AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)05/29 Report--

On May 29, General Motors announced personnel changes on its imported car business "Daolange" platform. General Motors said Li Long, former Rolls-Royce Greater China director, will serve as president of Daolange and vice president of GM's high-end import business. He will be based in Shanghai from August 1 and will be fully responsible for the strategic planning and implementation of the Daolange platform and its imported products throughout the life cycle.

Industry insiders believe the personnel change is a landmark event in GM's China import business and, to some extent, a sign of GM's determination to accelerate its sinicization.

Before joining GM, Li Long was the head of Rolls-Royce China and has been the general manager of Rolls-Royce Greater China since 2014, operating Rolls-Royce China business for nearly a decade, according to the data. Prior to this, Li Long worked in Lexus China and two market analysis companies, and worked in BMW China for many years, holding several senior management positions.

The Durant Guild is gm's premium import platform, which brings gm's most iconic models to china. The name "Daolange" is derived from the English name of William "Billy" Durant, the founder of General Motors. Although the platform has not entered the Chinese market for a long time, the industry believes that "Daolange" is named after the founder. To a certain extent, it also represents the importance that GM attaches to building such a new high-end imported car platform in the Chinese market.

On June 30,2022, GM signed a project investment intention agreement with Shanghai City Pudong New District, announcing that it plans to increase capital by US $100 million to prepare a brand-new high-end import business, resulting in the birth of Daolange. It is understood that GM's definition of "Daolange" is a lifestyle platform created by high-end import business, that is to say, the platform will be different from the previous imported car distribution mode, in addition to carrying out imported car business, it will also open a brand-new mode, create exclusive community through user co-creation, and highlight personalized life experience. At the 5th Expo held in November last year, Daolange announced that Cadillac CELESTIQ ultra-luxury pure electric flagship model will be the first to be introduced into China.

Julian Blissett, GM's global executive vice president and president of GM China, said: "We are ready to import the most iconic global products to China." GM said it would introduce high-end pure electric and fuel models through its brand-new imported car business to further develop its business in China. In the future, it will also deploy models in niche market segments such as size SUVs, high-performance pickups, sports cars and ultra-luxury cars.

This is the second time GM has announced personnel changes this month. On May 12, SAIC GM announced that Wang Yongqing, former general manager of SAIC GM, was transferred to the post of deputy economist of SAIC Group; Zhuang Jingxiong, former deputy general manager of SAIC GM, took over as general manager of SAIC GM; Liu Yi, former general manager of quality and economic operation department of SAIC Group, joined SAIC GM as deputy general manager of the company, responsible for relevant work in marketing.

In 1997, GM and SAIC established a joint venture company SAIC GM in China. Since then, it has laid out Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands successively, and has built four production bases in Shanghai, Yantai, Shenyang and Wuhan. It should be noted that GM has not had a good time in China in recent years.

According to the data, GM sold 3.09 million vehicles in China in 2019 and only 2.3 million in 2022, with a market share of 9.8%. With the transformation of the electric transformation trend of the automobile market, GM, SAIC Group and Wuling Automobile jointly established a joint venture company SAIC GM Wuling. On July 24,2020, SAIC GM Wuling officially launched Hongguang MINIEV mini electric vehicle, which quickly seized the market with an ultra-low price of less than 30,000 yuan. It once became the "explosive model" of the A00-class market and occupied a unique share in the market segment. However, with the appearance of the same class of models, Hongguang MINIEV is also difficult to break through previous results.

After entering 2023, GM's life in the Chinese market is also difficult. According to the data, GM's cumulative sales volume in China in the first quarter of 2023 was 462,000 vehicles, with a market share of 9%. At present, brand electric models such as Cadillac and Chevrolet are still very limited, and GM's market share in China is gradually being divided by Tesla and BYD, in this context, accelerating the electric transformation will be GM's next important topic.

Earlier, General Motors announced that it would accelerate the strategic layout of electrification in the Chinese market. As General Motors 'main manufacturer in China, SAIC General Motors is transforming to pure electric vehicles based on the Autoenergy platform. Mary Bora, Chairman and CEO of General Motors, announced that more electric vehicles will be launched in China in the future. Among them, SAIC General Motors plans to invest more than 70 billion yuan in electrification and other fields by 2025. Ten pure electric cars will be launched between 2022 and 2025.

The appearance of Daolange high-end import business may also speed up the introduction of GM high-end electric vehicles. Of course,"Automotive Industry Concern" believes that it is not easy to create a brand-new sales platform or marketing channel. As for Li Long's joining and the subsequent introduction of more new cars by Daolange, whether GM's sales of electric vehicles in China can be boosted at that time, perhaps the market will give an answer soon.

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