Auto industry veteran driven to succeed in China
Print Edition
VOLKER Steinwascher dreams one day Chinese will be truly proud to purchase a domestically made car. The vice chairman of Qoros Automotive Co Ltd has been dedicated to making “Made in China” automobiles that are safe, look great and manufactured to the highest standards of engineering.
“I want to make Chinese cars with world-class standards and that is always driving me to where we are today,” the 71-year-old German says.
He recalls an October 2006 meeting with two shareholders and Yin Tongyue, CEO of Chery Automobile in Wuhu, Anhui Province, that marked a big turning point in his career. He says they spoke about making an internationally recognized car in China and working together to make it happen.
“Everything went so fast and smooth,” Steinwascher says. A few months later they started contract negotiations and one month later, the joint venture contract was signed and the car project commenced.
Founded in 2007 with its operational center in Shanghai, design studios in Munich (Germany), offices in Graz (Austria) and production facility in Changshu, Suzhou of Jiangsu Province, Qoros Automotive Co Ltd started in China’s rapidly growing automobile industry as a new force with a brand identity and product positioning different from domestic car manufacturers and other international joint ventures.
“China’s auto market is the biggest in the world and the only one with visible growth rates,” he says. “If you want to be a player, you have to be in China.”
The vice chairman says there are two kinds of car companies in China — the international joint ventures with their know-how and recognized international brands; and the local companies with low product value and limited know-how.
“What we are and what makes us unique is that we have a high-end product and brand value with all the know-how in China,” Steinwascher says. “I think what we are doing now should be the benchmark for China’s auto industry as you see the market is so good, but the industry is not mature enough. It’s not balanced.”
Bouncing between Anhui, Changshu, Beijing, Shanghai and Germany, Steinwascher has been a frequent traveler since the establishment of the company although he relocated to Shanghai in late 2007.
Since 2007, he has expanded the young company from only four people in a small office at Plaza 66 in Shanghai to the current 800 office workers in the imposing IFC Tower, which overlooks Pudong and the Bund.
Qoros today boasts more than 300 car experts with extensive automotive industry experience while its Changshu factory has almost 1,600 workers and can produce 150,000 units a year.
Steinwascher still clearly remembers the moment when Qoros’s first car body was completed.
“Everyone was so focused, so cooperative and so excited,” he recalls. “For me, it was one of my nicest moments because I saw the energy, the spirit, the inspiration. I was convinced at that time that we were going to be successful.”
Steinwascher brings a wealth of experience to his position as he has been in the auto industry since 1986, when he joined Volkswagen as project manager for the establishment of an engine plant in Germany. In 1993, he became Volkswagen’s executive director of North America and three years later was appointed executive director and vice-president of North America, ultimately becoming the vice chairman.
The German has the ambition to make a Chinese car that outperforms every vehicle that is made in China.
Qoros is like a mini United Nations as it employs people from about 23 countries.
“My perception is I want the best and I don’t care where they come from, though we have a few more Germans as you know the German auto industry is one of the best in the world,” he says.
Quality is what Steinwascher strives for both in life and at work.
“I’m a quality-oriented person. If you come to my home, you can see everything is of the highest quality,” he says.
It is also the same when it comes to making cars.
“You must live quality, feel quality and experience quality. We’re making quality cars,” Steinwascher adds.
The brand’s first car, the Qoros 3 Sedan, after debuting at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2013, is the first model developed in China to be awarded the maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests. Euro NCAP later named it the “best performer of any car subjected to Euro NCAP’s crash tests in 2013,” making it one of the safest vehicles ever tested by the organization.
The brand’s second model, the Qoros 3 Hatch, debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March. It went on to win an honorable mention in the Red Dot Awards in recognition of its design, and several other awards at the Beijing Motor Show in April.
“The market has great potential but it’s still not easy to build a brand overnight,” Steinwascher says. “We started by analyzing our customers first.”
With a spacious interior and a variety of in-car services, Qoros has a clear picture in mind about what Chinese customers want and need in a car.
“Qoros’s goal is to be the first car company in China that can make competitive, quality products which people like and which can be exported. We are now a good way toward getting there.” he says. “We want to make Chinese cars that Chinese are proud to buy and drive.”
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