打造-长城-非一日之功

打造"长城"非一日之功

Wang Fengying peeks into the room where the video cameras are waiting for her – and then runs down the hall, trailing public relations people, in search of a place to change her dress.

Ms Wang, 40, is the chief executive of the first Chinese car company to win approval to sell its cars throughout the European Union.

As the centre of gravity of the global car industry shifts to the East –with the emergence of China last year as the world's largest auto market – this is a woman to be reckoned with in an industry dominated by men.

Her company, Great Wall Motor Company, is a leading seller of that quintessential boy's toy, the sport utility vehicle. Great Wall sold more SUVs in China last year than any other domestic auto brand.

But Great Wall aims to be more than a peddler of off-road status symbols. It is jockeying for position as the next Hyundai – an Asian exporter of good cars at cheap prices.

In 2008, Great Wall sold nearly half its vehicles overseas (30 per cent last year due to the financial crisis). Ms Wang aims to sell 600,000 vehicles overseas by 2015, out of total forecast production of 1.8m; and she has already expanded beyond SUVs to small cars.

The Western auto industry, its confidence shaken by the global economic crisis, is watching companies such as Great Wall very closely.

Chinese carmakers are still a generation behind the West, but catching up quickly. Analysts say that alternative fuel technology could allow Chinese carmakers to leapfrog the internal combustion generation altogether.

Which Chinese company will be the first to break into the top ranks of global carmakers?

Geely, the independent car company that will shortly buy Volvo from Ford? BYD, the Warren Buffett-backed carmaker that plans to export electric cars to the US this year? SAIC, the state-owned powerhouse? Or could it be Great Wall, which is quietly laying the groundwork for a push into Europe?

Ms Wang advocates the notion that before you sell cars, you have to prove they are worth buying. So she has focused on the lengthy process of getting

the EU's prestigious Whole Vehicle Type approval for four Great Wall models, which permits sales throughout the internal market.

However, she does not think that even such a badge of quality will overcome consumer suspicion of brand China.

“Many consumers around the world have doubts about products made in China,” she says, acknowledging that it scarcely helps to come from a country famous for selling poisoned baby milk.

Such candour endears her to business partners and foreign rivals.

Suppliers say she pays her bills on time (a simple virtue not shared by some competitors), while industry insiders value her lack of bluster.

Great Wall “aims before they fire the gun”, says Bill Russo, head of auto consultancy Synergistics and former head of Chrysler in China.

“Many Chinese auto companies dream beyond their capabilities and there is something to be said for that . . . But Great Wall is different: if they are talking about it, they have already done it.”

Ms Wang, who is a delegate at this week's National People's Congress in Beijing, says the government must help overcome China's brand handicap. It must set minimum standards for the “made in China” label. No longer a badge of infamy, made in China must become synonymous with quality.

“People know that Switzerland is famous for its watch industry and Japan is known for manufacturing. China ought to start focusing on the brand building of Chinese automakers,” she says. However, Ms Wang has no illusions that it will be quick or easy to establish her brand in Europe. “Chinese auto brands are not established in those areas. For a product without branding, pro-gress will be slow,” she says.

At a time when many Chinese business people display self-confidence that the country has emerged almost unscathed from the economic crisis, Ms Wang is not predicting that China will take over the automotive world anytime soon.

“Chinese auto companies will need 20 years to become famous in international markets,” says Ms Wang.

They may not take as long as Toyota did –and they will study the Japanese carmaker's mistakes in the current recall crisis –but building a global

automotive powerhouse will take “longer than the outside world thinks”, she says.

王凤英朝架好摄像机等着她的房间瞥了一眼，然后穿过走廊，跟在公关人员身后，找地方换衣服。

现年40岁的王凤英是中国首家将获准在欧盟(EU)全境销售汽车的汽车公司的首

席执行官。

随着全球汽车业重心东移——去年中国成为全球最大的汽车市场——在这个由

男人主宰的行业中，王凤英是一位不容小觑的女性。

她所供职的长城汽车公司(Great Wall Motor Company)是运动型多功能车(SUV)

的领先销售商，SUV是青年才俊们心爱的玩具。去年，长城SUV在国内的销量超过了所有国产汽车品牌。

但长城的目标不止是销售这种被视作社会地位象征的越野产品，它正谋求成为下一个“现代”(Hyundai)——一家质优价廉的亚洲汽车出口商。

2008年，长城近一半的汽车销往海外（去年由于金融危机，出口比例降至30%）。王凤英的目标，是到2015年生产180万辆汽车，其中60万辆用于出口。除了SUV以外，该公司已开始生产小排量汽车。

由于全球经济危机而信心动摇的西方汽车行业，正密切关注长城这样的汽车公司。

中国汽车制造商仍比西方同行落后了一代，但它们正在迅速追赶。分析师称，借助替代燃料技术，中国汽车制造商有可能跳过内燃发展阶段。

中国哪家公司将率先跻身世界顶尖汽车制造商之列呢？

即将从福特(Ford)手中收购沃尔沃(Volvo)品牌的民营汽车公司吉利(Geely)？

获得沃伦?巴菲特(Warren Buffett)支持、拟于今年向美国出口电动车的比亚迪(BYD)？国有巨头上汽集团(SAIC)？还是正为进军欧洲市场悄然奠定根基的长

城？

王凤英提倡这样的理念：在销售汽车之前，你必须证明自己的汽车值得购买。为此，她把精力都放在了为4款长城汽车争取欧盟“整车型式认证”(WVTA)的漫长过程上。WVTA认证具有很高的声誉，获得这项认证，就可以在欧盟所有市场进

行销售。

不过，她认为，即使是通过了这样的质量认证，也无法消除消费者对中国品牌的疑虑。

她表示：“世界各地许多消费者都对中国制造持怀疑态度。”她承认，出身于一个以销售有毒婴儿奶粉闻名的国家，绝不是什么有利的背景。

这种坦率的态度，为她赢得了商业合作伙伴和外国竞争对手的尊敬。

供货商表示，她会按时付款（有些同行并不具备这种简单的美德）；业内人士则赞赏她内敛的作风。

Synergistics汽车咨询公司总裁、克莱斯勒(Chrysler)前中国区总裁比尔?拉索(Bill Russo)表示，长城“瞄准后才会开枪”。

“许多中国汽车公司不自量力，这方面有一些例子……但长城不一样：如果他们谈起某件事，那么他们就已经着手在做了。”

王风英是本周在北京召开的人大会议的代表之一。她表示，中国政府必须帮助克服中国品牌的发展障碍。她表示，中国政府必须制定“中国制造”的最低标准。“中国制造”必须洗脱恶名，成为质量的代名词。

她表示：“人们知道，瑞士以其手表行业闻名，日本以制造业闻名。中国应开始着重于国内汽车制造商的品牌建设。”不过，王凤英并不幻想能够在欧洲轻而易举地树立品牌。“中国汽车还没有在那些地区树立起品牌。对于一种缺乏品牌知名度的产品，进展会比较缓慢。”

目前，中国许多商界人士都自信地认为，中国已经近乎毫发无损地摆脱了经济危机。但王风英并不认为，中国将很快在全球汽车行业占据主导地位。

她表示：“中国汽车企业要在国际市场上扬名，将需要20年的时间。”

她表示，他们或许不必经过丰田(Toyota)那么长的时间——他们将学习借鉴这家日本汽车制造商在当前召回事件中所犯下的错误——但是，要成为一家国际汽车业巨擘，用的时间会“比外界所想象的更长”。