AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/20 Report--

According to the latest news from SAIC-Volkswagen, due to the need of work, Chen Xianzhang was transferred to Deputy Chief Economist and Deputy Director of the Technical Committee of SAIC, and no longer served as SAIC-Volkswagen General Manager. Jia Jianxu, former general manager of Yanfeng Automobile Decoration system Co., Ltd., took over as general manager of SAIC Volkswagen.

Chen Xianzhang joined Shanghai Volkswagen in 1988 as an assistant to the director of the engine factory, which can be regarded as a veteran of SAIC. However, looking at his resume, over the past 35 years, he has mainly worked in United Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., from preparing for the establishment of United Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., to becoming Vice Chairman of Lianchuang Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. Chen Xianzhang spent 20 years. On August 28, 2014, Shanghai Volkswagen officially announced that Zhang Hailiang, former general manager of Shanghai Volkswagen, was appointed vice president of SAIC Group and no longer served as general manager of Shanghai Volkswagen. Chen Xianzhang, former general manager of United Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., took over as general manager of Shanghai Volkswagen.

Chen Xianzhang took over as general manager of SAIC-Volkswagen in 2014, when SAIC-Volkswagen sold 1.7109 million new cars for the year, up 11.99% from a year earlier, exceeding its sales target of 1.6 million. The following year, SAIC-Volkswagen sold more than FAW-Volkswagen, becoming the top seller of domestic passenger car companies, and has held the top position for four consecutive years. In 2018, China's auto market ended 28 years of positive growth, and SAIC-Volkswagen was deeply tied up with the rise and fall of China's auto market. SAIC-Volkswagen sold a total of 2.0651 million vehicles that year, ahead of FAW-Volkswagen's 2.037 million vehicles, but SAIC-Volkswagen's soaring sales momentum has declined. In 2019, SAIC-Volkswagen (2.0018 million) was narrowly overtaken by FAW-Volkswagen (2.0462 million), ruining the title of Chinese passenger car companies. SAIC-Volkswagen sales continued to decline in the following years, from 1.5055 million in 2020 to 1.4571 million in 2021, and that number has shrunk to 1.2435 million in 2022.

If you study the semi-annual results of SAIC, you will find that SAIC-Volkswagen's growth is not healthy. According to the financial report, SAIC-Volkswagen wholesale sales of 574700 vehicles in the first half of 2022, an increase of 7.94% over the same period last year, is the only joint venture brand of SAIC Group to achieve growth. However, SAIC-Volkswagen's operating income in the first half of the year was 63.582 billion yuan, down 3.55% from a year earlier, and its net profit was 2.804 billion yuan, down 2.81% from a year earlier. To put it simply, SAIC-Volkswagen has seen a decline in operating revenue and profit contribution despite an increase in sales.

From 2018, FAW-Volkswagen began to layout the SUV market, launching a series of models, such as song exploration, mountain exploration, exploration, range and so on. In only three years, FAW-Volkswagen SUV products formed the same layout as SAIC-Volkswagen, directly nibbling away at SAIC-Volkswagen market. At the same time, the birth of the Jetta brand also helps FAW-Volkswagen to improve the layout of the low, medium and high market, directly seizing the market of the Auto Kodak brand, resulting in its market performance continues to be depressed.

Under the leadership of Chen Xianzhang, although SAIC-Volkswagen is still a first-tier joint venture brand, it is difficult to say the bright spot. Of course, Chen Xianzhang himself is biased to attribute the continuous defeat of SAIC and Volkswagen. After all, judging from the performance of China's auto market in recent years, the wave of electrification and the rise of domestic brands, coupled with the impact of the epidemic and spare parts supply, the decline of the market may become the norm. On the contrary, during Chen Xianzhang's tenure, he led SAIC-Volkswagen to win the top spot in passenger car enterprises for four consecutive years, promoted the birth of SAIC Audi brand, improved SAIC-Volkswagen market layout, and played an important role in promoting SAIC-Volkswagen strategic transformation.

In the face of the challenges of the new automobile era, SAIC Volkswagen is in urgent need of a capable general to help SAIC Volkswagen restore its development vitality. According to the usual practice for state-owned enterprises to retire at the age of 60, Chen Xianzhang, born in 1964, is expected to retire in 2024, and SAIC Volkswagen needs to make arrangements in advance to cope with the arrival of the era of new energy popularization.

At present, SAIC-Volkswagen has three pure electric models: ID.4X, ID.6X and ID.3, the first two of which are sister models with FAW-Volkswagen ID.4CROZZ and ID.6CROZZ, while the ID.3 is the unique model of SAIC-Volkswagen. Data show that in 2022, ID.4 X sales were 35201, while ID.4 CROZZ was 46261, ID.6 CROZZ (25968) was also higher than ID.6 X (11396), and ID.3, known as "electric golf", is hardly a popular style, with monthly sales basically maintained at 2000 vehicles.

Similar products have been widened, and SAIC-Volkswagen needs to think carefully about the narrative logic of the new energy era. At this time, SAIC-Volkswagen needs a new leader to re-sort out SAIC-Volkswagen's development route, and the successor, Jia Jianxu, will give SAIC-Volkswagen a new soul to drive SAIC-Volkswagen to better adapt to the development of the new energy era.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat