[Autohome?Culture]?Since joining the global trading system in the new millennium, China's automobile industry has entered the fast lane of development by introducing a large amount of capital and technology. At the same time, Chinese automobile brands have also relied on huge The market dividends began to appear on the stage of history. Today, we may be able to find numerous problems with the Chinese brand products of that period, but we cannot prevent them from entering the homes of ordinary people who had just entered a well-off society at that time. More than ten years ago, there were some Chinese brand models that were engraved in people’s memories of the times because of their hot sales, good reputation or topicality. Maybe you've seen or even driven one of these cars, or maybe it's your family's first car. In a blink of an eye, when we look back at those all-powerful models of the year, you will definitely be impressed by the rapid changes in the development of our country's automobile industry in the past 20 years.

●? Geely Auto

——Free Ship? Geely’s landmark model on the right track. In the 1990s, Geely had established a firm foothold in the motorcycle industry and accumulated some capital. Li Shufu, who has a keen sense of smell, is planning to shift his focus to cars. In 1998, the successive launch of early 1.0 products such as Haoqing and Meiji more represented that Geely had entered the threshold of car manufacturing. However, due to the lack of car manufacturing experience and the corresponding technology and talent reserves, these products did not bring Geely a competitive edge. Very good reputation. It wasn't until the advent of the Freedom Ship in 2005 that Geely was truly on the right track. We can always clearly see the shadow of some Mercedes-Benz models in early Geely products, and the Liberty Ship is no exception. It can be seen that Mercedes-Benz has been in Boss Li's heart for a long time. From Geely's entry into the automotive field to now becoming Daimler's The largest single shareholder, this grass is getting deeper and deeper. Geely's starting point for car manufacturing is actually relatively low. When preparing the Liberty Ship, Geely knew how to unite companies with experience and technology to improve product capabilities. It also recruited senior talents from the former South Korean Daewoo Motors who were responsible for product development. The Liberty Ship is a small car jointly developed by Geely Group and many global companies such as South Korea's Daewoo Corporation. Compared with previous products, the Freedom Ship can be regarded as completely reborn. In Boss Li’s own words: “The Liberty Ship represents Geely’s entry into the modern, large-scale, and high-level car manufacturing era. The sheet metal process of the body is the process that is easiest for consumers to see and the process that best reflects the quality of the vehicle. Geely invested in it at that time The modern multi-sequence stamping lines and stamping dies introduced with hundreds of millions of dollars have fundamentally solved the problem of body surface flatness, and the manual sheet metal work stations have also been completely removed. Put the Haoqing and the Freedom Ship together, and you can feel the two. Cars are not products of an era. Hardware is only one aspect. With the Freeship car-building project, the high-end talents introduced by Geely have brought Geely a complete technology development system, allowing Geely's car-making concepts to begin to align with international standards. From the Pride to the Liberty Ship, Geely Automobile has always played the role of "price butcher". The price of the Liberty Ship ranged from 43,800 to 55,800. At that time, the price of the Kia Maxima, which was also a small car, was more than 70,000 yuan. The Liberty Ship was compared to the hot-selling Tianjin The models of the FAW family are even cheaper and have higher configurations. I still clearly remember that when I first came into contact with this Liberty Ship for less than 50,000 yuan in 2006, I was amazed that it was equipped with four-door electric windows, which was at this level at that time. Most of the small cars have hand-cranked rear doors and windows. After the Liberty Ship was launched, consumers gave positive feedback with their money. The Liberty Ship also became Geely Automobile’s “hero”. At its peak, the average monthly sales reached more than 9,000 units. In 2009, the Liberty Ship In 2016, the annual sales of this car exceeded 100,000 units, ranking third among Chinese brand small cars, second only to Xiali and QQ. At that time, the Liberty Ship was also exported to Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and other countries in the form of complete vehicles and CKD. . The Freeship is Geely's first well-received and popular model. More importantly, the development experience of the Freeship has allowed Geely to develop its own system. Through these accumulations, Geely has gradually completed its technological transformation and comprehensively carried out power, Research on safety, styling, chassis and other projects.

——Panda? The first mini car among Chinese brands to receive 5 stars for crash safety. Panda is Geely Automobile’s first mini car. The most attractive thing is its cute and cute bionic design. The unique shape is only one aspect. The safety of the Panda was the biggest highlight of this car at the time. In 2006, China Automotive Research Institute launched China's C-NCAP crash test. At that time, the Liberty Ship's 2-star collision score made Geely realize that there is still a huge gap between itself and the joint venture brand. Car collision safety is not simple. It is as simple as making the body structure stiffer or adding a few airbags, but it is a systematic and overall project. As a mini car, Geely Panda naturally suffers from collision safety problems. This cannot be achieved by adding some airbags and other configurations, but by starting from the body material and structure, and then adding auxiliary installation devices such as airbags to achieve it. A higher safety level puts forward higher requirements for Geely in research and development. Most of the minicars on the market at that time were cheap means of transportation. Naturally, we had no illusions about collision safety and could only hope for the best. The Panda can be regarded as a high-quality small car launched by Geely. It has rewritten the history of no domestic mini car receiving a five-star rating. In the specific configuration and detailed design, you can also find that this car attaches great importance to safety. For example, the equipped seat belt reminder device also has a voice reminder in addition to the common indicator lights, which was rare among Chinese brands at the time. In mid-to-high-end models, Panda is also equipped with 6 airbags. Such a configuration is rare in the entire mini and small car market, and the price of Panda is only 50,000 yuan. Even today, I believe that the Panda car can still win the favor of some female users, but everyone is rich, so naturally they will not consider such a cramped mini car. At that time, in addition to manual transmission, this mini car was also equipped with Geely's own 4AT, which met the rigid demand of female users for automatic transmission. The price of the Panda ranges from RMB 39,800 to RMB 57,800, and its annual sales after its launch are more than 20,000 units. Although it is not outstanding, through this small car, we can see that Chinese brands have begun to achieve breakthrough changes in certain fields.

●Brilliance China

——Junjie, the cost-effective king of mid-size cars, also spawned the first station wagon of a Chinese brand. In the 1990s, Brilliance Auto acquired Shenyang Jinbei , aiming at the sedan market. However, Brilliance entered the market directly from mid-sized cars, and this market was definitely dominated by joint venture brands at the time. As Brilliance China's first sedan, Zunchi is positioned in the business market. After all, the price of more than 100,000 yuan is not affordable for ordinary people. As the second product of Brilliance China, Junjie is still positioned as a mid-sized car, but its price is very affordable, with a starting price of 85,800. At that time, the only Chinese brand model of the same level was Chery's Dongfangzhi, with a starting price of more than 100,000. The price of medium-sized cars from the joint venture brand was even higher, so Junjie was called the king of cost-effectiveness among medium-sized cars after it was launched. According to the official statement, Junjie's styling design was handed over to the well-known Italian Pininfarina Studio. At a time when Chinese brands have not yet figured out the art of automotive styling design, this outsourcing method is used to enhance brand and product strength. It's a smart move. Today, whether this car looks good or not is a matter of opinion. However, Junjie can be regarded as a mature industrial product in terms of body proportions and line use. In 2008, based on the sedan, Junjie also derived the Wagon travel version, which was also the first time a Chinese brand launched a wagon. The essence of a station wagon lies in the design of the rear. The rear of the Junjie Wagon is full and thick, and the proportions show the elegance and nature of a station wagon. It is a very successful design. The starting price of 100,000 yuan was less than half of the price of the Mazda 6 station wagon at that time. Unfortunately, to this day, station wagons have not been able to break out of the independent market, and the sales at that time were naturally just a part of the fun. The first Junjie launched was equipped with three naturally aspirated engines of different displacements. A year later, Brilliance launched another model equipped with a 1.8T turbocharged engine.

I remember that the popular one at that time was the Volkswagen Bora, known as the "driver's car". It was also equipped with a 1.8T turbocharged engine. Although the original parameters were not very high, it had great potential for modification, and with excellent driving quality, Everyone who has used it says it's good. The 1.8T engine on Junjie was built by Brilliance Automobile and the German FEV Engine Company over a period of three years. Different from the Volkswagen 1.8T, the cylinder head and cylinder block of this engine are both made of aluminum alloy. Others, such as double overhead The camshaft, variable timing, hollow sodium-filled valves, crankcase ventilation, intercooler and other mainstream engine technologies at the time were all available, and the price started at 125,800 yuan, while the Bora 1.8T at that time cost 200,000 yuan. Brilliance made a high level of investment when it entered the car field. It introduced advanced production equipment, automatic robots, molds, etc. from Germany, Italy, and Japan. At the same time, after forming a joint venture with BMW, it also introduced BMW to a large extent. The quality management system, through this "influence", made Junjie at that period more confident in terms of product strength than the products of Chinese brands that were still exploring the way to build cars at the same time. Let me talk about a detail. At that time, Brilliance China's models were much better in paint technology than Chinese brand models of the same period. This first impression often directly affects consumers' preference for the product. In the process of R&D and production, Junjie has learned a lot of mistakes and lessons from its elder brother Zunchi. The improvement in quality and the affordable price have allowed Junjie's average monthly sales to reach more than 6,000 units after its launch. At that time, as a mid-size car from a Chinese brand, Junjie was undoubtedly successful.

●?Haima Motors

——Familia? A cost-effective "Mazda" sedan. The Hainan Automobile Manufacturing Plant cooperated with Mazda in the early 1990s and began to produce Mazda models. . In 1998, Hainan Automobile Manufacturing Plant officially joined the FAW Group, thus obtaining automobile production qualifications and becoming an important production base of FAW in South China. After joining FAW, Haima Motor did not receive models and corresponding technical support, so it had to go back to Mazda. In 2002, Hainan Mazda introduced the eighth-generation Mazda 323, which was born in 1998, into China, and the model was named Familia. This is a joint venture product with the Mazda logo. It and the Prema model, which was introduced earlier, brought high sales to Haima Motors and made Haima Motors a mainstream domestic automobile manufacturer at that time. At this time, Mazda was not willing to limit its development to the island, but coveted the broader mainland market. It didn't take long for Mazda to form joint ventures with FAW and Changan, interrupting its cooperation with Hainan Automobile Manufacturing Plant. Through many years of cooperation with Mazda, Hainan Automobile has still left a good foundation. Compared with other Chinese brands that started from scratch at the same time, Hainan Automobile has undoubtedly more legal experience in corporate management, production and manufacturing, and R&D systems. The most precious. At this time, Hainan Automobile officially shifted from joint ventures to building its own brand, and Haima Automobile was officially established. The green hills are still there, and there is no need to worry about running out of firewood. Based on the Familia model, Haima Motors launched the Familia 2 generation in 2006. Although this car is a slightly modified model based on the original Familia model, it is just like this. This model, which has been popular in China for many years, has attracted people's attention because it did not continue to use Mazda's trademark, but officially transformed into a Chinese brand as "Haima". The biggest change of the Familia 2 model with the new Haima trademark is the replacement of a 1.6L engine produced by Haima itself. This engine also draws on Mazda's technology and adopts a 16-valve, VICS variable-length air intake system. and other technologies. Familia 2 was born under the background that Haima Motors was abandoned by Mazda. With strong product strength and an affordable price of RMB 81,800 to RMB 111,800, Familia 2 has achieved good sales since its launch, with an average of nearly 10,000 units per month. .

●?Tianjin FAW

——Xiali 2000? Let several households in the country enjoy the dividends of the era of car models and products that are the same as those in developed automobile markets. The support of policies has made Xiali models popular. All over the country, from the CKD method in the 1980s to the gradual localization, this mini car has continued to sell well for more than 10 years. Entering the new millennium, with the opening of the market, the impact from overseas car companies and the development of Chinese brands, Xiali models have shown signs of weakness, which also means that the cooperation between Tianjin Xiali and Japan's Daihatsu is about to come to an end. In order to create models that meet the needs of the new era, Tianjin Xiali has already set its sights on Toyota products. Why Tianjin Xiali and Toyota can come together? There are some little-known inside stories. In fact, in the 1990s when the Xiali model was booming, Toyota took a fancy to the state-owned enterprise then called Tianjin Micro Car Factory and was willing to acquire 50% of its shares at a price four times the factory's net assets. However, the Tianjin Municipal Government did not agree with this deal. acquisition case. At that time, Phoenix Satellite TV interviewed Toyota executives and asked why a car company that mainly manufactures mini cars would fall in love with such a place. First of all, Toyota believes that Tianjin is an ice-free port very close to Japan, and import and export are very convenient; secondly, Tianjin Port connects North China, Northeast China and the Central Plains, with a vast hinterland; thirdly, through years of accumulation and precipitation, Tianjin Xiali’s engine manufacturing The technology is world-class. The engine production line of Japan's Daihatsu was introduced in the early years. After being produced in Tianjin, the quality is even better than that of Japan. These high-quality industrial workers have good monetization capabilities in the production and manufacturing process, which is something Toyota admires. ; Finally, Tianjin Xiali has a complete system in economy cars, and it will take many years for Toyota to build this system. If the acquisition of Xiali is completed, we will have one less competitor and one more good partner. After many negotiations, Xiali and Toyota finally reached an agreement to jointly establish Tianjin Toyota Motor Company. Xiali accounted for 50%, Toyota accounted for 30%, and Toyota Tsusho accounted for 20%. This started a good cooperation between Xiali and Toyota. The first product of the cooperation between Xiali and Toyota was the Platz, the star model of Toyota's NBC series. After being introduced into China, it was named Xiali 2000. This car has no connection with the former Xiali in terms of production platform or appearance and interior. A Toyota through and through. This Toyota prototype has received high praise in Europe and Japan, with sales exceeding 150,000 units in Europe within six months of its launch. The domestically produced Xiali 2000 is almost a Toyota with a new logo. Compared with previous Xiali models, its body is wider and has better space performance. The design of the interior is quite subversive. The instrument panel is placed in the middle area of ??the center console and is a digital instrument. There are also a large number of hollows designed to place items under the center console. This design concept is completely different from other products of the same era, allowing us to see Toyota's boldness and advancement in design concepts. Not only in terms of design concept, but also in terms of production, manufacturing, safety configuration, etc., Xiali 2000 is a model with strong product capabilities. The only regret is that the car is not equipped with the advanced overseas VVT-i engine, but uses the Toyota 8A engine, which is somewhat old in technology but mature and reliable enough. In fact, this domestic engine is somewhat backward in technology overseas, but its quality is well-known domestically. Many of its parts are imported from Japan. This engine is also purchased by many Chinese brands for use in their own products, and is also used. Make imitations. Xiali 2000 relied on Xiali's brand recognition to quickly make consumers aware of this new car. However, the starting price of 119,800 seemed to be the biggest barrier to people's purchase, and sales after its launch were tepid. Xiali 2000 is a domestic model that applies Toyota's advanced vehicle manufacturing technology, allowing Chinese people to enjoy the same products as those in the developed European and Japanese markets 20 years ago. As the first model after the cooperation between Tianjin Xiali and Toyota, it The emergence of the model accumulated valuable experience for the subsequent introduction of Venza, Wilo and other models and further in-depth cooperation.

●? Changan Automobile

——Benben i? A mini car that has made a good start. Before getting involved in the sedan field, Changan Automobile had already established joint ventures with Suzuki and Ford. At the same time, it The "small side" field of mini cars is booming, and in 2001 it became the first car company among Chinese brands to have production and sales exceeding one million. In July 2006, Changan Automobile announced its official entry into the sedan field. In November of the same year, Changan Automobile's first family car, Benben i, was officially launched. The development of this sedan took three years, and its styling was jointly designed and built by Changan Automobile and I.D.E.A, a well-known Italian automotive design company. The shape of Benben i is a single-box design that integrates the engine compartment and passenger compartment. Coupled with the rounded and coordinated proportions of the vehicle, it is somewhat unique. At the same time, this design can also win a larger internal space. , which is also a mini car, its interior space is better than that of the popular Chery QQ at the time. Changan Benben is equipped with a 1.3L engine based on the Antelope engine. It was initially equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission. The following year, a model equipped with Aisin 4AT was launched. The price of this car ranges from 39,800 to 48,800. , very competitive. The starting price of the Chery QQ3 model at that time was 29,800, but the displacement was only 0.8L. From all aspects, Benben i has stronger product competitiveness. The annual sales volume of this mini car targeted at young people reached 30,000 units after its launch, and exceeded 70,000 units at its peak. With a big tree at its back, it is easy to enjoy the shade. Since it has established joint ventures with Suzuki and Ford, Changan has an inherent advantage when it begins to prepare its own brand development strategy. You can avoid many detours in the process of learning from these two "teachers", which is a very valuable asset in the 0-1 stage. Benben was born based on this background. Whether it is styling design or powertrain, Changan has provided relatively mature solutions. Coupled with the affordable price, the success of this car is naturally not surprising.

Summary: Through a review of these products, we found that Chinese brands had different funds, backgrounds, methods, etc. in their initial stages. At that time, who could introduce mature model products for production? It has strong enough product strength. If it can be offered at a more affordable price, it will undoubtedly be a highly competitive product. Even if you don't have such resources and background, it doesn't mean you will quit the game. In that era of extensive growth, the dividends of the era gave every entrant an opportunity to make mistakes and make corrections. Seizing the window before the dividend ends and getting on the right track will lay a solid foundation for the company's future development. In the next issue, we will continue to talk about those impressive Chinese brand models. (Text/Autohome? Feng Jingyi? Some pictures are from the Internet)