Dialogue Li Bai: Gambling on the electrification transformation, how did GM break the game in China?

Entering the Year of the Rat, the Automobile Commune planned a magazine cover story with the theme of "Autobots' Animal Year". At that time, together with Shi Jie, the editor-in-chief, we were fortunate to be the global executive vice president of GM and the president of GM in China (Matt? Money). Born in 1960, Qian Huikang was familiar with the city of Shanghai, and later won the halo blessing of Magnolia Award. In 25 years, he witnessed the "half-golden marriage" between GM and China.

By March of this year, GM announced the latest personnel changes. Qian Huikang will be transferred to the global chief technology officer and senior vice president of international operations (Julian? Blissett) will take over the new position and be responsible for all the business of GM in China market. Standing at the key node of industrial transformation, Mr. Li Bai now shoulders the heavy responsibility of GM's all-round transformation in China's new four modernizations. His new ideas and strategies for the China market always touch everyone's nerves.

After GM officially announced its appointment, I think many people, like me, are full of curiosity about this new president with fair skin and good face. As a "predecessor", Qian Huikang returned to his hometown for the first time from 1995 to participate in the establishment negotiations of Shanghai GM. In 2009, he became the executive vice president of SAIC-GM-Wuling, and in 20 14, he became the first Chinese head of GM China. In recent years, it has been well known by the domestic industry. So, who is the new Li Bai?

In fact, like Qian Huikang, Li Bai has had many years of profound cooperation opportunities with China.

Mr Berry is an Englishman, and holds a bachelor's degree in engineering and business from Harlem University in Sheffield, England. His career at GM began with 1996. He was the senior vice president of GM's international operations department, managing GM's overseas markets in North America, South America and China. During this period, he consolidated the financial performance of these regional markets through efficient operation and refined implementation of global product strategy.

Before joining the international operation department, Mr. Li Bai served as the executive deputy general manager of SAIC-GM in May 20 14. As the main joint venture of General Motors in China, SAIC-GM has expanded its business scope, expanded its dealer network and implemented diversified electrification strategies during Mr. Berry's tenure. In 20 19, Bailey was awarded the Magnolia Award by the Shanghai Municipal Government in recognition of its outstanding contribution to Shanghai's economic and social development.

During the 2020 World New Energy Vehicle Congress, Li Bai was interviewed by a reporter from the Automobile Commune. At the media communication meeting, he outlined GM's strategic blueprint and planning in China market in the next few years, and emphasized his confidence in the development prospects of China automobile market, especially the new energy automobile market, after he took the helm in China market. Through this article, we collected Li Bai's wonderful views for readers.

From "Policy-oriented" to "Market-oriented"

According to the data of the National New Energy Vehicle Center, the consumption of new energy vehicles dominated by non-policy factors only accounts for 20% of the market, which shows that the main driving force of China's new energy vehicle market at present comes from policies. How should China's new energy vehicle market rely on innovation to promote the development from "policy-driven" to "market-driven"? For a long time, this has not only become a hot topic in the industry, but also gradually become a prominent study on the industrial process in the favorable transformation of the new four modernizations.

In the high-level dialogue session of the World New Energy Vehicle Congress, Li Bai also discussed this topic with Xu Heyi, former chairman of BAIC Group, Dong Yang, chairman of China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, and Shen Feng, executive vice president of Weilai Automobile. At the China Media Meeting of General Motors, he also presented his views on the new energy vehicle market in China with relevant topics as the breakthrough point.

What is the key for innovation to promote market change?

In Li Bai's view, it is a product.

That is, automobile manufacturers should provide products that consumers need and produce new energy vehicles that consumers can pay, have reasonable costs and are widely accepted by the market. On the one hand, it is to stimulate consumers' interest and willingness to buy. To this end, GM needs to build electric vehicle products that meet customer demands, show excellent safety, reliability and durability, and solve user pain points such as mileage and charging. This view coincides with Shen Feng of Weilai Automobile.

On the other hand, it is to improve the use environment of new energy vehicles. Li Bai believes that the cruising range of most new energy vehicles can meet the travel needs, but the mileage anxiety of consumers mainly stems from the lack of charging infrastructure, and the convenience and consistency of charging services need to be improved. "In the China market, the refueling of traditional fuel vehicles is mainly operated by two companies, and users can pay in the same way. The process is simple and clear. This is the direction that infrastructure needs to be improved in the new energy era. "

So, how do you view the relationship between policy and market?

Needless to say, in recent ten years, not only China, but also most countries in the world have stimulated the sales of electric vehicles through financial subsidies, which has played an important role in promoting industrial development and transformation. However, these are two sides of the same coin.

Li Bai believes that the new energy vehicle market in China is still inseparable from the support of government policies at this stage. The China Municipal Government has formulated effective policies, including extending subsidies for new energy vehicles until 2022, to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic, which will be beneficial to the development of the whole industry. However, in the process of market development, we also need diversified and localized non-financial support to improve the use and acceptance of new energy vehicles.

Li Bai mentioned the "Liuzhou model".

It is reported that SAIC-GM-Wuling has successfully established the "Liuzhou Model" in Liuzhou, the base camp. Thanks to the free parking service and the right to use bus lanes, Liuzhou's new energy vehicles only account for 10% of the city's car ownership, but account for 20% of the city's car use.

Li Bai introduced Wuling Hong Guang MINI? EV won the monthly champion of new energy vehicle sales in China as soon as it went on the market, but many car owners bought this model not because of its high cost performance. "Many car owners actually have considerable spending power. They are interested in the convenience of using this new energy vehicle in Liuzhou. This inspires us to pay more attention to the usage scenarios of new energy vehicles, and the convenient and unique user experience is also the decisive factor for purchase. "

There are also some successful cases overseas that deserve attention.

In Boli's hometown of London, electric cars can be paid free of charge 10 a day (near 90 yuan RMB? ) congestion charge; In Oslo, Norway, electric cars can be parked for free; In California, electric cars can use more lanes to help car owners save about 30 minutes of travel time every day. These examples show that the government can encourage consumers to use new energy vehicles by introducing non-fiscal policies. The cooperation between SAIC-GM-Wuling and Liuzhou Municipal Government has achieved remarkable results, and Berry hopes that this model can be popularized in more cities in China in the future.

Half of the resources will be concentrated on the transformation of the new four modernizations.

Taking Bailey as an opportunity, General Motors made a new round of comprehensive adjustment to its product line in China, focusing on electric vehicles and intelligent driving technology to curb the sales decline in China market. In August this year, General Motors officially announced its development strategy for China in the next five years. After gradually withdrawing from several markets with weak sales and sustained losses, and focusing on high-profit return areas such as China and the United States, the company concentrated its firepower for the first time, and officially accelerated the China market with the reinjection of electrification, autonomous driving and car networking industries.

"China market is the largest single market of GM, and it is also the global R&D and innovation center of GM. The success or failure here determines the key to the company's vision. " Head Mary Bora (Mary? Barra) Cut to the chase and talk frankly about the importance of China market to GM's current break.

On the whole, GM will re-focus on Cadillac's layout in China in the future, introduce larger and more environmentally-friendly SUV models into China, and focus on the entry-level market, with low-priced micro electric vehicles as the main ones. In the next five years, more than 40% of the new cars that GM plans to launch in the China market will be new energy vehicles, and even Baojun and Wuling will move towards a new route of electrification.

Pulling the camera back to Haikou for an exclusive interview with the media, Berry once again emphasized the short-term layout and long-term vision of the American automobile manufacturer in the China market. In the next five years, GM will invest more than half of its funds in the development of new technologies such as electric vehicles and autonomous driving. Their goal is to provide 20 new energy vehicles to consumers in China by 2023.

"Electrification is the general trend."

Li Bai said frankly that he believes that the sales of new energy vehicles will achieve rapid growth in the next few years. Gm's strategy comprehensively considers the interests of consumers, government, investors and employees, and strives to achieve a balance among all parties, while meeting the needs of consumers and ensuring the company's profitability. "As GM President Kyle Rice (Mark? Mr. Reuss) said that through the modular development and large-scale application of technology, we can reduce costs and realize the profitability of electric vehicle projects, thus promoting sustainable electrification development. "

In fact, Berry has always attached importance to profit and cost reduction.

In the China market, Berry wants to get back on track. After taking office, he said on many public occasions that the main goal of GM in China is to restore the annual sales of 4 million vehicles as soon as possible. The new four modernizations have increased the company's overall R&D and manufacturing investment. At the moment of high cost, it is difficult to make money without scale, and GM really needs to return to this point.

As for China's product strategy, Berry hopes to achieve "balanced development".

After the baptism of COVID-19 Black Swan, the automobile market in China is picking up, but low-end brands such as Chevrolet are still under pressure. At the communication meeting, a reporter suggested that the current high-end process of Chevrolet seems to be developing too slowly, and the industry is also concerned about when GM's investment in this area will be effective.

Li Bai also admitted that GM's competitors in China are not only international brands and local brands, but also new energy start-ups and technology companies, and the competition in the low-end market is extremely fierce. Because of this, GM will insist on developing all five brands operating in China, and continue to invest in products, brands, technologies and services, so as to finally meet the needs of consumers at different levels within the wide product price range in China market.

"At present, the penetration rate of China's new energy vehicle market is still low, and the sales volume is polarized, most of which are high-end and low-end models." However, Li Bai believes that this phenomenon will soon change, and the sales volume of the new energy market will no longer be so concentrated, but scattered in various price ranges and market segments. Consumers turning to new energy vehicles will eventually have a snowball-like explosion effect. "

In the face of a new round of electrification counterattack, Bailey is full of confidence in the China market. In his view, GM has developed a third-generation global electric vehicle platform to support Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet to enrich their future product lineup, and SAIC-GM-Wuling will continue to invest in the new energy development of Baojun and Wuling brands. "We have every reason to believe that the current strong investment in new energy will one day be reflected in terminal sales."

Whether attacking Tesla's market ambitions or betting on the long-term transformation of the new four modernizations, GM's long journey is still full of uncertainties. Only at this moment in 2020, both the new Berry and the old Detroit manufacturer GM are in urgent need of a breakthrough in China, and the general trend has already ushered in an important turning point.

It is hard to say whether it is really right for GM to choose "do what it thinks is right" as the slogan, and to some extent, to exchange today for tomorrow's play. However, thinking about the long-term future of the automobile on behalf of the whole automobile industry and even the whole mankind needs someone to think after all. Obviously, General Motors has rushed to the distance on this road.

Text/North Shore

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This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.