Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, has always kept a very low profile among those at the helm of leading car companies. He rarely appears in public, and mostly focuses on production and technological innovation. In the past, product launches and deliveries were also hosted by relevant brand owners, and there were very few platforms for a single car.

On March 10, Wei Jianjun made a rare appearance at the delivery ceremony of the 700 Hi4-T limited edition tank to issue new car keys to car owner representatives. On the eve of the launch of the 700 Hi4-T tank, after attending a regular product quality review meeting, he also made a rare group of friends, highly praised the car, and praised the relevant team.

Over the past 40 years, this car industry boss, who has a straightforward personality and dares to speak up, has broken his silence every time and appeared on stage, always accompanied Great Wall Motor's major changes. This is true of the launch of the Great Wall H6 in 2011 and the delay in the listing of the Haval H8 in 2014. Wei Jianjun's sudden appearance after two periods of silence is related to the large-scale and high-end nature of the Great Wall.

Today is no exception. Wei Jianjun broke the silence and stood behind the 700 Hi4-T tank. It was the Great Wall that needed to win the new energy transformation battle.

Wei Jianjun sees the new energy and intelligent racetrack as an opportunity for Chinese car brands to surpass the past. There is only one chance, but Great Wall Motor's performance in the past three years has been unsatisfactory.

The high growth rate of new energy brought by Euler has not spread further to other categories; Great Wall Motor's overall sales are still based on large SUV products and have not yet shown the potential of “one Great Wall”; not only did Great Wall Motor not complete the assessment goals previously set in the past three years, but the pace of transformation to new energy sources was lower than that of other independent brands.

If it continues to only maintain stable sales without making greater changes, Great Wall Motor will eventually return to mediocrity in the future, and even become a fleeting wave in the new energy era.

Wei Jianjun, who has always had a sense of crisis, is not willing to do this. He wants to get out of his “comfort zone” with Great Wall Motors.

People close to Wei Jianjun revealed that internally, Wei Jianjun would reflect on Great Wall Motor's being too comfortable in its own market segment; “small wealth means safe.” Further changes are also needed to make consumers understand the Great Wall technology concept and channels.

People familiar with Great Wall Motor said that under Wei Jianjun's presidency, Great Wall Motor is eradicating various problems that had previously been solved.

Starting in 2023, the outside world has also clearly felt changes in Great Wall Motor. The product matrix has been further enriched. In 2023 alone, 10 new energy vehicles were launched, and a new energy sales network is in full swing. Looking at the whole year, Great Wall Motor sold 225,800 vehicles of 200,000 yuan or more, accounting for 18.34% of total sales, an increase of 3 percentage points over the same period last year. In the third quarter financial report, the gap between Great Wall Motor's net profit and net profit deducted from net profit narrowed further, indicating that the financial indicators of its main business are improving.

To win the battle for new energy, in addition to the technology and products that were valued in the past, changes on the marketing side are also the focus of efforts. Actions including signing a contract with Douyin at the end of last year and launching multi-dimensional strategic cooperation on intelligent, digital, and accurate internet marketing models all indicate that Great Wall Motor's next marketing will change even more. This has also brought about changes in Great Wall Motor's organizational structure.

At the end of last year, Great Wall Motor adjusted its China and Taiwan divisions, from the previous 5 to 7. Its purpose is to further optimize and integrate resources, improve efficiency, and avoid concentration of power. Wei Jianjun has higher expectations for organizational efficiency in order to make further efforts to fight this battle of new energy sources. Of course, this also places higher demands on line managers.

This organizational adjustment has also brought about personnel changes within Great Wall Motor. Wall Street News also learned that in the past 4 months, 3 senior executives of Great Wall Motor left their jobs at the deputy general level. However, in the automotive industry as a whole, compared with the changes in 20 car companies and over 50 executives during the same period, Great Wall Motor's personnel turnover seems to be another normal phenomenon.

Wei Jianjun's strength and Great Wall Motor's strict management system have always left Great Wall Motor in controversy. Just as Wei Jianjun's remarks after his first two silences brought about changes in Great Wall Motor, Wei Jianjun is also always labeled “one word.”

However, Wei Jianjun's “one word” is more indicative of his persistence in strategic layout. Mu Feng, president of Great Wall Motor, once told Wall Street News that it is under Wei Jianjun's insistence that Great Wall Motor has been developing a deep vertical system layout since 2016, laying the foundation for Great Wall Motor's momentum and business performance growth; the head of tank brand research and development also said that without Wei Jianjun's insistence, tanks would still lie in the “comfort zone” of off-road, and did not dare to broaden the business model and compete hard with Toyota Prado.

To survive in today's fiercely competitive automobile market and hit higher ground, Great Wall Motor must break the inertia of the past. This also means that there will be repetition and intense friction.

In February of this year, Great Wall Motor announced the assessment targets for the stock incentive plan for the next three years. From 2024 to 2026, the assessment targets were no less than 1.9 million vehicles, 2.16 million vehicles, and 2.49 million vehicles, respectively, while net profit was not less than 7.2 billion yuan, 8.5 billion yuan, and 10 billion yuan, respectively.

If it can successfully achieve this goal, Great Wall Motor will not only be able to stabilize itself in the domestic market, but will also be able to further advance into the top ten automobile groups in the world. Towards this vision, Wei Jianjun, who is already in his old year, will continue to drive forward with Great Wall Motor in the midst of controversy.