Great Wall Motors' WEY brand sales plummeted, and CEO Yan Si resigned

On October 29, Great Wall Motors announced that Mr. Yan Si, CEO of Great Wall Motors WEY brand, resigned from the company due to illness and needing care for his family.

WEY brand CEO Yan Si resigned

Mr. Yan Si's resignation followed the normal company procedures and he will not hold any other position in the company after his resignation. The company would like to express its sincere gratitude to Mr. Yan Si for his contribution to the company's development during his tenure. At the same time, the company wishes Mr. Yan Si all the best and wishes his family good health soon!

After investigation, Great Wall confirmed that Yan Si resigned due to family reasons. His family member was ill and Yan Si hoped to return home to take care of him. There was no other reason.

At this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, the WEY brand turned two years old. Wei Jianjun, the founder of the brand, did not expect that WEY, which was born two years ago, would have such twists and turns this year. After a high start last year, it has been falling this year.

The most glorious period of the WEY brand was December 2017, with monthly sales reaching 21,349 units, making it a true leader in China's independent luxury SUVs. At that time, the WEY series of products had just been launched, and sales quickly climbed thanks to its well-received exterior design. At that time, it was hard to find a WEY car. When you saw one on the street, the owner felt very satisfied when being watched. Unexpectedly, only one year later, WEY quickly fell from the altar. There are many reasons for this.

Compared with 2017, WEY not only failed to achieve the sales volume of 250,000 planned for 2018, but also fell far short of the target. Since 2018, WEY brand sales have been discounted, cut in half. Compared with the monthly sales volume of more than 20,000 at the end of last year, there are only more than 10,000, or even less than 10,000, and the situation is getting worse. This is in contrast to Lynk & Co, which has come from behind.

1. Failure to establish brand trust

Most of the car owners who chose the WEY brand did so without hesitation because of the good reputation of Great Wall SUV. You should know that there are many models to choose from in the same price range of joint venture brands. A car that is favored by so many consumers must have impressive strength. However, many car owners have found that the good reputation of Great Wall Haval series does not represent the WEY series.

Chinese car owners buy cars mainly through word of mouth, and fuel consumption is the most important part of word of mouth. The WEY brand, which has been criticized three times in a row, has been directly affected in sales.

2. Marketing problems

Whether it is attack or counterattack, the public relations game between Great Wall and Geely has never stopped. If Geely Boyue had not sold well, if Geely had not launched Lynk & Co 01, then the two manufacturers might still be good friends. But fighting for food in other people's bowls is bound to lead to direct confrontation.

Before 2018, Great Wall Motors had been implementing the strategy of selling cars by word of mouth. It was a car company that did not focus on marketing. Therefore, the profit margin of each car of Great Wall Motors was always very high. Great Wall Motors had not made any real big moves in marketing until Wei Jianjun realized the huge impact of the decline in sales. Since this year, he has repeatedly worked hard on the group's marketing. He introduced a group of professional managers who focus on marketing.

Great Wall Motors has not established a complete marketing system, and even the division of labor between the public relations and marketing departments is not so clear. Whether it is at the corporate level, the brand level or the model level, Great Wall Motors has been changing and searching for its own style.

At the time of Niuche.com’s publication, Great Wall Motors and seven other domestic brands, except Geely, formed a self-discipline alliance to jointly boycott “black PR”. This operation is indeed somewhat surprising. It seems that the “black PR” operation of a certain manufacturer has indeed had a great impact on the brand.

After Yan Si’s resignation, it is still a question who will take over the position of CEO, but I believe Great Wall has already made its own arrangements.

When Great Wall really discovered the problem, WEY's sales had already dropped sharply. When the brand reputation is damaged, it will take more time to repair it. Now Great Wall's primary problem is not marketing, but doing what it is good at, product research and development. Face up to the problems encountered by car owners, solve the problems, and don't let the brand carrying the chairman's halo fall.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.