On May 25, 2007, Sina Auto Editor invited Mr. Tian Yi, Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of Automobile Marketing Experts Committee, and Mr. Wang Pingsheng, Editor-in-Chief of Car Magazine, to visit Sina. Through the Sina live video platform, he talked with netizens about the upcoming Corolla, Haima 3, and Maiteng, introducing the highlights of these new cars and analyzing the future prospects of these new cars.
Host: Good afternoon Sina netizens! Today we are going to talk about the new models are Corolla, Maiteng and Seahorse 3. Mr. Tian Yi, Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the Automobile Marketing Expert Committee, and Mr. Wang Pingsheng, Editor-in-Chief of Car Magazine, came to our scene to participate in this chat. The two of you say hello to everyone!
The Corolla has largely maintained the chassis platform of the older model, but has undergone significant changes in its exterior design
Wang Pingsheng: Hello Sina netizens!
Tian Yi: Hello everyone, I am very happy to discuss with you today the issue of new cars.
Host: Let’s talk about the Corolla model first, because netizens pay more attention to this model. Teacher Tian, what is your general understanding of this car?
Tian Yi: It should be said that the entire impression of the Toyota car may have a general impression, that is, under the brilliance of its so-called bull’s head logo, it is still the consistent style of the Toyota car. It is relatively moderate and stable. But compared with the tenth and ninth generation Corolla, it should be said that it still has some things to be proud of in terms of appearance and new technology.
But I don’t think there’s much to say about Toyota’s car purely in terms of the model, which we know to communicate with netizens, or if it really represents some cutting-edge things in the world’s automotive development technology. But this doesn’t mean how this car is perceived in the market or among consumers. I just look at the car itself from the perspective of the car, the car itself, or the general trend of automotive technology development in the world today. This car is still the same style as all the models launched by Toyota, that is, it maintains a style of balance, moderation and stability.
Moderator: It targets consumers in all different regions of the world.
Tian Yi: Yes, it is still the global sales champion such a model, which is more due to its reliability, stability and its added value of service or the value of Toyota’s own brand.
Moderator: What about the price of its models? Will it have the same price advantage as in other regional markets?
Tian Yi: I think this is indeed a problem that FAW Toyota is facing now. I think these models launched by FAW Toyota, compared with Guangzhou Toyota, for example, compared with Camry, all models are still more personalized, or more cultural, or more suitable for a certain group of people. There are many such models. For example, a model like Camry seems to be all-you-can-eat. So this model, especially if it is the ninth generation Corolla, it is more like a vehicle that has been opened to traffic, and the tenth generation Corolla is more like a model that is a bit personalized or more determined by the market.
Host: That is to say, its external design determines its characteristics?
Tian Yi: Yes, because it is more avant-garde and has a slightly European feel compared to the ninth generation, it may face a problem of market share in this Chinese market. It does not mean that its car is good or bad. For example, I have always felt that its wisdom, from various configurations, or from the feeling, should not be worse than Camry, and even better than Camry in many places, in terms of indicators. But it just can’t keep up with Camry in terms of sales, which is a very real problem. This is also a common problem determined by the characteristics of the Chinese consumer market. This may also depend on how FAW Toyota can objectively balance to deal with such problems. This is my opinion.
Host: What are Mr. Wang’s thoughts on the design of the new Corolla?
Wang Pingsheng: Yes, I very much agree with what Mr. Tian has just summarized. It is quite comprehensive. Toyota’s strategy in China is indeed that the car it makes is not as technologically advanced as the German car. It is very unique. It is a comprehensive balance, including its space, configuration, and especially its configuration. The Camry is a very typical example. This car is designed to be more atmospheric first. The tenth-generation Corolla is more of an inheritance of the Camry Guangzhou Toyota Camry style, just one size smaller, so it is in the same vein as its design.
But in terms of configuration and interior style, it should be said to be more understanding, because the Japanese, as an Asian, know more about the Chinese market. Chinese consumers’ demand for cars does not require advanced, but he requires you to use enough, better balance, especially space, some configurations, what you want makes you unable to pick out faults, but in fact you say that this car can outperform others at one point, which is difficult. From the appearance design, Toyota insists on a self, I can’t remember whether it is a four-meter or five-meter effect, five-meter intention. Looking at this car from five meters away, you will be very impressed by it and attracted by its appearance.
Tian Yi: He means that you can get consumers by driving five meters up, and that’s what he means.
Wang Pingsheng: This may be his marketing strategy. If you can like this car directly from five meters, I think it is a bit exaggerated.
Host: I know that Mr. Wang has a little more contact with the product market, because I understand that the new Corolla actually has its platform site platform and the ninth generation model should not be much different. It may have changed the gearbox, and then the engine has some minor changes. What kind of progress do you think it has compared to the ninth generation in actual driving?
Wang Pingsheng: To be honest, this car is indeed like what you just mentioned, that is to say, this is a great feature of Japanese cars. When it is replaced by models and platforms, its territory includes its suspension. Changes in this regard should not be particularly large. So is Corolla. Its appearance is obviously a reborn change from the ninth generation, but in fact its driving feeling, including its chassis, and suspension. These components are not much different from the ninth generation. This is why it can control the cost very low. The price of this car is very low. Now I also took a look at the network. I think the price of this car may be lower, such as from 130,000 to 190,000. Due to the lack of updates, it is said that the procurement of components, including costs, will be very low, which gives it a competitive advantage.
Tian Yi: It should be said that if this car wants to fight a very beautiful one, it is still in the Chinese battle, and if the Corolla’s Chinese battle is to be played very beautifully, I guess he will do a lot of ambush things in terms of price. Otherwise, looking at it now, I think it is difficult for him to achieve a market effect like the Camry if he simply analyzes the competitors of this model as a whole. If there is not a lot of abdominal wall in terms of price, there is not a lot of ambush, I feel like this. But I think this car still has a lot of so-called advocates in China, and many people are looking forward to it. If it can also make a move that surprises the market or surprises consumers in terms of price, then its brilliance can still be displayed. But now we are all waiting to see what the outcome will be on the 28th.
Host: So in China’s current market consumption environment, price may be a leading aspect of car purchases that overrides all factors.
Tian Yi: Yes, why do you say that? Because I once communicated with them, the senior manager of FAW, and they set the annual sales of this car at 150,000 cars. This sales volume is quite amazing. If you want to complete such an annual plan, if there are no bigger concessions on the price, or if you open a bigger opening, then this car is also more difficult. It is indeed difficult to achieve annual sales 150,000 cars. Because there are many excellent cars in this level, including Fox, Tiida, Yida, etc., so there are many excellent models at this level, and they are all excellent, and the prices are all pressing down, so now FAW Toyota is indeed facing such an economical jungle area.
Wang Pingsheng: But FAW Toyota should be well prepared. In fact, when the Camry came out, it was also the same, as well as Guangdong Accord and Passat, which sold over 100,000 vehicles a year. When he came out, he sold both of them, so Chinese consumers still recognize this car.
Host: Asians are more aware of the mindset that Asians use.
Wang Pingsheng: Yes.
Host: Do you think the listing of the Corolla will change the price of the current competing models, further adjust the price, or what? Maybe it ultimately depends on the final price positioning of the Corolla?
Wang Pingsheng: I personally feel that it will definitely have an impact, but it is not likely to reduce the price for promotion as before. Because now family cars below Class B and above Class A, it should be said that within the range of Class A cars, it should be said that the price is still relatively pragmatic. There should not be many inflated places in it. The price may be adjusted in a small range, but it will not drop significantly. That is unlikely.
Tian Yi: I also agree with Mr. Wang’s statement, that is, among all the so-called models that can constitute competitors, the star models are now relatively stable in terms of price and sales, and in terms of market performance and their own feelings, there are basically relatively few people who are particularly dissatisfied. Therefore, if this car is listed, unless he has a very big new price initiative, I think these models are currently affected, but they will not be affected too much.
Host: I think in China, in fact, the ninth generation, for example, is sold in parallel with the tenth generation model. I think it should be a very useful sales model in China.
Wang Pingsheng: Yes, now that the new car comes out, the old car will be discontinued, but the main reason in China is…
Host: I think it’s still a matter of market capacity.
Wang Pingsheng: Yes, the market space in China is too large, and it is different. For example, Beijing may not be interested in some entry-level models like Geely, but in fact Beijing can only represent a part of it, so the market space in secondary cities and other cities is still very large.
Host: So one China may represent several global consumer trends, with some particularly peculiar means of consumption.
Tian Yi: The situation where several generations of models are sold together is very Chinese, because there are many different aspects of consumption brought about by the so-called economic cascade strategy or the economic development cascade terrain in China, and for example, many new models are often in terms of emissions, or more articles have been made in this regard, but in the end, for example, many regions in China do not have to pay attention to emissions or pay attention to other factors such as fuel. Therefore, it should be said that China has its market for a variety of models, because lower ones, such as Geely or some such markets, are still very broad. Therefore, multi-generation sales are indeed in line with China’s national conditions. In the past, many people also had a lot of debates on this issue, but I think the market can determine everything. If there is demand, it means that it has market performance.
Host: And I think doing this will make the new Corolla better market-priced because it has no worries.
Tian Yi: Even I think it is very likely that there will be a market scenario where, for example, the sales of the ninth generation corolla will be higher than the sales of the tenth generation corolla.
Host: I think so too. (laughs)
Tian Yi: This scenario is very likely to occur.
Moderator: I’ll insert a 30-second commercial first, and come back later.
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