After Wang Xiaoqiu became the new head of SAIC Group, Jia Jianxu became Wang Xiaoqiu's deputy, and Tao Hailong took the helm of SAIC Volkswagen, personnel adjustments regarding the SAIC series are still fermenting.
Recently, it was reported that Zhuang Jingxiong, General Manager of SAIC General Motors, will officially step down in the near future, and Cui Weiguo, Deputy General Manager of SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle Company, will take over. Regarding this, relevant personnel from SAIC General Motors responded that the false news has been confirmed as a rumor.
Since taking office, Zhuang Jingxiong has served for one year and two months. In the eyes of the outside world, Zhuang Jingxiong took over the position of general manager as the "fire brigade captain". Before he took over, SAIC GM's sales had been declining for four consecutive years. Zhuang Jingxiong leads SAIC General Motors to not only maintain the foundation of fuel vehicles, but also accelerate the transformation in electrification and intelligence. The greater test is time, as the joint venture between SAIC and General Motors has only three years left. To deliver satisfactory results before the contract expires, SAIC GM, which is still in a slump, needs to run faster.
Firefighter takes office
Insiders revealed that Zhuang Jingxiong's work ID is within "200" and he is a senior figure of SAIC General Motors.
In 1996, 23-year-old Zhuang Jingxiong participated in the establishment of the SAIC-GM joint venture as a founding member. Afterwards, he began to be responsible for operations management, procurement, and other businesses, serving as Executive Assistant to the Executive Committee of SAIC General Motors, Director of the General Manager's Office, and Executive Director of the Procurement Department.
During his 23 years at SAIC General Motors, he witnessed the company's "two million" achievements. In 2010, during the tenure of Ding Lei, the then General Manager of SAIC GM, SAIC GM's annual sales exceeded one million vehicles, making it the first domestic passenger car company to surpass one million vehicles. At that time, Zhuang Jingxiong was Ding Lei's assistant.
In 2017, during the tenure of Wang Yongqing, the then General Manager of SAIC GM, SAIC GM's sales exceeded 2 million vehicles. The three major brands under SAIC General Motors, Cadillac, Buick, and Chevrolet, cover multiple segmented markets such as sedans, SUVs, and MPVs. Buick alone has sold over a million vehicles. This was a glorious moment for SAIC General Motors, but sales began to decline in the following years.
In 2021, the industry believes that autonomous driving has entered the "second half" of commercialization, and travel platforms are seen as a good carrier for Robotaxi, and SAIC does not want to be absent. In the same year, Zhuang Jingxiong was appointed as the CEO of Xiangdao Travel, a mobile travel company invested by SAIC Group. That year, a large amount of hot money flowed into travel platforms. Xiangdao Travel received 500 million yuan in investment in 2021, and other travel platforms that received financing in the same year were Caocao Travel and T3 Travel.
But compared to the popularity of the travel track, SAIC GM, under the pressure of transformation, may need Zhuang Jingxiong more.
In November 2022, Zhuang Jingxiong returned to SAIC General Motors as the Deputy General Manager and General Manager of SAIC General Motors Sales Co., Ltd. Six months later, Zhuang Jingxiong was promoted to General Manager of SAIC General Motors.
But for Zhuang Jingxiong, the return of SAIC GM is vastly different from when he left.
When Zhuang Jingxiong took over as the general manager of SAIC General Motors, he was compared to a "fire brigade captain" by the outside world.
Before he took office, SAIC GM's sales had been declining for four consecutive years. By 2022, SAIC-GM's sales will reach 1.17 million vehicles, almost halving the high point in 2017. Not only will the existing fuel vehicle market gradually decline, but the sales of new energy vehicles will also be only 49000 vehicles.
Around 2018, SAIC General Motors began to replace several of its flagship models, Buick and Chevrolet, with three cylinder engines. This move is seen by the industry as the "culprit" behind SAIC General Motors' declining sales.
For car companies, three cylinder engines have the advantages of being more fuel-efficient, lightweight, and cost-effective to manufacture. However, for consumers, they also come with drawbacks such as reduced noise, slightly weaker power, and decreased comfort. This has been met with resistance from consumers.
Compared to BBA's hesitation in building a pure electric platform, SAIC GM's transformation speed is very fast. On September 14, 2021, General Motors officially launched the Ultium electric vehicle platform to the Chinese market, with an investment of 70 billion yuan.
The first car under the Autoenergy pure electric platform, Cadillac LYRIQ Ruige, was launched in June 2022, with a starting price of 439700 yuan. Since its delivery, its monthly sales have fluctuated between tens to hundreds of units, with the best sales being only 850 units. This does not allow the Autoenergy pure electric platform to dilute its research and development costs.
Zhuang Jingxiong's mission is to lead SAIC General Motors out of the haze, not only to maintain the foundation of fuel vehicles, but also to accelerate the transformation in electrification and intelligence.
The 'pain' of SAIC General Motors
But firefighting is not an easy task. During the more than a year since Zhuang Jingxiong took over as the head of SAIC General Motors, it was the most intense moment of the price war in the Chinese car market. He also realized this and believed that the key to SAIC GM's transformation was "speed". In terms of software and intelligence, "we need to further accelerate", and in terms of market response, "we need to be faster".
In order to adapt to the Chinese market, Zhuang Jingxiong's philosophy after taking office is to "launch a joint venture mixed in counterattack". In April of this year, SAIC-GM Buick GL8 PHEV was launched and delivered in June. At the delivery site, he even personally handed over the new car keys to the owner. According to the plan, SAIC General Motors will launch 8 new new energy vehicle models in the next two years.
After taking office, Zhuang Jingxiong established the SAIC-GM Software and Digitalization Center and relocated the software development team of Pan Asia to the center, which has been criticized for its outdated intelligent capabilities. This center has achieved linkage with General Motors' North American headquarters in Detroit. Only software made by Chinese people can better meet their needs, "he said.
A person close to Zhuang Jingxiong told 21st Century Business Herald reporters, "Zhuang Jingxiong has been personally involved in this year, keeping up with the facts. Despite the enormous pressure, he has no airs towards the employees." However, the short-term situation of SAIC General Motors cannot be reversed by Zhuang Jingxiong alone.
Under the influence of the "price war", three sub brands under SAIC General Motors have also encountered the problem of overlapping price bands. The price of Cadillac, a second tier luxury brand, has already reached the market space of Buick, while Buick, which focuses on the mainstream domestic market, can only rely on the 100000 yuan level Weilan 6 to exchange for quantity in the new energy market. Chevrolet, which is almost invisible, is also difficult to have a voice in the current market.
As a joint venture car company, decision-making involves both shareholders and the chain is long. Given the market and competitive situation, Zhuang Jingxiong stated that SAIC General Motors has further shortened the decision-making process in order to "make quick decisions and implement them quickly".
However, ideals are beautiful, while reality is cruel. According to sources close to SAIC General Motors, the implementation of intelligent local solutions still faces constraints from General Motors, with Cadillac being an example. Despite General Motors' early research in the field of autonomous driving, the autonomous driving technology used in China is still relatively conservative and requires more approval from General Motors. "Compared to SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC GM's transformation is more difficult.
The difficulties that joint ventures need to overcome are greater than those of independent brands. If the fundamental problem cannot be solved, it is indeed difficult to turn the tide.
In the first half of this year, the production and sales volume of SAIC General Motors both declined year-on-year, with a decrease of 53.97% and 49.98% respectively, making it the subsidiary of SAIC Group with the most severe decline in sales volume.
In the first quarter of 2024, SAIC General Motors incurred a loss of 106 million yuan, marking its third quarterly loss in fifteen years, with the first two occurring during the pandemic.
The basic joint venture agreement between SAIC and General Motors was signed on October 31, 1995, and the joint venture company Shanghai General Motors (later renamed SAIC General Motors) was officially established in June 1997. The joint venture period was 30 years, expiring in 2027.
In three years, the joint venture period between SAIC and General Motors will expire. Whether it can be renewed as scheduled is crucial for the next three years, and the burden will still fall on the shoulders of the helm.