GBN Breakout｜"Familiar Stranger" Yan Kaitai Passed Away

Author | Ge Bangning

Editor | Jiang Peng

Report from Bangning Studio (gbngzs)

Editor’s Note:

On December 3, 2018, Yulong Group’s CEO passed away at the age of and died of esophageal cancer at the age of . Yulon Group stated that it will form a funeral team as soon as possible to assist the family members in handling related matters.

Yulong Group CEO will be held by his wife Yan Chen Lilian. Yan Chen Lilian issued an open letter at night, saying, "I will lead everyone to complete his unfinished mission, let's work hard together!"

Yan Kaitai, born in May 1965. As the third generation of his family, he has a lot of intersections with cars. When he was five or six years old, his young heart reserved space for the Yulon Motors ; at the age of 14, he took the initiative to ask his mother, who is known as the queen of cars, Wu Shunwen to study abroad; at the age of 24, he graduated from Rider University in the United States and returned to Taiwan. The successor of the family took over Yulong Motors.

Yan Kaitai passed through the most difficult period in history. At that time, Yulon Automobile had been losing money for several years and was in a precarious state. Due to external troubles and internal troubles, some relatives and friends, including senior employees, are not optimistic about him, and even criticize him a lot.

Aiming at the plight of Yulon Automobile, he prescribed several prescriptions in succession—personnel reform; implementation of factory-office integration; introduction of fast, ruthless, and accurate operating principles; Help it rebuild its credibility in the business world.

After this battle, he himself became a star in Taiwan's business circles.

Yan Kaitai single-handedly promoted Yulong Group to enter the mainland. In September 2010, at the press conference of the signing ceremony of Dongfeng Motor and Yulon Group, the photos of him bowing his head and choking were spread through various channels, and he was well known by the mainland auto industry.

On May 18, 2011, at the headquarters of Yulon Group in Xindian, Taiwan, he answered the question "As the third person in charge of Yulon Motors, how do you want people to record you after many years", he said, "I haven't thought of So far away. If 100 years from now, after I die, what will people think of me? I want to develop a cooperation for Yulong, develop a new ideal for parents, build a car bridge for the cross-strait, and even do more for the cross-strait A good thing..."

's words are still in his ears, but the people are far away. To commemorate this entrepreneur who "put wheels on Taiwan's auto industry", we revisit the "Familiar Strangers" published by our reporter in May 2011. The original text was published on Sohu Automobile, and I would like to express my gratitude here.

Blue checked tie, white shirt, and dark suit. Standing at the entrance of the chairman's reception room on the 6th floor, he shook hands with representatives of the mainland media delegation one by one, repeating the word "welcome".

This is the morning of May 18, 2011, at the headquarters of Yulon Motor Co. (2201.TW) in Xindian, Taiwan. Yan Kaitai, 47 years old, has gray temples and a usual elegant smile on his face.

Obviously, he is not the kind of aggressive leader, relying on an iron fist to prescribe the best way to manage the enterprise; But don't be fooled by his appearance, he is soft but firm, calm yet calm. The name of

, a hot entrepreneur in Taiwan's media circles, appears frequently in various reports. The description of his growth process is almost the same: he was born in Taipei in 1965; when he was five or six years old, his young mind reserved space for Yulon Motors; Studying abroad; at the age of 24, he graduated from RIDER University in the United States and returned to Taiwan. He officially took over Yulong Motors as a family successor.

Yan Kaitai passed the most difficult time in history. At that time, Yulon Automobile had been losing money for several years and was in a precarious state. foreign aggression plusDue to internal worries, some relatives and friends, including senior employees, are not optimistic about him, and even criticize him a lot. He has been depressed and resisted because of this, but after wiping away his tears, he still needs to face the harsh reality. It is difficult for

to find out exactly what factors inspired his new fighting spirit. As a result, we all know that in response to the plight of Yulon Automobile, he prescribed several prescriptions in succession—personnel reform, training the chief man; implementing the integration of factory and office; Yulon Motors brought out the mud and helped it rebuild its reputation in the business world.

After this battle, he himself has become a symbol of the second generation of Taiwan's wealthy and an idol in Taiwan's business circles.

But to the mainland media, to a large extent, he is still a "familiar stranger".

Go back in time. On September 29, 2010, at the Beijing National Convention Center, Yan Kaitai stood under the spotlight. After expressing his gratitude to a long list of leaders of national ministries and commissions, industry leaders and partners, he said " Dongfeng Yulong is the only cross-strait cooperation National car brand, this is a very important milestone in the history of cross-strait cars, and it is also the ultimate dream of Yulon (Group)", he couldn't help crying.

This is probably the most emotional press conference in the mainland automotive industry. The photo of him bowing his head and choking on tears quickly spread through various channels, even overshadowing the limelight of the signing ceremony between Dongfeng Motor and Yulon Group.

He is therefore well known by the mainland automotive industry.

As the third person in charge of Yulon Motors (the first two are his father Yan Qingnian and his mother Wu Shunwen), Yan Kaitai has not carefully considered the question of "how do you want people to record you after many years".

After thinking for a while, he smiled and said to the reporter: "I am 47 years old, and I haven't thought of such a long-term thing." He continued: "I want to develop a cooperation for Yulong, and develop a new ideal for parents. Build a car bridge for the two sides of the strait, and even do more good things for the two sides... This is already obvious, and it may be too political if it goes on."

has five titles printed on the business card he handed to the reporter : CEO of Yulon Group; Chairman of Yulon Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.; Chairman of Taiyuan Textile Co., Ltd.; Chairman of China Automobile Industry Co., Ltd.; Director of the Straits Exchange Foundation.

The following is an excerpt from the interview:

To be honest, most people may think that Dongfeng Yulong's cooperation is more about playing political cards. What do you think for this?

Yan Kaitai: To answer this question, needs to go back to before 1949, which has something to do with my family history. My father was born in the Qing Dynasty. After the war, he went to Germany to study in a military academy when he was young. One of his classmates was General Jiang Weiguo . Later, my grandfather wrote him a letter, to the effect that China has gone through so many hardships, and I hope he can do something for the Chinese. Row.

After my father arrived in Taiwan in 1949, he dedicated himself to serving the country with engines. Many people advised him not to do this kind of business in Taiwan, or that it is very hard to do this kind of thing. Because Taiwan's population was not large enough at that time, and its income was not high enough. But his father insisted on creating Taiwan's automobile industry, so he established Yulon Automobile (Yulon Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) in September 1953.

Yulon first cooperated with the American Willis Corporation (the predecessor of AMECRICAN MOTOR, which was later incorporated into Chrysler Motors) to produce the Jeep and the . His father always upheld the industrial ideal of serving the country with engines, but died of a concussion in 1981. After

's mother took over, she began to carry out independent research and development in 1980. She wanted to install her own wheels for the Chinese and launched Feiling in 1986. However, Taiwan at that time was very weak in both supporting systems and R&D systems. Despite this, the mother has laid a solid research and development foundation and trained a large number of research and development personnel.

Around 2003, there were many automobile joint venture projects in mainland China. I have also been thinking, how to make efforts in the car after returning to the mainland? Your question is very interesting, that is, what is the real meaning of Dongfeng Yulong's joint venture? In short, it has its own weapons in the Chinese mainland market:Our own research and development, our own marketing team, including our partner - Dongfeng Motor, stood up in the mainland market.

Not long ago, someone asked me a similar question: Mr. Yan, do you think it’s a bit late for you to enter the mainland now? I said, of course it was too late, I hoped to go in in 1985. OK, then we didn't have the opportunity, we didn't have the weapon, so we couldn't get in. What should I do now? It is necessary to create our competitiveness and create our differentiation.

It is absolutely impossible for us to go to the mainland market to compete with ordinary local companies at low prices. We will definitely not go down this road. We need to use differentiation to compete. Judging from the market research results of Dongfeng Yulon, we have a chance to do well.

Then, in the promotion of Luxgen products in the future, will you avoid this political demand, or just talk about cars?

Consumers buy cars all over the world. He will buy your car if it is good, competitive, differentiated, affordable, and cost-effective. This is our consistent appeal. What do you think of politics, you ask? As a Chinese, I die for the soul of China, very clear things. Mainland China has made such great achievements since the reform and opening up in 1978, which makes us, who are born Chinese, proud. But I figured my politics had nothing to do with selling cars.

However, through our development, let Chinese people on both sides of the strait fully understand, interact more frequently, and bring more benefits to people on both sides of the strait. This is our starting point. If I do such a thing and bring these benefits to the people on both sides of the strait, then I am willing to do such a thing. And, I'm already doing something like this.

We see that the Dongfeng Yulon launched is the concept of jointly building the Hua series car . I really want to know, what can Yulon Group get from the whole industrial structure?

First, what I just said is my father’s philosophy, family ideals, and family dreams; second, the Chinese mainland market has jumped from 8 million in the past few years to 10 million, then to 15 million, 18 million This year, it is likely to reach 20 million. Yulon can get a big market, and this market can bring a lot of benefits to Yulon; third, I can put my parents' ideals, including my own, in mainland China and Taiwan. Realization, this is the most important factor.

So, whether it is a Chinese car or a Chinese car, we do research and development on both sides, and manufacture on both sides. Dongfeng, Yulon and Dongfeng Yulon need to play their respective important roles. We have more than ten years of cooperation experience with Dongfeng Motor, and I believe this cooperation will be very smooth.

The dream of the founder of Yulon Motors, Mr. Yan, is to serve the country with an engine, and Ms. Wu Shunwen is to install her own wheels for the Chinese people. So, as the third director of Yulon Motors, after many years, how do you want people to record you?

I'm 47 years old, I haven't thought of anything that far (laughs). What will people think of me when I die in 100 years? I want to develop a cooperation for Yulong, develop a new ideal for parents, build a car bridge for the cross-strait, and even do more good things for the cross-strait... This is already obvious, and it may be too political to talk about it.

Yulon established a research and development center in 1980, and it has been in operation for more than 20 years, and its strength should be very strong. But Luxgen only started in 2003, why?

We must never blame others. We used to have technical cooperation with Nissan car, the intellectual property belongs to Nissan, and it can give me or not in terms of technology. This is its power.

Therefore, when I re-enter the Chinese mainland market, I have to have my own bullet, Luxgen is my own bullet, it belongs to our Chinese own bullet, or Dongfeng Yulong’s bullet. This is different.

Of course, whether this bullet is good or not depends on our ability, or whether our ability with Dongfeng is good, and this will be witnessed by the end of this year.

The first product of Dongfeng Yulong will start from the high end. In fact, all entrepreneurs want to start from the high end. However, it is easy to do a brand from high to low, but it is more difficult to go from low to high. Does Dongfeng Yulon have such strength?

it's easier to go from high to low, that's rightFinancially it will be better. In fact, going from high to low is more difficult from the perspective of enterprise execution. There are many reasons for the failure of Feiling. In addition to the economic aspect, there is also the immaturity of Yulon Motors. The supporting system and R&D system at that time were indeed weak, and Yulon was indeed a little bit more courageous.

20 years have passed, and I don't want to repeat this detail.

Now Luxgen, do we have the ability to do well? Let me tell you a number. In the fourth year after Luxgen was launched in Taiwan, the combined market share of SUV, MPV and CEO is fourth, surpassing Ford, Mazda and Honda . There are only three brands at the top: Toyota , Mitsubishi and Nissan. Numbers are head-to-head and cannot deceive people.

Luxgen is currently the only self-owned brand in Taiwan. The competition in the SUV market in mainland China is fierce. There are both joint ventures and self-owned brands. Why are you still optimistic about this market?

Chen Guorong (chairman of Taiwan Vehicle Industry Association, vice chairman of Dongfeng Yulon): I want to talk about it from three aspects. First, choose an SUV. This is a decision we made six or seven years ago. Looking at it now, this judgment is correct: the SUV and MPV markets have grown significantly in recent years. As a latecomer brand, you'd better enter a segment that continues to grow substantially. Because it brings more opportunities and allows more opportunities for more brands.

Second, what is the competitive advantage of Luxgen in the rapidly growing SUV market? The consideration of competitive advantage is not the competitive advantage of entering the market, but the commitment of a brand to the long-term competitive advantage of a market product. Because the car is not just a product in the end, but a brand.

So, how to make consumers who buy this product feel trustworthy? It is the differentiation project we identified a few years ago. Part of it is leading worldwide, and some configurations have not been used; the other part is a configuration that is only available in cars worth 500,000 to 700,000 yuan, and it has already been realized on Luxgen SUVs. Therefore, whether it is differentiation or cost-effective advantages, we have achieved it.

You will also see that the specifications of the Luxgen SUV produced in Taiwan are not exactly the same as those to be produced in the mainland. The version does not have it, but the mainland version does.

why? Because the two cars are separated by one year, we are constantly improving the grade value of the car. I think this is also the difference between Luxgen and other competing models in the future.

Back to your question, Luxgen SUV has never been sold at a discount since it was launched in Taiwan. We originally planned to spend 8 years surpassing international brands such as Toyota and Honda in terms of cost performance, but keeping pace with them in terms of value. Secondly, in the replacement of old cars, we also plan to keep pace with Toyota, Honda and other brands in 8 years. It took about a year and a half for

until now. Although Toyota and Honda are still 10% ahead of us, they are sold at a discount in Taiwan. In terms of used car replacement market, Luxgen surpassed Toyota. I think it has something to do with its configuration and its own non-discount. This is much earlier than we expected.

Next, in terms of marketing and network channels, we believe that what a brand brings to consumers is not only product differentiation, nor should it be just a mobile tool, but the differentiation of the mobile value chain, so we Experiential marketing is used, which is the future marketing trend.

Probably the first automobile factory in the world, or the first industry in the world to concretize experiential marketing and interact with consumers in the form of living halls in the showroom, Luxgen is the first.

In the future, we will also implement this model to the mainland market through the Dongfeng Yulon team. At any critical moment of interaction with consumers, we have to create a completely different marketing model and service model.

To be more specific, we use a lot of IT technology to pre-design consumer needs. When the consumer demand is raised, we will use negative time difference-help you think ahead and exceed expectations; when expectations are exceeded, the consumer will follow the brand This product creates an emotional connection. When the emotional connection is made, that is when the brand is built.

So, everyone has seen the details of Luxgen, back to the end, we will build a brand from the very beginningCard.

So, compared to all the multinational auto brands and mainland independent brands, what is the Luxgen brand? What role will Luxgen play? What is the perception from consumers? It took us one or two years to discuss, and finally Mr. Zhou (Wen Jie) decided on the Chinese name of Luzhijie. Based on this, the follow-up products and marketing services were launched.