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What happens when an automotive titan sets his sights on RVs?
How would a big brother in the automotive world make a difference when it comes to producing RVs?
Interviewee: Guan Jingzhao, Sales Director of Chery River RV
Interviewer: Bai Tan RV Bailong
Photography: Lao Wang of CCRV
Bailong: Chery Automobile is a well-known enterprise in China’s auto industry. What kind of chain reaction will such a behemoth enter the RV market? Regarding Chery RV, we invited Mr. Guan Jingzhao, Marketing Director of Chery River, to answer a series of questions for us.
Guan Jingzhao: Hello everyone, I am Guan Jingzhao, Marketing Director of River RV. Chery River is a Sino-US joint venture established by Chery Holding Group and American REV Group, established in 2018. (The product was officially launched on March 3, 2019, and is currently attracting attention.
Bailong: We know about the publicity of RVs, but now it is generally a low-key route. River RVs chose the famous duo of “Companion Travel” when it was launched, and Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong were the chief experiencers. This kind of high-profile publicity is different method, what was the initial consideration?
Guan Jingzhao: Everyone has a variety of ways to promote RVs, and we choose travel to be the experience officer of our company, which is also part of the way. There are several reasons: 1. The core of their travel is global travel explorers, and the biggest connection with RV travel enthusiasts is global travel. Their programs have been broadcast more than 3 billion times on various video platforms, including TV, and their core fans have more than 100 million. They have been to more than 200 countries and have rich travel experience. Many people who really like to travel , basically people who don’t go out are their big fans. We also want to use their traffic and popularity to let these users who really like RVs, especially those who like River RVs, quickly know the River brand. .
Bailong: As we all know, Chery is an engine expert. As Chery’s River RV, do we have plans to make a special chassis for RVs in the future?
Guan Jingzhao: First of all, there are certain requirements for the chassis of RVs, which are generally load-bearing or non-load-bearing, light-duty wide-body buses. As far as Chery is concerned, it is not that there are no such products, and now we want to use some more mature products, existing and relatively mature chassis in the market to make RVs. Of course, as the market goes by and Chery’s products become more and more abundant, whether it will be available in the future, I think there is such a possibility.
Bailong: After-sales problem is a persistent problem for RV manufacturers, including the entire RV market. What work has River done in this regard?
Guan Jingzhao: The after-sales service of RVs we are talking about is a long-standing problem. It is a long-standing problem for non-passenger car companies. It is not a problem at all for the passenger car manufacturing industry with a background similar to Chery. Why? I think its system is very important. For Chery, various brands have thousands of after-sales maintenance centers across the country, that is, 4S stores, each of which is very professional, and it may not be able to repair all cars so well, such as River RVs. But there is no problem with it playing a basic reception role. After all, we are a system, and it can do it. This is number one.
Second, we now build our own after-sales service system. The main staff are from passenger cars. The establishment of this after-sales service system is incomparable to ordinary enterprises. For example, at the beginning of the manual, to the way of developing the after-sales service network, to the training of after-sales service. Now that we have been on the market for just two or three months, we have conducted three online trainings for after-sales service, which is unique in the domestic RV market.
Bailong: We saw at the scene that River RVs are mainly self-propelled C-type RVs. Do we have any plans to launch other models in the future?
Guan Jingzhao: At the beginning of River RV’s establishment, product planning has been established for several years, and the market planning is very clear. Now all you see are C-type RVs. In the next step, there may be small-roof RVs soon. Come out, maybe you will see the B-type RV come out at a certain exhibition, everything is in the plan. Still the same sentence, not listed, dare not disclose casually.
Bailong: We are looking forward to the appearance of other models of River RV. Now the RV market can be described as a hundred schools of thought contend, and there are probably hundreds of brands in the entire market. How do you view this phenomenon of contention among a hundred schools of thought?
Guan Jingzhao: When it comes to the automobile industry, at the earliest time, there were more than one hundred, two or three hundred automobile manufacturers in the United States, hundreds in Europe, and even hundreds in Japan. Later, there were 9 automobile companies in Japan, 3 in the United States, and 4 in Germany. He needed a process of integration. The current situation of China’s RV is also a road that must be taken. This road cannot be avoided. I think it will be a matter of time before new divergence and re-integration.
Of course, through the contention of a hundred schools of thought, everyone will continue to innovate, and the products will become better and better. Without competition, its products will not develop so fast and their quality will not improve so high. This is beneficial to consumers. It is beneficial to the rapid development of the market.
Bailong: It seems that Mr. Guan has confidence in the products of River RV itself. What are you most satisfied with about River RV? Another question, what are you most dissatisfied with the current River RV?
Guan Jingzhao: What he likes about River RV:
1. I am satisfied with this company. It is a big company with a sense of responsibility. Only such a company can make good products. Big companies are especially important.
Second, the product itself. As a Sino-US joint venture, the Chinese side is an expert in passenger cars and automobiles, and River is an expert in RVs. It has a history of 60 years. The combination of both parties brings out their respective superior resources to make a good product. The product. We dare not say that our products are beautiful in all aspects, at least in terms of safety, reliability, comfort and environmental protection, they are suitable for users and really consider for users. Including its after-sales service, it is really suitable for users and takes users as the core. Like the last 4 digits 1224 of a 400 phone number, 1 is based on users, provides services to users 24 hours a day, and provides services to users in an all-round way. This is our core.
The most dissatisfied can’t say no. From my point of view, the price competition in the market is particularly exciting now. I haven’t competed with others at such a low price until now, but I don’t think this is a big problem, because the brand represents quality, and you get what you pay for. We all know that it is necessary to say that a particularly cheap thing is of particularly good quality. We must believe in one sentence and establish a correct concept of cost. It has a cost. So sometimes I feel awkward about competition, but I think we should maintain our own quality, character, and taste, and make our own products well, not just blindly compete with others on price.
Bailong: Everyone is very curious about the River RV, can you introduce the characteristics of the River RV in a few simple words?
Guan Jingzhao: Just 8 words: safety, reliability, comfort, and environmental protection. The 8 words are very simple, but it is very difficult to implement. The first is safety; the second is reliability; the third is comfort; the fourth is environmental protection. It is extremely difficult to achieve each item.
Safety comes first, without safety, everything is out of the question.
Reliability ranks second. After driving out, you find that you are driving a car. It is not for you to enjoy the car, but for you to serve the car. All problems.
Comfort comes third, why should we buy a RV? Because it’s comfortable, I can find a place anytime, and I don’t have to go to a hotel to stay. I can live wherever I want. At the same time, I also provide the comfort similar to home, which is better than the hotel and higher than the comfort of the hotel.
Environmental protection ranks fourth. Every family stays and lives in an RV, and drives out to play. The time you stay in a RV is much longer than that in a passenger car. So when we stay in the car, it should be a safe environment, not like a gas chamber or a gas chamber.
Therefore, safety, reliability, comfort and environmental protection are the core features of River RV.
Bailong: What advice does Mr. Guan give to friends who plan to buy a caravan?
Guan Jingzhao: Consumers need to figure out what their needs are and what their travel methods are. Whether you want to go to China for a simple fun, take your parents for a simple fun, or a husband and wife want to go to Europe, its purpose is different. You can’t just say that it’s good if its refrigerator is big, if its suitcase is big, it’s good if it’s big, and if its water tank is big, it’s good. This is number one.
Second, where we are now, to give a simple example, the inside of the car must be humanized. What humanization? The place where my arm rests is humanized. If a high-chassis RV is driving, there is no such thing here. When the car is turning, the two of us will feel very uncomfortable. When you turn a corner, people always want to go The bottom is crooked, even if you wear a seat belt, because the seat belt does not tie you to death, so the inside of the car must be comfortable.
From the general direction, pick manufacturers. What does it mean to pick a manufacturer? Just like the after-sales service we just talked about, at least it must be guaranteed, and if there is a problem, the owner can be found. It is a formal enterprise, and the production has a process. It is equivalent to management. What is result management? What I want now is a good car, but what you choose now is the process of making a car. Only a good process can have a good result. Choose a large manufacturer, figure out your own needs, and leave other details to the manufacturer. After all, consumers are not experts, and you just need to enjoy it.
Bailong: Thank you, Mr. Guan, for accepting our interview. We also look forward to more, better and stronger products from River RV.
Picture: Bailong and River RV who do not want to be named
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