Dong Changzheng: Changes in users make Toyota "unorthodox"

　　    From June 5th to 6th, the 2018 (9th) Global Automotive Forum, co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Automotive Industry Committee, the China Chamber of International Commerce Automotive Industry Chamber of Commerce and the Chongqing Auto Show Organizing Committee, was held at Chongqing Yuelai International Convention Center. The theme of this forum is "Shaping the Future of the Industry in an Era of Change". Guests from the automotive industry around the world gathered together to discuss the new changes and trends in the automotive industry under the new generation of technological revolution. The following is a transcript of some of the wonderful speeches by Dong Changzheng, Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd.:

Consumer changes have turned Toyota from a "suit and tie" brand to an "unorthodox" brand

Actually, you see me dressed like this because I am not prepared. I would like to take this opportunity to say that Toyota's conservatism is a matter of understanding. The Toyota in the past wore suits and ties and was serious, but the Toyota in the future will be "unserious" like me. This is the change that the change in consumers has forced us to make.

The two speeches just now actually have similar ideas. We have a saying in Toyota: "Challenge your impossible". What does it mean to challenge your impossible? Last week, I went to the US headquarters in Dallas for a meeting. People from an Internet company could bring their dogs to work. I didn't see anyone working there seriously. There were people standing and squatting in various postures, but they were working on very cutting-edge technology. This is the problem of the interaction between the Internet and cars. Just now, President Zhu Hua and President Cai talked about the uncertainty and sense of crisis of our cars. I think this is unprecedented. Toyota has a history of 80 years. The changes that have taken place in Toyota in the past one or two years and the sense of urgency and crisis of Toyota's senior executives have never been seen before.

Not long ago, there were comments online saying that Toyota is the most profitable company, but it also feels a sense of crisis. This is absolutely true. Maybe I won't attend the forum next year. The investment in new technologies in the future is not just one or two cents. If you want to win the battle for the future, Toyota's annual profit of more than 20 billion US dollars is definitely not enough. Under this situation, Toyota used to be in a leading position in some fields. Of course, in many aspects, especially now, it needs to learn from domestic brands. Whether these fields that were leading in the past can still lead in the future is a very critical issue. The issue discussed every day within Toyota may not be how much profit we make today or how much profit we make next year, but how we can continue to gain a foothold in this industry in the future. This is the first step.

So when we talked about new energy vehicles, Toyota didn't seem to have any pure electric vehicles in the new energy vehicle field. Hybrid is our foundation. Now the cumulative sales volume is 12 million. We don't have much ambition because we are not specialized in this field. The new energy vehicles Toyota reported to Premier Li this time are still hybrid and pure electric, because you don't know which road in the future will truly meet the needs of social development and the needs of consumers. How much money will it cost to go forward on this road in parallel? So whether it is conservative or radical, everyone is for the long-term sustainable development of this industry, just like our emphasis on the Chongqing Forum and Chongqing Auto Show this time, so let's all come with our Toyota brand. It's still uncertain what the future will be like, and we need everyone to work together!

Toyota will transform from a traditional automobile company to a mobility company

Just now I talked about the service issue. Toyota's mobility company is actually not a high-profile one. It is also a change under the new situation, a change that goes with the flow. So the information about the mobility company was announced by the president himself at CES in Las Vegas. Toyota has transformed from a traditional automobile company to a mobility company.

Just now, the CEO mentioned that Toyota's original just-in-time production was its secret weapon. When we reported to the Prime Minister this time, our future vision was that cars would appear in front of people when they needed them, rather than waiting for them to arrive after a phone call. This time, we reported this concept to the Prime Minister. In the future, we may try it out at the Beijing Winter Olympics, first at the Tokyo Olympics. We hope that it will be applied to a certain extent at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and then we will see the true meaning of Toyota's concept. Now it is very general, and it is not easy to understand. You will understand it better after you actually see this thing and experience it.

If China’s direction is wrong, it means leading the world in the wrong direction. We cannot afford to make this mistake!

There is an Internet car that sells very well in China. We carefully studied this product. Why do consumers like it? To put it bluntly, it may be that its publicity is better than others, but why is it still so popular? It is not just because of the publicity. It is the best among existing products. Later, we found that young people are a consumer group, and what young people like can be found in this car.

What will our consumers care about most in the future? According to my traditional concept, safety may be the first priority, but now safety may be placed on a basic function. Cars should be safe. When many people ask me what car to buy, I say that the safety of cars above 300,000 yuan is basically the same, and the functions inside are best not used for a lifetime. This is a basic function. Now young people may have given us all their hearts for this basic function, and they think about what they like. So frankly speaking, we need to do a lot of research on this consumption point of young people. We are doing research every day. At present, it can be said that it is still uncertain, and we must continue to track.

In the past few years, we talked about the post-80s and post-90s in this forum, but now we don’t talk about them anymore. The post-00s are here, and in two years, the post-05s will also come. People born in each generation have different consumption concepts, especially China is now recognized by the world as a global leader in consumer trends. So companies like Toyota are more cautious, because this is a direction. If they make a mistake in the direction of China, it means that they are leading the world in the wrong direction. They can’t afford to make this mistake, so I can only say that I can’t be sure what consumers like.

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.