Lifan Thailand

Yin Mingshan, 73 years old, chairman & CEO of Lifan Group, a Chongqing-based private company that makes motorbikes and automobiles, accepted an interview from the auto channel of 163.com, telling his vehicle-making philosophy and stories.

The Lifan Group was founded in 1992. Similar as BMW, Honda, Suzuki and Kia, Lifan started with motorcycle business. It entered the automobile field in 2006. It was listed on China’s A-share market on November 25, 2010.

The soaring wealth brought by Lifan’s public listing doesn’t change the lifestyle of Yin Mingshan. He still goes to work on time with his Lifan 520.
Yin expects the sales revenue from the automobile business would be five times as that from the motorcycle business in future. The company also aims to keep its crown in the field of motorbike export, and retain its top-five position in the domestic sales of motorbikes.

Yin always uses inspiring slogans to encourage Lifan’s staff. He values trustworthiness the best. As he set a good example with his own conduct, such a corporate culture has been established.

Yin’s plan for Lifan’s development is quite conservative and practical. The company aims to produce and sell 300,000 vehicles annually by 2015 or 2016. He likes the words of a Toyota executive very much, who says that Toyota is very successful when it crawls like a turtle, and it will surely fail if it runs like a rabbit.

According to Yin, Lifan is willing to partner with any foreign, state-owned or other private companies that are possible to settle down in Chongqing. Lifan is now in talks with Subaru. However, Lifan brand will always be their prime business. He is confident in the prospect of China’s local brands, and he believes Lifan brand will still stand in the market after 100 years.

According to Yin, his family is only a controlling shareholder of Lifan. Therefore, it’s unnecessary for his family member to take the leading role. He also thinks the basic reason for GM and Chrysler’s seeking bankruptcy protection is in their failure in training generations of successful successors. He thinks highly of Ford’s successor plan, under which the successor could be from within and outside Ford family, and says he will refer to the mode when it comes to Lifan.