Experiential tourism represented by RVs has been booming in China in the past ten years, and the development of the RV market has also shown various changes. On November 2, 2017, Hunan Leopard Motors and the French Pilote Group signed a joint venture agreement in Changsha, and the first Sino-foreign joint venture RV manufacturing enterprise in China was born. The topic of joint venture RV has caused ripples in the industry.
Q1. What is the development prospect of the joint venture RV market in China? What new opportunities will be brought to the product innovation of RV companies?
Aiwei RV Liao Hongbin: Joint venture RV is one of the roads of my country’s RV modification manufacturing industry. The joint venture and cooperation method can effectively introduce foreign modification and manufacturing concepts to my country, improve the level of RV modification and manufacturing in my country, and better Serve the public and let consumers have more choices.
SAIC MAXUS Zhu Weidong: For the development of joint venture RVs in China, I think the first thing to discuss is its chassis. Currently, the mainstream chassis in Europe is Fiat Ducato. So, which company’s chassis will be used in China for the joint venture RV, or the European chassis? This is the first threshold. Second, the joint venture partner’s understanding of the Chinese market and the needs of Chinese consumers is also a threshold. Of course, we are optimistic about the development of joint venture RV companies in China. The development of this industry cannot be achieved by one company, but by each company and each genre, which can bring more technologies and enable the industry to develop healthily.
Jinghang RV Shen Wei: From the analysis of the Chinese RV market, I think we are more suitable for European models, but there will be some “unacceptable” when pure European technology comes to mainland China. If it can have China’s special The body design and the history of the European RV system are perfect.
Q2 What are the advantages of joint venture RVs, and where are the difficulties in promoting them in China?
Aiwei RV Liao Hongbin: I think the advantage of the joint venture RV is that it can reflect and promote the latest foreign RV design concept and contemporary RV manufacturing level to the Chinese market in a timely manner. After the joint venture RV enters China, it will be accompanied by some price problems, because its price must be more expensive than domestic RVs. Then, at the level of promotion, it is necessary for consumers to better understand and appreciate the advantages of joint venture RVs and imported cars. The specific situation depends on the experience of each manufacturer in marketing.
SAIC Maxus Zhu Weidong: RVs have been developed in Europe and the United States for nearly a hundred years. They are very mature in technology. In other aspects, such as environmental protection, products and technology, etc., they are fundamental problems in Europe, which is also the biggest problem for imported brands. Advantage. However, the layout of the interior of RVs by Chinese consumers and the restrictions on the length of cars by Chinese laws and regulations may be the weak points of joint venture car companies. For example, all RVs in China are limited to less than 6 meters, but there are almost no new 6-meter-long RVs in Europe. The shortest ones are 6.3 meters long, and the longest ones reach 7 meters or 8 meters. It is completely different, and this is also a very large adaptive work to be done when importing products to China.
Jinghang RV Shen Wei: It is undeniable that imported RV products have more advantages. Now the manufacturing process of domestic RV is still in its infancy, and the products are divided into primary type, ordinary type and mid-to-high-end type. Then, the type of consumer groups for joint venture RVs must be to capture mid-to-high-end customers. In terms of promotion, we should pay more attention to the exposure rate and often participate in expositions related to RV camping. Nowadays, buying a RV is not out of reach, but more promotion work must be done in the early stage. At present, the majority of domestic consumers do not understand RVs. We need to arrange more people to explain the knowledge of RVs and the benefits of RV travel, and promote RV camping life from a conceptual and cultural perspective.
Q3. If you choose a cooperative brand, which brand do you prefer? Will you choose European RV, American RV, trailer or self-propelled?
Aiwei RV Liao Hongbin: In terms of RV brands, I prefer European-style RVs, because the design and manufacturing process of European-style RVs and the modern interior decoration are more in line with the consumption habits and concepts of Chinese consumers. Of course, the American RV also has its advantages, for example, it has expansion functions and more space inside the car, but at the same time it is also subject to the restrictions of Chinese laws and regulations. For example, domestic drivers cannot easily drive these relatively large American RVs. So I personally prefer European RVs. European-style RVs have relatively flexible manufacturing brands, and the products of internationally renowned RV groups such as Hobby and Knaus in Europe are very good joint venture partners.
SAIC Maxus Zhu Weidong: The interior layout of European-style RVs, including the decoration style, is closer to the aesthetics of Chinese people. This is my judgment on European and American RVs. For self-propelled and trailer-style, I prefer self-propelled and Chinese RVs. Car consumers are basically the first generation and have just entered the second generation. We have just started in passenger cars for 10 or 20 years, and we are about to clean up to drive a self-driving car and drag a trailer behind it. There is still a big threshold to overcome in terms of driving habits. In addition, there will be a big problem in terms of storage space.
Jinghang RV Shen Wei: In China, I personally think that self-propelled RVs should be able to flourish. Because the protection of China’s automobile tariffs has fostered the growth of China’s automobile technology. If it is the same as that of foreign countries, then domestic cars will have no advantage, because foreign cars are very cheap. Then why do you say that self-propelled RVs can develop faster in China, because the tariff is relatively high, and the tariff for trailer-type RVs is 10. Therefore, I think the joint venture brand must be dominated by self-propelled RVs.
