Chinese manager on European expansion: “We have to be fast”

Chinese carmaker Chery wants to conquer Europe with the new Omoda brand. Vice President Charlie Zhang explains the strategy.

ADAC editorial team: There are nearly 100 car brands in China. How does Chery rank in China in terms of sales success?

Charlie Zhang: Chery is No. 3 in the Chinese market, we are No. 1 as a car exporter.

Until now Chery was not represented in Europe, now they come with Omoda brand cars, and Spain is the first country to do so. Why Spain of all places?

We think people in Spain are more open to new brands, not too flexible. That is why we believe that we can start well here. But we will be represented very quickly in other European countries, including Germany. We continue step by step. We are still learning what makes customers love Europe.

How do customers in China rate?

Totally different. In Europe, cars are widely rented and leased, and car sharing is also an important topic. The Chinese don’t want to rent, they want to own a car. The car is an important part of his personal life. The priority is at home, then comes work and then your own car. The Chinese identify themselves very much with their car;

The second thing is: the car must be like a smartphone. A smart device. It should be very well connected. You must be able to watch movies, play games, listen to music and much more. A car is a place of entertainment. For Europeans this seems to be of little importance, at least for now.

The third thing is: high quality. The quality of Chinese love. They spend a lot of money on a car and expect high quality in return. The reason why German cars are so successful in China is their high quality. Made in Germany it enjoys an unusual reputation. That’s where we want to go: attracting quality.

And how can you achieve high quality? Do you have the most accurate workers in the factory?

No (laughs), maybe not. But we have more modern factories and more modern controls, factories are highly automated. The level of automation in the Wuhu factory is 96 percent! That is very high. And as a result, the accuracy in production is very good. The robot does not get tired or lose focus. One can never be as accurate in production as he is. And of course we pay attention to the high quality of the material.

Does that explain your success strategy in Europe?

Yes, but not only. It involves several important factors. We listen carefully to what car buyers want and need. We call it “needs and wants”, that’s what it’s all about. And then we change our products. We have to be quick when making these adjustments to be successful. In summary: good quality, at a good price and, last but not least, good service. Everything has to be prepared as well as possible, otherwise we won’t even need to compete in Europe. We are still small and at the very beginning. We want to learn and we want to grow.

To then strike at a throwaway price?

Dumping is a bad word. Dumping sounds cheap. Our cars are not cheap and they shouldn’t be. Our cars should offer the customer at least one comparable car in the competition, but at an affordable price.