Written byMeng Wei.
EditZHANG Nan.
Production and sales reached 10 million units.
At the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show, Guangqi Honda ushered in another milestone moment of its own.
Over the past 1 4 centuries, Guangqi Honda has continued to cultivate in the Chinese market and is one of the most successful joint venture car company representatives.
It has not only set a record for the fastest production in the history of Chinese automobiles, but also the first car company to introduce global synchronization technology modelsIt not only took the lead in opening the first 4S store in the country in 1999, but also opened the first pedestrian protection collision test in China, promoting the development and progress of China's road traffic safety.
Based in Guangzhou, it has not only created China's first batch of senior car users and modification players, but also created a number of classic models that sell well all over the country, among which Accord, Fit, Binzhi and Lingpai have been promoted to millions of club products with 3.2 million, 1.4 million, 1.1 million and 1 million vehicles.
But for Guangqi Honda, like many of today's joint ventures, it is facing the vigorous new energy and intelligent transformation of China's auto market, and is experiencing twists and turns.
For any business, twists and turns are inevitable. Just like the Penrose step design adopted by Guangqi Honda at the Guangzhou Auto Show, you can never find the highest point or the lowest point on this ladder, all you need to do is keep moving forward.
How to lead the next new era from the 10 million vehicles in the era of fuel vehicles to achieve the next 10 million vehicles?
At the Guangzhou Auto Show, Guangqi Honda not only displayed 10 electrified models including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and pure electric all-power types, covering all categories of sedans, SUVs, and MPVs, but also innovated "new intelligent mobility, new intelligent driving, and new intelligent manufacturing", actively integrated into the era of great changes, and looked for new answers.
Jumping out of path dependence, facing reality, taking stock of one's own resources, finding new power points, and repositioning are the most effective means to cope with all changes.
Times have changed, and so have the approaches to solving problems.
With a range of 2,000 kilometers, the strongest plug-in hybrid is the first to attack
Previously, in order to strengthen its determination to enter the era of electrification, Guangqi Honda has announced that it will not launch new pure fuel models after 2027.
So, what is Guangqi Honda's new solution to the problem in the era of electrification?
The first is to give full play to its advantages in plug-in hybrid technology.
In the early 1990s, Honda began developing hybrid technology. In 2005, Honda launched IMMD technology, which switches between different pure electric and hybrid modes according to driving needs and road conditions to maximize vehicle dynamics and fuel economy. Since then, the technology has continued to evolve iteratively, and the application of lightweight, lithium battery application, energy braking system, etc., has continuously improved its technical advantages and competitiveness.
In the first three quarters of 2023, thanks to the advantages of pure electric experience and no range anxiety, the sales of plug-in hybrid passenger cars in the Chinese market increased by 79% year-on-year, which is one of the main forces driving the growth of new energy vehicle sales.
Guangqi Honda has also introduced Honda's latest i-MMD PHEV plug-in hybrid system in such market changes, and has created the plug-in hybrid flagship twin stars - the new Accord e:PHEV and the new generation of Haoying e:PHEV.
Honda's i-MMD PHEV plug-in hybrid system emphasizes driving pleasure and solves the phenomenon of "a significant decrease in power and a rapid increase in fuel consumption" that exists in traditional plug-in hybrid and range extender models, and ensures stable high performance and low fuel consumption through the hybrid system, which still performs well even in hot and cold environments.
At the Guangqi Honda 5th Extreme Challenge held in October 2023, the all-new Accord e:PHEV and the all-new generation Haoying e:PHEV hit a record of 2,132 on a full battery and one tank of fuel respectively7km and 1936The new record of 1km range provides users with a new answer in the era of electrification.
With the support of i-MMD PHEV technology, the Guangqi Honda Accord continued to maintain its leading position in China's B-segment sedan market, with sales reaching 17,799 units in October, an increase of 46 percent month-on-month4%。
With electrification and intelligence, we will enter the "new million".
The second is to accelerate the introduction of pure electric products and define products according to the Chinese market.
At the Guangzhou Motor Show, Guangqi Honda's E:NP2 Pole 2 was also unveiled for the first time. This crossover model, which has the precise driving control of a sedan and can take into account the diverse use scenarios of SUVs, will be released in the first half of 2024.
Auto Business Review understands that this product not only has the characteristic appearance of electrification, but also increases the body size compared with the E:NP1 Pole 1, further improves the interior space, and fully listens to the voice of Chinese consumers, especially the demand for intelligence, equipped with more intelligent equipment, and comprehensively upgrades and optimizes the product force, becoming a new product that has broken away from the imprint of Guangqi Honda gasoline vehicles.
The e:n gt concept car at the booth is a sign of Guangqi Honda's continued investment in pure electric products in the future, and by 2027, Guangqi Honda will launch a total of five pure electric models under the e:NP brand.
In addition, Guangqi Honda believes that the development of electrification has always been driven around the goal of "carbon neutrality". To this end, they will put into operation the industry-leading "digital intelligence and zero carbon" factory in 2024, and will achieve carbon neutrality in the whole life cycle of products by 2045 (and strive to 2040).
For Guangqi Honda, in addition to electrification and carbon neutrality, their greater challenge and change comes from whether they can understand Chinese consumers in the field of intelligence.
When AI intelligent cockpits, high-speed and high-end assisted driving in urban areas are increasingly appearing in the list of standard functions in the products of new car manufacturers and independent brands, and when intelligent hardware and software services are becoming an important part of the consumer decision-making value chain, Guangqi Honda must also respond to this realistic user needs and challenges.
Guangqi Honda's understanding of intelligence is that it is not only used for entertainment, but also should pay attention to safety.
So, at the Guangzhou Motor Show, they showed off the newly upgraded Honda Connect 40 and Honda Sensing 360 not only bring users more comprehensive intelligent interaction, but also achieve full-dimensional intimate safety protection.
In 2024, Honda will equip the world's first Accord model with the "Honda Sensing 360+" close to the L3 level, helping Guangqi Honda achieve its corporate safety vision of "zero traffic fatalities by 2050".
Adhere to long-termism and long-term value
The change means that Guangqi Honda needs to put its mindset back and constantly input new products, new understandings and new marketing concepts. But for a brand, especially one that has reached tens of millions of vehicles, the core values and persistence behind it are still one of the key elements of brand building and building trust bonds with consumers.
Over the past 25 years, behind tens of millions of vehicles, what is the core value accumulated by Guangqi Honda?
Always put the user in mind, insist on building the best car for the user, be the best enterprise in the society, adhere to the long-term win, and never reduce the safety and quality level. ”
This is the answer given by Yuan Xiaohua, deputy general manager of Guangqi Honda Automobile *** of Guangqi Honda.
He summed up the value of this long-termism in several face-to-face terms.
First, whether it is a gasoline model or a current electrified model, Hiromoto continues to pursue technological leadership to bring users the pleasure of driving.
Second, different models of Guangqi Honda have different circle cultures, and they can truly play together with users to achieve spiritual resonance.
Auto Business Review learned that Guangqi Honda has established an exclusive and unique fan culture around Accord, Odyssey, Fit, Style and other models, and the continuous Manic Dream Festival is not only a big gathering of Guangqi Honda owners, but also has become one of the most trendy fan feasts in the car circle.
In addition, Guangqi Honda has also created more projects that are in line with the spirit and fun of users and customer circles, such as Dream Formula and Dream Club, and continues to practice the construction of a user-oriented full-cycle user operation system covering products, services and life ecology.
In the new era, whether it is plug-in hybrid, pure electric, or intelligent, new changes are being passed on to Guangqi Honda consumers.
On November 18, at the 2023 Guangqi Honda Manic Dream Festival, compared with previous years, in addition to popular gameplay such as livehouse, outdoor camping, and car owner co-creation market at the restless scene, Guangqi Honda also set up a full-power night field for the first time, as well as a variety of car life scenes such as the intelligent new potential world and the electric co-creation hall with a sense of science and technology, with cutting-edge intelligent technology and hard-core new energy experience, fully meet the needs of young consumers to play with cars in the new era of smart electricity.
To be the best enterprise for users and society
In addition to products and culture, Guangqi Honda's accumulated core values are also reflected in two other aspects.
First, relying on the quality control system of Guangben and the ingenuity of all employees, the uncompromising quality requirements have brought users a longer value for car use.
In 2023, Zhizai and Odyssey will be exported to the European and Japanese markets, and being recognized by the international market is the best proof of Guangqi Honda's quality.
The second is a sense of trust.
This sense of trust comes from both the quality, fun and culture mentioned above, as well as from Jd.Guangqi Honda has created a good reputation, such as the power new car quality study IQS four crowns in five years, the sales service satisfaction SSI and after-sales service satisfaction CSI three consecutive championships, and the first joint venture brand car manufacturer value retention rate in the first half of 2023.
These are not only the foundation of trust of tens of millions of users in the past, but also the trust of users in the new electrification era in the future.
Entering the new era of tens of millions of dollars and entering the era of electrification and intelligence, Guangqi Honda will continue to deploy electrification and intelligence, improve competitiveness at a higher level, carry out reforms, and adhere to long-termism, and never reduce the high requirements for safety and quality will become the main theme of enterprise development.
In the long-distance race of market competition, perseverance and change mean that Guangqi Honda will stabilize its foundation while stabilizing the existing foundation, and maximize the resources and platforms of both shareholdersOn the other hand, we will strengthen the local development of new products, especially electrified products, close to the market, and do a good job in China's solutions, so as to provide users with high-quality, products and high-quality services.
From one peak to another, the next 10 million units belonging to Guangqi Honda have just set off.