"In January of this year, the retail sales of the Ford Ranger were about 2500 units, and the cumulative order quantity exceeded 8000 units, which also made the Ford Ranger's market share in the Chinese pickup truck market reach the top three in the industry." On January 30th, Liu Jisheng, President of Jiangling Ford Technology and Managing Director of Ford Horizons, said in an interview with a reporter from the New Beijing News and Shell Finance, "The Ford Ranger holds over 60% of the market share in the pickup truck segment priced above 150000 yuan."
At the end of last year, the Ford Ranger was officially launched, and at the beginning of this year, Ford Horizon welcomed a good start in 2024. In fact, from the launch of the new channel brand Ford Beyond by Jiangling Ford Technology last year, to the launch of the Ford Ranger at the end of the year, and to the official debut of the domestically produced Ford Liema at the beginning of this year, Jiangling Ford Technology has embarked on a "hard core" transformation in 2023, turning niche hardcore off-road models into mass consumer goods, and has also ushered in a year of successful transformation.
Further improvement of the product, with a 43% increase in annual sales
In 2023, Ford Zongheng's cumulative sales at home and abroad reached nearly 115000 units, a year-on-year increase of 43%; The domestic sales of Ford Lingrui and Ford F-150 Raptor increased by 43% and 372% respectively year-on-year. Jiangling Motors stated in investor research that the current market feedback is good.
The growth in sales is due to its collaborative efforts in product development. In 2023, Ford Zongheng released a total of seven models, including the Ford Ranger, the Ford F-150 Raptor Aoxue Binghui Special Edition, the Ford New Lingyu, the Ford Lingyu Obsidian Orange Edition, the Ford Lingrui 2023, the Ford Lingrui Xinghe Edition, and the Ford all-new Touareg Europe. In addition, the Ford Liema also made its debut in China in 2023.
From the product matrix, in 2023, Ford Zongheng's products will focus on rugged off-road models and SUV models focused on urban exploration. In Liu Jisheng's view, 2023 is a crucial year for Jiangling Ford's technological strategic transformation. While adhering to the Ford brand's "pioneering innovation" spirit, we will adhere to the user centered approach, accelerate product renewal, and bring more Ford's hardcore, legendary, and top-level iconic products to Chinese users, laying a solid foundation for the company's future transformation and development.
Taking Ford Ranger as an example, Liu Jisheng explained why Ford Crossover has gained the favor of consumers. "In the past, when buying a car, consumers' demand was mainly to solve transportation problems. Even though some transportation vehicles were luxurious, they were still essentially a form of transportation." He said, "But now we have found from the Ford Ranger that users have an increasing mentality of 'playing'. After buying a car, users will consider dressing up and planning for travel. These behaviors have great market potential, but currently, a climbing process is still needed."
Liu Jisheng further stated that this has also strengthened Ford Zongheng's confidence. Firstly, Ford Zongheng hopes that when mentioning off-road vehicles, not only will it think of a car, but also its supporting products; Secondly, it is necessary to increase the confidence of dealers, so that consumers can trust Ford Zongheng more and truly take everyone to play together.
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that as another important commercial touchpoint for Ford Zongheng and its end users, Ford Zongheng's sales of modified parts and boutiques have exceeded 8 million yuan in the past month of operation, with a cumulative sales of nearly 10000 pieces, a daily order volume of over 200 orders, and a daily turnover of over 200000 yuan.
In terms of off-road activity venues, Ford Horizon added a total of three new off-road venues last year. At present, new sites located in Jinan, Harbin, Shijiazhuang, Nanchang and other places are under planning. By the end of this year, the number of off-road sites that can serve Ford Crossroads users will reach 7-8.
Deeply cultivating the off-road market, Ford Zongheng creates a one-stop outdoor off-road ecological experience
With changes in lifestyle habits, consumption habits, outdoor lifestyle pursuits, and other factors, car owners hope to turn their cars into "bases". However, in this process of change, SUVs are no longer able to meet the demand, and the ability and level of pickup trucks/hardcore off-road vehicles are gradually becoming more prominent. Huaxi Securities believes that pickup trucks/hardcore off-road vehicles have the dual attributes of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, but they are not a substitute for the two, with huge incremental space and significant expansion in demand for automobiles.
Focusing on market demand and Ford's off-road product advantages, at the 2023 Chengdu Auto Show, Jiangling Ford Technology launched a new channel brand, Ford Beyond, Ford Zongheng; The aim is to provide Chinese users with top-notch outdoor off-road products and experiences, diverse personalized modifications, and a global community experience, to create a one-stop outdoor off-road ecosystem, allowing Chinese users to immerse themselves in the wildest outdoor life.
Last October, the world's first Ford Zongheng Zongxiang Space opened and landed in Chongqing, marking a new chapter for Ford Zongheng in the Chinese market. As of January this year, Ford Zongheng has opened 76 dealerships, achieving coverage in 62 cities; Liu Jisheng stated that by the end of the first quarter of this year, the number of Ford Zongheng Zongxiang space will further increase, reaching over 100, and by the end of this year, it will achieve 180 stores.
In order to allow more Chinese users to truly experience the most "wild" outdoor life, Ford Zongheng has launched three horizontal and vertical services for Chinese users, including a global outdoor off-road community activity, a new outdoor off-road product selection platform "Ford Zongheng Buy", and a "worry free" service with ten major off-road service measures, allowing users not only to have fun in the wild, but also to feel at ease in the wild.
Specifically, according to the personalized needs of different users, Ford Zongheng has customized targeted modification plans for ten major scenarios, including indulging in sand and sea, wading in water and fishing, climbing in the Jedi, outdoor camping, styling modification, long-distance travel, extreme rescue, jungle adventure, cycling photography, and snow driving. Users can customize according to their own needs and fully enjoy different off-road lifestyles; Not only that, Ford Zongheng also provides over 200 official and third-party boutique modification parts, as well as a massive number of modification solutions, fully meeting the personalized expression needs of users.
Of course, in order to ensure that consumers can enjoy outdoor off-road life with peace of mind, the "Zongheng Worry Free" service brand is centered around the full lifecycle service needs of off-road vehicles and different off-road scenarios, launching ten major off-road service measures including "before off-road, during off-road, and after off-road", allowing users to enjoy comprehensive support and protection throughout the off-road experience.
Liu Jisheng gave an example that if a user departs from Beijing to visit Yunnan, Ford Zongheng can provide services to directly transport the vehicle to the destination in Yunnan; Not only that, but also inspection and professional modification services can be provided at local stores. He stated that providing consumers with a value for money experience would increase the likelihood of repeat purchases and recommendations, which is also the long-term principle we adhere to.
For Ford Zongheng, the industry believes that it brings professional, unique, and exciting products and experiences to Chinese consumers, allowing them to enjoy a one-stop outdoor off-road ecological experience that leads the industry.
For the development of Ford Zongheng, Liu Jisheng candidly stated that adhering to a long-term mindset is more important, making products more popular and influential, and will not impose too many restrictions.