Learnings from modern China.
Our CEO Patrick Vanbrabandt loves to tour the world in search of the latest tech and mobility innovations and share his insights with our team, our customers and our fans. So we’re very excited to share his learnings from his most recent innovation trip to China:
1. FIND THE OPPORTUNITY: The whole current discussion around Chinese cars - like BYD’s EVs – entering Europe is completely centered on geopolitics, fear and polarization. But, in automotive and other industries, China is just as much an opportunity as it is a threat. Yes, automotive players all over the world (not just Europe) should pay attention, and not become complacent. But they should also realize that A. China is a lot more oriented on the Asian market than the European one B. local brands still have many advantages over Chinese brands and C. more competition means more innovation, which always benefits our customers. And that’s what we should always strive for, right?
2. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE CUSTOMER: The best way to find opportunities during challenges is by looking at your customer. In this case, it’s about compensating the current weaknesses of Chinese brands. These will obviously evolve over time, but for now, they have image problems, delivery challenges and most of all, a weak after-sales approach. European brands are better at that, but to keep their advantage, they should double down on customer relationships. This is currently a big challenge for European brands, because of EVs. Why? EVs require a lot less maintenance than traditional cars, which means that there are a lot fewer contact points between automotive players and their customers. So adding these 2 together (1. customer contact is a weak point of Chinese brands + 2. EV owners tend to have less contact with car players), means that A. car dealers should make the few remaining encounters with customers a lot more useful and fun and B. they need to find ways to augment the contact, with for instance useful communication about changing laws on snow chains use during winter season.
3. ADAPT A CHINESE-STYLE INNOVATION MINDSET: European brands in all industries tend to see danger and risk before anything else. Chinese brands are always looking for opportunities first and then they start testing, and fast. If their assumptions turn out wrong, they move on. When they turn out to be right and their business model is successful, they’re also swamped by new competition in no time. Their way of dealing with it, is by (see point 2) “always following the customer” and keeping reinventing themselves into better versions. This should be an inspiration to local automotive companies.
When it comes to China, and everything business related for that matter, fear is always a bad advisor. Let yourself be driven by opportunity! If you’d like CARYA to help find those technological opportunities, contact us!
2. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE CUSTOMER: The best way to find opportunities during challenges is by looking at your customer. In this case, it’s about compensating the current weaknesses of Chinese brands. These will obviously evolve over time, but for now, they have image problems, delivery challenges and most of all, a weak after-sales approach. European brands are better at that, but to keep their advantage, they should double down on customer relationships. This is currently a big challenge for European brands, because of EVs. Why? EVs require a lot less maintenance than traditional cars, which means that there are a lot fewer contact points between automotive players and their customers. So adding these 2 together (1. customer contact is a weak point of Chinese brands + 2. EV owners tend to have less contact with car players), means that A. car dealers should make the few remaining encounters with customers a lot more useful and fun and B. they need to find ways to augment the contact, with for instance useful communication about changing laws on snow chains use during winter season.
3. ADAPT A CHINESE-STYLE INNOVATION MINDSET: European brands in all industries tend to see danger and risk before anything else. Chinese brands are always looking for opportunities first and then they start testing, and fast. If their assumptions turn out wrong, they move on. When they turn out to be right and their business model is successful, they’re also swamped by new competition in no time. Their way of dealing with it, is by (see point 2) “always following the customer” and keeping reinventing themselves into better versions. This should be an inspiration to local automotive companies.
When it comes to China, and everything business related for that matter, fear is always a bad advisor. Let yourself be driven by opportunity! If you’d like CARYA to help find those technological opportunities, contact us!
