AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/17 Report--

The candidate for general manager of FAW, which has been vacant for seven months, has finally been settled.

On March 15, China FAW held a leading group (expanded) meeting. Entrusted by the leadership of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the responsible comrades of the relevant departments of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee announced the decision of the CPC Central Committee on the appointment of general manager of China first Automobile Group Co., Ltd.: Liu Yigong was appointed director, general manager and deputy secretary of the party committee of China first Automobile Group Co., Ltd.

According to the data, Liu Yigong was born in April 1968 and joined FAW-Volkswagen in 1992 and served as director of FAW-Volkswagen stamping workshop and head of accounting section of Financial Management Department. In 2009, Liu Yigong was transferred to Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. as Chinese general manager and party committee secretary; in 2012, he was appointed vice minister of personnel Department of FAW Organization; in 2014, he was transferred to deputy secretary of FAW discipline Inspection Commission and vice minister of supervision department. In September 2017, he was appointed director and general manager of FAW-Volkswagen Co., Ltd.; in November 2020, Liu Yigong was promoted to the standing Committee and Deputy General Manager of China FAW Party Committee.

Judging from his resume, Liu Yigong is a veteran of China's FAW. He has joined FAW-Volkswagen for more than 30 years since he joined FAW-Volkswagen in 1992. He has worked in the fields of manufacturing, finance, human resources, operation and management, supervision and investigation, and has the background of being at the helm of Germany and Japan, which has laid the foundation for him to eventually become the general manager of FAW.

In terms of the timeline, FAW announced in February 2023 that Xu Liuping would no longer serve as chairman and party committee secretary of China first Automobile Group Co., Ltd. Since then, the position will be temporarily presided over by Qiu Xiandong, general manager and deputy party committee secretary of FAW. Since Xu Liuping left office, the post of chairman of FAW has been vacant. In August 2023, the post of chairman of FAW, which had been vacant for half a year, was finally settled. Qiu Xiandong was appointed chairman and party committee secretary of FAW, and was removed from the post of general manager of FAW. Since then, the post of general manager of FAW has been vacant for half a year, and Liu Yigong, then deputy general manager of FAW, finally took up the post.

Liu Yigong's achievements during his tenure are still very remarkable. In September 2017, Liu Yigong was appointed director and general manager of FAW-Volkswagen Co., Ltd., and became FAW-Volkswagen leader. In 2018, FAW-Volkswagen became the second domestic manufacturer with 2.02 million vehicles, an increase of 2.1% over the same period last year, with a gap of less than 30, 000 vehicles. In 2019, FAW-Volkswagen surpassed SAIC-Volkswagen with a score of 2.07 million vehicles to become the first automobile manufacturer in China. In 2020, even under the influence of the epidemic, FAW-Volkswagen still increased by 1.9% to 2.11 million vehicles compared with the same period last year. In other words, during Liu Yigong's tenure as head of FAW-Volkswagen, FAW-Volkswagen surpassed SAIC-Volkswagen for two years in a row to become the first passenger car company in China. In 2021, FAW-Volkswagen sales fell 15.7% year on year, but still surpassed SAIC-Volkswagen with 1.778 million vehicles, ranking first in domestic passenger car sales for three consecutive years. In 2022, FAW-Volkswagen was overtaken by BYD, with the former selling 1.78 million vehicles and the latter selling 1.81 million vehicles, ending the 20-year history of Chinese cars being dominated by joint ventures.

At present, China FAW has its own brands Red Flag, Pentium, Jiefang, joint venture brands FAW-Volkswagen, FAW Toyota. After Liu Yigong is promoted to general manager of FAW, the development of all brands will be taken into account, but the most important thing is Red Flag, which is not only the foundation of FAW's upward development, but also the focus of FAW's new energy development.

In January 2023, China FAW announced the global strategy of Red Flag New Energy Brand. Xu Liuping, then chairman, said: "Red Flag brand will promote the electrification of all models by All in New Energy." A more detailed goal is that by 2025, the total sales of the Red Flag brand will reach 1 million, including more than 500000 new energy vehicles. By 2030, the total sales of Red Flag brand will exceed 1.5 million, and new energy vehicles will become the main body of sales.

During the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, Red Flag announced the positioning and description of the three sub-brands, namely, "Red Flag Golden Sunflower", "Red Flag New Energy" and "Red Flag Energy Saving vehicle". The logo of the Hongqi Golden Sunflower brand is "Golden Sunflower", and the new generation of Red Flag L5 belongs to the brand. Hongqi New Energy sub-brand products focus on electric vehicles, the new car E001 and the new SUV E202 were released during the auto show. Red Flag energy-efficient car brand is the main source of Red Flag sales, including Red Flag H6, the new Red Flag HS5, the new Red Flag HS3 and the new Red Flag HS7.

In October 2023, China FAW announced the establishment of the Red Flag Brand Operation Committee and related personnel adjustments. Among them, Liu Yigong, deputy general manager of FAW, served as president of Red Flag Brand Operations Committee, and two other deputy general managers, Zhou Zhiping and Liang Guiyou, served as executive vice presidents. In addition, four senior executives in the group were adjusted to the Operations Committee to serve as vice president.

Retail data show that FAW sold 370100 Hongqi vehicles in 2023, and the top three models were Red Flag HS5, New Red Flag H5 and Red Flag E-QM5, which were 105400, 99600 and 79600 respectively. Hongqi E-QM5 is the only new energy vehicle, but this model is mainly exported to B-end channel. At present, if FAW Red Flag wants to gain a foothold in the new energy vehicle market, it depends on the next investment of the Red Flag brand in the new energy technology route, as well as the market acceptance of the products launched. It is understood that the Hongqi EH7, a medium-sized car of FAW Hongqi, will be launched on March 20, which is the first new energy car based on the platform architecture of Hongqi FMEs. The arrival of this car will also open the red flag new era electric transformation, and even the whole FAW group new era electric transformation prelude.

Under the leadership of Qiu Xiandong and Liu Yigong and under the strategy of "All in new energy", it remains to be seen what kind of innovation will occur in FAW.

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