagen and Honda."

"Let's not talk about the situation of Honda, they are facing a similar predicament as ours."

"But the situation at Volkswagen is a little bit different, and they started to launch a more unique model strategy before we did."

"For example, the Magotan of Spring City Volkswagen and the Passat of Modu Volkswagen are essentially a car, but they have changed their appearance."

"Then the Bora of the Spring City Volkswagen and the Lavida of the Modu Volkswagen are actually the same model, but the appearance and styling have been adjusted."

"I've heard that Volkswagen will launch more sister cars in-house in the future, and that they will be produced by both joint ventures at the same time."

As soon as Tetsuaki Kobayashi said this, Watanabe's interest came.

Sister car?

That's a relatively new statement!

"You mean that we Toyota can also develop a model, but make two versions and sell them to Chuncheng Toyota and Yangcheng Toyota respectively?"

Watanabe couldn't help but ask rhetorically.

And Tetsuaki Kobayashi immediately gave his own answer, saying: "That's right, that's what I thought about." ”

"For us, the development cost of developing a sister car is about the same as developing a model, and at most it is 1.2 times the difference in development cost."

"If you take into account that the base model is developed globally, and now it is only an additional version developed for Huaxia, then the overall development cost will increase by less than two or one percent."

"But when we give these two almost identical models to Chuncheng Toyota and Yangcheng Toyota, they can be used as two new models."

"The technical commission fee can be collected normally, so that we can get greater benefits from Huaxia."

As soon as Tetsuaki Kobayashi said this, Wu Zhihui couldn't help but raise a point of concern, saying: "The launch of such two similar models will definitely have an impact on the original sales, right?" ”

"For example, the Camry can now sell 15,000 vehicles a month in China, if Chuncheng Toyota also produces a model similar to the Camry, will it cause the sales of the Camry to drop to less than 10,000 units?"

"In the end, if the sales of the two cars combined are not more than one, wouldn't it be a toss-up?"

Wu Zhihui is not opposed to Kobayashi's proposal.

On the contrary, he was actually very interested in this proposal.

However, since this proposal was made by Tetsuaki Kobayashi, he naturally took this opportunity to express his concerns in the sales field.

Lest the final sales figures are not ideal, he has to think about how to interpret them.

"This possibility cannot be 100% ruled out, but basically the probability of it happening is very low."

"From the Spring City Masses and the Demon City Masses, we have seen this kind of benefit."

"If this approach is not good for sales, Volkswagen will certainly not continue to do this."

"Of course, I think it's normal for everyone to have this worry."

"We can take one or two models as a pilot and launch our sister car to Toyota, and see how the market reacts."

"Just change the exterior styling on the basis of the existing model, and the powertrain, chassis, and configuration are almost unchanged, we will be able to launch new products on the market as soon as the first half of next year."

"Even if the changes are very small, most of the parts will be shared, and it is possible that small-scale mass production will start by the end of next year."

As soon as Tetsuaki Kobayashi said this, Wu Zhihui's interest was even greater, and he said: "There is no harm in trying, anyway, the development cost and mold investment are relatively small, but the possible benefits are very large." ”

"Just take this opportunity to block the mouths of the two joint ventures."

"Aren't they clamoring for more new models every year?"

"Then we'll give it to him!"

Regarding the opinions of Tetsumin Kobayashi and Wu Zhihui, Watanabe Tetsuaki did not dwell on it for too long.

Come to think of it, it seems that the benefits of this matter for Toyota do outweigh the disadvantages.

So Watanabe quickly agreed to the plan.

Inside Toyota, it immediately began to take action.

Also thinking about a similar problem is Porsche.

After Macht replaced Weidkin as president of Porsche, he naturally hoped to make some achievements.

Today, the Huaxia market is the world's largest automobile market, and Porsche also hopes to achieve better results in the Huaxia market.

But now Porsche's hot-selling models in China, except for the Cayenne, the others are not hot-selling.

Naturally, this result will not satisfy Makht.

"Mebona, if the company wants to increase sales in the Chinese market, what good suggestions do you have?"

Makht called the sales director, Mebona, to see what he could do to him.

"I just came back from a business trip to China, and the market there is quite different from Germany."

"For example, our main competitor, Xingchen Automobile, sells the best SUV models in Huaxia is Yangwang and Xingtu."

"The best we sell in Huaxia is the Cayenne, an SUV model."

"So I think the best way to increase Porsche's sales in China is to launch another mid-level SUV."

Mebona didn't hesitate to give his reply.

In his opinion, Porsche needs to have more SUV models like Xingchen Automobile.

Otherwise, it is difficult to increase sales quickly.

But the cost of developing a model from scratch is very high.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it cost more than a billion dollars.

Especially for luxury brands such as Porsche, the requirements are higher in all aspects.

Whether it is worth it to spend so much money to develop a completely new model is a question that must be fully discussed internally.

Thinking of this, Makht couldn't help frowning and said: "If you develop a new SUV model, the price is a bit high, it's okay if you succeed, if you fail, it will directly make our situation passive." ”

Although the failure of one model will not immediately put Porsche on the verge of bankruptcy, it is certainly not a good thing for Porsche, whose current situation is not particularly ideal.

However, Mahbot did not have no way to deal with Macht's concerns, but he said: "In fact, we have a simpler way, that is, to take a platform directly from Audi to develop, so that we can launch an SUV model belonging to Porsche with only a small development cost." ”

"In terms of models, I have already chosen, just for the Audi Q5, change the design of the front, tail, wheels, and interior, the powertrain and chassis can be directly shared, and even most of the body parts can be directly shared."

"As a result, we will be able to launch a new SUV as soon as 2011."

"Judging from the current sales of SUVs in Huaxia, the mid-level SUV market where Q5 is located is the largest, and it is possible to directly double our sales in Huaxia at that time."

As soon as Mebona said this, Makht was immediately moved.

In the past, Audi and Porsche were two separate companies, and it was difficult for Porsche to use Audi's platform.

Now that Volkswagen has acquired Porsche, it has the opportunity to become the new president of Porsche.

So giving full play to the advantages of Volkswagen's acquisition of Porsche and using the Audi platform to develop new Porsche models is definitely a politically correct thing within the new Volkswagen.

Thinking of this, Macht couldn't sit still, and immediately said: "Your proposal is very constructive, we can start the development of the mid-level SUV model immediately, and share the platform with the Audi Q5." ”

"In the next step, some other models can also consider sharing a platform with Audi, so that they can fully play the role of one plus one is greater than two."

"Greatly reducing our development costs and procurement costs is of extraordinary significance for the long-term healthy development of the company."

The price and cost of the Audi Q5, Mateh is probably clear.

Porsche's mid-size SUV was developed on the basis of the Audi Q5, and the final cost will not be much more expensive than the Q5.

Even if the development cost is taken into account, then the cost of Porsche's mid-size SUV is likely to be lower than that of the Audi Q5.

But the final price is definitely higher than the Audi Q5.

In this way, while maintaining sufficient profit margins, the price of the entry-level model of the Porsche model can also be significantly reduced.

It's definitely good for nurturing more Porsche owners.

Even then, this practice will become a more classic practice within the Volkswagen Group.

After all, there are many brands of Volkswagen now.

For example, Skoda has many models that use Volkswagen's platform, and Audi also has some models that share the platform with the Volkswagen brand.

Now Porsche and Audi share the same platform, which can be said to give full play to the advantages of the group's internal resource allocation.

It can be said that one woman is married twice, or even one woman is married three times, and Volkswagen is the best to play.

This may be the reason why they were able to surpass General Motors and Ford in sales later.

……

In the face of the rapidly changing market, the actions of various car companies are also very fast.

After discussing the plan for the sister car within Toyota, the company immediately started the development of the Camry sister car and the RAV4 sister car in Chuncheng Toyota and Yangcheng Toyota, respectively.

Even the two joint ventures have announced on their official accounts that they will introduce new mid-level SUVs and mid-to-high-end sedans in 2011.

In this case, it is natural for the relevant car companies to inquire about the specific situation.

Everyone knows what Toyota models there are in the world.

Now that more mid-size SUVs and mid-to-high-end sedans are suddenly being introduced in Huaxia, the specific meaning behind this action is actually not so difficult to play.

Soon, the information about the Camry sister car and the RAV4 sister car was dug up by Autohome.

"Mr. Yu, how do I feel that the 'one woman and two marriages' program spearheaded by Volkswagen seems to be about to become a trend?"

"Even Toyota is starting to learn from it."

"As a leading enterprise and benchmark enterprise in the Dongying automobile industry, Toyota's approach often has a strong reference significance."

"I feel that after Honda and Nissan see this news, they will definitely make moves."

"Especially Honda Automobile, they also have two companies in China, Yangcheng Honda and Xifeng Honda."

"It is completely possible to follow Toyota's lead in launching a sister car to the CRV mid-size SUV and a sister car to the Accord in the mid-to-high-end sedan."

"In this way, Honda and Toyota's products in Huaxia seem to be much richer."

As the editor of Autohome, in addition to writing some articles, He Ling also needs to process and judge the information collected in a timely manner, so as to extract more meaningful views.

Obviously, He Ling, who has a keen sense of smell, has sensed the arrival of the era of sister cars in the Huaxia automobile market.

In the future, more and more such models will definitely become more in the Chinese market.

"Whether it is Chuncheng Toyota or Yangcheng Toyota, I definitely hope that our product line can be richer."

"But Toyota can't have two choices for every product in the world, which can be divided between Chuncheng Toyota and Yangcheng Toyota."

"Now take a daughter and two marriages, simply change the shape of the front and tail, and even the shape of the front and rear of the car is too lazy to change, just a simple change of the LOGO can have a new model, they are naturally very willing."

"Anyway, Huaxia's current car market is so hot, as long as it is a sister car for the best-selling model, it is impossible to fail."

"Uncertainty is nothing more than not knowing how successful it will be."

Obviously, Yu Yu is actually optimistic about the practice of sister cars.

This kind of thing may be strange in other markets, but in Huaxia, it is indeed a solution that allows consumers to have more choices.

Just like the Asian Dragon and Camry of the later Spring City Toyota, the RAV4 and the Fenglander, the Highlander and the Lu Fang, on the whole, are relatively successful.

There are also Honda's CRV and Haoying, XRV and Binzhi, Civic and Style, Odyssey and Elysian, which are also relatively successful sister cars.

After all, for a market with more than 20 million vehicles, it is not too much for consumers to have two choices for consumers of the same brand and the same level of models.

"Indeed, Volkswagen's approach has shown everyone that this road can be walked."

"In the face of the rapidly increasing auto market, there will definitely be more auto brands choosing to follow quickly."

"I estimate that in a few years, consumers will have twice as many options to buy a car as they do now."

He Ling's guess is not unreasonable.

Not to mention the emergence of sister cars, the continuous acceleration of the introduction of new models by various car brands will give everyone a lot of choice.

For example, Yangcheng Toyota and Yangcheng Honda, in 2009, there were actually only four or five models on sale, but in the back, you can go to eight or nine models casually, or even more.

This increase in choices can be regarded as a typical feature of the changes in the Chinese market.

In a way, this is also a good thing for consumers.

Therefore, around the topic of sister cars, Autohome made a special report, which attracted the attention of many people in the industry.

Even after some joint venture car companies saw the news, they also had the feeling of wanting to engage in sister cars.

"Mr. Jin, I suggest that the company can speed up the introduction of new models on the Xifeng Yueda Kia side, as long as it is a model that we have in the imperial capital Hyundai, we can change the car logo and use it on the Kia brand."

"In this way, one of our two brands can compete with joint venture brands such as Volkswagen and GM, and the other can compete with Huaxia's own brands."

"Only by making efforts in the two dimensions at the same time can our group's sales increase rapidly in China."

The sales of Imperial Hyundai in 2009 were very good, and there was no problem with exceeding 500,000 units.

However, as the head of the sales department, Park Jung-seo also knew that it would be much more difficult to continue rapid growth in the future.

And the sales of Kia, the same brother, this year are only about half of the imperial capital Hyundai.

This result is definitely unqualified.

At least in the interior of Hyundai cars is considered unqualified.

According to Park Jung-seok, if the Kia brand can be the same as the Hyundai brand, then it will be able to achieve sales of 1 million units in Huaxia this year, making the Huaxia market one of the most important markets for Hyundai Motor.

Then all the residents in Huaxia will have more opportunities for promotion and salary increase.

"This proposal is very timely, and I plan to personally return to Goryeo next week to report to the leaders of the headquarters."

"The car market in China is different from any other car market, and we have to come up with something different from other markets."

"According to the current situation, Huaxia's car sales can reach about 14 million this year and more than 16 million next year."

"Such a large market can fully support Hyundai Motor to achieve more than 1 million sales here."

For many car brands, 1 million units is a very important goal.

But many times, 1 million is a very difficult threshold to get through.

Even if you hit this statistic for a short time, it is very difficult to stabilize it.

After all, a car brand sells more than 1 million in one country, which is not a small number.

For many countries, the annual sales volume is less than 1 million.

"It's true, Volkswagen is engaged in a sister car strategy, and Toyota, which has always been more conservative, has also begun to do so."

"I guess that other car companies such as Honda will definitely follow suit in the future."

"We can't afford to be left behind here."

Jin Chenglin has also been paying attention to articles in the media such as Autohome these days, and naturally he has also seen reports related to sister cars.

Combined with the changes in the Huaxia automobile market and the reaction of competitors, Jin Chenglin can naturally realize that the sister car strategy is a good strategy.

At least from a sales perspective, it's a good solution.

Since it's a good plan, he's definitely going to do it.

In this atmosphere, the trend of one woman and two marriages of various auto giants has become popular in China in advance.

Invisibly, it can be regarded as putting more pressure on Huaxia's own brands.

After all, the more models of competitors, the more choices consumers have, and the pressure on everyone will naturally be greater.

(End of chapter)