Wei Jianjun

The all-new V9X that I endorse recently launched and received quite positive feedback.

There is a joke on the internet saying, "Big leather shoes, Baoding stride, remember my name is Jianjun". But today I want to add a sentence: "Rest easy, I put my heart into it, Old Wei's endorsement is something to trust."

Cars are built with real money, the heart has not changed in 36 years. But if you only remember those jokes, you missed the real thing I want to say.

Someone asked me, you run every day, and control your diet, isn't it tiring? I said, it is tiring. But making cars is 10,000 times harder than running. Running only requires managing yourself, making cars requires managing 10,000 links, 10,000 people, 10,000 temptations.

In these years, I condensed all my insights into six words: Aspiration, Steps, Long Road, Devotion, Persistence, Mind. This is not some deep theory, this is a path I stepped out on, one step at a time with every pitfall, on the road of car making.

Aspiration: Not aiming for first place just at home

More than 30 years ago, Great Wall was just an inconspicuous local small factory. At that time I asked myself: What kind of enterprise do you want to be?

Many people run enterprises to make money, go public, cash out. But since I was young I had a thought — can Chinese people build their own good cars? Can we build cars to compete on the same stage as Mercedes-Benz and BMW?

I once said a sentence that was remembered by many later: "Not aiming for first place just at home."

What does it mean? If you are first in Baoding, it's useless. If you are first in Hebei, it's also useless. The automotive industry is a global competition, your opponent is not in the neighboring county, but in Stuttgart, in Toyota City, in Detroit. If you want to compare, compare with the best in the whole world.

Aspiration is setting a grand ambition. Not to brag, but to stand firm and not shake when everyone wants to make quick money.

In recent years the industry has been very frivolous, capital poured in, new forces gathered, price wars fought until heads bled. Someone asked me, will you follow? I said no. The wish in my heart is not short-term sales first, but ten years later, twenty years later, Great Wall can still represent Chinese cars, standing on the world stage.

Small Steps: Progress a little bit every day

Having a grand ambition doesn't mean achieving success overnight. On the contrary, I especially believe in these four words: Advance a pawn every day.

There is a stone in the Great Wall factory area, carved with a sentence — "Progress a little bit every day". This is not a slogan, it is a true portrayal of how we have done things for over 30 years.

Over 10 years ago, Chinese car enterprises generally were still taking the path of technology introduction, we had already started investing billions in Baoding to build our own science and technology building.

At that time many people didn't understand, saying you are a local small factory, why spend so much money to build a building? I said, technology is built, not bought. If you really want to do high-end and go global, you must have your own roots. In 2014, this technology center with an investment of 5 billion yuan went into use, later becoming the source of all core technologies of Great Wall.

Look at how we do products: Haval focuses on SUV, for over 10 years; WEY brand settles high-end, not in a hurry for success; Tank roots into hardcore off-road, slowly cultivating users. We do not pursue releasing a dozen new cars in a year, we pursue that every car can withstand the test of time.

Technology is the same. From the earliest engine self-research, to Lemon Platform, Tank Platform, to today's Origin Platform — There is no myth of overnight subversion, only 10 years, thousands of people, changing a parameter every day, optimizing a craft process every day, the hard work of being slow.

Some people mock us for being slow. I said, making cars is not the internet, an APP can iterate in a few days. Making cars is heavy asset, long cycle, every step you take today determines whether your car is safe, durable five years later.

In the factory, we optimize a craft process every day, R&D polishes a parameter every day, quality control digs into a detail every day. No drama, only silent nourishment. But it is this silent accumulation that finally becomes a moat others cannot catch up with.

Long Journey: Only without a way back do you see a way out

When Great Wall celebrated its 30th anniversary, someone said, it's time to look back. I said, no, we should look forward. The past 30 years are already set there. For me, looking back has no meaning. I already have a distance in my heart, my mission is to take Great Wall to that distance.

Only with no retreat do you see an exit.

Because if I leave myself a way back, I won't go all out. When I make decisions, I never think what if it doesn't work. If it doesn't work, then it proves this path doesn't work, change one. But in the process of walking, you cannot retreat, cannot hesitate.

Going out is the same. Great Wall Auto would rather die on the road of going out, than die inside the country. The true way out lies in the distance.

Why? Because no matter how big the Chinese car market is, it is only one-third of the globe. If you don't go global, you will forever only compete on price and configuration with domestic peers at home, finally no one makes a profit, no one survives.

But going out is not just shipping cars abroad to sell them and that's it. That is doing trade, not building a brand.

Great Wall's global expansion is the expansion of the whole ecosystem. We have built complete vehicle factories in Thailand, Brazil, Russia, have over 1,400 sales channels globally, service networks, supply chains, R&D centers, all localized.

More importantly, we do not dump at low prices. The best-selling models overseas have a premium 30% higher than domestic, competing head-on with luxury brands. Single car gross profit 33,000, higher than domestic.

Some people say, on what basis do you sell so expensive? I said, based on quality. Cars are not fast-moving consumer goods, users drive for five years, ten years. If you cut corners overseas, one time will ruin the whole brand.

In Brazil, we voluntarily made 12 user commitments, exceeding local legal requirements. What was the result? Users actively helped us spread the word, saying Chinese cars are not bad, even better.

Long Journey, means not looking at the present, looking at the future. It is daring to leave the comfort zone, to the cruelest market, to clash head-on with the world's top opponents. Lost, we accept; but at least we fought.

Devotion: 1,000 weekly meetings, I attended 950

At Great Wall, there is an iron rule: hold a quality appreciation meeting once a week, all executives must attend.

This meeting is not a formality. We drive the cars in, everyone squats down, look at gaps, touch paint, listen for noise, check user complaints. Whoever finds a problem, decides on rectification plan on the spot, no shirking, no delaying.

This meeting, we have held over 1,000 sessions. Over 1,000 weeks, over 1,000 times of being serious. And myself, attended over 950 sessions.

I am not showing off. What I want to say, reverence for quality, is not a slogan pasted on the wall, is that you are willing to spend time, energy, to pick details again and again. I can push off business activities, push off social engagements, but I don't want to push off this meeting. Because if I don't go, the people below will think — the boss doesn't value it, why should I take it seriously?

Devotion is like prostrating yourself. You put your head on the ground, it is reverence for the thing of making cars. You can never feel you are perfect, always like the first day, responsible for every car.

Persistence: Car manufacturing is a marathon

I run 5 kilometers every day, rain or shine. Every year Great Wall Factory Marathon, I personally lead 8 kilometers, not fast not slow, at my own pace.

Why run? Because car manufacturing is a marathon.

You cannot sprint in the first 100 meters, then you won't reach the finish line. You cannot walk and stop, then you will never finish. You must find your own rhythm, save energy, exert force at key times.

Persistence, means not pausing. In good times not lying flat, in bad times not stopping steps.

In these years, we made the Origin Platform, one platform compatible with all powertrains — Fuel, Hybrid, Pure Electric, Hydrogen. We layout chips, batteries, core components, do not let others strangle us. When others chase windmills, we do basic R&D; when others fight price wars, we polish next-gen technology.

People who run marathons know, the hardest is not the last kilometer, it's the middle part — stamina dropping, finish line still far, people around you some surpass you, some withdrew. At this time ask yourself: Why still running?

Because you know, the finish line is there. If you don't stop, you will surely arrive.

Guarding the Mind: Have resolve, don't rush

Company executives privately discussed something: They said, Mr. Wei is too self-disciplined. His belt is always tied on the same buttonhole, eating halfway feel tight, immediately put down chopsticks, stop eating.

I said, this is not being pretentious. You can't even manage your own waistline, how do you manage an enterprise of tens of thousands of people? The essence of self-discipline is knowing what you want, more knowing what you don't want.

Precisely because knowing what not to want, I can in this era where everyone rushes for success, rushes for monetization, rushes for fame, guard my own rhythm. Guarding the Mind, means not rushing.

I set "Four Things Not to Do" for myself: Revere capital, not wrapped by capital; Value users, do not do excessive marketing; Abide by bottom line, do not pursue short-term interests; Cherish industry, do not damage industry ecosystem.

Many people feel strange — other bosses hire celebrities for endorsement, why do you go yourself?

Because I do not trust. Can celebrities tell the WEY brand story well? Can he explain clearly how we pick details, how we run tests, how we endured three years in a winter to solve one technical difficulty? Cannot tell. Only I can tell.

So I do not hire celebrities, do not seek traffic, I stand on stage myself, use surname to establish brand, use body to endorse. I bet over 30 years of reputation, win, everyone benefits; lose, I bear.

Guarding the Mind, means guarding that most foolish, slowest, but most stable path. Not kidnapped by capital, not wrapped by traffic, not messing up own pace because others run fast.

Conclusion

From Aspiration to Guarding the Mind, these six words, are 30 years earned by me with sweat, with trial and error, with countless sleepless nights.

Aspiration, is setting a great ambition; Small Steps, is advancing a pawn every day; Long Journey, is walking towards global; Devotion, is revering quality; Persistence, is never stopping; Guarding the Mind, is not messing up rhythm.

This era is too rushed. But I believe, the one who can truly reach the end, is not the one running fastest, but the one running most steadily.

Great Wall's road, is still very long. But as long as we don't rush, don't stop, don't pretend, don't follow trends, walk step by step, one day, the whole world will see — Chinese cars, can also stand on the highest stage.