According to the “2014 List of the 500 Most Valuable Brands in China” published on June 25 by World Brand Lab, the leading brand research institution, BAIC has jumped to the 19th position with an overall brand value of 98.675 billion RMB. This represents a 19.5% increase over last year’s value, and the company currently occupies one of the top 3 positions amongst China’s most valuable vehicle companies together with FAW Group and SAIC Motors.

In 2013, BAIC Group bought Zhenjiang Auto Plant and the well-known domestic company Changhe Automobile and subsequently merged them. At present BAIC Group has established 8 major brand vehicle production bases and 9 major commercial vehicle production bases in Beijing, Zhuzhou, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Zhenjiang, Jiangxi, Huanghua, Yunnan, which complete its basic national industrial layout. Meanwhile, its vehicle the A5 Series has made remarkable achievements in the market.

To boost its competitiveness, the BAIC Group has carried forward a brand philosophy of “Your Wish • Our Ways,” stepped up technological innovation, promoted its own brands and improved its core competitiveness. This is part of a goal to achieve coordinated development with BAIC’s independent brands and various joint ventures, and realize its dream of cementing itself as a major name itself in China and entering the world stage.

BAIC Group thinks that it is essential to improve the profitability of Chinese auto companies. To this end, BAIC Group proposed that the traditional manufacturing companies should change into innovative, service-oriented manufacturing enterprises. BAIC Group also has a three-step brand globalization strategy based on “renewal, operations and output”. In practical terms this translates to first building the brand image, then making a higher quality and more technologically advanced product, and finally to create a more influential brand in terms of market globalization.

BAIC Group Chairman Xu Heyi pointed out that China has been the world’s largest car market since 2009, even compared with the US, but is still not considered as a car nation. Mr. Xu’s view of the situation is that China has no globally-known automotive brands, which is an important criterion in measuring its world automotive power.

At the award ceremony of “2014 List of the 500 Most Valuable Brands in China” BAIC Group said: “BAIC is now in a transitional period from technological innovation to brand innovation. We now are working to put our brand philosophy and brand culture into the chain of production process, to help boost our evolution and achieve better cooperative management and more rapid development.”