On February 28, a group of "Ding Lei appeared in Chang'an", which aroused heated discussions. In this group, people saw Ding Lei, the founder of Gaohe, appearing at the Chang'an headquarters and passing by a dark blue S7; The other is Ding Lei and Zhu Huarong in the same frame, and the two have spoken to each other and talked deeply. For Gaohe, who has only 3 months left in the "turnaround" period. People don't believe that Ding Lei went to see Zhu Huarong for no reason. Because today, when Gaohe Automobile is at stake, the founder Ding Lei has no mind and no time to hang out. Therefore, the purpose of coming to Chang'an is roughly guessed, so much so that people hope that Zhu Huarong and Ding Lei can collide with a new commercial spark. But with Zhu Huarong's sentence: I am talking, and I am far from "proper". Let Chang'an and Gaohe be pushed to the forefront. Is Gaohe worthless? Did Ding Lei's financing fail again? Did Zhu Huarong not show mercy to Ding Lei? Soon, the ** bullet ruthlessly knocked down the two heads of car companies. But maybe with such a reply, the current Chang'an doesn't want to leave a definitive answer for **. Speaking of these, Zhu Huarong just hopes that people should not put unnecessary energy on Chang'an and Gaohe, let alone have a different interpretation of the Gaohe brand because Chang'an "can't stretch out his hand". To shoot or not to shoot? Zhu Huarong has to act as the "number one" to make overall considerations for Chang'an, a state-owned enterprise. This has nothing to do with whether Gao He is short of money, has nothing to do with the basic communication between the two companies, and has nothing to do with whether Zhu Huarong and Ding Lei have a personal relationship. Ding Lei may not be surprised by such a result, because similar things have happened to Ren Zhengfei. textGuo SifuEditLeviaVisual China
A person trusted by Ren Zhengfei and Ding Lei
At the end of 2022, the annual business summary meeting was held at Huawei. Ren Zhengfei realized that Huawei was facing more serious problems than before. This year, Huawei's overall revenue began to hit the bottleneck, and the operator business stagnated for five consecutive years, with revenue growth of -4hovering around 03%; As the company's largest enterprise service business, although it is growing at present, it cannot become a new pillar to support Huawei's stable development at this stage.
It didn't take long for Ren Zhengfei to ask someone to bring a message to Yu Chengdong: "For a long time to come, sustainable survival and development will be the core proposition of Huawei's corporate strategy. Ren Zhengfei's implication is that Huawei's investment in automobiles has "not been able to afford to lose". From "deep empowerment" to "comprehensive dominance", Ren Zhengfei realized that the difficulty of developing the automotive business and the current results have posed a profit threat and operating pressure to Huawei's profitability. This made Ren Zhengfei also realize that it was time for the car to have someone to support him.
If this kind of "radical" practice continues, not only will some people inside Huawei be branded as sinners who hinder development, but also people will be sacrificed externally, and even nailed to the pillar of shame that will affect China's economic development and social harmony and stability.
This is not alarmism. In 2022, Huawei's revenue will be 642.3 billion yuan, an increase of only 09%, net profit fell to 35.6 billion yuan, **687%。Among them, the loss of the car BU alone reached 8.2 billion in a year. In the face of the weakening of the global consumer side, Ren Zhengfei is already very clear that the cycle of Huawei's resurrection will definitely be extended. In the face of the changing social environment, even Huawei itself has reached a greater adjustment than responding to the US suppression, how can it protect the car?
At this time, Huawei Automobile not only needs to "ask for help to quench its thirst", but also has to be able to come up with a business model suitable for Huawei's next survival, and Ren Zhengfei can think of the "most suitable person" is Zhu Huarong of Changan Automobile.
At the end of 2019, Xu Zhijun approached Ren Zhengfei to report on his new business, and he said that Chang'an Zhu Huarong had found himself and Zeng Yuqun of the CATL era. The idea of a tripartite negotiation to create a new brand together was proposed. Speaking of the report, the implication is that Xu Zhijun does not dare to make decisions about the automobile business, so he has to listen to Ren Zhengfei's opinion.
At first, when he heard the news, Ren Zhengfei was hesitant. "Don't make cars" is the tone that Ren Zhengfei set for himself, and it is also the bottom line for Huawei. But for the "Zhu Huarong" proposed to Xu Zhijun, Ren Zhengfei was very interested.
So much so that Ren Zhengfei at that time was also speculating, where was the original intention of Zhu Huarong's proposal? What are the demands? Will Chang'an just be temporary? However, thinking that Zhu Huarong, as the leader of a state-owned enterprise, can take the initiative to put forward requirements and ideas to two market-oriented enterprises, Ren Zhengfei is willing to believe that Zhu Huarong has his own foresight in dealing with the issue of cooperation.
"Not making cars" does not mean that Huawei cannot cooperate with Changan. After thinking for a while, Ren Zhengfei replied to Xu Zhijun. "We want to increase our efforts to cooperate with Changan Automobile," Ren said. For this scene at that time, not only Xu Zhijun was very surprised, but also Huawei's top and bottom were very surprised, people can't guess what Ren Zhengfei's purpose is to respond to this cooperation, and they can't see through Ren Zhengfei's direction and prediction of this brand? What everyone can associate is basically the same as Ren and Zhu's background, they are both engaged in technology, and they have the drilling energy of engineers, which is probably really this bit of "sympathy", which contributed to the fate of Huawei and Chang'an.
I heard Huawei's former internal employees say: "Mr. Ren has commented on Chang'an, and he thinks that Chang'an's leading cadres are very practical!" ”
In October 2021, the first product, AVATR 11 body-in-white, rolled off the trial production line at Chongqing Chang'an Yuzui Base; In the second quarter of 2022, AVATR 11 was released, and the retail network was rolled out one after another; In the third quarter of 2022, AVATR 11 achieved the first batch of mass production and user delivery; On April 28, 2022, AVATR Technology announced a new round of valuation increase to 62600 million yuan, a net increase of nearly 7 times.
With the rapid advancement of AVATAR, Ren Zhengfei also began to silently pay attention to this brand and Zhu Huarong behind the scenes.
At the beginning of 2022, Zhu Huarong, who officially took over Chang'an for less than two years, started an internal personnel adjustment of "all stand up". All senior personnel at the general manager level and below will be "dismissed" without discrimination, re-hired, re-recruited, and re-employed. In addition to the basic work ability, the personality characteristics, knowledge structure and youthfulness of the candidates will be listed as the assessment criteria.
In Chang'an's internal dialect, standing up and sitting down are all aimed at pulling up a young army that wants to do things, can do things, and get things done. Soon, the news reached Huawei and Ren Zhengfei's ears, and people were worried that Chang'an's adjustment would change the cooperation between the two sides and AVATAR. But for these adjustments, Ren Zhengfei did not say much.
But in the eyes of many Huawei elders, Chang'an's adjustment method is actually very Ren Zhengfei. At that time, Huawei called for independent operation and adjusted the organizational structure, and thus cultivated a number of high-quality management talents, such as Li Yinan and Yu Chengdong.
If we use Huawei's "Great Resignation" to understand Chang'an's "stand up", no matter in terms of purpose and method, it should be the same and the same thing.
Perhaps it was in Zhu Huarong's body that Ren Zhengfei saw his shadow back then, and saw the courage and courage of "thinking of winter in spring and summer". Only then did Ren Zhengfei want to believe that Zhu Huarong had the courage and courage to break through some "resistance" to make decisions, and only then did he believe that Huawei handed over some of the accumulation of cars to Zhu Huarong, and Huawei's previous efforts would not be in vain.
In November last year, Huawei and Changan Automobile signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Investment Cooperation, marking Changan Automobile's official "takeover" of the car BU. So far, the car has been successfully supported, and Ren Zhengfei has become a prophecy.
A triple personality in one person
Probably has the same judgment and understanding as Ren Zhengfei, and Ding Lei, the founder of Gaohe, also believes in Zhu Huarong and believes that he is a capable, daring and courageous leader of a state-owned enterprise, so Ding Lei will be like Huawei, and put the first goal of "asking for help" on Chang'an and Zhu Huarong.
In contact with Chang'an, and even not ruling out a certain way of committing to Chang'an, Ren Zhengfei and Ding Lei have more or less shown their commercial purpose only when running a business as the soul of an enterprise.
As Huawei's most competitive partner of state-owned car companies, whether it was in the early days of cooperation with Changan, or later in the form of equity acquisition to take over the car BU...Ren Zhengfei's role in Chang'an is considered, because every cooperation with Chang'an before this has had a certain impact on the promotion of Huawei's ecological technology and the industry position in various fields of automobiles and capital, as well as on the brand development and business of Huawei and Chebu, because only in this way can Huawei not suffer losses.
And to meet Zhu Huarong, Ding Lei may have similar considerations at some level. 5 months after the complete emptying of negotiations with Middle Eastern capital. Even earlier, Ding Lei was already thinking about how to solve the continuous demand for capital through other methods, and how to connect with the entry of new capital? And what capital should be connected to come in for the blood transfusion of Gaohe.
Jiangsu's Yueda Group, Shandong's Laixi, and Yancheng's SDIC have little hope for SDIC-background institutions; The cross-border capital of Man Jinghua and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has also been negotiated and negotiated many times, but there is no hope in the short term. Ding Lei may have sensed it himself, and at present, private capital and overseas sovereignty are ***. Large-scale single capital, at present, it is difficult to open the door of funds to vehicle companies, after all, the risk of non-professional capital investment in automobiles is too great.
In contrast, only automobile groups that are interested in automobiles and have more accurate insight and identification of the industry may be able to become the "target of help" of Gaohe. After screening the existing automobile companies one by one, Ding Lei, like Ren Zhengfei, locked his eyes on the person he hoped to commit.
can be recognized by the top business circles and old masters in the automotive industry, and there are traces to find reasons in Zhu Huarong. As one of the few engineers in the industry, he, like most heads of state-owned enterprises, has his unique and far-sighted strategic vision, forward-looking, and insight, which is precisely the comprehensive characteristics of Zhu Huarong as a leader, entrepreneur and engineer of a state-owned enterprise.
As an endogenous talent of Chang'an, Zhu Huarong has worked as a technician and an engine, and is a leader who has worked out of ordinary employees. In the past 10 years, he has led the development of Chang'an in various fields, in addition to the distinctive characteristics of management. Zhu Huarong also showed deep insight as a strategic leader.
In 2018, its own brand business also achieved rapid development, and Zhu Huarong made a large amount of money when planning strategic investment, announcing the opening of the "Shangri-La Plan", planning 100 billion yuan to invest in the field of new energy vehicles, and many people saw Zhu Huarong's courage and courage as a leader of state-owned enterprises.
In March 2020, Zhu Huarong, who overhauled his "personality", became the anchor and completed China's first L3 autonomous driving mass production experience under an open road section. With the empowerment of L3 autonomous driving technology, the UNI-T, which was launched that year, sold 68,556 units in only half a year after it was launched in June 2020. Zhu Huarong later said in the face of **: independent brands are not only about making concept cars.
After becoming the chairman of Changan Automobile, in terms of operation, Changan launched the high-end sequence UNI homeopathically, which became the key to Changan Automobile's impact on the independent high-end and the completion of the brand upward; Strategically, he hopes that Changan Automobile can occupy a place in the international market, and it is clear that Changan must have its own core technology and innovation capabilities; In terms of collaboration, he advocates openness, the introduction of foreign advanced technology, vertical and horizontal, cooperation with CATL to build standardized battery cells, cooperation with Ganfeng Lithium to develop the next generation of semi-solid-state and solid-state batteries, and hand in hand with NIO to carry out battery swapping and build an ecological moat.
According to the report of the China Industry Research Institute, since 2020, Changan Automobile's total assets have grown continuously for three consecutive years, of which Changan Automobile's total assets will increase by 7% year-on-year in 2023, which is more than 40% compared with 2019 before Zhu Huarong became chairman.
For Zhu Huarong, as the leader of a state-owned enterprise, he cannot waste time while waiting for policies and market recovery, which is fundamental; As an entrepreneur, he does not want the enterprise to "rely on the sky to eat", to be able to find the right temperature, humidity and soil for the growth of the enterprise, he hopes to help the enterprise break the ground faster, thrive, this is the task; As an engineer, he has a natural sensitivity to the iteration of technology, always keeps the crisis, and it is a habit to judge the situation early and take measures.
So much so that Premier Li Qiang gave a high evaluation after investigating Chang'an: "Chang'an has done a very good job of making cars in recent years, and I have always paid attention to Chang'an Automobile." ”
forWhat is Chang'an?
The reason why people want to see Changan and Huawei cooperate; This is not only because Huawei has rewritten the ICT industry, influenced the world's communications landscape, and served more than 3 billion people around the world. What kind of sparks do people want to see collide between China's fastest-growing state-owned auto company and China's largest private enterprise?
I hope to see Zhu Huarong and Ding Lei cooperate; It's not just because Gao He can't get the money. More importantly, people are willing to believe that it is possible to use Zhu Huarong to represent Chang'an to "help" Gaohe. Compared with new enterprises and first-class capital, Chang'an led by Zhu Huarong is a central enterprise, with a mature system, complete technology and long-term development and understanding of the automotive industry; Compared with the cold capitalists, Zhu Huarong is "gentle and elegant, and helps the world" People believe that Zhu Huarong will not underestimate Gao He when others are in danger, and will not pit and harm others when they are "in trouble".
So much so that when Zhu Huarong made an "emotional" speech on behalf of corporate interests, people didn't think it was the real Zhu Huarong.
People close to Zhu Huarong described him as "a rare person with dreams in the state-owned enterprise system, and he realizes his dreams for himself and for the company." "When it's good, it's with Chang'an, and if it's not good, it's also with Chang'an.
As a manager of a state-owned enterprise, Zhu Huarong is low-key and vigilant enough; As the helmsman of the car company, Zhu Huarong is determined and calm and sober.
Of course, Zhu Huarong's self-confidence also comes from "Chang'an". Last year, Changan's entire group size was 2.55 million units, and its sales volume increased by 210,000 units compared to 2022. Although the increase is not large, the market share of fuel vehicles has reached 78%, the first among independent brands;New energy shipments 4810,000 units, which has successfully doubled compared to 2022 and doubled for three consecutive yearsIn the overseas market, Chang'an sold for 3580,000 units, up 48% y/y
In terms of revenue, according to the data, Changan Automobile's operating indicators in 2023 will maintain double-digit growth, and its cash flow will increase by 369 year-on-year6%, a record high, further supporting the sustainable operation of enterprises. In the past three years, it has raised a total of 16.6 billion yuan, and its market value has increased by 54%.
Recently, 27 institutions have given high-quality enterprise ratings to Changan Automobile, with 21 recommending ** ratings and 6 overweight ratingsThe average institutional price target over the last 90 days is 2344, the changes in Chang'an are almost obvious to everyone.
From a certain point of view, the actual business feedback also indicates that Changan Automobile has great growth potential, suggesting that Changan has the ability to do the integration of multiple industries and horizontal and vertical investment. Zhu Huarong knows this better, and Ren Zhengfei and Ding Lei also know that they are willing to believe in the laws of the market and believe that market competition is never a single enterprise's adventure, but requires the collective expedition of a new generation of business entities.
Just like for the outside world, whether it is a possibility consideration, or the need for a large amount of funds. But the result is at least that Changan Automobile or Zhu Huarong has been paid more and more attention and needed by everyone.
Perhaps because of this, when people re-understand the Changan 2025 vision (Chang'an independent 3 million, 1.05 million new energy vehicles) and Changan 2030 vision (Changan independent 4.5 million vehicles, 2.7 million new energy vehicles), they may have a more different understanding of Zhu Huarong's sentence "Only a world-class company can survive and a world-class Chinese brand will be born, and Changan is among them". (ENDS).
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