At China’s Automobile “New Marketing” Summit 2020, guided by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and hosted by China Business Journal on November 25, BAIC, which completed brand upgrade, won the “2020 Golden Shield Award for Auto Brand Power” for its brand-new brand structure and significantly improved brand values. Meanwhile, BAIC BJEV was honored the “2020 Golden Horn Award for New Energy Vehicles”, and Beijing Hyundai’s 7th-generation Elantra the “2020 Golden Pigeon Award for Models”. 

BAIC Wins Successive Honors through Brand Upgrade 

In recent years, BAIC has upgraded its brand structure in an all-round way, which results in further improved brand power and attracts industry-wide attention. Good news has been heard from time to time.

On August 5, 2020, World Brand Lab released the 17th China’s 500 Most Valuable Brands in 2020. BAIC achieved a growth of nearly 31% from the previous year, ranking the 18th with a brand value of RMB283.975 billion and the 3rd in the auto industry. BAIC Foton and BAIC BJEV were also on the list with excellent brand values.

On August 10, the Fortune Magazine unveiled the 2020 Global 500 list. BAIC took the 134th place, the 8th straight year it’s on the list, and ranked among the top 4 auto makers in China.

Accelerating Transformation

and Implementing Brand Adjustment 

Both the achievements and honors are attributed to the forward-looking brand adjustment initiated by BAIC two years ago. To seize new market opportunities, in 2019, BAIC launched the “BEIJING” brand to reshape the unique gene of the “time-honored off-road vehicle family” and build a new benchmark for China’s off-road vehicle market; by integrating the products and technologies of BAIC BJEV and BEIJING Auto, it unveiled the “BEIJING” as a self-developed passenger vehicle brand to advance the comprehensive and innovative development of its self-developed passenger vehicle business. In January 2020, it officially announced the “Big Beijing” brand strategy relying on the BEIJING brand, which becomes the core theme for the future development of BAIC’s self-developed passenger vehicles and is intended to be a world-class green and smart travelling brand”.

In terms of high-end brands, in 2019, the high-end new energy brand ARCFOX made its debut at the Geneva International Auto Show, and the first trial-produced vehicle rolled off the production line in the same year. SUV αT, the first mass-produced vehicle of ARCFOX, was launched with the price announced at the 2020 Beijing Auto Show, and officially put into market on October 24, becoming a strong competitor in the high-end new energy auto market.

BAIC has completed the upgrade of the all-new brand structure so far. ARCFOX, BEIJING, BAICIRV, BAIC Foton and BAIC Changhe, which jointly make up a new self-owned brand system, and the three joint venture brands, i.e. Beijing Benz, Beijing Hyundai and Fujian Benz, respectively build their core competence through differentiation, jointly advancing the all-round upgrade of the brand power of BAIC.

A Grand Feast of New Products

Presented by both Self-owned and Joint Venture Brands

Under the new brand structure, BAIC launched a chain of new products this year. BEIJING launched the strategic model BEIJING-X7, and unveiled the first plug-in hybrid model BEIJING-X7 PHEV. BAICORV rolled out BJ80 and BJ40 of the 2020 version, and kicked off the presales of the hardliner SUV BJ30. ARCFOX officially put αT, its first high-end intelligent electric SUV, into market. Beijing Benz presented the brand-new GLA SUV, the next-generation homemade Mercedes-Benz long-wheelbase E-Class vehicle. Beijing Hyundai successively launched new products including LAFESTA Electric, 10th-generation SONATA and 7th-generation Elantra. 

Besides, BAIC Changhe aggressively entered urban electric logistical market with the pure electric logistical vehicle EV5 as the core product. Seizing the opportunities created by new infrastructure construction, BAIC Foton accelerated the production of trucks, new products and special purpose vehicles, and released the high-end pickup General G9.

Creating the Long-standing Brand of “Century-old BAIC”

through Brand Power, Product Power and Marketing Power 

After brand upgrade, BAIC is working to advance the integration among brand power, product power and marketing power. Product upgrade promotes the innovation and upgrade of marketing services, which delivers fresh experience with the BAIC brand.

The brand and product experience campaign launched by BAIC, themed, “Your Wish, Our Ways”, has been held successfully for five seasons, in which BAIC invited media representatives to test-drive BAIC products and had in-depth communication with them. That’s the concentrated reflection and vivid practice of BAIC’s efforts to integrate brand power, product power and marketing power.

In face of the challenges posed by COVID-19, BAIC moves sales online to allow consumers to purchase cars at home. From the trial livestreaming of health products successively in spring and summer seasons, to Beijing Auto Show and Beijing Consumption Season, in which “Chunni Shows You around BAIC” and 24-hour livestreaming by ten Internet celebrities were organized, and then to Guangzhou Auto Show, during which auto media with over 1 million fans were invited to livestream on Douyin to analyze BAIC products and share test-drive experience at the site. BAIC has made good use of livestreaming as a new mode of marketing, offering a new channel for consumers to learn about BAIC products that goes beyond time and space. 

Besides, BAIC also works to build the culture for the off-road driving circle and experience marketing IP with experience at the core. In June 2020, Beijing Off-road Town, located in Changping, Beijing, was put into operation as a place of immersive experience of BAIC’s off-road products, brand culture and interactive entertainment.

2020 is a year in which BAIC discards the old and introduces the new and achieves fruitful results. Brand power, product power and marketing power jointly enable the comprehensive upgrade of the group’s brand values, product quality and marketing system, and constantly drive the quality development of BAIC. In face of the challenges in external environment, BAIC will remain committed to quality development, make strategic transformation and a deeper reform the main theme, and accumulate strength for the continued and healthy development of BAIC towards a century-old brand with firmer confidence, so as to make greater contribution to the realization of the dream of invigorating the country through the auto industry.