E-MAIL
In spite of subsequent influence of European financial crisis, Zhongtong Bus performed well in exporting breaking out of depressed domestic bus exporting market in 2013.
In this year, annual overseas sales revenue of Zhongtong Bus would exceed 100 million USD increasing almost 40% year on year. And exporting volume of Zhongtong Bus would be over 1,700 units, which had been the exporting scale of Zhongtong in the bus exporting peak in 2011.
Why export increase of Zhongtong bus exceeds the average level of the industry?
Li Hongtao, deputy GM of Zhongtong Bus Overseas Marketing Company, owed this to readjustment of overseas market exploration.
Li Hongtao, deputy GM of Zhongtong Bus Overseas Marketing Company
Since 2005 beginning exporting, Zhongtong Bus kept increasing to its climax in 2008. In 2009, global financial crisis broke out which made China bus export begin its decrease as a whole. In 2010, China bus export increased to some degree and achieved another climax in 2011. In 2012, European financial crisis broke out which influences China bus export market up to now. However, Zhongtong Bus got its export back to the level in 2011 by virtue of its readjustment of overseas market exploration.
Li Hongtao said, “There are mainly two adjustments of overseas strategy, which are key markets and developing dealer companies.”
“As for key markets, Zhongtong Bus would divide over 20 key areas of the world based on local bus market content, developing trend and inventory of Zhongtong bus. By now, division of key markets is successful with new clear scale which is different from the past. What’s more, investing resource of key markets are much more than ever. Once established, key markets would be equipped with supporting measures very soon. All of these supporting measures include building of supporting measure storage, service stations and other preferential measures.”
Vehicle types of Zhongtong Bus exported to overseas market
The other major adjustment of Zhongtong in overseas market is developing dealer companies.
“The world market is so large that you cannot achieve your goal by sending people. The only way is to develop much more dealers. Foreign customers are complicated in kinds. It is not easy to find many individual agents. Even the public transport routes can be operated by many individual agents. Thus, you cannot find someone or some organization purchasing vehicles as a whole.” Therefore, it is very significant to develop dealer companies like 4S store. Li Hongtao said that Zhongtong developed over 20 dealers in overseas market in 2013, which was almost equal to the total number in the past few years.
Li Hongtao continued, “In 2013, we developed new batch of dealers in Algeria, Chile and Russia. At present, Zhongtong owns over 50 overseas dealers, which plays a significant role in selling Zhongtong bus.”
Owing to adjustment of strategy, Zhongtong formed stable overseas markets, including increasing sales in East of Africa and South America as well as recovery of Middle East market.
Li Hongtao said with enough confidence, “For now, Zhongtong Bus has already several stable strategic markets in overseas area. With adjustments of thinking, our overseas sales would keep increasing stably. Growth rate in 2014 would be 30%. By the end of 12th 5-year plan, overseas markets would become one of three pillars driving Zhongtong Bus sustainable increase.”