‘WHAT you’re not familiar with, you don’t trust, and what you don’t trust, you won’t buy—I guess this is human instinct. When it comes to transportation, this is also true as we only purchase items that we have tried and tested.
For instance, the Hyundai and Kia brands were considered a joke two decades ago. Their products were cheap and often laughed at. Today, not only are the South Korean cars now mainstream products in several countries, but they are selling like hotcakes and have even garnered countless awards around the world.
Can we say the same thing about cars from China? In 2012 19.27 million automobiles were made in China, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Believe it or not, this means that China has relegated the US and its 10.3 million vehicles manufactured per year to second place.
Let’s admit that here in the Philippines, Filipinos buy Chinese products because they are cheap and not because of their quality. Admittedly, there are many cheap—sorry, to be more politically correct, let’s say affordable—Chinese products that have proven to be great. With this in mind and remembering the South Korean automotive experience, maybe it’s high time that we give Chinese car brands some credit and respect.
One of the newest Chinese automobile players is Beijing Automotive Industry Corp., or Baic, for short. In September 2014 the brand entered the Philippine market, where it is represented by Bayan Automotive Industries Corp., which goes by the names of Baic Philippines or Bayan Auto, which are both fondly accepted by its President and CEO George Chua. The company is a subsidiary of Universal Motors Corp. (UMC), which is headquartered in Pasong Tamo, Makati City with branches in Makati, Iloilo and Tacloban where Baic models like the A113 (sedan and hatchback); A115 (sedan and hatchback); A523T Senova; MZ240 and MZ245 WeVan; and X424 (Jeep) are now being offered.
One may ask, “Why would a company such as UMC, a 100-percent Filipino-owned assembler and distributor of Nissan Light Commercial Vehicles, invest in a Chinese brand? Certainly, there must be something special about Baic for them to bring it into the country? Of course, there is.
State-of-the-art facilities
Baic China recently invited a delegation of Philippine motoring media, including this writer, to its headquarters in Beijing, China. Founded in 1958, the Baic Group is one of the top 5 auto groups in China and has been listed among Fortune’s Global 500 Companies for two consecutive years. The Passenger Vehicle Plant, as well as the R&D Center and the Electric Vehicle Plant in Beijing are world class.
Part of Baic’s vision is to make the 1.06 million square-meter. Beijing plant the envy of the China automobile industry. The Baic Motor Plant, which is now undergoing construction, is scheduled for completion sometime this year. The facility will occupy 410,000 sq m and will include four automobile manufacturing workshops encompassing press, body, paint and generally assembly workshops, predelivery inspection center, manufacture engineering center, and auxiliary facilities including employee apartments, as well as a culture and sports center.
Presently, Baic, which employs 2,000 workers, has a production capacity of 150,000 single cars per year. By the end of 2015, this figure is expected to increase to 300,000 single cars per year (60 JPH) with a work force of 4,000 employees. Meanwhile, the state-of-the-art Baic Motor Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd. includes a monitoring facility, which has a big screen, as well as small monitors where one can see the status of more than 6,000 Baic EVs worldwide.
Trusted and strong partnerships
In 1984 Baic made history by setting up the first joint venture automobile company in China. In cooperation with Jeep Corp., it successfully developed a number of models. The resulting Baic-Jeep became an icon in China’s auto market.
In 2002 Baic and Hyundai jointly set up Beijing Hyundai Motors, the first Sino-foreign auto joint venture following China’s accession to the WTO. Under this cooperation, Baic provided support for Hyundai’s global strategy such as product innovation, internationalization management, production line automation and talent recruitment. All these achievements also laid the foundation for Baic to internationalize its own brand.
In 2003 Baic signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Daimler Chrysler to establish independent production standards, as well as independent sales systems and service networks. Under this cooperation, Baic manufactured the Mercedes-Benz C and E models and GLK off-road vehicles.
In 2009 the company successfully acquired the relevant intellectual property rights of the Swedish carmaker Saab. Building upon its Saab technology-based own brand cars and off-road vehicles, Baic has developed into a large-sized auto company of international standing, with its own comprehensive passenger vehicle production lines, complete industry chain and core competitiveness. Baic has made major progress in its business development in key potential markets in the Middle East, Mexico, South America and Russia.
In 2014 Baic sold 2,401,000 cars and achieved RMB311.56 billion in operating revenue worldwide.
Reaching for the pinnacle
Baic has always adhered to the same design, process, quality and after-sales service philosophy for all its products. From early sketch conception to 3D and physical models, everything is independently designed by Baic, which hired as its chief designer, Leonardo Fioravanti, an Italian automobile designer and engineer specializing in aerodynamics and car body design. Fioravanti has worked for Pininfarina, as well as Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
Baic’s high product quality comes from its careful selection of superior suppliers including Bosch, Linde, ABB, Ogihara, Schenckprocess and DURR, to name a few. It has partnered with 500 Chinese, Swedish, British, German, Italian and US engineers over a period of two years and nine months. The company conducted 5-million-kilometer durability testing with 160 test vehicles and simulated 200 collision tests with 48 production vehicles.
“We strive to be a leader in technology and safety but customer service is what we are always trying to learn and improve,” Baic International Development Co. Ltd. president Dr. Haiyang Dong said.
Baic will continue to promote its concept of fast implementation, leaning and smart work, and try to create an international motto of “Faster, Leaner and Smarter”.
Dong added, “We at Baic, have three goals to achieve. First is to provide which products fit for each country because cars must be tailor-made to the needs of the car buyers. The next one is customer service. We all learn from our mistakes and we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes. The others didn’t provide good after-sales service to their car owners and we don’t want to be like that. We want to be on top of our customer service. Last, we will strengthen our local showrooms, service area and put up local R&D centers in other countries.”