2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 1067 "20th Anniversary"

The collaboration between Leapmotor and Atlantis was not only driven by the announcement from major early shareholder ByteDance that it would not reduce its holdings of Leapmotor shares in any form within two years, but also by a commitment from Zhu Jiangming and his spouse not to reduce their holdings for ten years.

"Whether or not the promises are fulfilled, at least Leapmotor has shown enough sincerity."

Compared to Nezha's shareholders, Leapmotor's actions are seen by investors as much more united. The company's management and major shareholders are of one mind. Although the company is facing a crisis in specific operations, the attitude of unity from top to bottom is still commendable.

Leapmotor's stock price rebounded in the following trading days. On the other hand, Zhou Hongyi's listed company continued to decline after Tan Jincheng explicitly denied the rumors, either hitting new lows or continuing to create new lows.

"Of all people to try and frame, why did you have to frame Boss Tan? In the past two years, apart from responding to a few of Da Zui's attempts to frame you, has he ever paid any attention to anyone else? You've simply picked the wrong person."

"Hey, to say it's a staged accident is quite accurate. Boss Tan went to the Nezha booth at the Shanghai Auto Show, and then had afternoon tea with Zhang Yong. I don't believe they didn't talk about investment."

"I won't invest. Mr. Tan is such a shrewd person. Look at the companies he's invested in. How many of them are poorly managed? He would only acquire poorly managed companies."

"Hey, now that you mention it, it's true. Why don't we just sell it to him?"

Selling is out of the question, and buying is also out of the question. Not to mention the complicated shareholders and local government interests behind Nezha, even from the perspective of the company's management, Zhang Yong is not the one who calls the shots. He is just a professional manager, and the founder is someone else.

Zhang Yong's Douyin account was inevitably affected. Although Lao Zhou criticized him under the live broadcast camera, it has to be said that Lao Zhou has once again boosted his popularity.

In Wei Lai's original system, Zhang Yong would appear in the public eye, but because of his persona of not being good at speaking, his popularity on the Internet was relatively low. Tan Jincheng and Wei Lai, out of consideration for his protection, did not let him respond to many controversial remarks.

Wei Lai has a whole team of experienced marketing professionals and a popular founder. Zhang Yong is able to do his job well under the protection of these wingmen. But in Nezha, he has to do things he is not good at and directly face increasingly complex public opinion.

Besides those related to Nezha who were affected, Boss Tan's comments about his limited energy also became a trending topic.

As a representative of the new generation of entrepreneurs, Tan Jincheng, who has been making headlines throughout the year, has every public appearance and statement amplified. The press release was released on Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), his birthday, when he made comments about limited energy. The timing of these comments made the press release even more sensational.

Whether Nezha goes bankrupt, whether the rumors of layoffs are true or false, the drop in 360's stock price, and whether Leapmotor can be saved—these things are actually irrelevant to most people. The public is more interested in having something exciting to watch.

"It's normal, there's nothing wrong with letting everyone have a good laugh."

Mr. Tan has seen far too many off-topic trends, but then again, anyone who achieves great success is full of energy, including him. Without good health, it's impossible to build a great and successful career.

The signing ceremony was held in Hangzhou. After it was over, Tan Jincheng immediately rushed back to Ningbo. His family in Ningbo held a simple birthday ceremony for him as always, but for many years, he had never had time to attend.

Rather than celebrating his birthday, it was more about giving the family in Ningbo a reason to get together, since it's summer vacation and the Tan family home is usually quite lively.

"Ultimately, it's just that the holiday's popularity has decreased. In previous years, these days were all about the festive atmosphere, and nobody cared about this. Just like you said, the 'simp economy' has collapsed."

"You can't say that. In the end, it's actually the merchants' own fault. They want to do promotions for every holiday, and people get numb to it after a while."

Hearing that Tan Jincheng had rushed back, Zhang Xupeng also brought his whole family to join in the fun. From young Zhang to old Zhang, Zhang Xupeng, who was in charge of Shanchi Group, was already in a semi-retired state.

Without the pressure of providing funds to Weilai Group, and with several well-known brands and two listed companies under its umbrella, Shanchi Group, adhering to the principles of not expanding recklessly and not causing trouble, has indeed not much to worry about while maintaining the stability of the company.

There have been some changes in the management of the two main entities, Flash Technology and Jinpeng Industry. Li Yanning, the former number one employee of the non-listed company Jinpeng Industry, has now been promoted to general manager and is in charge of all business operations of Jinpeng Industry.

Meanwhile, at Flashpoint Technology, President Lin Yumin is already 53 years old, and Wu Zhenping, who is in charge of overseas export business, is 52 years old. Although they are still far from retirement, the internal succession planning has already begun.

Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng's preferred successor is their former underling, Sun Yuming.

This young man, who used to work odd jobs at the Canton Fair alongside Tan Jincheng, was smooth-talking and somewhat eccentric. He accompanied FlashTech from a small workshop to a listed company, and from a grassroots worker to the actual person in charge of the Tianjin industrial base.

Over the past 18 years, Sun Yuming has worked for several years in each industrial base, from Ningbo to Tianjin, and then to Anhui Province. His career trajectory can be said to have covered every corner of FlashTech. It is not hard to see from his resume that Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng have been intentionally cultivating him.

"The market size cannot expand indefinitely. When it reaches a certain point, companies will inevitably need to adopt a contraction strategy to achieve backward compatibility. What Flashlink actually wants is not to be the best, but to be stable. Sun is the most suitable person for that."

In terms of age, Sun Yuming is about the same age as the other two, and is in his prime. His work experience is also considerable. Sun Yuming has now been transferred back to headquarters to serve as the general manager of Flash Technology.

When choosing a successor or CEO, most large companies tend to prefer candidates with a finance background; the reason is obvious to everyone.

However, having a finance background as a leader isn't always a good thing. Just look at how Ali has performed since Lao Ma retired. A company's leader should prioritize business. Whether it's Flash, Weilai, or Orange, Tan Jincheng values ​​business performance more when choosing a leader.

Of all his businesses, the only one whose leader was related to finance was Lotus. However, Lotus's situation was different; he didn't choose Robin because of her financial abilities.

"I think so too. Old Sun is much more composed now, and his professional skills are more proficient. He won't have any problem defending the city."

Having worked in an industry for nearly 20 years and held a high position without being eliminated already proves one's ability. Education is no longer important; what matters is understanding the business, management, and knowing how to use people effectively.

"If you have time, call Lao Sun and Lao Lin over. It's been a long time since we got together."

Zhang Xupeng, who was engrossed in fiddling with his phone, looked up at Tan Jincheng and said, "Okay, it depends on your schedule, you busy man. Speaking of which, we were more passionate back when we started our business."

Actually, it's not just Lin Yumin and Sun Yuming who haven't had a get-together for a long time; it's the same with him.

Having a family and making career choices, although they couldn't change their friendship, the gap in their status became increasingly obvious. Zhang Xupeng was a prominent figure in the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry, and when he returned to his hometown, he was always surrounded by admirers.

However, in front of Tan Jincheng, everyone would treat him as a "little brother," even if he himself thought so. In addition, Tan Jincheng was getting busier and busier, and although the two families had many gatherings, the two of them had fewer and fewer opportunities to spend time alone together.

"We have no choice in the matter. We'll have more time when we retire."

Wei Lai's development has reached a point where it can't be stopped at will. Tan Jincheng certainly hasn't done enough for his family and friends, a fact he can't deny.

Both Gu Qingqing and he are public figures, and they need to work harder to balance family and career. It is even more difficult for them to do well in front of their friends.

"I don't mean anything by it, I'm just feeling a bit emotional. Twenty years ago, we boarded the ship without really knowing what was going on, and we could never have imagined what it would be like now."

From 2003 to 2023, 20 years have passed. In the summer of 20 years ago, the two people's confused and spectator mentality changed their lives.

If they had behaved honestly back then, they might be like most office workers now, earning a salary and living a mundane life with their small family.

"So which one do you think is better?"

Tan Jincheng was also somewhat moved. Compared to Zhang Xupeng's feelings, his emotions were deeper, after all, he had experienced such things twice, and they were unforgettable.

"Of course, it's better the way we are now. Taking the benefits and not wanting to take on the responsibilities that come with it is a bit shameless."

"That's okay."

There are advantages to a mundane life, but most people are unwilling to settle for it.

"On the other hand, you two are really popular this year, and you're busier than in previous years, so we've had far fewer family gatherings."

Zhang Xupeng's words are true. The hottest topic this year is not the fiercely contested new energy vehicles, but AI and artificial intelligence. Zhou Hongyi has been unusually active this year, mainly because her company has become involved in the AI ​​debate.

In the competition for the top 100 models, 360, lacking an advantage, needs to generate some buzz to prove its existence. "Haha, I'm alright, but my wife has had a lot more work this year."

Gu Qingqing currently has many labels: gaming queen, head of the three OTA giants, the most beautiful president of the Internet, etc. In terms of popularity, she is no less than Tan Jincheng. In addition, with the AI ​​and artificial intelligence craze this year, more topics are needed, and the popularity of Orange Group this year is much higher than in previous years.

The rapid growth of Pinduoduo, Meituan, and Douyin has overshadowed many OTAs, but this is also related to the fact that OTAs have been too low-key. If it weren't for their games, many young people might not know about Orange Group.

This is not surprising. In fact, just as most people in the comments section of Douyin do not know that Zhang Yiming is the founder of Douyin, many people also do not know that Honor of Kings and Orange Products come from Orange Group.

They were even less aware of Orange Group's AI and artificial intelligence businesses.

"The lack of a festive atmosphere that I just mentioned is also related to the internet generation. Look at how Singles' Day and 618 have turned into what they are now."

"That's true, but what does that have to do with our oranges?"

Why was Singles' Day so popular more than a decade ago? It was because there were very few promotional activities at the time, and events like Singles' Day were limited to that day. The products offered large and straightforward discounts, which led to high popularity and high sales.

Looking at things now, the so-called Double Eleven and 618 have indeed changed a lot. The major giants want to extend the timeline of these two events to more than a month. Not only are the discounts on the products not high, but there are also many news reports of merchants raising prices before the event. In addition, the process has become more and more complicated.

In order to ensure traffic, major e-commerce platforms, led by several e-commerce giants, have gone to great lengths in recent years.

Under the impact of e-commerce giants, OrangePin's market share has been eroded to only about 2%, making it a virtually invisible player in the e-commerce market. However, in the flash sale market and the vertical women's fashion e-commerce sector, OrangePin still holds a 55.2% market share.

With its 55% market share and approximately 2% of the overall market, Orange Products is more than capable of maintaining its dominance. There's no need for it to compete with major e-commerce platforms for traffic in terms of promotional efforts. Its simple, direct, and straightforward approach is sufficient to retain its core user base.

According to Orange Group's 2022 financial report, even though Orange Products had a low market share, it still contributed 1752 billion yuan in GMV for the year, with net revenue of 1032 billion yuan, gross profit of 216 billion yuan, and net profit of 68 billion yuan. It is definitely a company that makes a fortune quietly.

Among e-commerce platform employees, those at Orange Products have the least pressure and their benefits are comparable to those of large platforms, making them one of the current models of anti-involution.

"That's because your core business is no longer e-commerce; otherwise, you would still have to find ways to compete with them for traffic."

"That's not necessarily true. Orange Products is different from full-category e-commerce platforms."

As a vertical e-commerce platform specializing in flash sales, OrangePin.com differs fundamentally from other e-commerce platforms such as Ali, Dongzi, Douyin, and Pinduoduo in terms of both its sourcing channels and merchant composition.

If the major giants are like supermarkets, then Orange Products Club is like a convenience store, and one with its own stores and supply channels. The pressure is naturally different. Partnering with these giants will not only bring no benefits, but will actually lead to losses.

However, Zhang Xupeng's words are indeed true. After the transformation, the core business of Da Chengzi Group has long become AI and artificial intelligence. Although games and e-commerce are equally important, they do not play the role of the group's "persona".

Since ChatGPT was launched last October, AI and artificial intelligence have entered an arms race. Since Baidu released Wenxin Yiyan on January 8, more than 130 large-scale artificial intelligence models have emerged in China in eight months.

There are already 15 large-scale models with a scale exceeding 10 billion. Among the large-scale models released by major giants, startups, and universities and research institutes, there are 254 models with 1 billion parameters.

The automotive industry is engaged in a price war, and the competition in the field of artificial intelligence, triggered by the "battle of a hundred models," is also heading in the direction of a price war.

Orange Group is one of the earliest internet companies in China to transform into artificial intelligence, and it is also one of the owners of 15 large models with a scale of 10 billion parameters. In terms of parameter level, the Orange large model based on Orange Cloud actually has a parameter level of hundreds of billions.

The three OTA companies, along with Baidu and Huawei, are all owners of large-scale models with hundreds of billions of parameters in the industry. Zhou Hongyi's large model is also said to have hundreds of billions of parameters, but the actual data is unknown.

Currently, large-scale AI models are still lacking in performance for ordinary C-end users, and are mainly used to serve enterprises and government agencies. Companies with the highest investment in AI, such as Baidu, Ali, and Orange, are the main players in this competition of 100 models.

"The tournament should be coming to an end around this month."

In the study, Tan Jincheng had a rare moment to chat with Zhang Xupeng. During their conversation, Gu Qingqing came in once and couldn't help but chime in when she heard them discussing price wars related to artificial intelligence.

"Did you receive the message?"

"Yes, speaking of which, this matter is somewhat related to you. Your price war this year has been too fierce. The higher-ups are probably afraid that we will follow suit, so a document will be issued at the end of this month."

When it comes to price wars, the internet industry is undoubtedly the leader. Several of its commercial wars targeting consumers have been very large-scale. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology probably saw this trend and was afraid that it would damage the industry again like it did in the past. Therefore, it quickly introduced the interim measures for the management of artificial intelligence.

It must be said that after a series of chaotic business competitions, the policy measures targeting the internet industry have become increasingly swift, suppressing any emerging trends as soon as they appear.

"You think you can blame this on me?"

Tan Jincheng was both amused and exasperated. However, he had indeed had a lot of contact with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments this year, especially after Xingyuan went public. In order to alleviate the pressure behind the scenes, he had been actively lobbying.

According to some manufacturers and related personnel, Weilai's actions this year have indeed been aggressive, especially the price cuts at the beginning of the year, which caught gasoline car companies off guard, especially since this year is also the period of the replacement of the National VI emission standard.

After being affected by the price war and the Star Wish program, the National VI B emission standard, which was originally scheduled to be implemented in July, has been forced to be temporarily postponed to the end of this year due to the huge inventory. As for how to resolve the issue after the end of the year, it will depend on the inventory of gasoline vehicles. We can't let manufacturers go bankrupt on a large scale.

After Xingyuan's production capacity ramped up to 30,000 vehicles, while the higher-ups affirmed Wei Lai's achievements, they also summoned Tan Jincheng for a meeting, telling him to tone it down and to be more lenient with discounts during the upcoming peak sales season of September and October, so as to leave some room for other manufacturers.

Small and medium-sized manufacturers and joint venture brands have been greatly impacted by the fierce competition between Wynn and BYD. Among the new forces, Nezha is basically finished. Although Xiaopeng and Wenjie have not been greatly affected, their employees' year-end bonuses have been greatly affected. Wenjie can only receive 30% to 50% of the year-end bonus, while Xiaopeng receives even less.

Ford officially began layoffs in May, and its joint ventures GAC Toyota and Toyota also launched layoff plans. Even Tesla started layoffs, with some departments in China seeing layoffs of up to 30%.

The factory closures are even more dramatic. Apart from Mitsubishi, which had already announced its complete withdrawal, joint venture brands such as SAIC Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai, and Nissan have all closed a large number of factories and reduced their production capacity significantly.

Hyundai even transferred one of its factories to Wynn. While these changes cannot be attributed to Wynn, Wynn's comprehensive rise and BYD's follow-up have indeed had a significant impact on the entire industry.

From the perspective of Wei Lai and new energy enthusiasts, this is a normal market behavior, but for gasoline car manufacturers and dealers, Tan Jincheng is hated to death, as are some unemployed people.

Many things are neither right nor wrong, but rather a matter of insufficient perspective.

However, there won't be any major moves from Weilai this year. Currently, the two best-selling models are in short supply, and the L series in the high-end series is also very popular. The E series maintains a stable output, which is enough.

Besides these popular models in the market, there is another brand that cannot be ignored: the Aion series. As a sub-brand that focuses on ride-hailing and affordable services, Aion has received much attention from the market since 2021.

From having B-end users accounting for over 70% to now achieving a 50/50 split between B-end and C-end users, Aion's efforts are evident to all. The growth in the past two years has also relied on the increase in individual C-end users.

"No need to rush, we have plenty of time for you to digest the market reputation brought by ride-hailing services."

Aion currently does not have a designated general manager. After Zhang Yong's departure, Tan Jincheng took over the management. Normally, the head of the marketing department manages the company. Tan Jincheng's brand strategy for Aion is to trade time for space.

In terms of marketing strategy, they compared themselves to companies like Volkswagen and Hyundai, which are still popular in Europe today and in the last century. They pointed out that models like the Santana and Elantra, which were once all the rage, were also used as taxis.

As long as consumers accept this concept, the number of people who accept it will naturally increase. Moreover, in terms of strong technical strength, the Aion series has always been the highest in the entire Weilai series.

As a car company with full-stack self-developed technology, Weilai has always applied its most mature and advanced technologies to the Aion series first. After Jinshidai overcame the problem of ternary lithium batteries not catching fire when punctured, it first applied it to the Aion series.

To date, the Aion series is one of the few models and brands on the market with zero spontaneous combustion and the longest market history. It has technology, after-sales service, and is affordable for the general public. With these advantages alone, after eliminating the negative reputation brought by ride-hailing services, it will have no trouble opening up the consumer market.

"The real second half relies on democratization and technology."

(End of this chapter)