Mr.Bo:Changchun City of Jilin Province is the cradle of China’s automobile industry, in where the first car of New China was produced. I grew up in this “automobile capital city “and been influenced by the automobile culture, at the same time, gradually discovered the bottlenecks and opportunities within the industry. In the year of 1992, during the period of “Reform and Opening-Up”, I started my entrepreneurial journey from operating a small car delivery station and named my company as “Changjiu”which means “long lasting” in English, the company has sprung up like mushrooms after rain like plenty of other enterprises in China.
At first, automobile transportation in China was mainly relied on manual driving. In order to improve transportation efficiency and customer experience, we attempted to purchase six transport vehicles in 1996, and became one of the first entrepreneurs engaged in the trailer transportation industry. With the expansion of our business scale and continuous development of the company, now Changjiu Logistics has become a leading third-party logistics enterprise with 2459 self-owned transportation vehicles. I have a deep affection for the automobile industry, and in the process of business development, I have also discovered the needs and opportunities of the automobile industry beyond automobile logistics, such as car sales, 4S store pledged vehicle monitoring service, etc. Through multiple startups, I have finally formed the current Changjiu Group.
Louis：2. What different areas are there to Changjiu Holdings? Dealers? Logistics? Other?
Mr.Bo:Changjiu Group currently has five business segments, which are Automobile Logistics, Automobile Sales, Automobile Finance, Automobile Manufacturing, and Automobile Parts E-Commerce, all serve for the automobile industry chain.
1. Changjiu Logistics (Automobile Logistics Company): the annual transportation volume is about 3 million units, we have acquired 2459 self owned central-axle trailers and have 10 Ro-Ro vessels in control and service. We provide domestic and international logistics services and related value-added services for both China and oversea OEMs and industrial chain customers, at the same time we also offer battery recycling and cascading utilization solutions and related services to our customers.
2. Changjiu Vehicle (Automobile Sales Company): Changjiu Automobile ranks among the top 100 automobile dealers in China and currently has nearly eighty 4S stores in China, the annual vehicle sales exceeding 190,000 units.
3. Changjiu Holdings Limited (4S Store Pledged Vehicle Monitoring Service Company): Currently, the platform serves over 12000 4S stores (dealers) in China, cooperates with more than 220 financial institutions. The monthly average business volume is over 1.2 million units of commercial vehicles, and monthly average turnover is about 220 billion CNY.
4. Changjiu Automobile Manufacturing (Automobile Modification Company): Currently, the company have already set up two modification bases in Chuzhou city and Jilin city of China, mainly producing transportation vehicle, and at the same time, these two bases are also the authorized modified car manufacturers for Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen.
5. Qianpin Mall (Auto Parts E-Commerce Platform): This network platform was established in November 2015, and supply 4S Store (dealers) customers with auto spare parts, auto interior and decoration under the “Internet + Auto” model.
Louis：3. Is there an advantage of being an independent company?
2. 资源优势：由于长久集团专注汽车产业的服务，集团旗下各个板块可以有效整合产业链上下游的资源，实现资源的协同共享。在业务开展过程中，可以利用集团各版块资源相互结合，更好地为客户提供一站式服务；各个子版块的运营、技术、品牌、渠道、客户等优势资源，可以根据业务情况有效地共享、结合，形成“1+1>2”的协同优势。Mr.Bo:1. Concentration and professionalism: Changjiu Group is committed to becoming a leading automobile industry service provider, all business segments are set up and carried out centered around automobile industry demand. Concentration is the most important characteristic and one of Changjiu Group’s advantages. We specialize in various business sectors and have been deeply rooted in the respective fields for a long time. We have obtained multiple professional qualification, certificates and have also gained a good industry status with our professional service capabilities. In addition to China’s road transportation permit, Changjiu Logsitics has also obtained international logistics related qualifications, such as TIR qualification (International Road Transport Certificate). Many sectors under the group have shown excellent performance, for example Changjiu Logsitics is in a leading position in the field of automobile logistics in China, Changjiu Shares is also the largest service provider in China’s pledged vehicle monitoring service market.2. Resource advantage: For so long time, Changjiu Group focus on automobile industry services, its various business segments can effectively integrate resources from upstream and downstream of the industry chain, therefore, it has the ability to achieve collaborative sharing of resources. In the process of business development, the segments under the group can combined resources with each other to provide one-stop service solution for our customers; The operational, technological, brand, channel, customer and other advantageous resources of each segment can be effectively shared and combined according to customers’ demand, and generate a synergistic advantage and performance of “1+1>2”.
Louis：4. How do you see automobile logistics in China developing and why?
Mr.Bo:The development of automobile logistics is accompanied by the automobile industry, constantly evolving according to market demand.From 1990 to 2000, China automobile manufacturing enterprises (hereinafter referred to as “OEMs”) mainly relied on their self-operated logistics departments to realize the transportation of commercial vehicles. The development of the automobile logistics industry in China started with finished vehicle logistics, many third-party logistics companies (hereinafter referred to as “3PL”) emergence in that time period, however, the customers and the transportation routes were few, and most enterprises were only engaged in the transportation service, the KD and parts transportation have not yet started.From 2000 to 2010, China’s automobile logistics entered a stage of rapid development, and logistics enterprises began to integrate internal resources and form business network and operations. The cooperation among different enterprises increased, and the market share of 3PLs significantly increased; Advanced logistics operation models such as JIT and Milkrun have emerged, and foreign automobile logistics companies have entered the Chinese market in various forms; Domestic automobile logistics enterprises have established a group management system and gradually form a networked layout.Since 2010, the automobile logistics industry has entered a new stage of gradual maturity, characterized by focusing on integrating multiple business fields and extending logistics business to the aftermarket; Large automobile manufacturing enterprises focused more on production, with the development of electrification, various “New-Power” brands operating with light assets rapidly emerged, who further outsourcing the transportation demand to 3PLs. The automobile industry paid more and more attention to the multimodal transport capability and international network layout, which brought more development opportunities for the one-stop service capability of carriers.
Louis：5. Which technologies will have the most impact on vehicle logistics?
Mr.Bo:In my opinion, in the short term, the technological factors that affect the development of the automobile logistics industry are logistics transportation technology，loading and unloading technology, warehousing and distribution technology, and logistics information technology. In the process of automobile logistics services, transportation, loading and unloading are important links and labor-intensive operations. In recent years, the widespread use of semi mechanical tools has freed this link from simple manual labor, but the automation and intelligence are still in a low penetration rate in the whole industry. At the same time, in recent years, the advantage of low-priced labor under the demographic dividend in China has gradually disappeared, in this case, it is very important to introduce mechanization and automation technology into logistics operation. In addition, the application of new technologies in the warehousing and distribution process, such as scanning technology, wireless radio frequency identification technology, barcode technology, data collection technology, etc., as well as logistics information technology such as data exchange technology, positioning systems, etc., are key to comprehensively improving the efficiency of automobile logistics services.In the long run, the continuous deepening application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, 5G and autonomous driving will provide strong support for improving the level of automobile logistics and supply chain management, and promoting industry upgrading.
Louis：6. What are your views on the globalization of the Chinese automobile industry and the logistics to support it?
Mr.Bo:The cars “Made in China” is more and more increasingly recognized in the world. From the export of finished vehicles to the “industry chain going global” of domestic brands, it is a definite globalization trend of the industry. China’s advantages in new energy technology have accelerated this process. China has experienced significant growth in the past three years, with vehicle export volumes of 2.19 million, 3.4 million, and 5.22 million vehicles respectively. In 2023, China become the TOP 1 automobile exporter in the world, and Chinese automobile OEMs are extensively and deeply expanding their global R&D, production, and sales layout. These trends are unprecedented in the history of Chinese automobile exports, which manifest the increasing competitiveness and influence of the Chinese automobile industry in the global market.The rapid growth of China’s automobile exports has brought enormous opportunities and demands to international vehicle logistics whether by Ro-ro shipping, railway trains, railway JSQ or emerging cross-border road transportation mode TIR transportation in recent years, we are delighted to see that international vehicle logistics transportation models become more and more diversified and mature. However, we also need to recognize that for specific fields, such as Ro-ro shipping is still dominated by international leading enterprises, it will take time for Chinese logistics enterprises to build a global logistics system. This is due to the impact of differences in political and economic environments, laws and regulations in different countries and regions, as well as exponential growth in resource accumulation, network construction, and operational scheduling difficulties after expanding their business scope to the world.In recent years, Changjiu Logistics has focused on deepening its core competencies and providing accompanying services based on customer needs in international logistics service. Based on the traditional service model of international railway transportation, we are developing new transportation and service models. Since 2020, we have successively purchased three ocean ro-ro vessels named as “Jiuyang Fortune”, “Jiuyang Blossom”, and “Jiuyang Bonanza”, and obtained TIR international road transport qualification. We provide many kind of services for domestic and foreign automobile OEMs and supply chain customers, such as ocean transportation, international railway transportation, international road transportation, international air freight service, and value-added services, so to meet the finished vehicle and KD transportation demands of the customers. Currently, the international business network of Changjiu Logistics covers regions such as the Americas, Europe, Central Asia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Middle East etc.
Louis：7. Where do you see Changjiu Group in 5+ years?
Mr.Bo:In the next five years and beyond, Changjiu Group will continue to focus on the automobile industry chain, continuously enrich and deepen its service capabilities, and provide support for China’s national automobile brands to go global under the new situation, to follow the steps of the globalization of Chinese automobile brands, accelerate our international layout in logistics, sales and other sectors, and strive to become a “comprehensive service provider in the automobile industry with certain influence worldwide”.
Mr. Bo Shijiu was born in 1964 in Changchun, Jilin Province, the capital city of China's automobile industry. He founded Changjiu Group 32 years ago in 1992.
Closely following China’s national strategy of Reform and Opening-up, the historical opportunity of China's rapid developing automobile industry, Mr. Bo started Changjiu's journey from automobile logistics with his team, and expanded business territory step by step steadily. Mr. Bo himself has also become a pioneer and a navigator in Chinese automobile supply chain industry.
Driven by deep passion for the automobile industry, Mr. Bo has kept exploring the industry consistently in the past 32 years. He upholds the belief of consistent all the way along and expands the Changjiu’s business across China and overseas. Mr. Bo firmly believes that honesty is the survival principle, professionalism is the cornerstone and great ambition is the engine of Changjiu Group. He is convinced that Honesty, Professionalism and Ambition is the credo which could support Changjiu Group's evolution into a century-old enterprise and also embody its pursuit of Serve the world and create long lasting value in the automobile supply chain industry.
Louis Yiakoumi has dedicated the past 25 years to shaping the dialogue in the automotive logistics industry. As the founder of the Automotive Logistics group of magazines and conferences, he has launched influential publications such as Automotive Logistics and Finished Vehicle Logistics. He has also spearheaded conferences worldwide—from the US and Europe to China, India, and beyond. Throughout his career, Louis has forged lasting relationships with top executives, government officials, and industry leaders who drive the global supply chain.
