(Original Title: WEY Brand Sets Sail Again - Intelligent Innovation and Globalization Journey Led by Technology)
Reported by Pulsestacks on May 8th, WEY, as the high-end brand under Great Wall Motors, has been tasked with enhancing brand value and driving its overall improvement since its inception. With intensifying competition in the Chinese market, WEY's sales performance has fluctuated, its brand strategy has undergone multiple adjustments, lacking continuity and uniqueness in communication and positioning, leading to a lack of clear brand image in consumers' minds. On one hand, global luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, are accelerating their presence in China, while domestic brands like Geely Lynk & Co, Chery Exeed, and new forces like NIO, WM Motor are continuously strengthening their positions, further squeezing WEY's survival space.
As global automotive industry competition enters a new stage, Chinese automotive brands are stepping onto the international stage in unprecedented ways. At the 2024 Beijing Auto Show, WEY's new energy theme "Technology WEY, Better Life" showcased its technological strength and brand vision in the field of new energy vehicles, as well as its ambition and strength in smart technology. In a brief exchange with the media by WEY CEO Liu Yanzhao, WEY Deputy General Manager Tan Jian, and WEY Technical Deputy General Manager Zhang Botao, glimpses of Great Wall WEY's future blueprint in electrification, smart connectivity, personalized experience, and more were revealed.
WEY's internal positioning is as Great Wall's top-end brand empowered by technology, directly competing with BBA brands in European pricing. WEY's global market expansion represents a new height of GWM technology and product experience.
Within the year, WEY will achieve full implementation of Hi4 technology across its lineup, fully entering the era of electric four-wheel drive.
Considering the layout of direct sales channels, direct and distribution channels are currently in a complementary state.
No intelligence in driving without safety; "safety and reliability" focus on technical redundancy.
When new energy products become homogenized, a good user experience can win user favor.
WEY's new energy CEO Liu Yanzhao emphasized in an interview that Europe is the primary target market for WEY's globalization strategy. Since last year, WEY's new energy has successfully entered the EU market and received high praise in Germany and other places. This not only recognizes WEY's technological strength but also lays a solid foundation for further expanding into international markets.
Wei's CEO, Liu Yanzhao
In the European market, Wei's new energy adopts the P2+P4 architecture and collaborates with Great Wall Motors' forest ecosystem to tailor a more suitable technological path for different markets. Wei's pricing in Europe directly competes with BBA brands, ranging from around forty thousand euros to sixty thousand euros. Within the Great Wall Motors sub-brands, Wei's new energy can be considered a pioneer in both new energy and intelligent technology. Internally positioned as Great Wall's most high-end technology-enabled brand, Wei's global expansion signifies a new height in GWM's technology and product experience.
Furthermore, Wei's new energy plans to introduce more products globally, including the highly acclaimed mountain models already well-received in the Middle East market.
With intensified homogenized competition in new energy vehicles, how can Wei's new energy drive the overall elevation of the Great Wall brand? According to Liu Yanzhao, the core to winning user favor lies in user experience. The year 2024 is a crucial year for Great Wall Motors' intelligent and technological transformation, focusing on an all-in direction towards intelligentization to enhance user experience. Liu Yanzhao illustrated this point vividly with an example:
"For instance, hardware integration, the 8295 chip is not a so-called barrier; as long as the cost is there, it can be integrated into the car, similar to how smartphones now compete based on system experience and functions, including photography. At the vehicle level, ultimately, the competition lies in whether the intelligent experience is considerate enough, humanized enough, and can anticipate the user's needs. Because often we receive feedback, such as why the voice recognition isn't smooth, why it doesn't understand what I'm saying. Therefore, our future direction includes introducing AI, incorporating large models, all to make the car like a user's life assistant, capable of understanding you, being more considerate, and more humanized.
"For example, if I say I want to pick someone up at the West Station, it should understand that I might be referring to Beijing West Station; if I say I want to go to the airport, it might consider whether at that time you should be picking someone up at T3, T2, or possibly at Daxing, it will engage in a conversation with you, just like a normal person.
"In today's homogenized competition, our intelligent experience also includes NOA. This technology architecture is a true high-precision full-scenario solution, capable of covering various driving scenarios such as high-speed, urban, and rural areas. Drive anywhere, park anywhere!"
Starting from user experience and needs, dedicated to solving user problems, this fully embodies the product manager's mindset. Wei's new energy regards intelligent experience as the core competitive advantage of the brand, requiring in-depth insights into user experience and technical capabilities to address issues. Through continuous investment in technology, intelligence, and science, introducing advanced technologies such as AI, large models, Wei's new energy is committed to making cars a user's life assistant, providing more humanized services, realizing the vision of "Technology Wei, Better Life."
Simultaneously, the Blue Mountain Intelligent Driving Edition showcased at the auto show also demonstrates Wei's latest achievements in intelligence. Prior to the auto show, Great Wall Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun personally led the Great Wall City NOA test live broadcast. On the Blue Mountain Intelligent Driving Edition, the underlying support for NOA was demonstrated for the first time, showcasing the Kyushu Supercomputing Center, end-to-end technical architecture, providing a comprehensive display from technology to product. Its NOA technology architecture can achieve full-scenario autonomous driving, covering various driving scenarios such as high-speed, urban, and rural areas.
To achieve the long-term development of the brand, Wei's new energy has implemented a comprehensive layout in products, technology, channels, and more. In terms of new products, the new Mocha and new Latte will also be equipped with the Hi4 power system, aiming to achieve full Hi4 technology integration across the lineup within the year, ushering in the era of all-electric four-wheel drive.
Regarding technology, Wei's new energy not only focuses on intelligent driving technology but also conducts in-depth research in core areas such as batteries, motors, and electronic control to ensure the technological leadership of its products.
Wei Pai, Deputy General Manager, Tan Jian
Wei Pai, Deputy General Manager, Tan Jian, mentioned that the Blue Mountain Intelligent Driving Edition carries the mission of implementing Great Wall Motors' intelligentization strategy. It is the latest and most advanced mass-produced model featuring Great Wall Motors' cutting-edge intelligent technology. The arrival of Coffee Pilot Ultra advanced intelligent driving assistance and Coffee OS 3 smart space system has elevated the intelligent performance of the Blue Mountain Intelligent Driving Edition to the industry's top tier.
Wei's Deputy General Manager of Technology, Zhang Botao; Wei's CEO, Liu Yanzhao; Wei's Executive Deputy General Manager, Tan Jian.
"Wisdom in driving starts with safety" - this is Great Wall Motors' understanding of smart driving safety strategy. Each year, Great Wall Motors accumulates foundational data through data feedback and professional data collection, utilizing cloud-based large models for effective data mining and automated data labeling to refine valid data. This process enables scenario generation and simulation by creating dangerous, rare, and extreme scenarios to identify bad cases, simulating and verifying massive dangerous driving scenarios, thus enhancing model iteration efficiency. Throughout this process, user data desensitization and privacy protection, which users are concerned about, are also strategically interpreted by Great Wall Motors.
According to the plan, Great Wall's high-precision map city NOA will gradually open in 19 cities in August, September, and October this year, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Chengdu, apart from Baoding. In the future, models like High Mountain, Tank 500, 400, and 700 will also be introduced, with Mocha and Latte featuring a simplified version.
In terms of distribution channels, Wei's new energy will strengthen the construction of direct sales channels, complementing the distribution channels. In Liu Yanzhao's view, direct sales channels not only enhance brand exposure but also cover markets that distribution channels cannot reach, such as emerging markets like supermarkets. This model will also enable Great Wall Motors to connect more closely with end-users, gaining deeper insights into the market and user feedback.
With a strong presence at the Beijing Auto Show, Wei is embarking on a new journey, aiming to establish a brand positioning of "high-end intelligent new energy" and expand its global footprint. Leading with technology, comprehensive electric four-wheel drive and intelligence are not choices but necessities of the times. Embracing the trends of electrification and intelligence, enhancing technological capabilities and user experience, and establishing a more distinctive brand identity are key to boosting the domestic market and accelerating global strategic implementation.
