2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 684 The Design Concept of Pickup Trucks

"You've taken the Wingle 5 apart and inspected it, right? What are your thoughts?"

After Zhu Pei and Yang Zhijie were called over by the boss, before they could even greet the boss and his wife, the boss went straight to the point.

Regarding the technical aspects, Zhu Pei prompted Yang Zhijie to speak first.

"I've opened it and looked at it."

"Any ideas?"

"They did a better job than us, and there are definitely many things we can learn from them."

Tan Jincheng shook his head and said, "That's not what I wanted to talk about. It's fine to talk about technology in pickup trucks, but there's no need for that. What I meant was, can we make the new Yangzi pickup truck offer a better driving experience?"

"What I mean by a pickup truck is simply an SUV with a cargo bed, understand?"

Zhu Pei and Yang Zhijie were both stunned. An SUV with a cargo box?

"Wouldn't that be too costly?"

Since its introduction, pickup trucks have always been defined as utility vehicles. The reason why they don't sell well is not because there is anything wrong with the vehicle, but mainly because most cities have restrictions on the areas where pickup trucks are parked.

Issues such as road restrictions and vehicle type limitations, as well as annual inspections and scrapping limits for pickup trucks, have restricted the development of pickup trucks.

Buying a pickup truck for tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan, or even more, is unacceptable to most people due to these regulations. Furthermore, the cost is too high for car manufacturers.

Tan Jincheng was naturally aware of this. Before restrictions on pickup trucks were gradually eased, making pickup trucks too luxurious would only serve to show off and demonstrate the company's ability to produce high-end goods, without contributing to the company's development.

“We can take it one step at a time. We can work towards this goal: first, build a pickup truck that is more comfortable than the Fengjun 5. That’s our current goal.”

"As for the models, you can refer to the pickup trucks that sell well in the US. I'll get you a few, and you can reverse engineer them."

If we're talking about the best-selling pickup trucks, it has to be the Ford 150. Another one is the modified 150 Raptor, which was introduced to my country in 2022. In addition, there are also very nice pickup trucks produced by companies such as Nissan, Toyota, Wrangler, and Chevrolet.

However, its price is also quite high, often reaching hundreds of thousands of yuan, which is unacceptable to domestic consumers based on their spending habits.

However, there's always a way. Compared to some top-tier luxury models, Tan Jincheng feels quite good about Chevrolet's entry-level pickup trucks.

In the US, its basic price is between $2 and $3, which is equivalent to RMB 13 to 20. Through reverse engineering and cost reduction, the cost can be reduced.

Ideally, he was a bird of prey, which was every man's dream, but the ideal was far from reality.

The price alone is enough to deter 90% of pickup truck enthusiasts.

There is one Chevrolet model that Tan Jincheng thinks is worth trying to import or reverse engineer: the Colorado. If imported, this car would cost several hundred thousand yuan.

However, it's just an entry-level model in the US, starting at $2.1. Tan Jincheng had seen it when he went to the US before.

Pickup trucks are a common sight in the US, which may be due to the low level of urbanization in the region. It can be several kilometers to get to a supermarket, so pickup trucks, which offer a good driving experience and function as utility vehicles, are very practical.

The reason why electric vehicles for seniors sell well in the US is actually the same as that of pickup trucks.

Going to the supermarket is like going to a market in the countryside; a small car isn't enough to carry everything, especially for older Americans who often have some peculiar hobbies. For example, they particularly like to buy boards of all sizes and then DIY them at home.

If it were a small car, this kind of flatbed truck really couldn't haul many pieces; it's all determined by the market.

Since he didn't have any actual models on hand, Tan Jincheng randomly selected a few imported pickup trucks from Yiche.com to explain his pickup truck philosophy to Zhu Pei and Yang Zhijie.

Gu Qingqing stood curiously behind Tan Jincheng. Tan Jincheng glanced at her, moved to the side, and brought her a chair to sit down next to her.

"Oh, my wife is pregnant, it's not good for her to stand for long periods of time."

Seeing that Zhu and Yang were somewhat puzzled, Tan Jincheng explained with a smile.

Gu Qingqing was a little embarrassed, but Zhu and Yang, being experienced people, both offered their congratulations.

"It's already rare for bosses to get married at your age, let alone for someone like you to get pregnant," Zhu Pei remarked with some surprise.

"That's because I didn't study. Why shouldn't I get married sooner? If I wait too long, I won't even be able to afford the bride price."

Zhu Pei and Yang Zhijie had no reaction, clearly they didn't understand the joke: "Alright, let's not talk about that. Let's take a look at these foreign pickup trucks. There are really a lot we can learn from American pickup trucks." "Let's focus on these Chevrolet models. The Colorado is considered an entry-level model in the US. If we were to produce it, with most of the parts being made domestically, the cost could be controlled."

"Of course, it would be even better if you could control the costs according to the standards of the Ford Raptor."

As Mr. Wang said, the cost for foreigners to develop a car might be 100 million US dollars, but for us it only costs 100 million RMB. This is our huge cost advantage.

"The Raptor is a bit difficult, but the Claude is worth a try. However, boss, you'll have to get us a few cars; pictures alone are a bit unrealistic."

Yang Zhijie, an engineering student, is now truly impressed by his young boss.

The first step after taking over was to cut all of Feiyang's SUV products, and stop selling the inventory on the market. After reorganizing the company, the next step was to transform the marketing strategy for pickup trucks.

By significantly increasing sales through promotions and re-establishing sales channels, Yangzi Pickup has rapidly boosted its pickup truck sales. This year, its sales volume has firmly secured its position among the top six, achieving this feat in just one year.

In the first half of the year, Yang Zhijie was still wondering if the Feiyang series SUVs could sell well if the marketing strategy of Yangzi pickup trucks was used instead of discontinuing them.

However, once the Yuechi A1 was officially released, Yang Zhijie gave up on that idea. He also realized why his boss had immediately shut down Feiyang as soon as he took over. That thing was no match for the Yuechi A1!

It was only after the Yuechi A1 was officially launched that Yang Zhijie understood the significance of discontinuing the Feiyang series.

It is said that the boss personally participated in the design of this model a few years ago, providing a lot of ideas for the R&D department. If that is true, then it is even more amazing.

People in technical fields aren't ignorant of human relationships, but they are more willing to submit to the strong. The success of Yuechi A1 completely dispelled the arrogance in Yang Zhijie's heart.

Yang Zhijie is excited when the boss says he wants to revamp the Yangzi pickup truck, and Zhu Pei is also very interested.

Yangzi Pickup is relatively independent within the entire Weilai system. This year, their tasks are limited to production, sales, and after-sales service. They rarely participate in the head office's decision-making.

Before the Yuechi A1 was released, they knew absolutely nothing about it, and this sense of isolation was actually quite unsafe.

The fact that the boss is now personally involved in the redesign of the next Yangzi pickup truck model shows that he still holds a certain position in the boss's mind. Otherwise, once the value of the existing models has been fully exploited, they might be sold off again.

"Yes, boss, you have to get us a few vehicles. Our city's import and export trade capabilities are really lacking," Zhu Pei chimed in.

It's quite pathetic, really. The total import trade volume of Chuzhou in 2008 was US$4.75 million, while the total import and export volume of Flash Group last year was US$7 million. There's no harm in comparison.

Compared to Chuzhou, Yicheng, Tan Jincheng's hometown, is much worse, with only 3.7 million US dollars. In terms of foreign trade, its overall capabilities are really not as good as Flash Group.

"No problem, you guys make a list, and I'll have FlashGet them back for you."

While Shanchi lacks the necessary qualifications for importing and exporting automobiles, it has connections at both the Beicang and Tianjin ports. It would be relatively easy to get a few cars in through these connections.

"Hehe, then there's no problem. I'll make the arrangements here and start researching according to the ideas you gave me, boss."

"Alright, let's go with this direction. Just design the first half like an SUV."

SUVs and pickup trucks actually have a lot in common. As long as the concept is understood, the design is not difficult. The main thing is to change this concept and separate pickup trucks from Wuling minivans with bed trailers.

As a work vehicle, how can you outperform Wuling?

Restrictions on pickup trucks are expected to gradually ease in the future, and with changing economic conditions and increasingly sophisticated pickup truck designs, consumers are becoming more and more accepting of them.

"Let's stop discussing the design of the new pickup truck here. You guys need to hurry up. I estimate that the Fengjun 5 will sell very well next year. When that time comes, we can launch a similar one and gain some advantage."

The Wingle 5 truly has the ability to deliver a crushing blow to existing domestic pickup truck brands. Great Wall Motors is indeed impressive in this regard, which explains why they can monopolize 30% of the pickup truck market.

A popular model in the market can often drive the entire market. The success of the Yuechi A1 is partly due to the CR-V, which has nurtured the urban SUV market.

"Let's talk about today's performance and our expectations for next year."

Speaking of this, Zhu Pei got excited. This year is the best year for Yangzi Automobile since its establishment. Regardless of whether it makes a profit or not, it's just because the investment in the first year was too large.

Such excellent performance has generated an incredible amount of energy for the entire company. As the vice president and de facto manager, Zhu Pei now enjoys talking to people about Yangzi Automobile's performance this year.

P.S.: These two pictures of the Chevrolet Colorado are of the latest model; the older model doesn't have this name. Please ignore this detail.

(End of this chapter)