China's Chery prepares to make a splash
A decade ago, private cars in a Chinese city tended to be big and black. But over the last couple of years, a dash of colour has begun to appear on the streets, small darts of metallic lime green and garish yellow.
The bright colours are usually found on the QQ, a micro-car made by Chinese company Chery that was one of the hottest sellers in the domestic car market last year, with sales rising 130 per cent to 110,000 units.
The QQ is one of the models that have taken Chinese companies from being bit players in their own car market to significant competitors. The best selling model in China last year was the Charade, a sub-compact car made by First Auto Works, another local manufacturer.
In total, Chinese brands won a market share last year of 26 per cent, up from 2 per cent in 2000, putting them just behind Japanese brands which had 27 per cent.
The surge of Chinese brands would be of natural interest to the leading global automakers because of the growing importance of the Chinese market. Yet it is of particular significance given that Chery and several other Chinese companies have announced plans over the last year to begin exporting cars to the US and Europe.
"I showed these market share figures to some people in Detroit a few weeks ago, and they were stunned by the Chinese sales," says Michael Dunne, president of Automotive Resources Asia, an industry consultancy based in Shanghai.
The question being asked of the Chinese companies is whether they have won market share simply by selling at low prices, or whether they are also beginning to master the dark arts of branding and marketing - skills they will need if they are to succeed overseas.
Price is definitely a big factor. The QQ retails for Rmb33,000 ($4,109), compared with Rmb46,000 for the General Motors Spark in the same category.
Such low prices have helped create a new generation of car-buyers, less concerned about the status symbol of a large vehicle. The greater fuel efficiency of smaller cars has been an added incentive in a period of higher oil prices.
The Chinese companies have so far faced lower research costs. The QQ first won notoriety through allegations that it was a near-exact copy of the Spark, including the components as well as the shape. Indeed GM sued Chery in China, although the two companies settled the case last year and did not disclose the terms.
The Charade, meanwhile, is an old model licensed from Daihatsu of Japan.
When asked why the QQ is so much cheaper than the Spark, the manager of a Chery dealership in the Pudong area of Shanghai, who asked not to be named, quipped: "Because we do not have patent fees."
QQ sales were more than four times those of the Spark last year. Yet in the case of the QQ, industry observers say there is more to its success than just a low price-tag.
Unlike most other Chinese brands, whose marketing involves glitzy gimmicks to attract first-time buyers, Chery has managed to create a significant amount of buzz around the model, especially among young people.
The brand itself is also the name of an instant messaging service that is popular among young Chinese and the company has used the internet - including collaborations with the Sina.com portal - to reach new consumers. The bright colours have also helped establish an image.
"More than any other Chinese model, the QQ has managed to establish an identity for itself," says Chris Reitermann, managing director of the Beijing office of OgilvyOne, the advertising agency.
The company's sales network has been revamped and is beginning to win plaudits for its flexible approach.
"You can see the same thing with several consumer goods companies in China, like Haier or TCL, and now Chery. They are good at managing the sales channel," says Paul Gao of McKinsey's Shanghai office.
Yet the success of one product does not mean that Chery is now a master marketer. The QQ accounted for 60 per cent of its sales last year and most of its other products are relatively anonymous.
"As a product, the QQ might be more successful than others, but the challenge is to transfer that [to] the whole product range," says Mr Gao.
Moreover, there are still quality concerns about Chery's cars.
According to JD Power, the car consultancy, the QQ generated 30 per cent more problems than the Spark last year.
When Chery starts selling in the US, nothing could scupper its brand name more quickly than persistent quality complaints.
奇瑞启动中国车市“时尚化”
10年前，中国城市居民拥有的私家汽车多是尺寸偏大的黑色汽车。但近两年来，一些其它颜色的汽车开始亮相街头，泛着金属光泽的柠檬绿色和明黄色小型汽车活跃其中，颇为显眼。
这些色彩明亮的汽车通常是QQ汽车。这款车是中国奇瑞汽车(Chery)生产的一款小型车，去年销量为11万辆，较前年增长130%，是中国汽车市场去年最为热销的车型之一。
凭借QQ等车型，中国汽车企业已经从国内汽车市场的小角色变成了重要竞争者。中国去年最热销的车型为小型汽车夏利(Charade)，由另一家本土汽车制造商一汽(First Auto Works)生产。
整体而言，中国汽车品牌去年已经占据了26%的市场份额，远远高于2000年的2%，仅次于拥有27%市场份额的日本品牌。
由于中国市场的重要性日益提高，中国汽车品牌的崛起自然引起了全球领先汽车制造商的关注。随着奇瑞和其他几家中国公司在过去一年宣布将向欧美出口汽车，这一问题更为引人注目。
亚洲汽车资源公司(Automotive Resources Asia)总裁迈克尔?邓恩(Michael Dunne)说：“几周以前，我把这些市场份额数字拿给底特律的一些人看，他们对中国企业的销售数据大为吃惊。”亚洲汽车资源公司是一家行业咨询公司，总部位于上海。
关于中国企业，人们提出的疑问是，它们是否单纯依靠低价销售来赢得市场份额？抑或它们也开始对品牌和营销的奥妙有所掌握？――如果它们打算日后成功进入海外市场，这些技巧是他们所需要的。
价格肯定是一个重要因素。QQ的零售价格为3.3万元人民币(合4109美元)，相比之下，通用汽车(General Motors)生产的同级汽车Spark价格为4.6万元。
如此低廉的价格催生了新一代购车者，他们不太在意用大块头汽车来标榜自己的地位。较小型汽车燃油效率更高，在油价高企之际，这也成为另一个购买动机。
中国企业迄今面对的研发成本也更为低廉。当初，QQ汽车曾被指控从零部件到外形几乎完全抄袭Spark。事实上，通用汽车确实在中国法庭向奇瑞提起了诉讼。不过，这两家公司去年就这场官司达成了和解，但并未透露具体条款。
此外，夏利也是从日本大发公司(Daihatsu)获得生产许可证的旧车型。
当被问及QQ为什么比Spark便宜很多时，上海浦东某奇瑞经销商一位不愿透露姓名的经理精辟地说：“因为我们没有专利费。”
QQ去年的销量是Spark的4倍多。不过，就QQ而言，行业观察人士表示，它的成功不仅在于低价策略。
大部分中国品牌的市场营销策略，不外乎用一些令人眩目的花招吸引第一次购车的消费者。奇瑞则不同，它想方设法为其车型造势，尤其是加强在年轻人群中的知名度。
该品牌本身与风靡于中国年轻人之间的一项即时信息服务同名。此外，该公司还利用互联网去接触新的消费群体，包括与门户网站新浪(Sina.com)展开合作。明亮的车身色彩同样有助于树立形象。
广告代理机构奥美顾客关系行销(OgilvyOne)中国区董事总经理韦棠梦(Chris Reitermann)表示：“QQ建立了独树一帜的形象，在这方面做得比其它任何中国车型都好。”
该公司完善了销售网络，并正因其灵活方式博得赞誉。
麦肯锡(McKinsey)上海办事处高旭(Paul Gao)表示：“同样的事情也曾发生在中国几家消费品公司身上，比如海尔(Haier)和TCL，现在轮到奇瑞。它们擅于管理销售渠道。”
然而，一种产品的成功，并不意味着奇瑞现在就能掌控市场。在该公司去年的汽车总销量中，QQ占60%，而其它多数车型则相对默默无闻。
高旭表示：“作为一个产品，QQ可能比其它车型更为成功，但真正的挑战在于将QQ的成功带向整个产品系列。”
此外，市场仍存在对奇瑞汽车质量问题的担忧。
汽车咨询机构JD Power称，去年，QQ汽车的问题比Spark多30%。
一旦奇瑞开始在美国销售汽车，，没有什么比接二连三的质量投诉更能迅速毁掉它的品牌了。
