2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 820 Encirclement and Suppression of "Qin"

"Notify the marketing department to focus on promoting the Aion S during this period."

"Ok."

There are only the top three scholars, the second-place scholar, and the third-place scholar; the rest are just mediocre. The first place is meaningless, and Tan Jincheng wouldn't get so worked up over such a trivial honor.

He has a cheat code; he knows the future.

In the entire global market, the only competitors that Wei Lai can truly take seriously are BYD and Tesla. The Japanese brands that are selling well now do not pose any threat in China.

As for the current domestic console manufacturers, some truly threatening ones will emerge in the future, but obviously not now.

Weilai's achievements in the vehicle manufacturing sector are insignificant. Due to limitations in vehicle models, its total sales of 43.77 vehicles this year did not even rank in the top 20, and its overall market share was only 1.86%.

Compared to Chery, the top-ranked domestic brand, its sales are almost half of Chery's, indicating that there is still a long way to go.

However, the promotion still needs to be done. The title of Aion S being the number one new energy vehicle seller in China and number six globally sounds impressive, but not all consumers understand the ins and outs of this.

In particular, in January, two ride-hailing apps that had completed financing in December started another subsidy war.

"This year, the Spring Festival is on February 19th. January has a full month of sales, so we have to work hard to increase both sales and production capacity."

"In addition, for the ES6 owners who were able to upgrade their vehicles before the intelligent driving system was released, we will not only upgrade the software, but also provide hardware upgrade services if they want to upgrade their vehicles."

"As for the specific plan, let the relevant departments discuss and formulate it. Some parts can be free, but the hardware cannot be unable to handle the software upgrade."

At the first sales meeting in January, Tan Jincheng issued instructions one by one.

With the slowdown of new energy vehicle subsidies, new energy vehicles will inevitably face certain challenges this year, but their explosive growth potential should not be underestimated.

In 2012, the total production capacity of new energy vehicles was only around 10,000 vehicles, or even less, and could be almost negligible. In 2013, the production capacity doubled to 20,000 vehicles, and in 2014, it doubled to nearly 80,000 vehicles.

In 2015, according to industry experts and the Weilai Research Institute, the production capacity of the entire new energy vehicle market may experience explosive growth to 20 vehicles.

Actual sales should be over 150,000 units, and maintaining a 100% growth rate is quite achievable.

Based on sales of 15 vehicles, if Weilai wants to maintain its market share in 2014, its annual sales must be maintained at more than 5.6 vehicles, and its average monthly sales must be maintained at 4675 vehicles.

"This sales target is still a lot of pressure, colleagues, so everyone must work hard, especially the sales department, you need to think of specific solutions."

The Aion S and Weilai ES6 models are clearly insufficient to support Weilai New Energy Vehicles' sales expectations for 2015.

The problem is simply that the car model is too basic.

Unlike Geely and BYD, Weilai doesn't employ a massive car lineup strategy, but its current model selection is indeed somewhat limited. This has already drawn criticism from consumers who believe that Weilai's cars are well-made, reasonably priced, and of good quality, with excellent service.

However, the biggest drawback is that there aren't enough car models or brands to choose from.

For gasoline-powered cars, there are models like the Yuechi A1, A3, Tank 300, or pickup trucks. As for new energy vehicles, it's even more extreme: either drive for ride-hailing services or buy a slightly expensive ES6.

"Please share any suggestions you may have. Also, is it okay to launch the new model in April this year?"

That's right. In addition to the specific sales plan, Weilai will also launch several models this year, or more precisely, two.

One is a gasoline-powered car, and the other is a new energy vehicle.

Over the years, Weilai has developed its own product system. For fuel vehicles, it is named Yuechi and Tank; for pickup trucks, it uses the Qilin brand; and for buses and commercial vehicles, it uses the Huanghai brand.

The new gasoline-powered car planned for launch this April is the Yuechi A9, priced between 21.48 and 27.98 yuan. This is currently the most expensive gasoline-powered car in the Weilai series.

It's also a challenge for myself.

悦驰A1的区间价格是在8.88万元至16.28万元之间，A3的价格是在10.9万元至15.18万元之间。

The reason why the starting price is set at over 20 yuan is because the price of the Tank 300 falls precisely in the range of 17.58 yuan to 21.38 yuan.

In this way, the Yuechi series can cover the entire price range of SUVs and off-road vehicles, from 10 yuan to 30 yuan. Regardless of whether they sell well or not, the Yuechi series will definitely dominate the SUV market below 30 yuan.

This price is considered mid-to-high end, and we're not really confident about how well it will sell. But we can always challenge ourselves.

In terms of pickup trucks, the Qilin brand also covers a wide price range from low-end to high-end, with prices starting from over 60,000 yuan and going up to around 200,000 yuan.

In fact, the pricing structure also reveals that, in terms of gasoline vehicles, Weilai is still mainly targeting the market below 30 yuan, striving to solidify its product line.

As for high-end models, I'm not thinking about that for now. If we're really going to develop them, we'll wait until Tesla gets involved.

As for the other new car launched this year, it is naturally a new energy vehicle. The Weilai brand will not launch any new cars for the time being, there is no need for it. As long as the service is good and the hardware and intelligent driving are upgraded, the production cycle of this car is still acceptable.

Or rather, his true lifecycle has not yet begun.

Furthermore, even if the Weilai brand, which focuses on the mid-to-high-end market, launches new models, it is unlikely to be a top seller, so it is of little use in terms of boosting sales.

We need Aion to boost sales.

The Aion Y, priced between 9.68 and 17.68 yuan, is this year's flagship model. Compared to the Aion S, this model is more compact but cheaper.

To put it bluntly, it's all in preparation for boosting sales. Based on this year's trend, the expectation of 5.5 new energy vehicle sales per year will depend on it.

"No problem, production can be arranged properly to ensure the production capacity after the product is launched on the market."

Zhang Li spoke first, explaining that he oversees the entire production capacity plan. He stated that, barring unforeseen circumstances, the annual production capacity plan for gasoline-powered vehicles is very stable; the variable lies in the new energy vehicle sector.

The expectation of annual sales of 55,000 vehicles at the beginning of 2015 was quite risky. To achieve this sales volume, the production capacity would need to be at least 60,000 vehicles.

It would be ridiculous if they couldn't sell them.

New energy vehicles, the slogan of which is intelligence, must control inventory. It is impossible to sell last year's goods as intelligent this year.

"That's good. Let's take this opportunity to promote it more. Also, we need to come up with some preferential policies for new energy vehicles, such as interest-free loans. Don't be afraid of losses; we can afford them."

As long as sales can be maintained, the so-called losses are only temporary.

In fact, the overall gross profit margin is still quite good. Electric vehicles are more profitable than gasoline vehicles. The gross profit margins of several electric vehicle models are quite considerable. The current losses are only temporary.

As long as sales pick up, profitability can be achieved quickly.

Furthermore, now that Weilai Group is listed, there is no need to worry about money at all. Since its listing last November, Weilai's stock price has soared to a high of 95 yuan, with a market value of over 200 billion yuan, and it is currently stable at over 150 billion yuan.

Generally speaking, as long as a company goes public and its stock price can remain stable within a certain range, it really doesn't lack money.

There are so many listed companies in the A-share market, and apart from those that are just messing around, there are really very few that are short of money, especially since listed companies are relatively rare and prestigious these days.

As long as the performance isn't too outrageous, the cash flow on the books is guaranteed.

On January 9, Zhang Yong, CEO of Weilai Group, announced Weilai's total sales for the year through Yiche. This time, Weilai was not as low-key as before.

Facing the media, Zhang Yong gave a sales target of 50 vehicles for the whole year.

“From its establishment in 2008 to 2015, it has been eight years. Over the past eight years, our Weilai Group has made steady progress. Now we are aiming to reach our sales target of 50 vehicles for the first time.”

"50 vehicles may not seem like much compared to joint venture brands or leading domestic brands, but for our Weilai Group, it represents a significant step forward."

“In the past eight years, our automotive business has developed multiple brands and gained consumer recognition, which we consider to be the best thing we have done.” “50 vehicles is our starting point, and we hope that one day we can also reach our target of one million vehicles per year.”

Zhang Yong was now able to handle the media with ease, and in a sense, Tan Jincheng had changed his fate.

I remember that in my previous life, after leaving BAIC, he went to work for Chery, also in the field of new energy vehicles. Then came the familiar story: he created a new brand, but it didn't sell very well.

His new brand of cars is actually quite well-made. For around 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, you can enjoy a refrigerator, a color TV, and a large sofa. The price-performance ratio is higher than Li Xiang's cars, but they just can't sell.

He lacks marketing skills, has a vague brand image, and often talks nonsense. In addition, the investors and local governments he has found are not reliable.

The local government is not strong enough, so the support it provides is also insufficient. There are investors like Zhou Hongyi, who went from being able to arm wrestle with Pony Ma and challenge Lei Jun to a fight to become an internet celebrity.

He's only good at antivirus software, and at worst, he does online lending. That's about it.

That said, Zhou Hongyi was also selected as one of the top ten economic figures of the year, even ranking ahead of Tan Jincheng. 360's main business is indeed doing well, and they have made great breakthroughs this year.

The number two figure in the Weilai Group holds a large number of shares and has a high degree of influence within the company. This treatment is something that Chery, which is constantly embroiled in internal strife, cannot match.

With his current achievements, he probably has no intention of creating a new force, right?
In any case, Tan Jincheng, this little butterfly, has changed the original life trajectory of many people.

When Zhang Yong announced the annual sales forecast for Weilai Group, he did not mention the distinction between different market segments. However, the subsequent series of actions by Weilai Group revealed the distinction between these segments.

The two upcoming new models, Yuechi A9, are priced above 20 yuan. According to the filing data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the price of this car at over 20 yuan is indeed not expensive. If it were a joint venture brand, it would have to sell for more than 35 yuan.

It's a new SUV that's full of sincerity, but the market isn't very optimistic about it.

Like I said before, if you have over 20 yuan and add a little more, wouldn't it be better to buy a Volkswagen Tiguan or a CR-V?

However, the newly launched new energy vehicle, Aion Y, has attracted a great deal of attention.

This car is perfect for commuting or driving for ride-hailing services. The subsidy policy for 2015 hasn't been released yet, but just the fact that it doesn't require purchase tax makes this car an absolute steal!

While launching its promotional campaign for the Aion Y, Weilai Group also announced preferential policies for two other new energy vehicles under its brand.

Depending on the car model, you can enjoy 24 to 36 months of interest-free financing when you purchase a car!
This is the trump card that Wei Lai has come up with!

After 2018, there were many different types of interest-free new energy vehicles on the market. This trend seems to have been started by Tesla, but it is now 2015.

With purchase tax exemption and interest-free financing, there's no doubt how appealing this is.

With a down payment of only 10,000 to 20,000 yuan, you can drive an A-class sedan. This policy has not only made BYD panic, but even the much-hyped microcar Zhidou is a little worried.

Consumers are mostly irrational; if they were all rational, there wouldn't be so many counterfeit and shoddy products.

Believe it or not, last year Zhongtai claimed to have sold a certain number of Zhidou vehicles, but actually only a few were sold. However, some people still believed it. With such good sales and low prices, some people actually followed suit and bought them.

The car rental business was doing well, and coupled with the fact that he was persuaded to buy in, Boss Ying was overjoyed.

Thanks to the legacy left by Xia Bing and several new energy vehicles, Zhongtai achieved sales of 16.6 vehicles in 2014, a year-on-year increase of 23.8%, which can be considered a turnaround.

Based on this trend, the sales volume of Zhongtai in 2015 could reach more than 20 vehicles, which can be considered as getting back on track and surviving.

Because of his unexpected appearance, he was really afraid that Zhongtai would not be able to survive. After all, apart from the Ham region, Zhongtai does not receive much policy support in Zhejiang Province. If he cannot survive, then the legendary Porsche will not be born.

"Suppress and eliminate BYD Qin!"

Just as Zhang Yongguan announced the sales forecast for Weilai Auto in 2015 and Weilai launched its promotional campaign at the same time, a well-known car reviewer on Autohome wrote an article.

The article's title is very eye-catching.

"Haha, this guy is really good at stirring things up; oh well, let him be, after all, his writing is relatively objective and he's not really trying to cause trouble."

Tan Jincheng received the public opinion monitoring from the public relations department immediately and also saw the article immediately.

Damn it, now everyone's learned clickbait titles. Speaking of which, this thing first became popular on a large scale when he used online trolls to promote the Flash Electric Vehicle, and now it's back to haunt him.

Aside from the sensationalist title, the article is relatively objective. Through analysis of vehicle models, prices, and marketing strategies, it compares the advantages of three low-end electric vehicle models from two companies and draws its own conclusions.

That means BYD Qin will face a very big test this year, and that's not an exaggeration.

Regarding L2 intelligent driving, Tan Jincheng believes that due to the needs of the "big picture," it will not be applied to the Aion series anytime soon, and the old version will continue to be used in the first half of the year.

However, this does not mean that Wei Lai will not do other things.

If you can't outsell me in the same class of vehicles, then you can't blame me.

"Let's give him a push, so that my Uncle Wang can see it too, and also let other car companies see it."

Autohome was merged into Bitauto, but it still operates independently and remains the largest professional automotive website in China, with its articles still enjoying considerable reach.

As is customary, Wei Lai likes to stir things up at the beginning or end of the year, a fact that is pretty much common knowledge in the automotive industry.

However, due to the lack of competition in the market in recent years, few car companies other than Great Wall Motors have paid much attention to it. But with the explosion of new energy vehicles, everyone has to take it seriously.

With a projected production capacity of 20 new energy vehicles in 2015, who wouldn't want a piece of the pie?

After reading the article and seeing Weilai's promotional plan, Boatman was indeed a bit of a headache. The two companies had little overlap in the gasoline car market, but who would have thought that when they entered the new energy vehicle market, they would be relentlessly pursued by Weilai.

Qin's original brand image was designed as a family-oriented new energy vehicle, creating a relatively high-end image through features such as zero-second acceleration.

However, in 2014, he was forcibly dragged into the ride-hailing industry by this guy.

Nowadays, when people mention Qin, no one mentions its zero-second acceleration anymore; they just say it's suitable for ride-hailing. The initial marketing efforts were almost entirely wasted.

2015 has just begun, and he's already launching a new model with such a low price. It really is, as the title suggests, preparing to encircle and annihilate Qin.

However, compared to the boatman's anxiety, it was Musk who was the first to feel the headache.

During the entire sales period in January, only 120 units of the Maodou S were sold!
However, for Wei Lai, although the sales in January were considerable, they were not particularly optimistic.

In January 2015, the combined sales of the Aion S and ES6 reached 2517 units, compared to the total sales of 6395 units for the entire month, indicating that Aion maintained its leading position in the market.

Meanwhile, the response to the launch of the Aion Y pre-order program has also been positive.

But that's clearly not enough.

"Sigh, we need to think of a solution. I wonder when Didi and Kuaidi will merge."

After securing funding in December, the two major ride-hailing apps, which had been battling it out for half a month in January, have already begun secret talks between their management teams to discuss a merger.

The whole thing unfolded exactly as Tan Jincheng had predicted.

"Should we try to leak some information to the media to get those two to merge sooner?"

Mr. Tan, who was not satisfied with the sales figures, sat in his office, stroking his chin, and thought of doing something naughty again.

It seems that the merger between the two companies was known to the media in advance in the previous life, which forced the merger, which was originally scheduled to be announced after the New Year, to be brought forward to before the New Year.

Is it really that bad of me to pull this stunt?

(End of this chapter)