On October 2, 2019, “Win the World, FAW Toyota 2019 Alxa Off-Road Heroes Meeting” was grandly opened in Alxa Off-Road Dream Park. FAW Toyota brought Prado, RAV4 Rongfang, and Yize to the base camp, and had a carnival with off-road enthusiasts all over the country! As a resident participant of the Alxa Heroes Association, this year FAW Toyota has specially set up different experience tracks at the base camp for test drivers to have fun.
During the event, a number of media interviewed Liu Zhenguo, Deputy General Manager of FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd., and Wu Yinan, Director of the Public Relations Office of the Planning Department, on issues of public concern. The content of the interview is as follows.
What is the original intention of the FAW Toyota SUV family coming to Alxa for the fourth time?
With so many car owners coming to Alxa, it is necessary to provide car owners with a safe and free car use condition, so that car owners can have fun, and at the same time, FAW Toyota’s care for users should be truly implemented. In addition, FAW Toyota has set up 293 expressway service points during the November period this year. No matter where you go, you will always have FAW Toyota service points to accompany your journey. The services of these 293 highways are not entirely after-sales services. We also provide car owners with some daily necessities on the road. There is no problem with other brands of cars, including car repairs at this place. We provide many preferential services or free services. This is FAW Toyota’s sincerity to customers. Now during the holidays, expressway services, some of our out-of-home services, FAW Toyota has become a brand symbol and has been committed to doing this well.
Are there FAW Toyota service points on important holidays?
Basically, it is an important holiday, because it is the peak period of travel, October 1, Spring Festival, this is what we have to do. And in some other festivals, we do it before this (holiday). We invite car owners. If your car is going to travel, we will check it for you for free. When you come back, we will check the condition of your car again. We at FAW Toyota have been doing this.
What is the overall sales situation of FAW Toyota this year? Are the SUV models in line with our expectations?
As of September, the sales volume was 536,000 units, which should be said to have exceeded a little, and overall it was very smooth. Moreover, our market share is also increasing. In the big market environment, it should be said that FAW Toyota’s market performance is very good. It is expected that there should be no problem in completing the annual performance target for this year, and we may even make breakthroughs, and we will work harder. But in August and September, you may feel that FAW Toyota’s sales have declined. This is actually mainly because we consciously made adjustments during the process of switching between new and old products. Try to reduce the sales of old models as much as possible, and at the same time, try to push out new cars. This gives dealers some time to spare while keeping older cars from stress. Including this year’s Corolla, including the switch of the upcoming Rongfang, all went very smoothly. In this process, the dealer’s inventory pressure is very low, there is no loss in efficiency, and there is no problem in completing the task this year. For example, from the perspective of SUVs, the output of our Prado (3.5L) this year can reach more than 36,000 vehicles. In the case of this market, it is a very good data, and it is very good to stimulate the whole system. In the first nine months, 27,000 sales have been completed. Rongfang has completed 97,000 units, mainly current models, and the new car has not yet been launched. The sales volume of Yize is 45,000 units, which should be said to be in line with our expectations.
Regarding this event, how will FAW Toyota Base Camp be different from previous years, and what special experience items will it have?
We are also constantly summing up the experience of participating in the Alxa Heroes Meeting in the past few years, and how we can do better for our customers. For example, when customers are playing by themselves, what should we do with slope control, and how can customers play better after they come to this place. We have made a camp for car owners, and also provide services such as meals. More importantly, our honest service town is not entirely about after-sales maintenance services, but more about showing customers how to use the car better, what kind of maintenance, and what kind of parts can make the car use well. We even use used cars to tell customers what issues they should pay attention to during the evaluation process. It is also an upgrading process to tell customers how to use the car better through the FAW Toyota second-hand car replacement system. It is still making progress. Including the very important point this time, we brought the new Rongfang here for customers to take a look at. Yize is also our highlight this time. We still have some changes in this year’s event, and there are some bright spots. You can also Live the experience here. I think we at FAW Toyota have done some work on customer care and customer marketing actions, and we have thought of some solutions.
Compared with the old model, the new Rongfang has changed a lot. Please briefly and intuitively introduce what is the highlight of this car?
The biggest change of this car is that the platform has changed. This is a B-class product. The original one is an A+-class platform. The leapfrogging of the platform is the biggest change. The TNGA technology endowed to this platform itself includes many new technologies such as the safe BSM blind spot monitoring system and the ACA corner steering assist system, including the Internet of Vehicles. Of course, from the appearance, everyone obviously feels that this car has a strong off-road style, very sharp, and can show the user’s mood, this feeling. Including the interior, we have also done a lot of design, and the new Rongfang won the top ten interior design of Ward. Another very important point, from a large perspective, this car has a 2.5L hybrid engine with a very high thermal efficiency of 41%, and (in addition) a 2.0L fuel version. In the 2.5L dual-engine, we also have two-wheel drive, which was not available in the old 2.5L cars before, and we (to users) provide more choices. Also, we offer three different four-wheel drive systems for this car. These three different drive systems, according to the matching of the engine, consider how to maximize the off-road performance, such as driving with a motor, driving with a clutch, and matching with our body changes, the effect of the new car will be good. Many changes have taken place in the interior, space, and wheelbase. The wheelbase of the new car is 2690mm, and the space in the trunk has also become larger. A few days ago, we did some media test drives in Qiandao Lake, Hangzhou, and we also allowed our dealerships to do test drives in batches in Zhuhai. Including parking there on a 28-degree slope and opening the rear door, the new Rongfang can be closed easily, just like on flat ground. Including the escape of tires on the road, including the escape of sliding on the road, including the test of side bridges. We originally planned to make a set of films like this to really introduce the product clearly.
For the next period of time, what actions will FAW Toyota take regarding product layout, including marketing?
This year, our new cars will be launched one after another. Next year, these new cars will enter a growth period, and more products will roll off the assembly line in 2021 and 2022. This includes intelligent and connected products, which may be produced. Electrification matches HEV/hybrid. We will also launch a pure electric car. It is expected to be launched in April next year, a RAV4. Toyota has made great efforts in the process of promoting the electrification of products, and has spared no effort. In the future, FAW Toyota has set a very high goal and has a very good product promotion plan that conforms to national policies and customer needs. In this regard, in the future Still enriched a bit. In the future, so many of our products will be sold, and the after-sales and management capabilities of the network system will also be developed at the same time. In terms of marketing in the future, we will use the marketing version 3.0, including how to focus on the differentiated needs of customers, how to study customer experience and customer purchases, and the contradictions in the process of using a car. We will continue to refine it. That is to say, around the brand concept of “extremely true”, how to do better around the client, in terms of products, sales, after-sales, including how to provide customers with car life, to do better. Including the further extension and deepening of our Anxiang Butler, this time there will also be a display of Anxiang Butler in the base camp of our Alxa Heroes Association. In the future, we will study some things, such as the Anxiang Butler plan. When customers buy and use FAW Toyota cars, they may not think of them. We can think that these things will be done when users buy a car. When it comes to these problems, just come here directly, how to make convenience better quickly without going through so many tedious after-sales links. At the same time, how can we make our 4S store a brand community, because many stores are surrounded by communities, how can we make our 4S store a community center for surrounding customers. If you are willing to come here, we will provide you with more things that you can play, experience, or meet the needs of life. We have been researching this. In addition to the normal marketing work in the future, we are also working hard on marketing innovation in the next step. We are now also talking to dealerships about how to segment markets, products, competition, and customers. In this case, we study the segmentation of customer experience scenarios. The experience of each car and each customer is different. Can you divide it into more details? After that, we will cooperate in marketing actions and do more research in the next step.
FAW Toyota is a frequent visitor to the Alxa Heroes Association, and its thoughts and ideas on Xinrong’s off-road market
This car is suitable for a variety of users. Of course, the off-road features are obvious, but when running in the city, it has the management of this four-wheel drive system, including the dual-engine version of the two-wheel drive we provide, and the 2.0L version. Two-wheel drive, suitable for urban road conditions, no problem, you can play however you want. In fact, Xinrongfang received special attention in Europe and North America last year and the year before last. After its launch, the response was particularly good. Before its launch in China, it was indeed very popular, including many auto industry media. These products are also very concerned about these products. Many people first Seeing that this car is very different from previous Toyota cars. It is very straight, very tough, very straight, very industrial style, and it feels really different from the current Toyota. In fact, when you drive this car, it is different from traditional Toyota products. It has indeed become more functional. Being able to come to Alxa this time also highlights the future of this product, whether it is in the city or off-road. All of them have very strong performance and the addition of a 2.0L hybrid version has greatly expanded the sales volume and consumer life of this product in the future. Many consumers buy this product at a discount for the dual-engine hybrid version. In addition, Mr. Liu mentioned the 2.0L and 2.5L hybrids. The same product has three different four-wheel drive systems, each of which has its own strengths. In the past, it was rare for a car to have two or more four-wheel drive systems like Rongfang. What is worth recommending here is the hybrid set called New E-Four, a brand new hybrid four-wheel drive system. The power output of this product itself is very powerful. It is an SUV four-wheel drive system driven by a hybrid electric motor. In fact, it is very worthwhile. Everyone to try and experience. In addition, there is a set of DTV, which is equipped with a four-wheel drive system on the 2.0L. This four-wheel drive system should be the first in the world. Therefore, although Rongfang is positioned as an urban SUV, it is very capable on off-road sections and off-road environments and conditions.
Rongfang should be launched on the market at the end of the year. Do you have any expectations for sales?
After TNGA, FAW Toyota’s products have undergone tremendous changes this year, and many friends are very concerned about it. FAW Toyota has made some adjustments in the marketing layout. This is how we look at this issue. It doesn’t mean that we want to target users who love games and don’t love families, but now you see people who love families and they also love games. Son. It’s not that our products are getting younger, but the mainstream people. The post-80s are no longer young. With the change of their attitude towards life, they have become the mainstream group, and their age is also growing. What they need is this kind of people who can It may not be enough to reflect their enthusiasm and meet their individual product needs if the current model is used to solve it. Therefore, in the future, this group of people will be mainstream and more circle-oriented. From this perspective, FAW Toyota’s consistent rhythm and product concept need to be adjusted accordingly.
It is precisely because of entering TNGA that our products will have more possibilities for expansion, starting with Yize, and then Asia Dragon and Karoka, including the new Rongfang. Under the structure of TNGA, no matter In terms of appearance, configuration, and the value of the product itself, we have roughly calculated that all our products are compared with products of the same level. The price difference in configuration is about 10,000 to 15,000. The configurations are all more advanced configurations, and they are used in this product. We believe that the integration of the TNGA platform has played a huge role in why this can be achieved. From this point of view, it will take a process to increase the sales volume in the future, including Rongfang, in the short term. But we think that in the future, Rongfang, including Corolla and Asia Dragon, will be very important products under the TNGA framework.
