Tan Xuguang, Chairman of Weichai Power Co., Ltd.

Companies must have core competencies that others cannot replicate. Others can learn your technology, can invest in equipment, but it is difficult to replicate your core competitiveness

The favorable situation of China’s economic recovery this year is encouraging. As the Weichai Power of China’s largest auto parts group, the business in the first three quarters of this year is also a powerful “upside line.” Starting from June, Weichai Engine sold more than 30,000 units a month, breaking through 4 in September. Million Taiwan set a record for the best in history.

This kind of development situation does not come overnight. For Weichai, adversity and crisis have always been like a pair of brothers go hand in hand. In the face of crisis, there is no way out for "waiting, relying, and asking." More than 10 years ago, we waited. We waited for the company to step by step to the brink of bankruptcy; we also “rely on” and rely on the fact that it was almost abandoned in an era of rapid development; we also “request”. However, it is snowballing overwhelming burden. Practice knows the truth: The future of a company is not hoped for, but it is done.

In doing so, we have always taken a step ahead of the unexpected crisis and avoided the passive situation in which “the wolf came to build a wall and the water came before it went to the house”. Two years ago, when someone reminded the world economy that it was facing a major recession, we responded in a timely manner to a comprehensive and systematic “physical examination” of the company’s strategic direction, cost management, cash flow, and logistics management. The intensity of technological innovation.

At present, Weichai has set up six engine R&D centers around the world, ensuring that we are always technically in line with international standards, even one step ahead. We have used our industry chain advantages to develop the world's first powertrain product that matches the engine, gearbox and axles and develops. In this year's National Day military parade of the 60th anniversary, there are 50 equipment vehicles, security vehicles and floats equipped with Weichai engines. We are extremely proud.

The surging international financial crisis has hindered the pace of internationalization of many enterprises. However, we believe that this crisis has created conditions for Weichai to enter the international market. It's not always possible to engage in internationalization. It is a good time for capital operation and resource integration to reshuffle the industry. It is a good time for capital operation and resource integration. During this period, we acquired a hundred-year-old internationally renowned engine company in France at the lowest price, and took a lead. A shortcut to the international market.

The experience of this crisis gives us an inspiration: companies must possess core competencies that others cannot replicate. Others can learn your technology and can invest in equipment, but it is difficult to replicate your core competencies. Through this crisis, we also more clearly see what is the core competitiveness of Weichai, that is, taking “Blue Engine” as the core to create competitive advantages in product portfolios; and taking professional services engineering as the core to create competitive advantages in the aftermarket. Take the powertrain system as the core to create industrial chain cooperation and competitive advantage.

Having a core competency, you will find that it is not a winter of disappointment but a spring of hope. The economic depression is precisely the best test of the company’s core competitiveness.