At the beginning of the new year, as the only boat in China to participate in the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race, the Dongfeng commercial vehicle named “Dongfeng†sailed from Abu Dhabi to Sanya The third stage, heading for the home port, embarked on a journey back to China.
The “Dongfeng†sailing in the four oceans at the moment is far more than just a sailing boat named by a Chinese car company. It is the first fleet in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race that has more than one Chinese crew. Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles intends to go better on the road to internationalization and make a better international market.
Brands take advantage of "Dongfeng" upwards
On October 4th, the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race kicked off in the blue harbor of Alicante, Spain. The “Dongfeng†sailboat, which was exclusively named by Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd., also opened in the blue ocean. Wave journey ahead.
Founded in 1973, it has more than 40 years of sailing history. It is the world’s top offshore sailing event and one of the world’s three largest sailing events. It has a high degree of recognition and participation in overseas, but it’s big. For most Chinese people, it still seems strange. Why do Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles have to name this ocean-going extreme sports that the Chinese are not very familiar with? This move has also puzzled many people in the industry.
For everyone on this unclear layout, Huang Gang, general manager of East Car Co., Ltd. said that he could understand, but he also stressed the combination of the two points. First of all, based on the strategic alliance between Dongfeng Group and Volvo Group, “It is natural for partners to come together to participate in such events.â€
Secondly, Huang Gang admitted that in terms of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles, brand awareness in overseas markets is not very sufficient. In the world-famous Volvo Ocean Race, the international attention is very high, and many of the routes can cover the target markets of Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle overseas. “With such an event, we will launch some local ones in our target market. Market activities will be more conducive to the emergence of Dongfeng brand in each regional market. We can make good use of this platform to spread the Dongfeng brand."
In the international market chess game
The "Dongfeng" on the Volvo Ocean Race is carrying the international dream of the Dongfeng people and opening a new route for the internationalization strategy of the Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle brand.
Coincidentally, at the same time, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles took its first three models of the Tianlong flagship, Dongfeng Tianlong and Dongfeng Tianjin for the first time and stood on the stage of the world's top international auto show in Hanover, Germany, further enhancing the global recognition of the Dongfeng truck brand. Zhidu also built an international platform for the Dongfeng truck brand.
If you want to play the game in the international market, compared to other rivals, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle seems to have some advantages because he has a heavyweight partner: Volvo Group. Following the signing in early 2013 of the formation of a strategic alliance agreement for the world's largest commercial vehicle, which is capital-linked, the cooperation between the two has entered a substantive stage.
On January 6, 2015, the Volvo Group issued a statement that it has completed the acquisition of a 45% stake in China Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. with a transaction amount of 5.51 billion yuan. After the completion of the acquisition, Volvo Group and Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle will form an associate company. The company focuses on mid- and heavy-duty trucks, medium- and large-size passenger cars and special vehicle parts, vehicle development and technical consulting services. The new company is expected to be established this month. .
As an important part of Dongfeng’s overseas business development, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle’s overseas strategy also has its own direction. At present, in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, most of the emission standards for trucks have reached Euro VI and above, while China is still implementing the National IV Standard. There is still a certain gap between the two. With the gradual upgrade of China's market emission standards, the quality and technology of commercial vehicle products also need to be upgraded simultaneously. This requires the quality of the products themselves to be upgraded. Cooperating with foreign capital, introducing advanced technology of the other party, and seeking product technology upgrading are more realistic choices at the moment. For Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles, the deeper strategic cooperation with Volvo may be the key to its future break.
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