2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 671 Taking Old Ding to the Auto Show

There were only five car companies in one exhibition area.

The largest booth was the Volkswagen booth, jointly exhibited by FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC-Volkswagen.

"My first car was a Volkswagen. At the time, to make it easier to conduct business, my good friend and I pooled our money to buy a Passat."

“He didn’t have a driver’s license back then, so it was a good deal for me. I was quite the star when I drove it back to my hometown during the Chinese New Year.”

Ding Sanshi and Tan Jincheng, who appeared at the Volkswagen booth, attracted the attention of a large number of media and passersby.

As I said before, these days it's rare for company CEOs to personally attend exhibitions. Showing up on media day is already considered a big deal. There aren't many bosses like Tan Jincheng who enjoy visiting exhibitions, let alone appearing at other companies' booths.

They can't let go of their pride.

For example, in the Volkswagen exhibition area, there was only one regional sales manager from the South China city area on site to maintain order and manage the situation.

"Are you referring to the time when you were doing garment export? That should be around 2004, right?"

Ignoring the camera, Ding Sanshi asked with a smile, "Speaking of which, you two are currently ranked first and second on the Ningbo Rich List."

"Yeah, Brother Ding probably doesn't understand what that Passat means to me, haha."

"How to say?"

Old Ding was genuinely curious about what a Passat could possibly mean.

“I missed going to university back then, and I didn’t retake the exam after I came back, so it’s inevitable that some relatives would point fingers at me.”

Old Ding comes from a very well-off family and attended university through normal means. He probably can't understand the way relatives in lower-class rural areas get along, nor can he understand how rebellious it is for rural people to give up a good university education to go into business.

"You've gained face, haven't you?"

"That's roughly the idea. It reduced a lot of gossip for my parents."

Although his parents' status as state-owned enterprise employees couldn't compare to Lao Ding's family background, it was still a respectable position in the countryside. If their son didn't live up to their expectations, they would feel somewhat ashamed when they returned to their hometown.

This will remain true even 10 years from now.

"Mr. Tan, Mr. Tan, what brings you to Volkswagen's booth? Are you spying on the enemy?"

The two bigwigs chatted as if no one else was around, and it would be difficult for ordinary reporters to disturb them. But as special correspondents from the pig farm, they didn't care about that. With their bosses backing them up, what was there to be afraid of?

Tan Jincheng glanced at the reporter wearing a pig farm badge and smiled at Ding Sanshi, saying, "Brother Ding, are you lying in wait for me? You're asking such a pointed question right off the bat."

"Haha, in your words, you're just riding the wave of popularity. You were definitely much more famous than me at the auto show."

Old Ding has a bit of a gangster vibe; he doesn't mind Tan Jincheng's teasing and doesn't interrupt his employees' questions.

"It's not really about spying on the enemy; if anyone should be worried, it's the CRV. But since we're here, let's take a look. I need to test drive the Tiguan."

SAIC Volkswagen launched its first SUV, the Tiguan, at the Guangzhou Auto Show. This SUV, developed in collaboration with Volkswagen's design headquarters in Germany, is likely to compete with the CR-V.

Compared to traditional SUVs that pursue a large and rugged appearance, the Tiguan, which made its debut, has simpler lines and more perfect body proportions, making it look more imposing.

"You know what, the Tiguan looks somewhat similar to your Yuechi in design; both are about simplicity."

"Hehe, right? I also think our design is pretty good, but compared to the general public, we still have a lot to learn."

While chatting, they walked towards the Tiguan booth. Volkswagen is the most well-known brand in China, and the newly unveiled Tiguan attracted a lot of attention from the exhibitors, with many people waiting to test drive it.

The arrival of Tan Jincheng and Ding Sanshi caused a commotion at the Volkswagen booth area, and the person in charge at the scene rushed over.

"Mr. Ding, Mr. Tan, welcome to the Volkswagen booth."

"It's alright, we're just looking around. Can we take a test drive?" Tan Jincheng replied, pointing to the Tiguan.

"Of course, it's our honor that Mr. Tan can personally test drive it."

The person in charge was very happy. This is one of the most popular car company executives recently. His popularity is no less than that of Mr. Wang, who just became the richest man in China. Coming to the auto show and going to the Volkswagen booth to test drive the Tiguan is such a good publicity opportunity.

The crowds were ridiculously large, especially at the exhibition area for popular car models. Some people came for the new car discounts, while others came for the car models. It was very common to see dozens of people surrounding a popular car model.

From the air, the entire exhibition area is densely packed with people.

This is a stark contrast to last year's lackluster atmosphere, something the organizers clearly hadn't anticipated, as the supporting facilities were somewhat inadequate.

Surrounded by security personnel, Tan and Ding arrived at a Volkswagen vehicle led by a Volkswagen representative.

The onlookers raised their cameras and mobile phones.

Tan Jincheng glanced around and had to admit that people who were willing to spend money and attend auto shows certainly had considerable financial resources; they even had quite a few DSLR cameras.

"Brother Ding, would you like to come along?"

"No, you go ahead. I'll help you maintain order." There were too many people at the scene, and Tan Jincheng only brought Li Yaohui with him. Old Ding was afraid that something might happen, so he declined Tan Jincheng's invitation.

It was called a test drive, but it was really just sitting inside and experiencing it. With so many people, it was impossible to have a real test drive. Tan Jincheng tried the front and back seats and the driver's seat.

From a personal perspective and driving experience standpoint, Tan Jincheng prefers German cars; all the cars he owns, except for the GL8 he uses for official business, are German.

It has a good texture and a stronger business feel. Its appearance is calm and dignified, which are its characteristics. However, the design of Yuechi is more Japanese in style.

Unfortunately, Japanese cars are cheaper in terms of cost, and they sell better when they are cheaper.

"That's great! We now have another excellent urban SUV option for consumers to choose from."

With the explanation from the person in charge, Tan Jincheng had a brief experience with the new Tiguan. It was a business exchange of compliments, so he had to say something nice.

It seems that the Tiguan sold quite well after its launch. Although its sales volume has never been able to beat Toyota and Honda, it has always been firmly in the top 10 of the SUV sales rankings, which is much more stable than Japanese cars that suddenly became unpopular later.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Tan Jincheng and Ding Sanshi strolled around the Audi and Citroën exhibition areas for a bit. They didn't see anything particularly eye-catching, or rather, nothing that conflicted with their own business, so Boss Tan didn't pay much attention.

"Shall we go and take a look at our place?"

It was clear that Lao Ding seemed quite free today and wasn't in a hurry to leave, so Tan Jincheng invited him to come with him to the second exhibition area.

"Sure, I haven't seen your company's actual cars yet. Let's go check them out and see how many you've sold this month."

"I haven't paid much attention these past few days, but sales have been pretty good. Before, we could sell around 180 to 200 cars a day. I don't know how many will be pre-ordered at this auto show."

"Wow, no wonder your car was rated as one of the most anticipated models at this auto show. Breaking 10,000 units should be a piece of cake, right?"

"It might be a bit difficult to break 10,000 units this month, but breaking 10,000 units in total sales should be no problem."

"You're really confident, kid. You want to break 10,000 units in a single month? This is an SUV, not a sedan."

"It's not surprising that SUVs aren't doing well. Just wait and see, next year there should be many SUV models with monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units."

Spacious vehicles have always been a staple of my country's auto market. The new energy vehicles that have sold well in the new energy era have all followed the path of spaciousness. This is simply a sensitive point for Chinese consumers when it comes to car purchases.

Many automakers have already launched SUV models at this auto show.

The second exhibition hall's independent brand area features nine car companies, including BYD, Geely, and others, as well as a certain brand, Brilliance Auto, and Tianjin FAW.

The Xiali, a national icon; the Geely Emgrand, a savior of Geely; and the Changan Yuexiang—these are all familiar models from this era. Even Changfeng has come up with a new model, called the Oukuman in Chinese.

Whether it's the sedan or the hatchback, it's equipped with a 2.0L engine. When Li Jianxin introduced it to Tan Jincheng, he said that this combination makes it very powerful and provides a great driving experience.

"We will also launch 1.6L and 1.8L models later."

Tan Jincheng was speechless. This is a sedan with a 2.0L engine. How many people would buy it? It seems this old man's thinking is really outdated and he can't keep up with the market.

"It's pretty good, it looks beautiful. I wish Changfeng's new car great sales."

I don't know anything about it. These days, the most popular features of sedans are cheapness and fuel efficiency, which is why Japanese cars are so popular. You're not relying on either of those; you're using the mindset of building off-road vehicles to make sedans.

No wonder I've never even heard of this car model; it probably doesn't sell very well.

With policy subsidies for vehicles with engines of 1.6L and below, why don't you take this opportunity to launch a few affordable models to sell first and seize the market? Why bother with driving experience?

Look at BYD's booth, themed "Technology, Green Tomorrow," where they launched the F0, F6, and F3DM dual-mode electric vehicles, as well as the P and M series.

Prices range from 6 yuan to under 20 yuan, and all of them are eligible for subsidies.

We don't care how many cars we can sell, but we've already received the subsidies. We're living a very comfortable life. Why don't we learn from others?
Tan Jincheng was most interested in the F3 electric vehicle. When he visited the BYD booth, he took a closer look. The hybrid version of the F3 is probably the most mature new energy electric vehicle model at present.

The hybrid version of Zhongtai2008 doesn't count; that was just for show.

“Our company also intends to invest in new energy vehicles. BYD is a pioneer, and we should learn from BYD.”

"Mr. Tan is too modest. Your company's Yuechi has greatly exceeded market expectations."

"I'm telling you the truth, and I don't mean to flatter you. When I met with Mr. Wang before, I asked him a lot of questions about this, and I also visited your company's factory in Shenzhen."

"How about this, give me one of each version of the F3DM, and have your 4S store in Ningbo deliver it to me."

"Uh? Okay, thank you for your support, Mr. Tan."

The person in charge at the scene was completely dumbfounded. They didn't expect this boss to be so eccentric. He really was just browsing the car show. They had just heard that he had test-driven a car at Volkswagen, and now he had come here to order a car.

Why order it back? To unpack it?

Seeing the bewildered look on the person in charge's face, Ding Sanshi couldn't help but laugh out loud. Xiao Tan really has a personality; he doesn't care about the impact at all and just does whatever comes to mind.

(End of this chapter)