CharactersLiu Jisheng, President of Jiangling Ford Technology and Manager of Ford Zongheng
2024 1 9 Interviews.
Ford Zongheng should truly play with users and achieve "life co-creation", rather than "WeChat co-creation".
With the change of the times and the change of user needs, more and more people like to go outdoors to embrace the mountains. Therefore, in 2023, major auto brands will focus on the "off-road" segment. The off-road market has also ushered in the return of a king brand, that is, Ford.
At last year's Chengdu Auto Show, Ford unveiled its new channel brand, Ford Beyond, which integrates top-of-the-line outdoor off-road products and experiences, rich and diverse personalized modification experiences and global community experiences, and is committed to becoming a leader in a new outdoor off-road lifestyle.
In just four months, Ford has opened more than 70 indulgence spaces across the country. At the beginning of the new year, Ford has also come to Chengdu. On January 5th, Chengdu Rising Indulgence Space, the first Ford Beyond space in Chengdu, was officially opened, providing an exclusive off-road base and off-road trendy play world for outdoor off-road enthusiasts in Chengdu and surrounding areas.
At the opening ceremony, Auto Life conducted an exclusive interview with Liu Jisheng, President of Jiangling Ford Technology and Manager of Ford Zongheng.
Ford enjoys the space vertically and horizontally, and the user's "off-road trendy play world".
When the car gradually departs from the single vehicle attribute and becomes a way of life for everyone, more and more car companies have begun to build the store into a living space, and Ford is no exception. In addition to traditional sales, maintenance and repair services, Chengdu Rising Indulgence Space also provides services such as modification, boutique, and community, with ultra-high playability, professionalism and interactivity.
Liu Jisheng said, "Ford Zongheng is a top outdoor off-road lifestyle leader, and indulgence space is an important carrier of Ford's products and services. Through Chengdu Rising Indulgence Space, Ford's top-of-the-line outdoor off-road products, rich and diverse personalized modifications, and global community experience will settle in Chengdu, bringing an industry-leading one-stop outdoor off-road life experience to users in Sichuan and Shu. ”
Auto Life noticed that there are two main types of products in Chengdu Ruixing Indulgence Space. One is the pickup truck family composed of the Ford Ranger Ranger, Ford Bronco and Ford F-150 Raptor, and the other is the "City Exploration" series composed of three large 7-seater Wide-Fit SUVs, Broad-Fit Pioneer 5-seater Lead, and three-dimensional large-space business MPV Tourion, which can meet the diverse needs of users for urban commuting and light outdoor experience.
In the modification area, Chengdu Ruixing Indulgence Space has customized a modification plan based on the ten scenarios of "indulging in the sand sea, wading wild fishing, Jedi climbing, outdoor camping, modeling modification, 10,000 miles of journey, extreme rescue, jungle adventure, cycling photography, and snow galloping" for users who love outdoor off-road and pursue personalized expression and ultimate off-road experience.
It is worth mentioning that as a star model with cumulative global sales of more than 8 million units, the Ford Ranger Ranger is known as a "professional-grade mountain weapon" and "the top choice of medium-sized pickup trucks" for its ultra-high reliability, excellent off-road ability and versatile rear bucket. In late December last year, the new generation of the Ford Ranger Ranger was officially launched, offering two power options: gasoline and diesel, including 15 models in three series: mountain version, exploration version and wilderness version. On the day of listing, 14The starting price of 580,000 yuan scared both ** and the owner. You know, the price of this car in North America and Australia starts at 220,000. It is said that this also forced a competitor to lower its listing price. From the pre-sale on November 17 last year to the launch on December 20, the Ford Ranger Ranger has more than 6,000 orders.
Why is there a situation where "domestic prices are more fragrant than abroad"?Liu Jisheng explained that the reason why the Ford Ranger Ranger is priced in this way is due to Jiangling Ford's manufacturing capacity in China. The second is that Ford really needs to get Ford across the track faster. "To open the track, you have to make it affordable for everyone. We hope that through the Ford Ranger Ranger, more car owners can understand the lifestyle of Ford and understand our determination to take him to the 'wild' in the future and share life together."
2400+ events throughout the year, play with users!
Although there are some good off-road models on the market now, "going off-road" actually requires a lot of support. For example, how to play, who to play with, and how to have fun all need to be supported by a system. Ford Zongheng, which is committed to building an industry-leading off-road ecosystem, has a three-part understanding of "play": products, modifications, and communities.
First of all, at the product level, at present, Ford Zongheng has the best pickup truck models, which are naturally suitable for going out to play, have four-wheel drive, have strong reliability, and can provide good support for users to "play".
Secondly, for users who like to play off-road, driving the car in the desert and driving to the beach requires different accessories. Therefore, Indulgence Space also provides users with more than 200 official and selected modified parts. All pre-sales official modified parts have been recorded, legal and compliant, and enjoy the original factory warranty. In addition, users can also log in to the new outdoor off-road product purchase platform - "Ford Zonghenggou", choose their favorite products among 3000+ outdoor life boutiques, and the official modified parts also support online purchase, one-click ordering, home delivery and other services.
Finally, play also requires a group of like-minded friends, and Ford has a large community, such as the "Butler Group" with the Ford Ranger Ranger, the "Butler Group" with the Ford Bronco, and the "Butler Group" with the Ford F-150 Raptor. Gather people who share common interests and hobbies through communities and let them play together.
According to Liu Jisheng, in 2024, Ford Zongheng will create 24 officially recommended experience routes, relying on the national indulgence space, and hold more than 2,400 high-quality activities to communicate, share, play and play together with car owners. "At present, we have built a number of off-road bases in Dongchuan, Yinchuan, Kunming and other places, and the next Shandong off-road base will also be opened.
Of course, if you want to participate in the activities held by Ford, you need two conditions, one is to have a certain off-road foundation, and the other is to participate at your own expense. Liu Jisheng explained that the original intention of the charge was to hope that users would feel "value for money". "Because there is no charge, whether you play well, eat well, live well or not, no one is guaranteed. Consumers complain, but from the dealer's point of view, 'you're not paying,' it creates an asymmetry. Consumers pay for it, so we have to make sure they are satisfied. Every Ford event will have a customer satisfaction index - 90%, which means that the customer return rate must reach 90%. ”
It is necessary to engage in "life co-creation", not "WeChat co-creation"!
I don't know when "co-creation with users" has become a trend in the automotive industry. But many car companies are thundering and raining, shouting slogans. How to achieve the ultimate in "user co-creation", Ford's strategy is: to abandon the direct sales model similar to the new forces, but to turn to the dealer system.
In this regard, Liu Jisheng has his unique opinion, he believes that Ford Zongheng is not selling cars, but advocating a way of life, and off-road itself is relatively niche, this uniqueness determines that Ford Zongheng must enter the user, and the user really become one. "There are so many cities in China, the customs are different, we can't know all of them, but local dealers can. Local dealers will know the preferences and habits of local users better, and can provide better services. ”
Liu Jisheng said that many brands feel that "driving" users online is co-creation, "discussing in the WeChat group every day to play, but there is no action, this is called 'WeChat co-creation'." In fact, life needs scenes, and only offline can have a real experience, and everyone gets together through offline activities and really goes out to play together, which is called 'life co-creation', and such co-creation can be implemented. ”
I have a map in my office, which is a fun map. We hope that in a fun place, there is our store, which can be found within 100 kilometers, which can provide users with the convenience of playing. Liu Jisheng has repeatedly introduced Ford's development blueprint in public. Of course, this is not "on paper", but is about to become a reality. Auto Life knows that in 2024, Ford will have about 180-200 vertical and horizontal indulgence spaces.
to the official.