Writing by | Charles
Edited by | Zhou Changxian
“Those who plan great things, place great importance on their overall strategy.”
With this philosophy, Zeng Guofan transformed himself from being an average individual to becoming the greatest statesman of the Qing Dynasty, through his ups and downs in life. Throughout his entire life, Zeng Guofan’s awakening and elevation could not have been achieved without the concept of “strategy.”
The word “strategy” is composed of two Chinese characters: “格” and “局.” “格” refers to the degree of a person’s understanding and recognition of things within their scope of knowledge, emphasizing depth. “局” refers to the size of a person’s cognitive scope in terms of time and space, emphasizing breadth. A person with a good “strategy” would be able to see the future of development and change in a profound and far-reaching way when faced with choices. A “strategy” often affects the overall situation. This applies both to individuals and to countries, and is also true for automotive companies that find themselves in a time of great change.
In the automotive industry, Great Wall Motors is a star enterprise that exudes characteristics of a “wise” company. With an established “strategy” and a keen eye for development opportunities, they have been able to expand over a span of 30 years; from a small-town enterprise to one of China’s top automotive companies, to a multinational behemoth. They have been able to keep up with and lead the pace of technological advancement, from a phase of playing catch-up, to taking the lead, and eventually creating the future. Their product family has grown from nothing, to all-encompassing, making them one of the most popular automotive brands across multiple fields. In such a dynamic industry, Great Wall Motors has been able to establish their position, not only with their aftermarket services, but also through independent research and development of core technologies in making whole vehicles. Their new energy vehicle and smart technologies are indicative of their forest ecosystem, which comprises multiple species circulating and developing in harmony, providing a constant stream of energy and vitality to withstand challenges and to maintain steady development.
In the face of the stagnant period of the Chinese automotive market, and the onset of the era of green and intelligent automobiles, how does one break through obstacles and continuously make improvements as an enterprise? In the economic downturn caused by the century pandemic, how does one last through the cycle, maintain stability, continue the trend of development, especially in times of change such as the current era? These are the life and death issues that every vehicle’s enterprise needs to tackle. While other competing companies are still figuring out solutions to these problems, Great Wall Motors has already provided us with a standard answer through their consistent forest ecosystem.
Turn crisis into opportunity, and sail ahead of the green and intelligent era
Wise people prevent misfortune before it occurs, while smart people prepare for catastrophes before they arrive. In the business world, successful entrepreneurs are always prepared for any situation, and keep a careful eye on changing market demands through their insight, vigilance, and foresight. They understand the rule of the game, follow basic business principles, and continuously improve by upgrading their products and services to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers.
Great Wall Motors has shown remarkable success through multiple breakthroughs and advancements. In corporate strategic decision-making, Great Wall Motors has always had a wide-ranging historical vision and long-term perspective, focusing on results rather than immediate benefits. They also understand that the future is always in flux, and that it is essential to have a comprehensive view of the potential for development and change. As a result, when the challenges of low-carbon and intelligent vehicles come, they are already equipped with the powerful ammunition of a forest ecosystem. They calmly face challenges and seize opportunities to transform crises into new opportunities to outperform competitors around the corner.In terms of low-carbon layout, Great Wall Motors adheres to a comprehensive technical path in a “horizontal” manner, with efficient fuel power systems, hybrid power systems, pure electric power systems, and hydrogen fuel power systems, providing an integrated solution for automobile low-carbonization. In a “vertical” manner, Great Wall Motors’ low-carbon layout extends upstream and downstream along various technical paths, running through the major links of the industrial chain, from upstream lithium mine raw materials, green hydrogen production technologies, to midstream core component technologies such as batteries, electric drives, hydrogen energy, and downstream new energy vehicle production, charging piles, hydrogen refueling stations, and other landing applications. Through the “multiple horizontal, multiple vertical” industrial layout, Great Wall Motors has woven a comprehensive ecological network covering the entire new energy vehicle industry chain, thus gaining mastery over the autonomy and initiative of low-carbon automobile technology throughout the entire chain and all nodes, fully demonstrating the vision and pattern of a large enterprise, and unleashing infinite potential for future development.
In terms of automobile intelligence, Great Wall Motors has also built its own core technological competitiveness. Empowered by intelligent research and development institutions such as the Product Digital Center, Haomo Intelligence, Nobo Technology, etc., Great Wall Motors takes highly intelligent technology for the entire vehicle, from inside to outside, as the key research and development object, and focuses on intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, smart line-controlled chassis, and new electronic and electrical architecture, establishing a full-stack self-research capability, evolving from “perception intelligence” to “cognition intelligence” comprehensively, and building an intelligent and connected vehicle centered on the user’s travel scenes, solving their pain points, and satisfying their needs.
Consolidating industry pillars into stronger synergy and winning the future forest ecology
There are no successful enterprises, only enterprises of the times. Nowadays, whether it is emerging technologies such as new energy and intelligence, or group companies, no one can forever be a solitary island in the sea. In order to realize the value and significance of existence, ultimately, it is necessary to link up with other islands, empower each other, evolve and grow together, and become a community with a shared destiny, that is, an ecological system. For a modern enterprise, especially for long-term development, ecology is increasingly important. Constructing a strong and diverse ecological system can effectively activate the innovation genes of the enterprise and promote stronger commercial value transmission between technologies and businesses. This is also true for Great Wall Motors’ forest ecology.
Great Wall Motors’ forest ecological system is a set of ecological system centered on the entire vehicle, with a comprehensive layout of new energy and intelligent-related technology industries, achieving multi-species interaction and continuous evolution. It has the advantages of open, coexistence, sharing, efficient cooperation, and evolutionary growth. The four major business segments of product matrix, intelligent technology, new energy, and research and development system, which are independent and diverse, are integrated into a coordinated and united “legion organization” to consolidate a stronger synergy.
Great Wall Motors has developed a comprehensive layout in the intelligent field, with renowned technology companies such as HauMa Intelligent, Xiandou Intelligence, and NuoBo Technology. In the field of new energy and power, it has leading enterprises such as Honeycomb Energy, Moshine Energy, Beehive Easycruiser, and Jide Lighting Energy. In research and manufacturing, it has established companies such as Jigsaw Automotive, NuoBo Automotive, and Mand Electronics and Appliances. Its complete vehicle products include many brands such as Haval, WEY, Great Wall Cannon, and ORA. The Great Wall Motors forest ecological system integrates these independent and diverse companies through “single-point elements” to form different industrial ecological chains. It uses internal efficient industrial synergy and resource docking to promote mutual empowerment among different industrial chains and achieve efficient feedback mechanisms to create value. It realizes “nutrient sharing” of resources, experience, and technology between traditional car manufacturing, intelligent cars, and new energy vehicles, resulting in a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts, providing sustained growth momentum and risk resistance for the enterprise. This is the “intelligent development” of the Great Wall Motors multi-species cyclic development forest ecology.
The “intelligence” of the Great Wall Motors forest ecology also lies in its openness. Subsidiaries in various fields and sectors not only have efficient internal synergy but also participate in market competition and open empowerment externally. This is in stark contrast to traditional car companies that focus only on their own production and sales. Following Darwin’s law in nature, the survival and evolution of species that can survive under natural conditions must undergo natural selection. “Siloed” thinking can be problematic as it can lead to disconnection from the outside world. By opening up its technological achievements and participating in market competition, Great Wall Motors can better adapt to changes in customer needs and market demands, and thus generate more vitality for its long-term development.
Turning risks into value growth points, management wisdom to navigate the cycle
Through an open, symbiotic, shared, efficient, and evolving forest ecology, Great Wall Motors has achieved full coverage of emerging technologies such as new energy and intelligence. It can extend its business through its business model, and continuously expand and improve its ecological circle by introducing high-quality partners. In this ecological circle, suppliers, enterprises, customers, and partners are integrated into a community with a common destiny. Rather than competing individually, each entity works together towards a common goal, greatly reducing internal consumption and achieving win-win cooperation. Through the benign cooperation and competition within the ecological circle and the external competition in the open market, the growth and evolution of the ecological circle are constantly promoted. The Great Wall Motors forest ecological system provides a positive business model for enterprise development.
Under such an ecosystem, Great Wall Motors (GWM) has established a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship among its business segments or subsidiaries at all levels, completely breaking down organizational barriers and forming a strong and stable internal collaborative mechanism. By sharing data, resources, and information with the goal of empowering the entire vehicle, GWM strives for win-win cooperation and value creation to assist in rapid product innovation. In a market full of homogeneous products, GWM maintains its advantage by continuously pursuing strong technical innovation and meeting customers’ higher demands with differentiated competitive advantages.
At the same time, GWM’s forest ecosystem, with its independent and controllable core technologies, also has multiple values, such as resisting external risks, reducing operating costs, and increasing profit opportunities.
In recent years, the automotive industry has been facing numerous difficulties caused by the effects of the pandemic, chip shortages, and rising raw material prices, and the large industrial chain in the automotive industry has exponentially increased the risks. Any problem in materials, components, or any other link may cause unpredictable impacts on products. Through the operation of the complete industry chain in the forest ecosystem and the control of core technology, GWM can effectively control product costs and delivery cycles, thus avoiding external uncontrollable risks and supporting the company’s steady progress in the complex global competition environment.
In addition to being able to resist external risks by means of independent and controllable technology and production in the forest ecosystem, GWM can also reduce costs, enhance product competitiveness in the market, and bring more value growth points to the company by actively participating in external competition, going to the market, and creating excess benefits.
Facing unprecedented changes, GWM, with its inclusive ecosystem and evolving advantage, opens up a future development pattern for the company, deserving the title of visionary strategist. In the specific operations of various business segments, GWM is down-to-earth, steadfast, and persevering, insisting on continuous improvement as the executor of excellence. GWM still has the confidence and determination to lead the era and create the future.
The tide will eventually rise, and the era will not let down sincere people.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.