Ford turned

"Actual: 285; Plan: 750." The Chang'an Ford Mazda Chongqing Plant's final assembly shop scrolls continuously with these two numbers on the display. Now at 15:11 pm, the assembly line workers are still on their “early morning shift.” The 286th new Fox today will be completed soon. And if all goes well, the “late shift” workers will succeed them and continue their work, eventually completing a production plan for 750 cars a day.

As a new plant that has just been put into production in February this year, all the most advanced technologies, equipment and management methods in Ford's production processes are concentrated here. In the words of Jiang Yu, process manager of the paint shop, the new plant with a US$490 million investment is also a global model. “Ford will use all the new plants in Chongqing as the standard.” In fact, the sample copying work It's being kept happening for a moment. On April 5th, Changan Ford Mazda signed an investment agreement and spent US$600 million to build its third plant in Chongqing. On April 19, it once again announced that it invested US$760 million to build the Hangzhou plant.

Such a centralized, high-input plant construction plan will naturally not be the result of a momentary warm-up. Its purpose is to support the set of “radical expansion plans” put forward by Han Ruiqi, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa. Ford’s plan in China is simply called “1515 Plan”. According to the plan, Ford will introduce 15 new models to China by 2015. The total investment in China will reach 4.9 billion U.S. dollars and the annual production capacity of 1.2 million passenger cars will be formed.

Looking at the statistics, you will find that Ford sold only less than 520,000 cars in China in 2011. And GM, which entered China with Ford in the same year of 1997, sold more than 2 million vehicles last year. In the past 10 years, the Chinese automobile market has ushered in a golden period of development, but Ford has not been able to achieve the desired breakthrough. Today, Ford, who has long adopted a conservative strategy, has finally begun to seek changes and launch their own so-called "radical" plans. However, different voices questioned whether this 180-degree turn-based strategic plan will become a big gamble in the market.

Ford "radical"

According to the “1515 Plan”, China will become Ford’s second largest production base in the world after Detroit. Before 2015, in addition to the construction of two new vehicle factories, the production capacity will increase to 1.2 million units. At the same time, an engine factory and a transmission plant will be built, and 20 new engines and transmissions will be introduced. In addition, corresponding to the product plan, the Ford dealer network will also increase from 340 in 2010 to nearly 700. Dave Schoch, chairman and CEO of Ford China, believes that this demonstrates Ford’s confidence in the Chinese market and he expects the size of the Chinese auto market to be around 30 million by 2020.

The proposal for the "1515 Plan" is in fact embodied in the global "One Ford" strategic system. However, the source dates back to 2006 when Allen was at the time. Alan Mulally joins Ford Motor Co. as the CEO of Ford Motor Company. He put forward a "Ford" strategy, he advocated selling and shutting down his brands, eventually retaining only the Ford and Lincoln brands, with the goal of concentrating and reducing burdens through the global financial crisis. Eventually, Ford achieved profitability in 2009.

However, the outside world has always believed that Ford's investment in China came too late. Xiao Dawei attributed the reason to the fact that Ford was busy with the North American market in trouble and had no time to consider the Chinese market. “After we reversed our business in North America, we began to focus on realigning the Asia Pacific region and focusing on Ford’s development in the Asia-Pacific region. "However, this reason does not explain everything. Ford did not actively carry out joint venture projects in the early stage of entering the Chinese market. At that time, Xu Guojun, vice president of Ford China, gave a more frank answer. He believes that the main reason for Ford’s slow pace in the Chinese market is due to the lack of sufficient Chinese market at that time. The understanding, for the sake of insurance to avoid blind entry, due to the fact that the application of foreign experience is not acceptable, so choose to wait and see.

The same care and caution are also reflected in Ford’s understanding and observation of the Chinese market. Former China CEO Cheng Meiyi recalled Ford’s China strategy in a recollection that China’s auto market is not mature enough to determine the type of vehicle that is suitable for introduction. Therefore, the best way is to introduce more models to allow consumers to choose. With a view to cater to consumer preferences. It is undeniable that Ford’s early strategy in China was more inclined to be safe, but it was precisely because of this that it lost the opportunity to develop the market. As a result of the slow pace of his opponents, he unknowingly became an eternal chaser.

Another piece that drags Ford's hind leg is the "Changan Ford Mazda split case." After Ford sold the Mazda shares globally, the three joint ventures of Changan, Ford, and Mazda could no longer play a synergistic effect. They all needed a more independent strategy and the separation was imperative. However, due to many policies and multiple factors, the case was delayed for several years. However, there is news that the latest split plan has been approved verbally at the NDRC internal meeting. Changan Automobile will then set up a new 50:50 joint venture with Ford and Mazda respectively. Taking into account the complexity of this joint venture in the joint venture for several years, Xiao Dawei did not want to discuss it in depth in this sensitive period. He only said that everything was ready for formal approval by the NDRC.

In a large-capacity market such as China, which is growing at a very fast pace, is it aggressive and aggressive to seize the initiative, or is it steady and self-insured? Today’s Ford seems to have found new answers. If it can successfully complete the split, the new Chang’an Ford will have a chance to truly “radical” expand.

Rabbit or lion

Yin Jiaxu once compared the joint venture between Changan and Ford as the "rabbit and lion story." He was then the general manager of Changan Automobile. When Changan Ford was the joint venture company in 2001, Ford was the world's second-largest auto giant. Compared with Changan, Changan appeared to be insignificant. Yin Jiaxu compared Changan to a rabbit and compared Ford to a powerful partner like a lion. To survive in competition with foxes and wolfs, rabbits must unite more powerful lions.

The story itself is just a metaphor for Yin Jiaxu's explanation of the point of view, but it is coincidence that the image of "rabbit" is actually related to Ford. Ford's trademark is the word "Ford" in English on a blue background, and the forged "Ford" is just a white rabbit. It is true that Ford is a rabbit or a lion.

If you let you use a few words to express the impression of the Ford brand, what would you choose? Similar "United States", "civilian", "cheap" may be the common answer of many people. There is no doubt that Henry Ford has created a great brand. His concept of “making a car that everyone can afford” has helped a generation of Americans to realize their dream of a car. “Public Cars” has thus become Ford’s most eye-catching tag. But for Chinese families who just have money to buy the first car, this description is deadly enough. Coupled with many people's inherent belief that American cars "have large fuel consumption and are not beautiful enough." These points make Ford "inherently inadequate" at the very beginning of entering China.

What's even worse is that the partner it's looking for is Chang'an, which only produced miniature cars! Therefore, it is entirely conceivable that mid-level cars such as the Buick and Accord easily occupy a place among the first-rich people. Although Chang An Ford's models represented by Mondeo also have a good market performance, the differentiation of innate brands is already in place. Consumers are intangibly delineated. Once consumers form a certain kind of intrinsic impression, it takes several or even several decades of effort to change or eliminate.

Even if it does not consider the global crisis that Ford has encountered in the next few years, even the world’s second-largest automobile consumer market, Ford’s in China, does not have a prominent advantage. It is the king of beasts that Chang’an originally wanted to rely on. Lions are even more difficult to discuss. However, with Chang'an, a companion to Rabbit, Ford really treated himself as an omnipotent lion, which added to its inadaptability in the Chinese market.

Since they are often in the dilemma of "Lion" or "Rabbit" in the end, what kind of positioning should be used to select the model has become the forefront of Ford's development in China. Fortunately, Ford finally thought of the Chinese market made an important decision "reshape the brand image." Although Ford China did not mention it in marketing and promotion, Ford’s positioning under the “1515 Plan” is undoubtedly more clear than before.

First of all, Ford began to play the environmental protection technology card this year. For example, in the latest technology powertrain system, Ford China Powertrain technical engineer Zhang Zhiying said that Ford's clearest goal is to become a "fuel economy leading brand." Environmental protection communities, the application of recyclable materials, and green factories have also become the focus of Ford's publicity. Previously, energy conservation and environmental protection were mainly the trump card of Japanese brands. Ford's move was intended to enhance the brand's reputation, which would be of great help to the high-end brand building.

In addition, of the 15 new models under the "1515 Plan", it is now known that in addition to the new Fox, there are Fox ST, and four SUVs of Wing, Maverick, Sharp, and explorers. This will undoubtedly become the benchmark for Ford’s repositioning in China. At the same time, Xiao Dawei mentioned in a media interview that the Hangzhou plant of Changan Ford Mazda, which will be put into production in 2015, will mainly produce mid- to high-end automobiles. As soon as this news came out, the rumors about Lincoln's domestic production were immediately apparent.

Although the rumors of "Lincoln-made" have never been confirmed by Ford officials, considering the relative lack of luxury cars under the Ford brand, such speculation is not unfounded. Although it is still controversial whether the Lincoln brand can be accepted for high-end Chinese people, considering that the Chinese luxury car market is growing at an alarming rate, Ford does need to occasionally stand up and fill the front door, which is undoubtedly a card that Ford can play!

Xiao Dawei's "Better Plan"

Xiao Dawei, CEO of Ford China, is a typical American and has a lot of affinity. When asked about sensitive issues, he likes to make a grimace to dissolve the atmosphere. Although he joined Ford China only in November 2011, he is not unfamiliar with China. He served as Ford Asia Pacific CFO from 2000 to 2004, and his resume shows that he is a senior financial worker.

According to Xiao Dawei, Ford China will do a "five-year plan" every year, and will revise it according to the global economy, the degree of industry prosperity, and changes in laws and regulations. Then, according to the five-year plan, develop product cycle plans, including defining the positioning of products, competing models, and determining which products. Finally, using the business equations for calculations, considering product costs and overall revenue.

He also explained the example of a five-year plan called "Better Plan" two years ago:

Ford China must increase its production capacity. Therefore, it was decided to sign a contract for the construction of a third factory in Chongqing and a factory in Hangzhou. Simultaneous stress tests. Assuming that the industry growth is forecast to be 5%, the stress test should consider the effects that cannot be achieved if 5% growth cannot be achieved, or if the growth rate exceeds 5%. In order to observe risks and business opportunities at any time, and to manage and respond.

Ford wants to enter more market segments. Then determine which market segments to enter, and finally decide to enter the fastest growing market segment, which is the SUV. Afterwards, we chose 15 models that are most suitable for the introduction of Chinese models. During the company's internal discussions, 15 models have been partially revised, but the number of 15 models has not changed.

For Ford China's internal decision-making process, Xiao Dawei said: "Ford's internal operation model is based on cross-sectoral feedback." Each department has a person involved in the decision-making process, including senior leadership, sales and marketing - decided to spend What kind of product, product R&D department - product development, manufacturing, and purchasing department - is needed to build the product. At the same time, the evaluation of the decision needs to be completed through two assessments in China and Asia Pacific. A major strategy like the “1515 Plan” needs to go to the US headquarters, evaluate with the global CEO and his senior team, and finally the board of directors can complete it.

Some people question the treatment of Ford’s "radical expansion plan" and naturally expect it. In June, Ford released its Sustainability Report for the Asia-Pacific Region, which made ensuring “financial health” the top priority. Indeed, the annual production capacity of 1,200,000 cars brought about by the $1.36 billion in high-value factory construction investment also poses great risks.