On February 4, Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM) held a press conference themed with “Belt and Road· With You” to release DFM’s overseas medium-term business plan. The Plan set forth the overall target for DFM’s overseas business in the coming three years: by 2020, achieve overseas sales goal of 150,000 vehicles and enter European and American mainstream automobile markets. Compared with DFM’s magnificent overseas strategy, the target that Dongfeng Race Team hopes to win championship in Volvo Ocean Race this year is merely a small target. DFM is to practice national “the Belt and Road” Initiative and tell well Chinese brand story with the help of Volvo Ocean Race.

Dongfeng Race Team ranks second in total scores in Volvo Ocean Race and runs for championship.

Volvo Ocean Race, known as “Everest of sailing”, is a global top offshore sailing race. In the last race season, Dongfeng Race Team, a fleet named with a Chinese enterprise, participated in the race and won the third place, which has attracted extensive attention and support from global fans and the public. The brand communication value ranked the first among all the fleets, which drew the greatest attention from media and made the world know well about Chinese Dongfeng.

Up to now, Dongfeng Race Team has become only one fleet to win awards in consecutive four times, including 3 second places, 1 third place and 2 in-port race championships. After the in-port race held in Guangzhou the fifth station of the Volvo Ocean Race on February 3, Dongfeng Race Team scored a total of 27 points ranking the second in the scoreboard, only 5 points lower than that of the first place.

It is learned that Dongfeng Race Team’s players are about to head for Hong Kong, and to prepare for the long-distance race from Hong Kong, China to Auckland, New Zealand, with the sailing distance of 7,000 NM (nearly 13,000 KM), and an estimated duration of 20 days.

In the interview after the competition at Guangzhou Station, Dongfeng Race Team’s 3 Chinese players expressed their confidence in the captain’s and teammates’ ability. They thought that, based on the captain’s rich experience and teammates’ concerted collaboration, Dongfeng Race Team is capable of making better achievements in the follow-up races, and running for championship.

Overseas medium-term business plan has overall content and pragmatic target.

Originally, we thought that championship is a big target. Unexpectedly, compared with overseas medium-term business plan, championship is merely a small target.

In the press conference held on February 4, Dongfeng reviewed the existing overseas development achievements, and released the development plan with overall content and pragmatic target.

According to the introduction, over the past five years, DFM has taken measures for overseas layout frequently, for example, on September 23, 2012, Dongfeng purchased Sweden T-Engineering AB and established DFM’s first overseas R&D base in Sweden; in March, 2014, Dongfeng cooperated with French PSA Group and became PSA’s the first majority shareholder; in January, 2015, Dongfeng and Volvo Group jointly built a new joint venture - Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Company, with Dongfeng holding 55% equities; in Iran, Dongfeng built its first overseas KD assembly base, which assembled and exported 30,000 vehicles in 2017.

In term of the product export, Dongfeng has exported over 800,000 vehicles, with over 30 types of vehicles, to over 80 countries and regions, forming a host of stable partners and stable export markets. In 2017, Dongfeng sold 65,000 vehicles overseas, with year-on-year growth at 55.3%.

In the coming three years, by 2020, Dongfeng hopes that Dongfeng sells 150,000 vehicles overseas, and enters European and American mainstream vehicle markets.

To this end, Dongfeng is to build 3+3+N business layout. 3+3+N is to create 3 in-depth KD manufacturing bases, build 3 overseas sales companies, and set N overseas opportunistic reserve projects. On that basis, Dongfeng is to create DFM’s characteristic modes, such as KD mode, sales platform mode, strategic cooperation mode, “the Belt and Road” follow mode, etc. Through concentrating on the strategic markets to distribute production capacity and channel resources, Dongfeng will promote DFM’s ability in localized manufacturing and localized marketing, and accelerate Dongfeng to “go into” the strategic markets.

In the coming three years, Dongfeng will launch 10-15 competitive new products and new energy products to targeted regional markets continuously.

DFM’s target in 2018 is 4,500,000 vehicles.

In the press conference, DFM also introduced corporate overall business operation and business target of the year 2018.

In 2017, DFM sold 4,121,000 vehicles, achieving sales revenue of RMB 631 billion with year-on-year growth at 10.2%; achieving profit and tax with year-on-year growth at 7.8% and 15% respectively. DFM declared that “The evaluation indicator assigned by State-owned Assets Supervision And Administration Commission of the State Council has been achieved”.

The sales volume of DFM’s self-brand vehicles was up to 1,439,000 vehicles, with year-on-year growth at 4.5%, ranking the third in the automobile industry. The sales volume of DFM’s commercial vehicle was 593,000 vehicles, ranking the first in the automobile industry again, and promoting the market share up to 0.8%. The sales volume of DFM’s new energy vehicles was up to 55,000 vehicles, with year-on-year growth at 118%, far higher than the average industry growth rate. Compared with other self-brand vehicles, DFM’s new energy vehicle business achieves its profitability, without any major operation risk.

In 2018, DFM sets forth three targets: sales volume breaks through 4,500,000 vehicles based on high quality; growth rate outperforms the market; benefit gets enhanced continuously. To this end, DFM sets forth various plans based on the market segments.

In the commercial vehicle sector, Dongfeng is to enhance key technologies, make great efforts in such sectors as high horsepower, tractor, special-purpose vehicle, etc., positively improve weak markets, and seize market shares with help of such opportunities as rural revitalization strategy, regionally coordinated development strategy, etc.

In the self-brand passenger vehicle sector, Dongfeng is to accelerate cultivation of scale products, accelerate enhancement of product power, marketing power, service ability and brand power, and build the ability of full-value-chain system from R&D to sale, and boost Dongfeng Aeolus’s 3-year revitalization plan.

In the new energy vehicle sector, Dongfeng is to focus on improving new energy business development plan, accelerate implementation of commercialization projects of self-brands (Dongfeng Aeolus, Dongfeng GLORY) and joint ventures (Dongfeng Nissan, Dongfeng Renault), accelerate advancement of industrialization projects of electronic and electric control, cell grouping and drive motor, and grasp core resources of the above-mentioned three sectors. In 2018, the sales volume target of DFM’s new energy vehicles is 80,000 vehicles.

Moreover, in the rapidly-developed intelligent networking sector, DFM hopes that all the business units focus on commercialization and engineering, promote development of various sectors, and enhance commodity competitiveness; accelerate the building of intelligent networking platform at the group level, build digitalized innovation company, and grasp universal prospective technology and new business mode.

As one of China’s largest automobile groups in Chinese automobile industry, DFM has great impact on the development of Chinese automobile industry. In response to “the Belt and Road” Initiative, Dongfeng launches an overseas development strategy which can be matched with our own development level and technical ability, and has overall and pragmatic target. Such target presents DFM’s rapid stable growth status, expresses DFM’s ambition to be a larger and stronger enterprise, and displays DFM’s resolution to shoulder the central enterprise’s social responsibilities. As “The Belt and Road” Initiative has proceeded steadily and made great achievements continuously, DFM which positively embraces “The Belt and Road” Initiative, no doubt, will reap a lot of benefits. The rapid economic development of the countries along with “The Belt and Road” will provide a considerable market for commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle, and advance Dongfeng towards a new height.