Reported by pulsestacks on April 30
During the 2024 Beijing International Auto Show, pulsestacks invited industry leaders, corporate executives, and expert scholars to step into the "AI Real-time Virtual Studio" to collectively explore the breakthroughs and innovations of the new era and new cars in the immersive experiences of Peak Speed, Netaland, and Content Players.
Exclusive interview with Chen Meng, General Manager of Dongfeng Nanqi, at the 2024 Beijing Auto Show (Source: pulsestacks)
On April 25, Chen Meng, General Manager of the Marketing Department of Dongfeng Nanqi, visited the Netaland "AI Real-time Virtual Studio." He mentioned that Dongfeng Nanqi unveiled the Nanqi 01 Co-Creation Edition at the Beijing Auto Show, embodying its "National Car Co-Creation Plan," which reflects the close cooperation between the company and users to create a high-quality travel experience that meets user needs. In addition, the strategic cooperation between Dongfeng Motors and DJI Carrying on the next mass-produced new car under Dongfeng Nanqi will further strengthen Dongfeng Nanqi's layout in the field of intelligent driving and expand its influence in the national car market.
pulsestacks: Carefully select good cars, co-create peak speed. Welcome to the Netaland interview room at pulsestacks located at the Beijing Auto Show, a virtual space that combines racing speed and trendy culture. Our guest in the interview room today is Mr. Chen Meng, General Manager of the Marketing Department of Dongfeng Nanqi.
Chen Meng: Hello, friends of pulsestacks.
pulsestacks: Can you first introduce the situation of Dongfeng Nanqi's booth at this year's Beijing Auto Show?
Chen Meng: Dongfeng Nanqi's display vehicles are placed on the entire Dongfeng Group's booth, which integrates Dongfeng's Lantu, Mengshi, Fengshen, Yipai, and Nanqi. They also released new cars, Fengshen's L7, eπ008, and Dongfeng Nanqi 01 Co-Creation Edition. So, everyone is welcome to come to our booth for guidance.
pulsestacks: What experiences and feelings do you have at this year's Beijing Auto Show?
Chen Meng: I had many experiences. First, seeing that the entire Beijing Auto Show is dominated by independent brands, second, seeing that the entire Beijing Auto Show is dominated by electric cars. Third, it was gratifying to see that the entire Beijing Auto Show is not just about electric cars but a combination of smart cars and electric cars. There is also a clear phenomenon of smart cars and electric cars being matched and combined, with prices gradually dropping from the previous 300,000 level to the 100,000 level, making it truly affordable and usable for ordinary people, with products that are not only good-looking, fun, but also particularly intelligent. This is the biggest impression.
pulsestacks: We just mentioned the Nanqi 01 Co-Creation Edition, can you give us a detailed introduction to this car?
Chen Meng: Our Dongfeng Nanqi brand was launched in August last year, and on January 7 this year, the first model, Dongfeng Nanqi 01, was launched. After its launch, it received a good response, and we sold many cars. During the Chinese New Year, we conducted interviews with about 3,000 previous Nanqi car owners and our followers, asking them what attracts them to the Dongfeng Nanqi 01, why they didn't buy it, and what they don't like about it. The second question was: What are the pain points and pleasures in the use process? We categorized the questions by appearance, performance, experience, and other aspects, identified the top 20 issues, conducted focused interviews, and found that some customers thought that the taillights would look better if they were continuous, while others thought the car was a bit too rational and hoped for more dynamism and masculinity.
Some said, "I am a post-00s, I am a young person of this era, I hope this car can stand out, be different from others." Later, we launched a Co-Creation Plan worth one billion yuan, with Dongfeng Nanqi putting out one billion for co-creation. How to co-create? Let customers help us modify and improve the vehicles, not just the vehicles themselves, but also including our car usage needs, car usage scenarios, car usage experiences, views on the future, and the content of the entire promotion. Then we launched a co-creation plan, so what we bring today is the first car of the Co-Creation Edition, in fact, in just three short months, our first model has come out, and in the future, we will release a Co-Creation Edition every two to three months.
General Manager Chen Meng from the Dongfeng Nano Marketing Division and Editor-in-Chief Liu Chang from Pulsestacks.
Pulsestacks: Are we extending co-creation based on Nano 01?
Chen Meng: Yes, we are extending co-creation based on Nano 01. In March next year, we will launch a brand-new model, different from 01, it's another completely new model.
Pulsestacks: Will a co-creation version be released every three months or will it be mass-produced?
Chen Meng: It's like this, the factory version of mass production is divided into several types. One is the basic model, the second is modified parts, which will not be mass-produced. It will be based on customer DIY. Whatever type of car clothing you need, whatever configuration you need, I will customize it for you.
Pulsestacks: That's very fitting. In your opinion, what opportunities and challenges does the Chinese automotive industry currently face?
Chen Meng: Because it's really dynamic now, as we just discussed. When it comes to the Chinese automotive industry, everyone's first reaction is dynamic, the second is too dynamic, and the third is how long will this dynamism last?
Actually, we believe dynamism can be divided into two types: one is dynamic in products and customers, dynamic in how we better serve customers. For Dongfeng, we welcome and deeply engage in this because ultimately we need to return to the essence of automobiles. Based on customer usage scenarios, for example, our research shows that about 95% of customers drive alone every day, and 96% of customers drive less than 500 kilometers per week. So, we believe the real customer usage scenarios will run through the entire R&D process. In this regard, we have found that some features are particularly needed by customers, so we strengthen them. Some configurations that our engineers think customers may need, but in reality, customers don't need, we firmly optimize them out. This kind of dynamism will make our work closer to customers, closer from an engineer's and business perspective to a user's perspective. This dynamism is welcome for us, and we will continue to be dynamic.
There is another kind of dynamism, perhaps using the car as a vehicle for financing or valuation. I think this kind of dynamism is temporary and may not be related to the essence of the product. Therefore, Dongfeng Nano is not currently involved in this kind of dynamism. We are involved in how to engage customers, how to engage products, how to make customers feel that we are dynamic in products and services, and how to improve services.
Pulsestacks: As a new brand, how is Dongfeng Nano's channel construction currently progressing?
Chen Meng: Dongfeng Nano has been on the market since January, and currently, we have about 240 channels. Approximately 40 to 50 independent channels are added each month, and by the end of the year, we predict it will reach 450 to 500 channels.
We want to distribute our products in first-tier, second-tier, third-tier, and fourth-tier cities, especially in second-tier, third-tier, and fourth-tier cities. So, at this point, we are using a franchise model, a more traditional franchise model, to allow more dealers and customers to see our products and bring customers into the service we provide.
Pulsestacks: Faced with a very competitive market environment throughout the year, what are Dongfeng Nano's follow-up layout and plans, such as the new car you mentioned earlier for next year?
Chen Meng: In March next year, there will be a new car that is slightly larger than the current Nano 01, more masculine, more SUV-like, and with a longer range. At the same time, we have had in-depth cooperation with DJI Carload. The first product of the cooperation between Dongfeng Motors and DJI Carload will be on the Dongfeng Nano, so stay tuned. The specific in-depth cooperation with DJI Carload is in the car system, not just the car system, but the entire chip system, and the entire unmanned driving and automated driving system have comprehensive cooperation.
Pulsestacks: In terms of user operations, how will Dongfeng Nano interact and develop with users?
Chen Meng: User operations are a broad topic, known as direct user engagement, which comes in many forms. For example, Dongfeng Nano has an official website, official mini-programs, and an official app, all of which are forms of direct user engagement. But in reality, true direct user engagement, we understand, is not about establishing a one-on-one dialogue with users, but truly understanding the user's intentions through research interviews. For example, some users may tell us something, but later you may find that what they said before and after may not be consistent with what we thought. So, at this point, you need to understand the logic behind what the user is saying during the interview. We often encounter such issues.
Therefore, throughout the user operations process, we hope that users can participate in our activities, we can enter into the user's usage scenarios or car needs, establish deeper connections, beyond just cars. For example, how long does it take you to go to work every morning, do you need to take your child to school, how long do you work every day, where do you charge your car, how long does it take to repair your car, do you have any long-term plans, we help them organize based on their lifestyle habits. This kind of interaction is not just about asking a question and getting an answer; it's about finding the best configuration and choice within the user's usage scenario. I believe this is the idea behind our direct user engagement. Pulsestacks: How does Dongfeng Nano make our brand and products more widely known to our users, and what marketing initiatives do we have in place?
Chen Meng: First of all, let's use an analogy - if Wang Po sells melons, the melons must be good. You can't just say, "I can sell them." It's a logical approach. We aim to provide users with more appeals, more needs, and to address their pain points and pleasure points based on their usage scenarios. We focus more on researching how our products can meet users' habits. At this point, we validate whether our design and products are correct. Of course, this is a product-oriented mindset. Through word of mouth and understanding where users are, we figure out how to reach them. We strive for a deep connection and alignment with users. Building a new brand is challenging, but we believe that by solidly laying each brick and doing each step well, it will eventually become easier.
Pulsestacks: Thank you for sharing, Chen Meng. We also hope our online friends will visit Dongfeng's booth to check out the Nano 01 collaborative edition. Thank you, everyone.
