2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 867 ES8 Launch
As an ordinary automotive editor, the first app that Xiao Li opens on his phone after squeezing onto the subway during the morning rush hour is not WeChat or other entertainment apps like Tencent Video, but Weilai.

After opening the Weilai APP, Xiao Li went straight to "My", clicked to sign in next to his own avatar, and then returned to the "Discover" homepage to quickly check the latest news and forward it, thus earning a total of 40 points.

Only after the first ceremony at the peak is completed can the subsequent rituals of scrolling through WeChat Moments and watching TV series begin.

Aside from work-related reasons, Xiao Li mainly wanted to earn daily check-in points. By combining check-in and forwarding, he could earn 40 points a day, and the points accumulated by consistently checking in every day were quite substantial.

Points can be redeemed for goods on the Weilai APP. The Weilai APP store offers a variety of Weilai merchandise, including ES6, ES8, Lotus car models, clothing, and other car accessories, as well as practical items such as coffee cups, water bottles, and travel organizers.

There are also relatively expensive items such as Weilai mobile phones, but these are basically exclusive to Weilai car owners.

On the Weilai APP, there are many users like Xiao Li who "take advantage of deals". Weilai maintains its daily active users by means of these methods. Since its launch, Weilai has had more than 70 registered users.

On NIO Day, the daily active users (DAU) reached 19.95. After NIO Day, the DAU of the Weilai APP has been able to maintain more than 10. Given that automobiles are low-frequency, high-volume transactions, it is quite remarkable that the Weilai APP has more than 10 DAU.

What Xiao Li envied most was not the data behind it, but the fact that the 10+ views that media editors like them desperately pursued were already commonplace in the premium content of the Weilai APP.

This also shows that the daily active users on the Weilai APP are not entirely maintained by marketing methods; user loyalty is still very high.

Today, Xiao Li did not exit the app and switch to WeChat as usual after signing in.

"The ES8 has arrived at the store?"

Xiao Li was somewhat surprised. It is well known that Weilai likes to launch new products in the second half of the year, around the Guangzhou International Auto Show and before New Year's Day, and the launch time of new products is usually in the first month of the second quarter.

In previous years, most new products were launched in mid-April or even late April, but the ES8 arrived in stores on April 1st this time.

"Wei Lai's production capacity has increased."

Although the message came from a post on the Weilai community, the photos of the stores made it seem like an April Fool's joke. The IP addresses of these posts were distributed across major cities, and many Weilai users said they could already book test drives at the stores.

"Yes, our production capacity has increased."

Many professionals share the same thoughts as Xiao Li, and some media outlets have already contacted Zhang Yong and Zhao Xinyi directly, which confirms this point.

Last year's SUV boom, coupled with Uber's order of 5000 ride-hailing vehicles at the end of the year, led to extreme production constraints for Weilai, and delivery cycles were repeatedly delayed. Zhang Li, the manufacturing manager, was anxious about this for a long time.

However, three months later, with the adjustment of production capacity planning and the large number of newly recruited employees completing their training and starting work one after another, the production capacity shortage has been alleviated.

Actually, these aren't really secrets. Some users already knew about them, but they didn't take them seriously.

Weilai APP has multiple attributes such as service, social networking, media, and e-commerce. It is a niche comprehensive APP. In fact, there are already many such niche APPs on the market, such as Zhihu, Douban, and Xiaohongshu.

In addition, bank apps are also expanding into media and social functions in addition to their service functions. For example, many professional financial media and self-media have joined the community of China Merchants Bank's app.

In the automotive industry, following the launch of the app by Weilai, traditional car manufacturers have followed suit, while newly established emerging brands are finding teams to develop apps as soon as they put up their company signs.

Weilai sparked a wave of car companies developing apps. 70 registered users is not a lot, and it is even less than the registered users of some large multinational companies' apps. However, how did Weilai achieve more than 70 daily active users with only 10 registered users?

The root cause lies in the content and service. Other apps can easily learn marketing tactics like check-ins as long as they have money, but when it comes to content and service, especially service, Wei Lai really goes to great lengths.

“Weilai truly treats the APP as an integral part of after-sales service. Executives, including President Tan, have public accounts on the APP, and users and car owners can tag us at any time to answer questions.”

"In addition, our company has strict requirements for executives to answer questions on the APP. Executives who are tagged must take users' questions seriously and cannot give perfunctory answers. There are also requirements for the number of questions they can answer each month."

With 70 users and over 10 daily active users, it's impossible for every user to see the mention. Some users might even mention you just for fun or as a joke.

However, through big data filtering and keyword settings, any questions users may have about vehicle selection or car owners may have during driving can be promptly pushed to the relevant personnel.

Behind the Weilai APP is a professional customer service team that filters these issues. This is incomparable to Tencent's outsourced customer service mechanism, where you can't find a customer service team at critical moments. Instead, it is a team guided by professional technical personnel.

Operating costs are certainly higher, but for users and car owners, the experience of being able to directly communicate with company executives and genuinely address their needs is truly novel.

The production capacity of Weilai is a major concern for many car enthusiasts, and even users of other series have asked about it. This has led Weilai's executives to consider whether it is necessary to add other models or whether to develop a new app.

Currently, this service model is only being promoted on the Weilai APP, and the explanation given to users and car owners is that it is in the trial phase. However, this explanation will not hold up in the long run.

Moreover, the gasoline-powered vehicle series should not be treated differently. Currently, these are still the mainstays of Welai's sales. Fortunately, the Welai APP is too niche, and there is not much subsequent promotion, so most users are still not very familiar with it.

When Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing returned to China, the Weilai ES8 had already been fully rolled out, with ES8s available in major experience stores across the country, offering test drives and ordering services.

As a mid-to-large SUV with a guide price of over 40 yuan, the launch of the Weilai ES8 was quiet, without much marketing or publicity, which is somewhat inconsistent with Weilai's usual style.

"The main problem is that it's too expensive, so we don't have high expectations for sales."

When Tan Jincheng returned to Ningbo and was interviewed by Ningbo Daily, he was asked why the ES8 had not been widely publicized. Tan Jincheng frankly admitted the reason.

The ES8 is the first model from the Weilai brand to target the high-end market, and it is also the most expensive model in Weilai's entire lineup. In addition, it is currently absent from the mid-to-large SUV market, especially in the new energy vehicle, pure electric vehicle segment.

The competing products in the market are all in the gasoline-powered vehicle segment, so there's not much to compare.

"I wonder what the sales expectations are for the ES8 at Weilai? As Weilai's first model to target the high-end market, with all the features maxed out, it's impossible that there are no expectations at all, right?"

"A monthly sales volume of over 1000 units would be considered a success."

According to the latest subsidy policy, the ES8 can be purchased for as low as 38 yuan for the basic model, which is relatively inexpensive among mid-to-large SUVs. However, it remains to be seen how many people will accept an ES8 that is only available in pure electric mode and does not have a hybrid version.

If sales can be stabilized at over 1000 units per month, then it is a successful model. If it can achieve this, then Weilai will dare to launch more expensive models and further elevate its premium positioning.

It's worth mentioning that when the Weilai ES6 was first launched, it followed a pure electric and hybrid route, but the hybrid model did not perform very well. In subsequent updates, Weilai ES6 gradually abandoned the hybrid model.

Hybrids really can't compete with Dizi without range extenders. After adjusting its strategy, the Weilai E series will focus on pure electric models this year. As for those owners who bought Weilai hybrid models before, Weilai's actions are somewhat backstabbing and a bit unethical.

However, while providing after-sales service to existing car owners, Weilai also launched a series of programs to allow customers to trade in their old hybrid models for new pure electric models, which somewhat appeased its existing customers.

While there is a suspicion of betraying car owners, it must be said that the sales of the Weilai E series have indeed been getting better and better since it focused on pure electric models.

Currently, the monthly sales of the ES6 have been stable at over 3000 units. Among high-end pure electric SUVs priced above 300,000 yuan, the ES6 is the best-selling model, and the sales volume for the whole year is expected to be around 40,000 units.

The other two main ride-hailing models, Aion S and Aion Y, are expected to sell around 60,000 vehicles this year.

"So can I understand that Wei Lai's sales target for the ES8 this year is between 8000 and 9000 units?"

"That's one way to understand it. However, since it's the first year on the market, the market needs more time to understand this model, so it's understandable that it might not meet expectations."

"We noticed that although the new energy vehicle market has doubled compared to last year, and Weilai's performance has been very strong, it seems that achieving sales of 10 vehicles this year is still a bit difficult. Mr. Tan, could you explain this to us?"

In the first quarter, the overall sales of new energy vehicles reached 58125 units, showing rapid growth. Among them, pure electric vehicles saw a year-on-year increase of 1.4 times. With a market share of 36.4% and sales of nearly 1.7 units, Weilai firmly held the top position in the market.

However, in the public's view, although the growth is fast, there is still a certain gap from the sales expectation of 10 vehicles. Since the sales expectation of the Weilai ES8 is not very high, Weilai will still face some pressure in terms of new energy vehicle sales this year.

“Sales figures vary each quarter. The growth rate in the first quarter met our expectations. Reaching 10 units in sales is challenging, but overall we are confident that we can achieve it.”

This year, Weilai is indeed under a lot of pressure. The passenger car market performed well in the first quarter, and the SUV segment continued to maintain a growth rate of over 50%. Weilai, which has a strong SUV product line, has achieved excellent sales performance with the Yuechi A1. However, the overall sales target of 80 vehicles for the whole year and the sales target of 10 new energy vehicles are still very challenging.

The most important factor is the frequent policy changes. In addition, there is an ongoing investigation into subsidy fraud in the new energy vehicle industry. The fraudulent activities of some car companies have brought huge negative effects to the market. While falsifying sales figures to obtain subsidies, they are also deceiving consumers. This behavior affects the entire industry chain.

As a member of the industry chain, WILAY will also be affected. Currently, in the new energy vehicle sector, WILAY and BYD together occupy more than half of the market share, and consumers are constantly questioning whether the two companies' high sales volume involves fraudulent subsidy practices. It is impossible to say that WILAY is completely without problems. For example, it has established and jointly invested in car rental companies. Although it participates in market operations, there are bound to be some shady dealings involved.

There are no major problems, but there are definitely minor ones. The four ministries are also keeping a close eye on car companies with high sales volume. While operating, Weilai also faces some rectification issues.

The subsidies are simply too generous, especially for companies like WILTECH and BYD, which receive subsidies for both the complete vehicle and the battery. WILTECH received a total of 12.31 billion yuan in subsidies from the central and local governments last year.

Although the new energy vehicle subsidy program has been reduced this year, sales have increased significantly. This means that Weilai will receive even more subsidies this year. If it can achieve its expected sales volume, it is conservatively estimated that Weilai will receive 20 billion yuan in government subsidies this year.

Against the backdrop of major policies, the subsidy data of leading companies is staggering. Lifan painstakingly falsified its sales and model figures to obtain hundreds of millions of yuan in subsidies, but this is simply insignificant compared to leading companies like Weilai and BYD.

Given such huge subsidies, Weilai would not dare to manipulate sales or vehicle models; losing its subsidy eligibility would be a huge loss.

Since its launch on April 1st, the Weilai ES8 has not been heavily promoted, but it has been featured on the Weilai APP. In addition, executives, including Tan Jincheng, have frequently mentioned the ES8 in interviews, so its popularity is still quite high.

The first domestically produced mid-to-large-sized pure electric SUV with a guide price exceeding 40 yuan, the Weilai is the most expensive model under its own brand. At the launch event, it was touted as the best SUV under 100 million yuan, and a series of titles have attracted consumers' attention.

"I can't resist anymore, I'm ordering one!"

According to data from live streaming platforms, the period between 4 AM and 6 AM is the most prone to impulsive purchases. With payment methods becoming increasingly convenient, many top spenders make impulsive purchases during this time.

Especially those who are groggy after staying up all night, Liu Ming is one of them.

However, his impulsive spending is reflected in Wei Lai. As a car enthusiast, Liu Ming frequents various car forums and pays close attention to new energy vehicles. Among all electric vehicle brands, his favorite is Tesla, and he follows the maverick Elon Musk.

In the early hours of April 9th, after playing Honor of Kings all night, Liu Ming checked in on the Weilai APP as usual after finishing the game.

He has been checking in on the Weilai APP for over a year, and has used his points to redeem a backpack and a Weilai ES6 car model. Recently, he has been participating in discussions about the Weilai ES8.

While paying attention to and discussing the matter, Liu Ming has also been preparing to buy a car; of course, his first choice is still Tesla until tonight, but Tesla's price is too high, so he is still somewhat hesitant.

However, tonight, as he scrolled through posts praising the ES8's amazing features and test drives, he finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Compared to Tesla, the WILRA still has a significant price advantage in China. For price-sensitive consumers, the WILRA is the best "affordable alternative" to Tesla.

After paying a deposit of 5000 yuan, Liu Ming felt both relieved and somewhat apprehensive.

"Damn it, I got myself into trouble trying to get a bargain. My advice to you guys is, never be greedy for small gains!"

Having been a member of the Weilai APP for over a year, Liu Ming has become quite well-known in the community, even though he hasn't bought any Weilai products. His post, complete with screenshots of his order, is slightly self-deprecating yet undeniably boastful.

Furthermore, he tagged a series of executives, including Tan Jincheng.

Even though it was already past midnight, Liu Ming's post still attracted a lot of comments.

Seeing the envious replies from the "rich guy" in the post, Liu Ming, who had been a little nervous just now, now had a smile on his face.

"Haha, time to sleep."

Thanks to existing inventory, the delivery cycle for the first batch of ES8 owners can still be maintained at six weeks. A month and a half later, Liu Ming will be able to get the car keys he has been longing for.

He finds this trading timeframe acceptable.

"What a pity. If I had ordered a week earlier, I might have been able to get a new car for a road trip during the May Day holiday."

Amid this state of mind filled with anxiety and uncertainty, Liu Ming fell into a deep sleep. It wasn't that he was worried about the Weilai products. As a car enthusiast who had been using the Weilai APP for over a year, he was quite familiar with Weilai's products, philosophy, and services.

Since he didn't have to work on the weekend, Liu Ming slept until 2 p.m.

Upon waking up, Liu Ming immediately grabbed his phone from the bedside table and scrolled through his WeChat Moments for a while. After replying to some messages, he gradually became more awake. Recalling his impulsive spending and posts from the early morning, Liu Ming couldn't help but open the Weilai app again.

"Fuck, what's going on?"

Looking at the 99+ notifications in the app's message bar, Liu Ming was still a little confused.

Although he has gained many mutual friends in the Weilai community due to his frequent posts and has even had some featured posts, the number of messages with 99+ is still very small.

The picture of the order posted last night wasn't very informative, so why did it attract such a high frequency of replies?
Completely bewildered, Liu Ming opened the message and scrolled through it for a while before finally understanding why his boastful post had attracted so many replies.

"Hehe, so it was President Tan who replied to me."

He posted the message at around 5 a.m., and around 9 a.m., Tan Jincheng, whom he tagged, replied in the comments section: "Thank you for becoming a car owner in Weilai. See you in Wangfujing on April 24."

It was Tan Jincheng's reply that caused his post to go viral.

As a result, countless posts like his appeared in the community, showing off their orders. They were all in the same format, tagging a series of senior executives from Weilai.

What does "See you at Wangfujing on April 24th" mean?

Liu Ming was still very happy to be overtaken by the CEO with hundreds of billions in assets, but he still didn't quite understand what Boss Tan meant by the second half of his sentence.

"Boss, could you please notify us before replying to these kinds of posts in the future? Your casual reply is just adding to our workload."

Zhao Xinyi looked resentful. She managed all of Tan Jincheng's social media accounts. Although she had no right to interfere with how he replied, Tan Jincheng would respect her and the public relations department's opinions to avoid causing a public opinion crisis with random replies.

She was unaware of her boss's reply this morning, which resulted in countless posts showing off her purchases.

Starting at 10 o'clock, Zhao Xinyi began processing these posts. Although she didn't have to reply to every single one, she certainly couldn't just reply to one; she had to go through quite a few.

"Haha, sorry, it was unintentional."

The main reason was that when he came across that post, he found it somewhat amusing. He had become a user by taking advantage of a deal, and he had even bought the most expensive product available at the time. It was a bit funny, to some extent.

The post was published in the early morning, and to prevent the guy from regretting it and unsubscribing, Tan Jincheng replied on a whim.

"Capitalists are all ruthless, just like gamers joke about Jack Ma."

Zhao Xinyi sighed. She knew all too well the significance of her boss's reply. The purpose of the Weilai APP, besides serving car owners, was to discover potential users. From the very beginning, the Weilai APP was positioned to provide car owners and potential users with services including usage and sales.

"Stop complaining. If you're too busy, ask for help. Also, don't be too formulaic when you reply."

The majority of users on the Weilai community are young people, and these people have very high standards. If you mechanically copy and paste, no matter if you are the owner of Weilai or a billionaire, they will criticize you mercilessly.

Zhang Yong was criticized by community users when he first started out because he hadn't figured out the style.

"That's what's bothering me too. I have to come up with new words for every reply. But boss, a lot of users have been asking what your 'See you on April 24th' means. Should we reply to it?"

"No need, let's leave them in suspense and increase community activity."

For a car model with a monthly sales target of only around 1000 units, it is destined not to invest too many promotional resources. Therefore, word-of-mouth marketing from users is the best way to increase its popularity.

Zhao Xinyi pursed her lips. The boss was really cunning; he had a complete grasp on the internet.

(End of this chapter)