2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 1034 Blind subscription? I can do that too.

P.S.: Requesting guaranteed monthly votes!

With a redesigned exterior, full brand endorsement, and vigorous promotion, the Hongtu X5 achieved a delivery volume of 3045 units in its first month on the market, exceeding one-third of last year's sales in just one month—undoubtedly a remarkable achievement.

The price range of 249,800 to 319,800 yuan is not cheap, and the sales volume of more than 3000 vehicles can guarantee a monthly revenue of at least 700 million yuan. This is an unexpected surprise for both Seres and Chrysanthemum.

In fact, up until the beginning of this year, China's car manufacturing efforts were all talk and no action. Despite the overwhelming publicity, most of the companies it partnered with were top domestic automakers. The internal struggle between the HI model and the Smart Selection model made China waver between manufacturing cars and not manufacturing cars.

The HI model partners with state-owned enterprises and provides them with the highest resources. However, to date, not a single model has been officially delivered. The Jihu Alfa S HI version, which was released in April last year, has not been delivered even after a year.

The model, which was developed in cooperation with BAIC, has been unable to be delivered for a year. In addition to the apparent technical reasons, there are deeper reasons. Besides the internal competition for resources within BAIC, there is also a lack of confidence in this model from BAIC.

It's not fair to blame BAIC for having this attitude. The partners' internal attitudes are unclear. If they invest heavily in the cooperative models, but the other party starts manufacturing their own cars, then it will be direct internal competition.

BAIC clearly distinguishes between its own son and its adopted son. As expected, after Yu Dazui took over, the company allocated resources to the Hongtu X5 and began to promote it vigorously. Everyone has seen how much Yu Dazui has promoted this model over the past year.

Under such circumstances, BAIC's enthusiasm for the Jihu Alfa S HI version has naturally diminished considerably. Another model, the Avita 11, developed in cooperation with Changan, is currently only a concept car, and there isn't even a prototype yet.

The Hongtu X5 is selling well now, and it's even more of a mystery what Changan is thinking.

"See? The fully-equipped X5 is selling very well, and the key is that its pricing is really smart."

With brand endorsement and deep empowerment, apart from the car logo, this is a genuine chrysanthemum car. The 2022 model has caused a lot of controversy in terms of both exterior and interior design. The front face is a Frankenstein's monster of a Porsche Macan and a Dongfeng Fengguang ix5, and the rear through-type light strip design is also relatively ordinary.

With only six color options, the interior style is relatively limited. The symmetrical center console has been criticized for being too traditional and lacking the minimalist and technological feel common in new energy vehicles. The wood trim color scheme also looks rather dated.

But does it matter? Not at all. The word "chrysanthemum" alone is enough to justify this sales volume.

In fact, during the early stages of its marketing campaign, Hongtu X5 deliberately blurred the Seres brand image. Seres didn't care about this; as long as the cars could be sold, that was all that mattered. After all, they manufactured them, and even if they were just an "OEM," the profits would still be substantial.

It's actually quite simple for contract manufacturers to make money from manufacturers. Take Li Bing and He Xiaopeng's early contract manufacturing as an example. They used JAC and Haima to manufacture the vehicles, and the entire industrial chain was controlled by these two companies.

Every car company has its own parts suppliers, and they set the prices. Even if Li Bing and He Xiaopeng knew about the shady dealings, they were helpless, which was the main reason for their initial losses.

He Xiaopeng built his own factory a long time ago, which also shows that he realized this point. Li Bing, on the other hand, was busy building his battery swapping station, which greatly delayed the progress of the factory construction. In addition, based on the investment from Luzhou and the recommendation of the big investor, he could only swallow this loss in silence.

"Yes, with the chrysanthemum brand and this pricing, this model has truly established itself."

Li Xiang was also quite impressed. If we're talking about who understands user operations best among car companies, Li Xiang is definitely a top figure. His month-long series of revelations has really heightened the anticipation for the L9.

The online series of leaks and offline marketing for the L9 have not stopped either. Since mid-March, the L9 has been deliberately appearing around the Weilai store in disguise, allowing users to take photos, but prohibiting the exposure of the interior.

The giant SUV circulating on social media, with leaked images gradually amplifying users' curiosity, and at the end of March, Weilai also invited some media and KOLs for a static experience, opening up the exterior and some functions.

When it comes to creating suspense, Li Xiang's first time managing L9 was enough to amaze the market. Tan Jincheng didn't pay much attention to the operation of L9, as he trusted Li Xiang's abilities.

Li Xiang also proved his ability in a month. L9's marketing method was not particularly outstanding. It was just the usual internet tactics, but it was amazing enough. Everyone could see that it was different from Wei Lai's previous style and was obviously not Tan Jincheng's work.

Although Tan Jincheng also uses suspense tactics, this is not his main approach. His main argument is simple: technological appeal combined with attractive pricing. Compared to similar competing products, Weilai strives to be the best in terms of both specifications and price.

In terms of parameter configuration, this depends on the model iteration and OTA speed of WILAY, which is a true reflection of WILAY's strength. As for the price, even if there are mistakes at the time of release and the price does not meet the user's expectations, WILAY can quickly adjust the discount based on market feedback.

It's not good to lower the price of a new car as soon as it's launched, but you can adjust the discounts to attract users. Furthermore, in Tan Jincheng's philosophy, he has never liked competing products that are priced too high.

In addition, Tan Jincheng treats his employees well and likes to give out red envelopes from time to time. He is known among consumers as generous and sincere in his pricing for all types of vehicles.

Regardless of the series, the best-selling models in various price ranges may not be the cheapest, but they are definitely the most cost-effective. The key factor is the excellent after-sales service. Starting with the Yuechi A1, the company has been vigorously promoting after-sales service, which has won the trust of users.

"Positioning itself between the BYD Tang DM and our L1, this price point is truly impressive. This must be Mr. Yu's doing; Seres doesn't have this capability."

Seres' first Smart Choice model, besides lacking brand power, had a major flaw in its pricing and brand design capabilities, which reflects Seres' insufficient control over its vehicles.

"Yes, but when it comes to it, the boss has a better understanding of chrysanthemums."

"Haha, your vision and ability are not a problem, and you value chrysanthemums enough, but it is clear that you do not understand the influence of the chrysanthemum brand."

Speaking of which, Li Xiang and Da Zui can be considered to have a mutual respect. The two had several exchanges last year, from the debate over range-extended electric vehicles to the promotion of range-extended electric vehicles. The two have communicated a lot from last year to now.

Li Xiang understood the users' pain points, and Wei Lai's platform was enough for him to make his mark. However, it was clear that Ju Hua was too complacent in their first direct confrontation, or rather, he underestimated the influence of the Ju Hua brand.

Or rather, Li Xiang underestimated the influence of chrysanthemums in the automotive industry.

"It's okay, I lost, so let's do it the way the boss does."

Li Xiang was not discouraged. Back when the L9 was being launched last year, he made a bet with his boss. At that time, Tan Jincheng bluntly stated that in terms of range-extended electric vehicles, the biggest competitor of the L series was Seres, or rather, Chrysanthemum, without exception.

At that time, the Smart Choice SF5 sold poorly, and Huawei was wavering on strategic issues, and its cooperation with car companies was only superficial. In addition, although Xiaomi's car manufacturing was progressing well and Lei Jun was trying his best to create hype, the market did not respond well.

Since Xiaomi announced its foray into car manufacturing at the beginning of last year, the capital market has not been receptive to it. Xiaomi's stock price fell by 43% throughout the year, from HK$33 at the beginning of the year to HK$19 at the end of the year, which was a significant blow to Xiaomi.

Despite numerous external factors, the capital market's concerns about Xiaomi's financial deterioration after entering the car manufacturing industry are still very evident, and the market is extremely worried about the huge capital expenditures crowding out profits.

Furthermore, Xiaomi's return cycle in the car manufacturing business is relatively long. It officially announced its car manufacturing in March 2021, but the official mass production time is not until 2024. Nearly four years is a lot of pressure for Xiaomi, which has been positioned as a hardware company rather than an internet company.

The two tech giants' foray into the automotive industry didn't start off very well, and Li Xiang somewhat underestimated Huawei's ambitions in car manufacturing.

"Let's continue with blind orders, but we don't need to officially release the data."

BYD's two blind pre-orders were both successful, and the marketing effect was also very good. Therefore, Li Xiang also wanted to try the blind pre-order method for the promotion of L9, and wanted to test the influence of the L series in the market.

Weilai's brand influence is already sufficient, but in Li Xiang's view, only the L series can truly make users accept blind orders. Other series, whether it is the E series or Xingtu, do not yet have enough market dominance.

While the E-series has achieved very good overall sales so far, there is one model in China that has achieved monthly sales of over 10,000 units: the ET5 and ES3. Both of these models have this capability, but due to strategic reasons, their production capacity is somewhat limited.

In addition, although the Exeed series was internally very confident in sales before its launch, blind pre-orders were still too risky as the first model of a brand-new sub-brand. The L1's unbeatable performance last year gave Li Xiang great confidence in the L9.

As a super-large domestically produced SUV that rivals the Mercedes-Benz GLS450 and BMW X7 xDrive40i, the L9 comes standard with the top-of-the-line features. The naming convention of "9" also indicates that it is the flagship model of the L series and is a rare domestically produced high-end full-size vehicle.

As a flagship model, there's not much to say; its main selling point is luxury. All the advanced technologies currently available in the US are packed into this model, and it only comes in one configuration with no optional packages.

Regarding pricing, it hasn't been finalized internally yet, as the launch event won't be until June. However, it will definitely be much cheaper than comparable models. Having confidence is one thing, but Li Xiang also wants to test the market's acceptance of this domestically produced ultra-luxury model through blind pre-orders.

Last year, L1 made the German luxury car brands (BBA) look bad, but it wasn't targeting their ultra-luxury market.

"Also, don't try any tricks with the deposit. If the customer is not satisfied, just let us handle it the way we always do. We don't care about a few dollars."

Weilai consistently handles deposits differently than the currently popular "large deposit" or "small deposit" system. They also allow customers to get a full refund before the order is locked in, even paying interest on the deposit at bank rates. While this amount is small per customer, it provides peace of mind. However, if an order is locked in and production has already started, canceling the order requires contacting customer service to determine the reason. Without a valid reason, a penalty fee of 10% to 20% is charged, and sometimes a full refund is not possible.

Weilai aims to provide services, but it won't be taken advantage of. If the policies are too lenient, users will exploit the system too much, and it's even possible that competing car companies will use pre-orders followed by cancellations to cause trouble for Weilai's production and increase inventory.

Referring to Apple's repair policy back then, Weilai also needs to do a good job of risk control in terms of service balance.

Regarding deposits, Wei Lai also charges relatively low amounts. For Volkswagen models priced below 30 yuan, such as the Exeed S01, the deposit is only 2000 yuan, while for models priced above 30 yuan, the deposit is 5000 yuan.

"Okay, then I'll make the arrangements."

Li Xiang nodded. His month-long pre-launch campaign had yielded good results. The topic of L9 on Weibo had now garnered over 5 million views. In April, Li Xiang would shift from a series of revelations to a psychological battle over pricing.

In May, Li Xiang's main marketing focus came from the vote on the price of the L9. By June, when it was officially launched, Li Xiang had a full schedule, and the launch event in June was also being planned.

In fact, Li Xiang originally wanted to learn the art of comparison and contrast from Da Zui. However, after the release of BYD Seal, Tan Jincheng and Boatman Brother played a tender and affectionate game. Li Xiang was not ignorant of this, so he made great adjustments to the L9's launch event and marketing methods.

Li Xiang, also a marketing master, knew that in Weilai, everything should be based on the boss's opinion. Since the boss had clearly expressed his dislike for comparison and criticism, as the CEO, he naturally could not go against him.

Without resorting to comparisons, he is equally confident in putting on a successful press conference.

"Traffic is indeed a powerful tool, but it can also backfire in many cases. We are a leading company, not the kind of company that has nothing to lose and doesn't need to use the method of belittling others to market ourselves."

"Besides, we have plenty of selling points, so there's no need for us to put ourselves at the level of small and medium-sized enterprises and cater to them."

"Just look at the public opinion about Jike and you'll know."

As Geely's most outstanding new energy vehicle to date, the Geely 001's product strength is beyond doubt. Even with a maximum price of 360,000 yuan, the Geely 001's product strength has still been recognized by the market.

Although Xiaomi poached a large number of its employees, the engineers at Jike are still very capable. However, even the best engineers cannot manage an abstract marketing team.

The abstract marketing team has caused a lot of trouble for owners of the Geek 001. The most common complaint from Geek owners is: "The car is a good car, but it's XXX."

This has become a running joke in the automotive industry, which shows how outlandish the Jike marketing team is; even car owners can't stand them.

As a traditional automaker, Geely is very strong and has many selling points. Whether it takes the technology premium route like BYD or the low-key route like Great Wall, Geely has no worries about selling its cars.

However, since last year, perhaps stimulated by emerging forces and companies like Huawei and Xiaomi, their marketing has become increasingly abstract. If you call it internet-style marketing, it seems like they can't let go of their own pride; if you call it traditional marketing, it doesn't resemble it at all.

Even the boatman's comments on other car companies, such as emerging electric vehicle companies, have repeatedly backfired, making them a complete mess. Perhaps they wanted to learn internet marketing to generate buzz, but they failed to do so.

"I understand, I will adjust the marketing plan."

Li Xiang has made quite a few controversial remarks on Weibo, but compared to his previous life, he has restrained himself a lot. Overall, he has been influenced by Tan Jincheng to some extent. Wei Laiye does indeed have many selling points, just as Tan Jincheng said.

The E and L series, with their focus on exterior design and luxurious interiors, offer the experience of BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) in a price range of 30 to 50 yuan. For consumers with strong purchasing power, they are a good affordable alternative.

Exeed focuses on technology and cost-effectiveness, offering the most affordable intelligent assisted driving experience on the market while also catering to small family use scenarios.

The Yuechi and Aion series also focus on cost-effectiveness, but their directions are different from those of Exeed. As for the Aion series, it's even easier to say: so what if it's a ride-hailing service? If we sell a lot, who dares to underestimate us?

We adopt a deeply customized approach for ride-hailing services, while leveraging the most mature and advanced technologies from Weilai to meet the needs of ride-hailing platforms and drivers.

With the first quarter over, the real market competition of 2022, after the warm-up in March, has truly begun.

On April 5th, various self-media outlets compiled sales figures for new energy vehicles in the first quarter based on the sales figures released by major automakers for the first three months. U-Way, BYD, and Tesla ZG remained firmly in the top three positions.

In terms of global sales, Tesla was overtaken by Wolverhampton Wanderers in January, but regained the top spot in global sales in February. The main reason for this was the North American market, as February is a traditional Chinese holiday month, which significantly impacted domestic sales, while the impact on North America was much smaller.

However, in March, Wynn once again took the top spot. These two new energy companies have been taking turns topping the sales charts. Meanwhile, BYD, which ranks third globally, also saw a surge in sales in March, narrowing the gap between itself and the other two companies.

The fierce competition among the top three fully reflects the current tense state of the new energy market. With a full-scale explosion in 2021, 2022 will be a crucial year for leading companies. Whoever truly reaches the top in 2022 will hold the initiative for the future.

All three companies have very high sales expectations for this year, which puts considerable pressure on the companies themselves. In order to boost sales, Tesla reinstated a series of previous preferential policies in April.

The price increase in March only lasted for less than a month before returning to normal, which shows that Tesla is still under considerable pressure in the domestic market. Although the Seal is more like a direct competitor to the ET5, it also has a significant impact on the Model 3.

The overlap in users among these three models is too high. It is necessary for Tesla to take some defensive measures before the Seal is officially delivered. The collaboration between Seal and Weilai after its release has also attracted the attention of the heads of major car companies.

For emerging brands, it's like facing a formidable enemy. Traditional automakers, including Volkswagen and Geely, have begun to follow suit with integrated body technology. Currently, there are four companies worldwide that have achieved this.

Weilai, Tesla, BYD, Leapmotor.

That's right. Besides the three giants of new energy vehicles, there is also a little-known brand called Leapmotor. This new brand, which has always had a low profile, also follows the route of full-stack self-developed technology. Last year, they also released their integrated body technology.

In addition, Leapmotor has confirmed its launch date, which is September this year. In January, Leapmotor sold 2.16 vehicles, with sales increasing by 140% year-on-year. The T03 and C11 are Leapmotor's main models.

The T01 is an A00-class sedan and is quite competitive in the A00-class sedan market. The newly launched C11 is also very interesting, as it follows the pure electric and range-extended electric vehicle route.

The C11 extended-range electric vehicle, launched in March, also follows the route of offering refrigerators, TVs, and large sofas, but with a minimum price of only 14.98 yuan, it has been jokingly referred to as the "mini L1". Leapmotor has also been jokingly referred to as "crossing the river by feeling the enemy's foot".

Another company that is jokingly referred to as "crossing the river by feeling its way across" is Geely. Geely is often said to be "crossing the river by feeling its way across" BYD. The two companies have similar backgrounds and similar technological routes. Whatever technology or model BYD launches, Geely follows up at a very fast pace.

And sure enough, sales actually picked up. Many consumers joked that Geely, which had been busy for nothing in the new energy vehicle market all year in 2021, had finally figured it out.

In the first quarter, Geely's four new energy vehicle brands sold a total of 61,900 vehicles, showing significant growth. This demonstrates the power of technological breakthroughs. Although Geely may seem to have accomplished nothing in 2021, it has actually been quietly making improvements.

While many self-media outlets were capitalizing on the first-quarter performance of new energy vehicle companies for traffic, Weilai also officially announced on April 5th that the monthly production capacity of the ET5 would increase to 15,000 vehicles starting in April.

Meanwhile, Tan Jincheng also publicly responded to comments on Douyin, stating that the future market for the ET5 will be simultaneous in China and abroad. Of the 1.5-unit production capacity, most of it will be used for the domestic market, and the production capacity of the ES3 will also be fully utilized later.

The competition among the three rivals – the Wynn ET5, Tesla Model 3, and BYD Seal – has intensified as the ET5's production capacity reaches full capacity.

"grass!"

When Maodou 3 resumed its discounts, Boatman didn't say much. However, when he heard that ET5 was operating at full capacity, Boatman swore in his office.

In the domestic market, the only factor limiting ET5 sales is Weilai's control over production capacity. At 21.98 yuan, this B-segment coupe boasts a combined range of 700 kilometers, making it quite competitive.

He even suspected that Tan Jincheng had guessed the delivery time and price of the seal. There were indeed some problems with the delivery of the seal. As for the price, the boatman was starting to think he was being paranoid, but strangely, this feeling was very strong.

On the same day, April 5th, Li Xiang, a busy Weibo user, also announced on Weibo that the Weilai L9 was open for blind pre-orders.

(End of this chapter)