Let the red flag fly

The national automobile brand Hongqi is a household name. From annual sales of less than 5,000 vehicles to production and sales of more than 300,000 vehicles, from single models to diversified models… In recent years, under the background of the transformation and upgrading of the global automobile industry, China FAW Group Co., Ltd. has stimulated corporate vitality and improved operational efficiency through reform, and strived to explore the road of high-quality development. At present, FAW is comprehensively promoting electrification, intelligence, and networking to expand the upward development space of national automobile brands.

Reform, let FAW "reborn"

Yang Yongxiu is a senior technician at FAW Research and Development Institute. In recent years, FAW’s accelerated reform has given him more room to display his talents. He is mainly responsible for the numerical control processing of core precision components such as high-end engines, gearboxes and chassis independently developed by Hongqi. He has overcome more than 130 technical problems and saved and created more than 12 million yuan of value for the group company. At the age of 35, he has won honors such as National Technical Expert and National May Day Labor Medal.

"There are still many young people like me in FAW, and the stage will be as big as everyone’s dreams, technology and ability," he said.

In 2017, FAW carried out the "four-energy" reform, that is, "cadres can go up and down, employees can come in and out, salaries can be high and low, and institutions can increase and decrease". The whole group competed for recruitment, senior managers competed for positions, the average age dropped by 3 years, and the proportion of young cadres increased by 13.3%. At the same time, the market-oriented reorganization of the organization formed a more professional, fine and flat structure and operation model, and the group headquarters was directly responsible for the operation of the Hongqi brand.

The reform has stimulated a sense of competition, and FAW employees have become more motivated. It has become a general consensus to compete for jobs, and the sense of crisis has also increased.

In September 2020, FAW implemented a more systematic reform of the new three-year term of office for senior managers, setting goals first and then taking up positions, and encouraging challenges to high goals. The matching of senior managers was completed within a week, and the average age of cadres was reduced by 1.4 years. According to the plan, these reform measures will continue during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period to continuously stimulate employees’ enthusiasm for entrepreneurship.

Innovation makes FAW "alive and kicking"

Since the establishment of the Hongqi brand in 1958, it has become one of the representatives of China’s national automobile high-end brands, but its marketization road has not been smooth sailing. Since 2018, Hongqi has highlighted the brand core and created four product series of L, S, H and Q. Sales will exceed 300,000 in 2021, an increase of more than 60 times in 4 years.

Behind this, it is inseparable from the corporate culture that places more and more emphasis on innovation. After the launch of Hongqi H9, H9 + models were also launched one after another. H9 + models are divided into Dunhuang version, Magnolia version and Forbidden City version. These models are combined with traditional Chinese culture, which is refreshing.

In the first two months of this year, the red brand sold 63,800 units, an increase of 40% year-on-year.

The sales volume of the Hongqi brand depends not only on marketing, but also on the support of technology. FAW’s total R & D investment in 2021 was 21.42 billion yuan, an increase of 3.9% year-on-year, accounting for 3% of revenue; it achieved 63 key core technology breakthroughs and completed 4,757 patent applications. Among them, the first domestic V-shaped 8-cylinder direct injection supercharged (referred to as "V8TD") engine independently designed by FAW completed trial production last year, reaching the leading level of similar models in the world. The domestic snowmobile jointly developed by FAW and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Co., Ltd. broke the long-term monopoly of foreign brands on the Chinese snowmobile market.

FAW Party Secretary and Chairperson Xu Liuping said that each Red Flag product must have more than two global premiere technologies, otherwise it will not pass the product definition.

Open up, let FAW "walk in the forefront"

Xu Liuping said that Hongqi aims to become the leading independent high-end passenger car brand, and FAW is committed to building a global brand influence.

At the end of February, FAW and BYD joint venture power battery project officially started, the total investment of the project 13.50 billion yuan, all reached the post-production will meet the 1 million sets of electric vehicles supporting demand, to achieve output value of more than 20 billion yuan. Wang Chuanfu, chairperson and president of BYD joint stock company, said that BYD will strengthen cooperation with FAW, accelerate the transformation of green technology to the nearest landing, and contribute to making the national car brand bigger and stronger.

Cooperation can lead to win-win results. FAW has carried out in-depth cooperation with Huawei and other enterprises, as well as universities such as Tsinghua University and Jilin University, to expand the development space of enterprises.

The interaction between government and enterprises is also accelerating FAW’s "walking in the forefront". Jilin Province, Changchun City, FAW and State Grid jointly launched the "Banner E Spring City, Green Jilin" project, and strive to use 3 years to put 34,000 new energy taxis, online car-hailing, official vehicles, to achieve "battery bank" circulation battery 41,000 block scale, and 120 new operation and exchange power stations.

According to the plan, by 2025 FAW will achieve sales of more than 6 million vehicles, an average annual growth of about 8%; operating income of more than one trillion yuan, an average annual growth of 8% to 9%.

Xinhua News Agency, Changchun, March 20