In the Chinese market, Cooper Tire is a latecomer, but its growth is also the fastest.

Despite the general decline in sales volume of Chinese tire companies in 2012 and the decrease in profit margin, sales of Cooper tires have nearly doubled in contradiction, becoming one of the leading companies in the market segments, and the profitability of its Shandong plant has leapt to the top five in the industry. name.

The key to the success of Cao Kechang, Cooper Tire's global vice president and president of Asia Pacific, is: stability, accuracy, and accuracy. His goal is very specific, that is, for those markets that have high potential for continued growth, such as the off-road tire market and the light-card matching market in second and third-tier cities. Cao Kechang said: "We like the discerning OEM customers and consumers because it helps us grow."

Reporter: Since 2011, Chinese tire companies have fallen into a dilemma of both output and profits. Why does Cooper Tire show high growth and high profits instead?

Cao Kechang: The tire industry has the characteristics of “three highs and one low”, namely high technology content, high capital, high labor force, and low profit margin. Over the past few years, we have effectively controlled costs through the transformation of processes.

First, controlling quality, on the one hand, guarantees the interests of consumers, and on the other hand leads to the reduction of waste and the reduction of production costs;

Second, sales channels or market diversification are not dragged down by single market fluctuations. Except for sales in China, a considerable portion of tires are exported to more than 100 countries in the United States and Europe.

Thirdly, our products are rapidly developed, and we can quickly develop and produce new products based on the market, so as to seize market opportunities in a timely manner.

Although our market in China is relatively late, we quickly realized that with the rapid growth of automobiles, the demand for both car tyres and truck tyres has changed rapidly. In addition, from the analysis of market strategy, Cooper Tire has been committed to the tire retail market, so compared to some brands based on OE (Complete Vehicle Support), Cooper tires are less affected by market fluctuations.

Reporter: Cooper is one of the few tire companies that set up an R&D center in China. What are the results?

Cao Kechang: In May 2008, with the establishment of the Cooper Tire Asia Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, the newly established Cooper Asia Pacific R&D Center also settled in Shanghai. This is the third largest R&D center of Cooper after the US headquarters and Europe. It is mainly responsible for product development and technical support in the Asia Pacific region. Its functions are based on local R&D, including tire certification, R&D, new material formulations, and tire testing. Completed at home, this greatly shortens the development time of new products and ensures that the products are suitable for the needs of the Chinese market.

According to the convention, foreign R&D takes 2 to 3 years, while domestic R&D only takes about 5 months. Currently sold on the market, Cooper DISCOVERER HTS this urban SUV tire is developed according to the characteristics of China's urban highways, it has a very good quietness, wet brakes and a strong corner handling.

Reporter: The brand positioning of Cooper tires is changing from "replacement tire specialist" to "global off-road tire master". What is the reason for this decision?

Cao Kechang: In the past, we used a globally unified brand positioning. “Global Off-Road Tires Master” is an extension of our original brand positioning after in-depth study of the Chinese market, in order to better meet the needs of Chinese consumers, and more Easy to identify.

Because our advantage lies in off-road tires, the Chinese SUV market is the fastest growing market in recent years. Since 2006, China has accumulated about 6 million SUVs, and it is expected that it will maintain high growth in the future.

Therefore, we hope that from off-road tires as an entry point, and then go to the urban SUV, expand this product line as the core and enter the matching market. This is a good way to increase awareness. We have launched off-road tyres such as STMAXX, STT and AT3 for the Chinese market and are welcomed by domestic off-road enthusiasts.

Reporter: At present, what is the proportion of Cooper Tire's domestic sales and foreign sales in China? What is the future goal?

Cao Kechang: Cooper's annual production capacity in China is about 16.5 million, including 11 million passenger car tires, 4 million truck tires, and 1.5 million biased tires. The overall production capacity accounts for approximately 20% of Cooper's global production capacity. About 80% of domestically produced tires are exported.

In the future, China will become the world's largest tire market, and Cooper hopes to expand sales of tires in China. It is expected that market share will increase fourfold in five years.