When the reporter arrived in the French town of Clermont Ferrand, known as the "volcano city," he thought he would smell the deep volcanoes. However, there is a strong smell of rubber in the air - this is the headquarters of Michelin tires . In just two days, what I saw and heard in this place made me feel the heritage of the multinational tire giant in the industry. In a conversation with Michelin Tire global executives, the reporter learned better that Michelin will be in the future for some time. Internally, a series of strategic adjustments will be implemented in the R&D of new energy technologies and targeting emerging markets.
Build three new plants in China, India and Brazil
In the meeting room on the second floor of the office building of the Michelin Tire Company headquarters, Vice President Dong Kelan told reporters about Michelin's series of strategic adjustments and technological R&D for emerging markets and new energy eras.
Michelin Group Vice President Dong Kelan
Last year, Michelin spent $1.4 billion to increase investment in its Shenyang plant. At that time, Michelin's investment plan was relatively low-key, but it cost more than the sum of the amount of investment in China over the past few years. In addition, Michelin's new plant near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will also start production in 2013, which will double Michelin's capacity in Brazil. At the same time, Michelin will establish its own production base in Chennai, India.
The reporter was informed that the project will take three years to complete, and after the expansion, the new plant will have a capacity of 15 million. This year, Michelin also intends to contact Shanghai Huayi Group and Shuangqin Group in Shanghai and plans to create a joint venture in the future. The reporter learned that the two parties are still in preliminary contact. As for more detailed cooperation, Dong Kelan is not willing to disclose it.
In the Indian market, the tires currently sold by Michelin in India still go through the procurement of tires produced in Southeast Asia. To meet market demand, Michelin considers to stop exporting tires to India before 2015. Instead, it will build a large factory in the area.
Dong Kelan specifically mentioned the importance of the Chinese and Indian markets, but in the eyes of Michelin, the Chinese and Indian markets will have very different development strategies.
In China, Michelin has formed a strong brand awareness, but Michelin sales in China is still a relatively small number for the entire group, which is why Michelin wants to increase development and investment in China. Even if the new factory is built and is operating at full capacity, the sales generated by the new factory will not occupy a large proportion of the group.
Dong Kelan said that for the fast-growing Chinese market, Michelin will increase its development in China. The main goal now is to solve the capacity shortage and continue to strengthen after-sales service. For the rapidly growing Indian market in recent years, Michelin will invest 1.6 billion euros. Because Michelin's local brand awareness is not high, it is necessary to add Great local advertising, improve their own brand image.
Emerging market sales account for only 30%
Dong Kelan is quite optimistic about the Chinese auto market. She pointed out that even if the growth of the auto market slowed down, Michelin’s share of the original market declined, but there was still a steady increase in the replacement market. Dong Kelan predicted that Michelin’s share of the car market will increase by 30%, and the commercial vehicle sector will reach 15%. In the replacement tire market, since 2007, Michelin has maintained a 20%-25% growth rate. The car is lower. At present, Michelin sales in the global mature market accounted for about 70% of its own proportion, while in emerging markets, this figure reached 30%.
For how to solve the problems caused by the continuous rise of raw materials in recent years, Dong Kelan told reporters that in addition to different periods of time, Michelin will adjust the prices of products to cope with the increase in costs. In technology research and development, research has focused on reducing the weight of tires. Especially on the premise of not affecting the safety performance of the tire, it can minimize the loss of the overall performance of the product. More and more products will reflect this change in products that are already on the market or will be available soon. At the same time, Michelin will research and develop more raw materials, especially the alternative materials for natural rubber and recycled rubber.
Dong Kelan said that the company had no plans to establish a technology research and development center in China within a short time. She pointed out that at present, Michelin's retail stores in China have reached more than 5,000, but basically concentrated in large and medium cities, the next step they first consider is to further penetrate the Chinese second and third line market.
June launches "more wear-resistant" new products for the Chinese market
Owners who used Michelin tires were generally impressed by their comfort and quietness. However, some people complained that the Michelin product's carcass was soft, which could easily lead to bulging and the service life was not satisfactory.
In this regard, Dong Kelan, vice president of Michelin tires, said that taking into account China's road conditions and people's habits of using tires, Michelin has begun to pay more and more attention to this issue. According to her introduction, Michelin has developed and launched a new tyre product that focuses on the characteristics of Chinese road conditions.
The reporter learned that, contrary to Michelin's emphasis on the concept of safety, comfort and fuel economy, Michelin Energy XM 2 is the most popular selling point for its toughness and wear resistance. This highly targeted economic product will be available in 6 It officially landed on the Chinese market in mid-month. As the latest generation of the Michelin Energy family, the Michelin Typhoon Tire is designed specifically for Asian consumers, inherits the energy-saving features of the Energy family, and excels in both safety and toughness. At the same time, Dong Kelan said that this new product will not sacrifice the inherent comfort characteristics of Michelin as a new product in addition to its strong and durable features. As a substitute for the previous product, the listed price will increase by 10% over the previous generation. about. In addition, Michelin will also increase the free tire repair business in response to the fact that China’s road conditions are relatively complex and tires have experienced tire tying.
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