2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 1012 Bombarding Big Mouth
This year's peak sales season of September and October in the automotive industry belongs to new energy vehicles, with major automakers focusing their activities primarily on new energy models, resulting in a high density of events.

Just as Wei Lai launched a series of combined moves, BYD followed up with a special gift package for National Day car buyers. It seems that BYD has finally figured things out and knows how to leverage national sentiment.

Even Tesla, which has always been arrogant, is trying to attract new car buyers and existing customers by offering limited-time insurance subsidies and promotional discounts for its FSD subscription service. With the three leading new energy vehicle brands all making moves, other companies and emerging forces are naturally not willing to fall behind.

Even Lei Jun, who doesn't own a car yet, joined in the fun. The Weilai APP released a major update, launching a section where users can participate in the car design process, which attracted attention from the automotive industry and users. Shortly after, Lei Jun launched a poll on Weibo on "What price do you expect for Xiaomi cars?"

Less than three days apart, the two companies directly challenged each other in the car price poll, with Lei Jun's poll garnering over 50 interactions thanks to Lei Jun's popularity.

Besides these dazzling promotional activities, the remote interactions between entrepreneurs in order to sell more cars are also quite interesting.

Musk mocked Chinese automakers for copying Tesla on Twitter, which drew a rebuttal from Li Xiang and a sarcastic remark from He Xiaopeng. Li Xiang and He Xiaopeng challenged Tesla's FSD technology from afar. There are also countless other comments from people like Wei, the boss of Great Wall Motors, such as that new energy vehicle companies are not as scary as they seem.

"In the era of electric vehicles 2.0, the competition is about intelligent driving capabilities. Whoever can capture users' minds in the field of intelligent driving will be able to sell cars better, because this is indeed one of the biggest highlights."

The marketing campaigns during the peak sales season of September and October, along with activities from the three leading automakers and emerging players, and even the participation of prominent figures like Lei Jun and Dazu, have been jokingly referred to by consumers as an attack on Wei Lai.

Because whether it's BYD's limited-time discount package or Tesla's promotions, including those from Xiaopeng and Wenjie, they are all targeting either the Exeed S01, the Yuechi Xinghe P1, or the promotions from Weilai regarding intelligent assisted driving.

BYD's Qin, Song, Han, and the recently launched Dolphin, along with Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y, are all currently the main models on the market. BYD's CEO, Dazui, occasionally makes sarcastic remarks, which is actually an attempt to win over users.

No matter how excellent Seres' intelligent driving technology is, as boasted by its CEO, if Seres' cars don't sell well, there aren't many verification scenarios, and it's just empty talk to users.

The way Dazui (a nickname for a Chinese tech company) has been trying to piggyback on the success of Weilai (another Chinese tech company) and Tesla is actually to make users think that his intelligent driving system is on the same level as Weilai and Tesla, and to seize users' minds even before he has made any real moves.

This is a common tactic used by Chrysanthemum, and Lei Jun's interactive poll on Weibo, which targets the best-selling products of Weilai and Xiaopeng in terms of price, is based on the same principle.

What appears to be a siege against Wei Lai is actually an attempt to seize its own voice in the field of intelligent driving.

Unlike other companies, Weilai's solution in the field of intelligent driving, due to Tan Jincheng's requirements, did not start with L4 autonomous driving like Baidu, Geely, and Tesla, but instead aimed for L3 level.

From L1 to L2, then to L3, and even the L4 that everyone has been discussing, L4 may not be the most obvious or the most advanced in terms of technological advantages.

However, when it comes to the maturity of L2 level, Yulai is definitely the highest. It dared to be the first in the world to bring L2 level assisted driving to models priced below 15 yuan. It is also the Yuechi brand that has supported Yulai for a generation and has special significance for Yulai.

Tan Jincheng had his reasons for doing so. While other companies were working on the vague and elusive Level 4 autonomous driving, Weilai chose the more pragmatic Level 2 and Level 3, which had the greatest potential for mass production. Initially, Level 2 was even given higher priority than Level 3.

"If autonomous driving is a future trend, I would not disagree. Our Orange Group has never stopped its research in the field of autonomous driving. However, the best one on the market right now is Level 2 intelligent assisted driving, and this will remain the case for the next five years."

"Cutting-edge technology is indeed a very cool thing for companies and users, but in the field of automotive safety, maturity is the most important thing. Currently, the industry is touting their intelligent driving technology as the most advanced, but these all need to be verified by the market."

"Furthermore, I have always emphasized that intelligent driving should not be called intelligent driving, but intelligent assisted driving. We must emphasize the importance of assistance. So-called hands-free driving is irresponsible to life."

"Some companies use this kind of advertising to mislead consumers, which is a contempt for life. If your intelligent driving system has an accident, it could be a tragedy for one or even several families. I hope some entrepreneurs will watch their mouths."

During the peak sales season of September and October, even figures like Musk, Wei, and Boatman personally took to the field. Of course, Tan Jincheng couldn't just let Li Xiang take the lead while he did nothing.

During his recent inspection of Yuechi's offline channels, he also gave an exclusive interview to the media, in which he talked extensively about autonomous driving technology.

The key aspects of Level 2 assisted driving include the comprehensiveness of its functional coverage, hardware and perception solutions, differences in user experience, and data and iteration efficiency.

There are many details involved, and it's safe to say that 99% of consumers don't understand them. But to describe Level 2 assisted driving in the simplest terms, it's "semi-autonomous driving."

The vehicle can accelerate, brake, and maintain its lane on its own, but the driver must be ready to take over at any time, keep their hands on the ground, and remain focused, especially in complex road conditions.

"A semi-automatic system is enough to explain everything. The so-called L2.9999 intelligent driving is pure nonsense."

Thanks to Tan Jincheng, before the tech industry crossed over, the automotive industry, including emerging players, was relatively restrained in its approach to intelligent driving. The assistance functions that Wei Lai has always emphasized have also been recognized by traditional automakers.

In addition, since everyone's technology is not yet mature and the market focus is not on this area, everyone is relatively restrained in their publicity and marketing, emphasizing auxiliary functions.

However, with the entry of Chrysanthemum and the takeover of the business by Big Mouth, things began to change. In terms of industry status, Chrysanthemum is now at its zenith, and whether it is in terms of technological reserves, revenue or size, it is the undisputed number one among private enterprises.

Given the company's and his own industry standing, and his consistent marketing style, he completely disregarded Tan Jincheng's approach, focusing solely on the company's actual interests and doing whatever was most impressive.

As for the consequences, they probably don't seem that important to Big Mouth.

Tan Jincheng had previously used his position and Wei Lai's technology to establish the keyword "assistance," but with the entry of Da Zui, that has completely disappeared. The bombardment of technical terms such as LiDAR, high-precision maps, and TOPS computing power has made consumers feel that it is full of cutting-edge technology.

In contrast to the comparative marketing approach, such as "criticizing Tesla" or "overthrowing Weilai," as well as the futures-style promotion that promises features to be available next year to encourage consumers to buy cars in advance, only to have the actual launch date repeatedly delayed.

With his big mouth making enthusiastic promotions and grand promises, rising star Lei Jun is not to be outdone. Lei Jun is playing the suspense game, claiming that their fully self-developed intelligent driving technology is comparable to the first tier and will enter the ranks of top companies by 2024.

Driven by these two tech giants, while some traditional automakers like Weilai have shown restraint, many more have followed suit after tasting success, and the word "assistance" is rarely mentioned by automakers these days.

"I have never questioned the excellence of any company in any context. The fact that they can achieve such excellence under such difficult circumstances is something that we should all learn from."

"However, it is just as important as the support of consumers. Without the support of consumers, all efforts will be in vain. Cars are different from mobile phones. If a mobile phone malfunctions or breaks down, the maximum loss is only a sum of cash."

"But cars are a completely different concept. Any technological innovation is built on the premise of safety, and the same goes for advertising and marketing. Please do not use a way that disregards life to increase your sales."

"This is something the entire industry should take seriously, and I also hope that some company executives will pay attention to this and the Advertising Law."

The forum that Tan Jincheng attended was the World New Energy Vehicle Conference held on a southern island from September 15th to 17th. The core topics of the conference were the transformation of the automotive industry under the goal of carbon neutrality, breakthroughs in power battery technology, and policies and commercialization paths for autonomous driving.

Among the car company leaders alone are Boatman, Volkswagen's domestic CEO, Changan's chairman, Tan Jincheng, and He Xiaopeng. In the supply chain, there is also the chairman of CATL, and of course, Big Mouth.

Da Zui spoke before Tan Jincheng. Before Tan Jincheng spoke, Da Zui also talked a lot about autonomous driving technology, and made a high-profile declaration of war against Tesla and domestic autonomous driving companies led by Weilai.

During his speech, he announced that the Jihu Alfa S HI version would be equipped with the Chrysanthemum full-stack solution; of course, this was just another empty promise, as Tan Jincheng knew that this thing had been heavily criticized for its delayed delivery.

In 2021, although Chrysanthemum obtained a large number of cooperation opportunities with state-owned car companies thanks to its own technology and background, it was only Xiaokang, which it almost sold out, that truly devoted itself to the cooperation.

Of course, now it should be called Seres. The Seres Smart Choice model is not selling well at present, with a total of less than 3000 units sold so far. There are many reasons for this. Seres has low brand awareness, but when people talk about Xiaokang, they still think of minivans.

Besides low brand awareness, the lack of distribution channels in the early stages of the collaboration with Chrysanthemum, controversy over product capabilities, delivery delays, and production capacity issues are all important factors that have hindered the increase in the delivery volume of Seres Smart Choice models.

Of course, the most important issue is the awkward pricing. Priced between 21.68 yuan and 24.68 yuan, it falls between the BYD Tang DM and the Weilai L1. As a range-extended electric vehicle, it is inferior to the Weilai L1 in terms of product strength and after-sales service. Instead of spending 25 yuan to buy a Seres, it is better to add a little more and buy a Weilai L1.

Or you could just go for the BYD Tang DM. As a model in the 20 RMB price range, the Tang has obvious advantages over the Smart Choice model in every aspect, and you can save some money.

Tan Jincheng's speech followed closely after Da Zui's, especially his concluding remarks, which were truly astonishing. Tan Jincheng has always remained silent in the face of Da Zui's provocations and attempts to provoke him. His response to the barrage of questions from fans during his last live stream was largely interpreted as a sign of helplessness.

Because of the circumstances at the time, he had no choice but to respond.

Although Li Xiang has engaged in several verbal battles with Da Zui, Wei Lai has generally maintained a relatively restrained approach. It's unavoidable for competitors to engage in mutual attacks, and Wei Lai will also try to capitalize on other brands' popularity.

This is nothing unusual. Tan Jincheng's attitude was actually expected. As a leader in the new energy vehicle industry, it is normal for him to respond or not. Weilai has been targeted by competitors over the years, and Tan Jincheng does not have the energy to respond to each one.

However, no one expected that at such an international conference, Tan Jincheng would openly criticize Da Zui, almost to the point of pointing his finger at him and cursing him.

The camera was unpredictable; it quickly panned to Da Zui in the audience, whose face was ashen.

If people jokingly refer to Boatman as the godfather of new energy vehicles, then the leader present today is definitely the founding father of China's new energy industry. It can be said that without this old man, there would be no top-level design for domestic new energy vehicles.

Besides this old gentleman, there were also internationally renowned figures such as the head of the International Energy Agency participating. Tan Jincheng didn't give him any face at all.

Aside from his livid face and wide mouth, the expressions of the other bigwigs were also worth noting. Tan Jincheng spoke off-script, and it seemed that no one expected that Tan Jincheng, who always showed great respect to his seniors and acted as a junior in public, would be so radical.

In fact, today's speeches were divided into three camps. The first camp, led by Boatman and Chairman Ningde, talked about battery technology. Boatman even radically called for a ban on the sale of gasoline cars in 2023. The second camp, led by the CEO of Volkswagen and Toyota executives who participated remotely, were relatively conservative and took a cautious attitude towards electrification, believing that gasoline cars and electric cars could coexist.

Meanwhile, Tan Jincheng, Da Zui, and He Xiaopeng led the discussion on the technology and commercialization path of autonomous driving.

While seemingly for the benefit of the industry, they all have their own ulterior motives. Take Boatman Brother for example: BYD now has almost no gasoline car projects, and their gasoline cars don't sell very well anyway. So, the ban won't affect BYD much.

Companies like Volkswagen and Toyota, which currently rely on gasoline-powered vehicles for their livelihood, would naturally disagree. As for He Xiaopeng discussing autonomous driving technology with Da Zui, it's because they don't have any highlights to offer.

Xiaopeng Motors' sales have risen rapidly this year, but ultimately, as a new force, it doesn't have enough foundation. There's not much else to talk about. As for Dazui, he represents the Smart Choice Alliance, but currently, no matter which Hong it is, sales are not good.

There wasn't much to talk about besides autonomous driving technology. Tan Jincheng's reason for bringing autonomous driving to the table was actually pre-prepared. He originally wanted to talk about technology for all, but when he learned that Da Zui was ahead of him, he changed the topic.

"Autonomous driving is a step forward for the times and an important part of improving the user's driving experience, but everything must be based on safety. In addition, we still need to optimize the laws and regulations, such as clarifying the division of responsibility in accidents."

"Whether it is the system's responsibility or the driver's responsibility needs to be clarified. Without this, there is no such thing as autonomous driving."

"Regarding the commercialization process, I urge the industry to prioritize the popularization of L2 and be more cautious about the implementation of L3. Safety is of utmost importance."

After criticizing Da Zui, Tan Jincheng didn't hold a grudge. Instead, he offered his own suggestions, which drew nods of approval from the bigwigs and peers below. Indeed, in their view, Tan Jincheng's suggestions were most beneficial to Weilai. After all, Weilai's current level of L2 technology maturity is comparable to Tesla's. Otherwise, Da Zui wouldn't have been so eager to claim that he had surpassed it.

However, even so, Tan Jincheng's suggestion is beyond reproach. Safety is of utmost importance, and the "do it first, then perfect it" approach used in the internet industry cannot be applied to automobiles.

"As a junior in the automotive industry, I am very proud to have this opportunity to sit down with you seniors and discuss the development of the industry. I know that you might think that I am conservative in the field of autonomous driving and that we are making this suggestion because we do not have enough technical accumulation in the L3 field."

"But that's not actually the case. My Orange Group has been committed to the research of autonomous driving, and the cooperation between Weilai and Orange has been ongoing. Whether from the perspective of data collection or user feedback, L3 is not mature enough at present."

"Commercializing a technology that is not yet mature requires caution, and we urge everyone to exercise restraint in terms of marketing and promotion."

Big Mouth has seen it all. His expression has gradually returned to normal. He really didn't expect Tan Jincheng to be so confrontational. Before he spoke, he knew that Tan Jincheng's topic was related to autonomous driving and had prepared corresponding countermeasures.

His frequent use of technical jargon and terminology is one of his strategies. He uses these high-tech terms and technological confidence to build a barrier of discourse power, shift the blame through comparison, and postpone the controversy by promising the future.

However, what he didn't expect was that Tan Jincheng's speech completely avoided the advantageous projects he had established, and used the most popular and easy-to-understand language to explain Weilai's autonomous driving strategy, while also making a fuss about safety and marketing.

No car manufacturer dares to question the safety of a vehicle. What a company does in private is one thing, but at least there can be no questioning in public. This is the bottom line for the automotive industry.

"Hehe, now you've seen it!"

Chrysanthemum and Big Mouth held considerable influence in the underworld. His seat was next to the boatman, who, always eager for a good show, whispered something in Big Mouth's ear.

In the opinion of Boatman, Tan Jincheng's move was quite ruthless. Both companies are talking about autonomous driving, but Tan Jincheng is still ranked behind Da Zui. In addition, he himself is not from a technical background, so he doesn't have much of an advantage in talking about technology.

However, Tan Jincheng completely ignored these discussions and went straight to the point about safety marketing, adopting a strategy of avoiding direct confrontation.

Instead of targeting companies, targeting individual statements puts Da Mouth in a very difficult position, a tactic often used by Da Mouth's fans.

Big Mouth forced a smile and didn't respond to Boatman Brother, but he did respond during a press interview later in the meeting, saying that Chrysanthemum is not afraid of challenges, welcomes everyone's supervision, and asks everyone to believe in our product capabilities.

"Haha, this isn't like him at all, but whatever."

Big Mouth's humorous response is different from his usual style. In the past, when provoked by competitors, he would respond forcefully. It is indeed a bit unexpected that he would respond in such a peaceful and somewhat humorous way now.

However, Tan Jincheng believes that this is only the first formal confrontation between the two sides, and there will be more clashes to come.

The two tech companies that have ventured into car manufacturing are essentially not taken seriously by Tan Jincheng. Whether Xiaomi cars sell well or poorly has little impact on Wei Lai. Although Lei Jun claims to be pursuing a full-stack self-developed car manufacturing path, no one believes him, and Tan Jincheng certainly doesn't.

It's a very simple principle: no one will give up their advantages. Xiaomi's advantage lies in its supply chain integration capabilities.

After the two-day meeting ended, Tan Jincheng hurriedly headed to his next destination, Shancheng. He had no time to engage in a war of words with Da Zui. In fact, under the current circumstances, the two companies' business focuses were not on the same area, which was why he had not responded all this time.

However, due to the fan base of both parties, and the fact that Da Zui keeps linking the two together, Tan Jincheng once stood up to an old man across the Pacific Ocean on lithium battery-related issues, and to this day, Weilai Motors has not yet started its vehicle business in North America.

Giving up one of the world's largest markets and still being able to compete with Tesla on equal terms—these two points alone have brought Tan Jincheng a large following, with some fans even categorizing him as similar to chrysanthemums.

But he doesn't actually like this identity. Entrepreneurs should definitely be loyal to their country, that's for sure. But in modern business competition, they shouldn't keep talking about this identity all the time, let alone use this method to hold consumers hostage.

WILI has never deliberately marketed this aspect. WILI's marketing focus has always been on battery technology, aesthetic design, and after-sales service, which is a relatively pure form of commercial marketing.

"It's better if Mr. Yu doesn't give a direct response, so as not to make things worse."

Anyway, he didn't name names in his forum remarks, so he could have easily steered the conversation towards Tesla and Musk. It's not just Big Mouth who's good at marketing autonomous driving technology; Musk is equally outrageous.

Ultimately, everyone has their own agenda. Musk's aggressive marketing is simply a comprehensive reflection of technological competition, commercial monetization, public opinion guidance, and long-term strategy. Just as Huawei wants to establish its own technological image, so do Apple and Tesla.

"That's true, but there's bound to be another argument online."

"It doesn't matter. There will only be more and more of these arguments in the future. We need to get used to it. Right now, let's just focus on doing our own thing."

For Weilai, or rather Yuechi, the most important thing right now is to improve and optimize its dealer network. The Xinghe P1 is selling well, and they need to consolidate this advantage.

(End of this chapter)