As the "leader" of domestic joint venture car companies, SAIC Volkswagen once again demonstrated its responsibility.
On April 3, SAIC Volkswagen announced that the "Lifetime Warranty for the Whole Vehicle" policy will be extended from the Touron Pro model to its entire series of fuel SUV models for a limited time, ushering in the "Lifetime Warranty Era".
This is another major move by SAIC Volkswagen to lead the industry after the "one price" and "lifetime warranty for powertrain". On the same day, Tao Hailong, Party Secretary and General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd., who used to be an engine surveyor and is "the boss of a car company who knows technology best", told the media at the outset, "We hope to tell the story of 'lifetime warranty for the whole vehicle' so that everyone can hear it."
Tao Hailong, Party Secretary and General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd.
Where does the confidence come from for the first mention of "lifetime warranty for the whole vehicle"
During the two-hour interview that day, the question Tao Hailong was asked most often was where he got the confidence to be the first to propose the "lifetime warranty for the entire vehicle".
Tao Hailong said it comes from "confidence in the system", because SAIC Volkswagen has a high degree of confidence in quality during the development process, product production has good stability and consistency, and there are systematic methods to support products to meet quality standards. "This is the core competitiveness of our system, and we must not give up."
According to him, there are two important indicators that determine the confidence of a product: one is a sufficient number of samples, and the other is coverage of all usage conditions and test cases.
He used the Touron Pro, which was launched less than a month ago, to explain in detail that during the development process, all components of this model underwent a large number of rigorous tests, including bench tests of components and road durability tests of the entire vehicle.
For example, for the test of the fifth-generation EA888 engine used in this model, there are nearly 600 test prototypes, and the comprehensive bench endurance test reaches 25,000 hours, covering different working conditions. When the engine development verification test is passed, the next issue is product consistency. "At the engine production site, we have several test benches for measuring friction resistance. Not only do we have 100% control over the parameters in the production process, but we also have corresponding quality control on the assembly line to ensure that the CPK value (process capability index) of our production and processing equipment is basically 1.67. The strict control has not changed for decades."
"Because the quality level of our entire vehicle is very stable, we are confident that we can do this well," said Tao Hailong.
Lower the cost of car ownership for users
Why is this car company CEO, who has a technical background, so persistent in getting this done?
Tao Hailong said that first of all, the introduction of this policy will undoubtedly promote sales and help the brand image. But more importantly, he hopes that through the lifetime warranty of the whole vehicle, higher requirements will be put forward for SAIC Volkswagen's suppliers, manufacturing lines, development lines, quality lines and marketing lines, so that everyone's quality awareness, quality capabilities, system capabilities, service systems and marketing systems can be further improved.
Fu Qiang, executive vice general manager of sales and marketing of SAIC Volkswagen and general manager of Shanghai SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Sales Co., Ltd., accepted an exclusive interview with the media. He believes that for consumers, the benefit of a lifetime warranty on the entire vehicle is that it reduces the user's cost of owning a car. At the same time, because the repairs use original parts, the "residual value of used cars can be optimized by 2%-3%."
Fu Qiang, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing of SAIC Volkswagen and General Manager of Shanghai SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Sales Co., Ltd.
It is worth noting that wearing parts are not included in the scope of vehicle warranty, such as wipers, brake calipers, ignition coils, rubber parts, etc., which need to be replaced by yourself. Secondly, repairs caused by accidents are also not covered by the lifetime warranty of the vehicle, because this is covered by insurance. Other detailed requirements include: 1. The lifetime warranty is limited to the first owner; 2. Non-operating vehicles. Once an operating vehicle is used as a production tool, the fatigue strength will be greatly increased; 3. It is required to be maintained at the dealer to ensure the use of original parts and service quality, and the maintenance price of 4S stores has been greatly reduced, close to the cost of other repair shops.
In addition, the lifetime warranty policy for the entire vehicle has no mileage or age restrictions. Whether the vehicle is used for 10 or 15 years, SAIC Volkswagen will continue to provide warranty services.
An idealist's persistence
The "whole vehicle lifetime warranty" launched by SAIC Volkswagen is still in the trial stage and is only valid until the end of April. Will the time limit of this measure be extended and will it be extended to sedans and new energy vehicles? Tao Hailong said that it depends on the market's reaction.
Previously, because the powertrain warranty received good feedback and friendly competitors continued to follow up, SAIC Volkswagen further expanded its differentiated competition and once again took the lead in proposing "lifetime warranty for the entire vehicle."
"SAIC Volkswagen wants to guide everyone to compete not just on price, but on value. We even propose to change price competition into lifelong companionship. SAIC Volkswagen's lifelong companionship service policy hopes that users will be more satisfied with SAIC Volkswagen's new service products. Of course, it may be easier for us to achieve lifetime warranty than other companies because SAIC Volkswagen is more solid in quality and materials." Fu Qiang said.
At present, the Touron family, which has benefited from this measure, has received more than 6,500 orders in March. What Fu Qiang did not expect was that as many as 70% of users chose the top-end Touron Pro model. Since many of the parts required for these top-end models are imported, SAIC Volkswagen has started to transport them by air to minimize the waiting time for users.
"We hope to increase the conversion rate by 2-3 percentage points through this policy." Fu Qiang revealed that the group has established a monthly and bi-monthly review mechanism for each round of marketing campaigns, among which "exhibition hall to store volume" and "transaction conversion efficiency" are core indicators.
In Tao Hailong's view, from "one price" to "lifetime warranty for the whole vehicle", "this is actually the persistence of an idealist. I hope to build the reputation of SAIC Volkswagen in this way." At the same time, he firmly stated, "Some people are worried that the lifetime warranty of the whole vehicle will make the maintenance cost more expensive, but we will never do such a thing. We will act in accordance with the contract and adhere to the spirit of the contract."
As for consumers' complaints about being able to afford new energy vehicles but not being able to pay the premiums, Tao Hailong said, "What we can do is to improve product quality, which is our top priority." Fu Qiang expressed encouragement for premium differentiation. "SAIC Volkswagen's models, whether ID.3 or ID.4 X, have achieved good safety scores in crash tests, which provides us with a certain degree of competitiveness. However, this competitiveness has not yet been fully reflected in premiums, and we hope that insurance companies can further widen the gap."
