"Tao Wen, is there a lot of news on the Internet about Volkswagen DSG problems in the past two days?"

Zhu Zhengfeng thought about it, so he had to find someone to discuss it first.

Tao Wen has always been the director of the brand public relations department of Chuncheng Automobile Group, and he is also relatively familiar with Internet-related things.

"Since the evening of March 15, there has been an endless stream of related news."

"Yesterday, it seems that the popularity of this news has not only not decreased, but has increased a lot."

"I feel like there should be some competitors behind this matter."

Tao Wen is not stupid, people have been engaged in brand promotion for so many years, and they are familiar with many operating methods in the market.

There are even some methods that she has used herself.

"Volkswagen's sales in China actually did not increase much, but I didn't expect so many companies to target him."

If it is said that everyone surrounded and suppressed Dongying car companies before, as one of the joint venture shareholders of Chuncheng Toyota, Chuncheng Automobile Group can still deal with it relatively calmly.

Zhu Zhengfeng even adopted a conniving attitude towards this kind of thing.

So this time against Volkswagen's encirclement and suppression, Zhu Zhengfeng's attitude has changed a little.

Chuncheng Automobile Group, the most profitable is Chuncheng Volkswagen.

If the sales of Chuncheng Volkswagen collapse, then the efficiency of the entire Chuncheng Automobile Group will be greatly affected.

Then some of the actions he is doing will probably not be able to continue.

This is a situation that Zhu Zhengfeng does not want to see.

However, this situation is now very likely.

"Although Volkswagen's sales have not increased much, the combined sales of Volkswagen in the north and south are still the first in China."

"So everybody wants to see Volkswagen unlucky, and that's a given."

When Tao Wen said this, Zhu Zhengfeng did not refute it.

After all, what people say is also true.

"In this situation, Volkswagen should also have a headache, right?"

"These gearboxes are all produced by their wholly-owned transmission companies."

Speaking of which, Zhu Zhengfeng is dissatisfied with Volkswagen.

Spring City Volkswagen's shares are 60% owned by Spring City Automobile and 40% by Volkswagen.

This is very different from the 50%:50% shareholding ratio of many other joint ventures.

In other words, under normal circumstances, Chuncheng Volkswagen earns 10,000 yuan, and Chuncheng Automobile Group can take 6,000 yuan.

But in reality, it's not like that at all.

Looking at the problem from the perspective of this industry chain, Volkswagen can transfer a part of the profits through the transmission factory.

In the end, the actual profit of the industrial chain obtained by Chuncheng Automobile Group is most likely not as much as 50%.

"I heard that Volkswagen Huaxia has also held several meetings, but there are no official results yet."

"I guess when something so big happens, they should have to report it to Wolfsburg."

"I also communicated with the Volkswagen in Chuncheng, and they are still waiting for the decision of the Volkswagen Huaxia side."

As soon as Tao Wen said this, Zhu Zhengfeng didn't ask anything more.

At this time, it seems more appropriate to wait and see.

However, while they were watching, the atmosphere inside Volkswagen was very depressing.

"Strauss, when the company launched the 1.4TSI+DSG dual-clutch transmission in the early days, it was a sensation in China."

"Since then, the combination of 1.4TSI with small displacement and large power, dual-clutch DSG fast shifting, high efficiency and high fuel economy has made many consumers call it technologically advanced."

"So much so that the sixth-generation Golf at that time once became a god car, and even in the second-hand car market, models equipped with this powertrain were also in demand."

"If we were to choose a model with a DSG-equipped gearbox to recall, the amount involved would be very large and the cost would be very high."

Vondel hasn't slept well for the past few days.

When encountering such a major event, he has no heart or lungs, and it is impossible for him to sleep peacefully.

Besides, there is an eight-hour time difference between Huaxia and Germany.

In the past few days, he has been in meetings with the headquarters in the middle of the night many times.

"The gearbox is out of gear, does not respond, and has a strong sense of frustration, which has been pointed out so directly by Huaxia TV."

"The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has also officially sent a letter to the Spring City Volkswagen, the Modu Volkswagen and our Volkswagen Huaxia."

"If we don't recall, it is estimated that this matter will get bigger and bigger, and we will have to compromise in the end."

Strauss was thinking about it now.

When the new hot news of other car companies comes out, everyone's attention will naturally be slightly lower.

Based on his past experience in Huaxia, he felt that Volkswagen would be able to breathe a sigh of relief at that time.

Then after a period of market price reduction, maybe the sales volume will slowly pick up.

It's not impossible to set a new sales record by then.

After all, although the prices of many models have dropped a lot, the room for decline is actually quite large.

Globally, the profit margins of most car companies are less than double digits.

But in China, most of the joint ventures have profit margins of more than double digits.

If the technology improvement fee of a few points drawn by the headquarters is also included in the profit, then the profit margin is even more impressive.

So much so that when Huaxia electric vehicles rose in full swing and the profit margins of joint venture car companies fell sharply, many joint venture car companies could not accept it.

"Can we selectively recall some of our products?"

"Minimize the impact as much as possible."

"In the future, we will slowly adopt a plan to make up for the dead."

Vondel thought about it and thought that it would be better to make a compromise.

Otherwise, more than 1 million cars will be recalled at one time, which can be regarded as a record for China, right?

But this kind of record, Volkswagen doesn't want it.

"Vondel, in the past few days, I have received all kinds of news sorted out by the marketing department, and from the current situation, public opinion on the Internet is very unfavorable to us."

"There are even many car companies that have clearly jumped out and accused us."

"The marketers of Ford Motor, General Motors and many of China's own brand car companies are not idle, and they are all trying to take a share from our table."

"At this time, the most important thing we should do is to issue a recall announcement as soon as possible to calm things down!"

Strauss felt that long pain was better than short pain, and it was better to get things done as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it will be even more difficult to end in the future.

Seeing that the attitude of his right-hand man was so firm, Vondel slowly made up his mind.

That night, he reported to the headquarters again, and then at about 12 o'clock in the evening, he issued an official recall announcement on the official WeChat.

Then the next day, Volkswagen filed a recall plan with AQSIQ.

According to the announcement of the General Administration, Volkswagen (Huaxia) Sales Co., Ltd., Chuncheng-Volkswagen Co., Ltd., and Modu Volkswagen Co., Ltd. decided to recall some defective vehicles from April 2, 2013, a total of 984181 vehicles, in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Administration of Recall of Defective Automobile Products.

Vehicles within the scope of the recall may have potential safety hazards due to electronic faults in the electromechanical units in the gearbox or insufficient oil pressure, which may lead to interruption of power output.

The three companies will replace the improved transmission electromechanical unit for the vehicles covered by the recall free of charge, and upgrade the latest control software for users free of charge to eliminate potential safety hazards.

Although a bit of a numbers game was played, the total number did not exceed 1 million.

But this is still the largest car recall in Huaxia in history.

This event is still a landmark.

"Mr. Cao, the dry DSG problem is a design flaw, and even a recall cannot solve the problem."

"The action of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is of milestone significance, the enterprise from the active recall to the passive recall, it should be said that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine requires the enterprise to recall such things in the future should be more, and it should also be normalized."

"This change may have an impact on many car companies."

Zeng Tingting came to Cao Yang early in the morning to talk about the Volkswagen recall.

"The number of cars has risen, with more than 20 million new vehicles added every year."

"In order to reduce costs, various OEMs have also used a lot of means."

"And because the cumulative sales in the past are relatively high, the cost of any recall or repair is very high."

"So the enthusiasm of OEMs in terms of voluntary recalls will be affected."

Cao Yang didn't think there was anything special about this change in the General Administration.

However, he did not have particularly high expectations.

The automobile industry is a core industry related to economic development, and it is a pillar industry in many places.

As long as it's not particularly excessive, don't make people angry, the General Administration will definitely not force the company to recall.

"That's right, many companies regard the Chinese market as a money-making market and don't want to invest too much cost in it."

"But I think Huaxia Station is doing a good job this time, I went to inquire about it, and it seems that Director Xia Tai is still helping to put pressure behind his back."

"Otherwise, although this party will also expose the problems of Volkswagen DSG, the wording may not be so harsh."

Zeng Tingting felt that it was still necessary to tell Cao Yang about this information.

Although the suppression of Volkswagen is not only good for Nanshan Automobile Group, but as the leader of the domestic automobile industry, Nanshan Automobile Group is definitely the most profitable.

After all, almost all domestic car companies are using parts produced by Nanshan Automobile Group.

At that time, a large part of Volkswagen's lost market will definitely be carved up by other companies.

Even the market that Audi has lost, some of it can be eaten by Xingchen Automobile and Jaguar Land Rover.

"Volkswagen's two joint ventures in China are still quite special, and many of them have worked in Modu Volkswagen or Spring City Volkswagen."

"Their rapid development back then can be regarded as a great contribution to the careers of many people."

"So it's no surprise that most of the official cars in previous years were Volkswagen and Audi brands."

"Now the situation is slowly diversifying, and the relationship between Huaxia TV and us is indeed relatively good, and the support of relevant departments for our group is also very huge."

"So it's not surprising that Volkswagen was treated harshly at this party."

"To a certain extent, this can be regarded as a knock on the mountain."

"After all, our Huaxia's own brand cars have been taking the road of export in recent years, but they have not gone so smoothly."

"Especially in Europe and the Americas, there are few car companies that can enter smoothly."

The things broadcast by Huaxia TV are often meaningful.

There are so many car companies in the market now, is it really only Volkswagen's DSG that has a problem?

Are there any problems with GM and Ford cars?

Are there any problems with self-owned brand car companies?

No matter what kind of car it is, there must be consumer complaints.

It's just a matter of severity and impact.

Even some of the more serious problems than Volkswagen's DSG problems will not necessarily be selected and exposed.

There are a lot of things to consider behind it.

"It's also true, the markets in Europe and the Americas are too difficult to manage."

"It's not so much that it's more demanding, it's more xenophobic."

"When our own brand car companies enter these markets, they accidentally lose all the money they have earned."

"The point is that there are all kinds of industry associations like Europe, and they often toss a lot of strange things out."

As a person with a sales background, Zeng Tingting is too touched by this kind of thing.

The Huaxia market requires that joint venture car companies must have more than 50% of China's shareholders, but in fact, the existence of China's shareholders can be regarded as helping them to do many things.

All kinds of land, taxes, media communication and other contents basically do not need to be worried.

The most important thing is that the profit margins of the automobile market in China are generally relatively high.

Even if you only have a 50% stake and end up selling a car, you still make more money in China than in many markets.

It can be said that some car companies are in the midst of blessings and do not know blessings.

These words are really Zeng Tingting's sincere words.

"No matter how much, the things that were arranged before can now be acted on as soon as possible."

"Huaxia Taiwan has already helped us build up the momentum, and all car companies are also actively playing, so we don't have to be polite."

"Anyway, Volkswagen's cooperation with us, except for a few nut plates and wheel bearings, is basically negligible."

As soon as Cao Yang said this, Zeng Tingting naturally moved immediately.

The DSG issue, which was already very hot on the Internet, immediately became even hotter.

The key is that some other problems on Volkswagen have also been turned over one after another.

On the entire Weibo hot search list, there are several news related to Volkswagen's bad.

This is definitely a matter that affects sales.

……

"Big brother, I think the company's 4S store distribution strategy in the future may need to consider making some adjustments."

"In the first two years, the new stores we opened were generally joint venture car companies, and there were relatively few independent brands."

"But last year, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's 4S stores didn't make any money."

"On the contrary, newly opened stores such as Chang'an, Geely, and BYD quickly turned losses into profits."

"In the past week, the sales of Chuncheng Volkswagen and Modu Volkswagen have plummeted again, and it is estimated that those stores will definitely lose money this month."

Guo Shufu has always been in charge of the 4S store business of Yangcheng Huaqiang Group, and because there are many brand stores under his hands, he is relatively clear about the market performance of various car companies in South China.

There are even times when the owners of their 4S stores are more aware of the market performance of each model than the salespeople of many companies.

Everyone opens a store to make money.

According to the market performance, each boss will definitely make some adjustments to relevant measures.

It's like Guo Shufu wants to change the distribution of 4S stores of his various brands now.

"The problem of Volkswagen DSG has been troublesome for many years, but I didn't expect that not only has it not been solved, but now it is getting more and more troublesome."

"If other domestic car companies are not competitive, then many people may still be able to endure it."

"After all, DSG's warranty period has been extended, and many consumers' concerns are actually not very big."

"But when there are so many options on the market, and when there are other products that are more suitable, Volkswagen's problem becomes a fatal problem."

Guo Shuyin also sees the problem more thoroughly, knowing that this time the Volkswagen DSG incident will have a greater impact than many people think.

Although it is impossible for Volkswagen to completely withdraw from the Chinese market because of this incident, or even languishing.

But Volkswagen's sales will definitely decline in the past two years.

Under the trade-off, Volkswagen's market share in China will decline.

Once this trend is formed, it will be more troublesome to make up for it.

"Yes, that's why I thought that the new 4S stores in the future should be selective."

"The number of Volkswagen stores in the north and south will not increase for the time being, and we will wait and see for a year or two."

"The number of Jaguar Land Rover, Star Auto and Future Auto stores can continue to increase, and I think the number of Mercedes-Benz and BMW stores can also continue to increase."

"Although there is a certain competitive relationship between them, with the development of China's economy, there will still be more and more wealthy people, and there will be many more people who can afford luxury cars."

"In the future, the proportion of luxury cars in new car sales is likely to increase year by year."

Guo Shufu gave his judgment quite affirmatively.

I have to say that his judgment is quite accurate.

At least in the next 10 years, it is in line with the market development trend.

During the conversation between the two brothers, they decided the next development direction of the company.

Guo Shu Yinhai specially asked his younger brother to go to Nanshan Automobile Group to find Zeng Tingting, Huan Yongxiang and others to report the future development direction of Yangcheng Huaqiang Group, and contribute their analysis to each other.

This kind of thing that has dry goods and can bring the relationship closer is obviously very good.

And just when each store began to feel that the sales of different brands of models began to change, the relevant information will naturally be fermented on the Internet.

Some of the news was directly provided to various media on their own initiative.

Why is someone blocking the door of a certain Spring City Volkswagen 4S store, and someone is pulling a banner in the 4S store of a certain Magic City Volkswagen.

Or whose Sutar has just been driving for a few months, and small videos such as gearbox fault codes have appeared on the instrument, which continue to appear on the Internet.

"Mr. Cao, judging from the current situation, not only the relevant personnel of independent brands are dealing with Chuncheng Volkswagen and Modu Volkswagen, but even Modu General Motors, Changan Ford, Yangcheng Honda, Yangcheng Toyota and other joint venture car companies are not idle."

"In the past two days, I have talked to some people from advertising companies and marketing companies, and I also asked the leaders of the water army we have cultivated ourselves to inquire about the situation."

"Many people have received some new tasks in the past few days, all of which are trying to beat Volkswagen's reputation."

Such a good opportunity to report to Cao Yang, Yu Yu naturally wanted to go over in person.

As the largest automotive media in China, Autohome can still obtain a lot of information.

The most important thing is that Autohome itself has raised a lot of people's numbers and water armies, and it can be said that sometimes it eats Party A and Party B.

However, due to the early entry into the industry, some numbers are hidden deeply, and most people do not find them.

"Volkswagen recalled millions of problematic models this time, which can be regarded as a new record in China, and other car companies naturally want a piece of the pie like chicken blood."

"But it's a good thing for us."

Nanshan Automobile Group took the initiative to participate in the encirclement and suppression of Volkswagen, and Yu Yu naturally knew about it.

So Cao Yang has nothing to hide from her.

Sales in the Huaxia automobile market are expected to increase to about 30 million units.

If eighty percent of this market is Huaxia's own brand car companies, then it is definitely possible to make the sales of all companies go up to a higher level.

When the time comes, we will develop in some overseas markets, and there may be several car companies with annual sales of more than 3 million vehicles.

This still has a very different meaning for Huaxia.

Dongying next door can support a series of car companies such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki, Hino, etc., and there is still hope for Huaxia.

"Well, I think so too."

"In the past two years, everyone has gained experience, and many methods have been used when dealing with Korea Automobile and Dongying Motor."

"And the imperial capital Hyundai and Yangcheng Toyota, Yangcheng Honda and other car companies have also been dealt with, and now they have to fight back with the same means, which can be regarded as very skilled."

"This encirclement and suppression may be the most intense in a few years."

Yu Yu combined the news he grasped and gave a judgment.

There is obviously some truth to this.

"After all, Volkswagen is the single brand with the highest sales volume in China, and it is not a strange thing to toss some big moves when the time comes."

"I just don't know what will happen to consumers' impression of Volkswagen after this incident."

It is impossible to directly bring down the public for a quality problem.

After all, DSG itself already has a long warranty period, and consumers' concerns are not particularly serious.

Now it is just an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that there are many models to choose from on the market, so that the original Volkswagen loyal fans can move to other brands.

But it certainly remains to be seen how long this effect lasts.

(End of chapter)