2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 992 A Different Spring Festival
"Hey, do you guys think the boss will come to the New Year's Eve dinner tonight?"

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the last day before the Lunar New Year, the automobile production workshop of Weilai Automobile, located on Meishan Island in Beicang, was still working hard, with an operating rate of almost 50% of the normal period.

Of course, today is also the last working day before the Lunar New Year. No matter how capitalist Boss Tan is, he can still guarantee his employees a rest during the Spring Festival holiday.

According to company regulations, Weilai Auto's holiday is from the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month to the 7th day of the first lunar month, a total of eight days. Work will officially resume on the 8th day of the first lunar month. However, employees who remain on duty are encouraged to voluntarily return to work during the Spring Festival.
"Probably. Didn't I hear yesterday that he went to the Flash factory, had New Year's Eve dinner with the employees, and gave out red envelopes?"

This is He Wei's second time spending the Spring Festival in Ningbo. Compared to the panic he felt the first year, he is much calmer now.

Driven by demand, both Ningbo City and Beicang District have strongly encouraged employees to spend the Lunar New Year locally, offering numerous preferential policies. Larger enterprises like Weilai have also offered many preferential policies to meet their production needs.

Employees who voluntarily work during the Spring Festival holiday will receive triple pay. The factory canteen will operate normally to ensure employees' daily needs are met. In addition, some recreational facilities will be open.

With the joint efforts of the local government and enterprises, a considerable number of out-of-town employees stayed in Beicang for the Spring Festival this year. According to statistics from the Weilai personnel department, the Beicang factory's operating rate during the Spring Festival was 60% of the usual rate.

Tan Jincheng did indeed plan to attend the New Year's Eve dinner at Weilai Auto today; it's that time of year again for the Spring Festival.

"Everyone's mood has improved a lot this year, which is great and will make our management more effective."

There was no annual party, just a small New Year's Eve dinner, which was enough to make everyone happy.

"Yes, it's been a year, and everyone's mindset has become more peaceful. Time can heal all wounds."

The person chatting with Tan Jincheng was Hu Zhengnan. In addition to Hu Zhengnan, there were also some senior executives from Weilai Automobile. In the days leading up to Lunar New Year's Eve, the event of bringing senior executives to the New Year's Eve dinner for ordinary employees took place in Weilai, Shanchi, and Orange's various industrial parks.

Executives and ordinary employees are two separate groups. There are significant differences between them in terms of background, net worth, income, and perspective, which cannot be changed. However, Tan Jincheng still hopes to narrow the gap between them.

It's like attending events held among ordinary employees, which is something that senior executives also do regularly; everyone is already very familiar with the routines.

Despite the impact of special events, Tan Jincheng's three major groups have generally benefited, including Weilai Auto, which has ushered in an opportunity for rapid development.

Therefore, the employees were not affected by this incident in terms of year-end bonuses. They received their money and naturally drank happily, clinked glasses with the executives, and took photos together.

During the 2021 Spring Festival, sending New Year's greetings online became fashionable. In addition, the special circumstances also gave rise to the phenomenon of "reverse Spring Festival travel," which refers to parents coming from their hometowns to visit their children and celebrate the New Year together.

First-tier cities became the destinations for Spring Festival travel rush. According to data from 12306, the sales of train tickets for the reverse Spring Festival travel rush in 2021 increased by 90% year-on-year. In hotel bookings in first-tier cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, family rooms accounted for more than 60%.

Young people taking their parents to popular restaurants and museums has replaced the traditional practice of visiting relatives and friends, becoming a new spectacle during the Lunar New Year.

Like Shanchi, many employees' families from Weilai Auto also came to Beicang for the Spring Festival and participated in the New Year's Eve dinner, witnessing the grandeur of a large corporation.

"It seems that quite a few employees have bought houses in Beicang."

Over the course of a few days, Tan Jincheng visited several factories and found that although the atmosphere was different from normal, everyone's work enthusiasm was still good. Through conversations with their families, he also learned that some of the employees who came to celebrate the New Year had bought houses in Beicang.

This feeling is really nice.

Back in his office, Tan Jincheng asked Zhao Xinyi to bring over the specific financial data of the three major groups. Of course, Tan Jincheng wasn't concerned about the 2020 revenue of the various groups today, but rather wanted to see the employees' income and the home purchase rate in different regions.

Starting with Jinpeng, the salaries of employees in Tan Jincheng's companies were 20% to 30% higher than those in the industry. Over the years, although the number of employees has increased, this standard has been lowered.

However, overall, it is still better than its peers, especially in terms of frontline employees.

With soaring housing prices and commodity prices, especially in recent years, housing prices have reached historical highs. Nowadays, a month's salary can no longer buy one square meter of housing. The three major groups together have more than 100,000 employees, and Tan Jincheng no longer has the ability to maintain a 20% to 30% advantage.

According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, enterprise surveys, industry reports, and recruitment platforms, the average salary for two-wheeled electric vehicles nationwide in 2020 was between 5000 and 7000 yuan, referring to ordinary production positions.

In other words, front-line operators. As a leading company in the industry, FlashCheer has different income levels for its employees in different regions. For example, the income of employees at the North Warehouse headquarters is the highest, and some of them even have company stock, so their benefits are even better.

However, at production bases like Wangjiang, where labor costs are lower, the overall salary level is higher than that of peers and local standards, but it is still far behind the income at headquarters.

In 2020, the average monthly salary for electric vehicle sales positions was 5300 yuan. The salaries for production and technical positions at Flash Motors are relatively high. For example, the average monthly salary for motorcycle employees at the Beicang headquarters is 8740 yuan, which is equivalent to an annual salary of 100,000 yuan.

The average monthly salary for production workers at the Tianjin production base is 7190 yuan, while maintenance workers earn more than 8000 yuan per month. Although the average monthly salary at the Wangjiang production base is much lower due to lower production costs, the overall average monthly salary still exceeds the industry minimum standard of 5000 yuan.

Overall, Flash's average monthly salary is 10% to 20% higher than the industry average.

"It's been pretty good. Although my salary hasn't increased much over the years, it's still higher than the industry average, which is good enough."

The average annual salary of employees in Beicang is 100,000 yuan. Even in a small county like Wangjiang, the annual take-home pay is over 70,000 yuan. This income level is considered relatively high, considering that they are engaged in some basic jobs.

To maintain high employee income levels, the number of employees cannot be too large. A large workforce like BYD's approach is definitely not feasible. Therefore, Flashpoint Technology has managed to control its employee numbers well over the years.

In 2020, Flashpoint Technology had approximately 15,000 employees, while the entire group had roughly 20,000 employees. The number of employees at the Beicang headquarters accounted for about a quarter of the group's total.

Salary expenditures accounted for 6.9% to 7.6% of total revenue, several figures of which are far higher than the average level in the manufacturing industry. Scale and technological upgrades, along with controlling the total number of employees, are the driving factors behind Flash Group's higher-than-average performance.

Among companies in the same industry, Yadi's average salary expenditure is 4.9% to 5.6%, while other companies such as Xinri and Aima also maintain a level of 5%.

"There's still room for improvement. Under normal circumstances, keeping salaries around 10% of revenue shouldn't be a problem. Let's give everyone a raise next year, mainly to cover the entry-level employees."

For a manufacturing company with annual revenue exceeding 200 billion yuan, ample cash flow, a healthy debt ratio, and a highly mature industry, it's perfectly reasonable to raise salaries slightly.

Zhao Xinyi looked up and asked, "Should I notify General Manager Zhang or General Manager Lin?"

"Let's inform General Manager Zhang and have him announce it. Over ten million electric vehicles were sold in a year, so we need to give the employees some motivation to work."

With the economy in a downturn and incomes decreasing, the number of food delivery riders will only increase, and electric vehicles will increasingly become production tools rather than transportation tools. Therefore, Tan Jincheng is not worried about sales.

With guaranteed sales and a mature industry, there's no need to worry about the company not making money. Moreover, the acquired Leichi can also contribute a certain amount of revenue and profit to the group. Combined with other businesses, Flash Group doesn't need to worry about profits.

Light industry is much safer than heavy industry like automobiles, and besides, in Tan Jincheng's opinion, this salary percentage is indeed a bit low.

In 2020, Weilai Group's salary ratio was 13.5%, higher than the much-hyped Tesla, whose salary ratio was approximately 12.3% in 2020. Like Tesla, Weilai's stock awards are not fully included in its financial statements, so its actual total compensation level is higher.

In terms of salary ratio, Weilai has the highest among domestic car companies, and Jinshidai's total salary ratio exceeds 15%, all of which excludes R&D costs.

Wei Lai's salary level is far higher than that of traditional car companies. Although it is somewhat lower than the average 17% to 20% of new energy vehicle companies, it is still very competitive.

In terms of the proportion of R&D personnel salaries, Weilai is in the same camp as the new forces, and is also higher than all traditional car companies. In Tan Jincheng's view, the competitiveness of a company is not only reflected in sales volume and revenue, but also in technology.

Overall salary levels are also an important indicator of a company's competitiveness; if employees don't earn money, the company will remain stagnant.

Why are employees in the manufacturing industry disliked? They would rather deliver food than work in a factory. Besides the inflexible and unfree working environment, the most important reason is not that they can't make money.

"Working in a factory can earn you a salary of 100,000 yuan a year. Although it doesn't offer much freedom, it's stable. So who would want to deliver food in all kinds of weather?"

When Zhao Xinyi informed the management of FlashCheer that FlashCheer employees would receive a salary increase in 2021, Zhang Xupeng brought his family over for dinner that very night.

This year, neither Tan Jincheng nor Zhang Xupeng's families returned to their hometowns for the Spring Festival. However, they both brought their grandparents from their hometowns to visit them. In addition, Zhang Xuhui's family also came to Ningbo for the Spring Festival.

With the addition of their wives' families, this Spring Festival was quite lively.

"What the boss said makes sense. To be honest, we are indeed facing such a problem in terms of recruitment."

Although Luzhou has become famous nationwide for its economic development and unique investment methods in recent years, its overall salary level is actually not high. As the first batch of post-2000s generation entered the workforce, Zhang Xuhui clearly felt the problems in the recruitment process. Even though Jinxin's overall salary level is much higher than the industry average, this ingrained image is difficult to change.

Tan Jincheng laughed and said, "There is another reason, which is that there are certain thresholds to enter the factory, but there are almost no thresholds to become a live streamer or a food delivery person."

The live streaming industry is booming under special circumstances, and to be honest, it's quite lucrative. It's hard for both men and women to resist this temptation. As the internet jokes say, the first batch of netizens who tried live streaming have already driven Cullinan cars.

"Everyone is talking about new consumption now, but when it comes to recruitment, there can also be new recruitment methods. That is, different from traditional industries, in addition to improving the treatment, we also need to change our image among the workforce."

Whether it's the automotive or power battery industry, although they are called the new economy, they are perceived as traditional industries by their workforce. Coupled with certain barriers to entry, their competitiveness is indeed getting worse.

For those born in the 1980s, summer jobs might involve working as a waiter/waitress at KFC or doing summer work in a factory. But for those born in the 2000s, summer jobs might involve delivering food or becoming a live streamer, and they might even earn more money.

"Yes, it's mainly due to changes in the economic situation."

In just over a decade, getting into the factory has gone from requiring connections to being less welcome. If people still cling to outdated ideas, even large corporations will run into problems.

"You guys are already 29 today, and you're still talking about work. Can't you take a break and have some food?"

Tan Jincheng, Zhang Xupeng, and the other two were chatting in the living room while dinner was being prepared in the kitchen. Everyone would have their own things to do after tomorrow, so today was a big family gathering.

"Alright, let's stop chatting then. It's rare for Brother Xuhui and his family to come over, so let's relax today and have some drinks tonight."

Although Zhang Suzhi, who was carrying the dishes, complained, she couldn't hide the happy look on her face. Older people like to be around people, especially relatives they don't see many times a year.

Over the past decade or so, her life has undergone tremendous changes. She is no longer a housewife. She has a driver with her when she goes out, and even when she goes back to her hometown, she is surrounded by a group of people.

A few years ago, Zhang Suzhi and Tan Lihua were enthusiastic about returning to their hometown. The couple had even talked privately about why their son wasn't so keen on going back. But gradually they began to understand.

Visiting relatives and friends during the Spring Festival is a traditional practice, but Zhang Suzhi and her husband felt it was a burden. This year, however, they brought their elderly relatives over to celebrate the Spring Festival, which was both relaxing and lively, and quite nice.

Throughout the Spring Festival holiday, things were different from the past. Although the policies in each place were relatively strict, Chinese people celebrate the New Year for two reasons: to do business and to fulfill social obligations. Therefore, consumption in various places was still quite good.

Movie and variety show consumption is booming, and the "single economy" brought about by staying home for the Lunar New Year has led to a 240% year-on-year increase in sales of single-serving Lunar New Year's Eve dinner sets. Mini hot pots and small-capacity home appliances have also become best-selling items.

During the Spring Festival, orders from a certain group-buying platform for stay-at-home orders, including packages for single-person movie viewing and single-person workouts, were also extremely popular.

On the other hand, traditional culture is also very popular under new forms of expression. The culture of the Forbidden City has become a top trend. The Tang Palace Night Banquet dance in the Spring Festival Gala of Henan TV, sponsored by a brand under Jinpeng Industry, unexpectedly became popular all over the Internet.

From its early, almost playful "Yueyue" brand to its later serious operation, Jinpeng Industrial, in addition to its core business of GXG, has been diligently cultivating traditional clothing fields, including Hanfu, starting with children's wear.

Over the years, it has benefited from the popularity of traditional culture and has gained a good reputation in certain markets.

"Not bad, you guys actually managed to get some attention too."

Tan Jincheng genuinely didn't know which brands Jinpeng Industrial sponsored, but given their years of experience in the field of traditional culture, it wasn't surprising that they were able to identify hit programs.

To make a name for oneself in a certain industry, the management team must have a certain vision.

"Haha, it's alright. It's quite interesting. We started this brand just for fun, without really thinking about making it great. But it seems pretty good now."

Zhang Xupeng was quite proud of this. Henan Province is a major province for the sales of two-wheeled electric vehicles and even elderly people's electric vehicles. Zhang Xupeng is quite familiar with Henan Province in terms of business and has a lot of cooperation with Henan TV.

In recent years, the Spring Festival Gala has become less and less interesting, while the Spring Festival Gala programs of local TV stations are more interesting. Henan TV is one of the representatives, which is why Zhang Xupeng decided to sponsor Henan TV's Spring Festival Gala program.

Like Weilai Auto, FlashTech also had a good operating rate during the Spring Festival. As the executive president of FlashTech Group, Zhang Xupeng is now more and more involved in the management of FlashTech.

He is no longer the president who was just lazing around on his small plot of land at Jinpeng Industrial and was ridiculed as someone who was just coasting along.

The busy work brought many benefits: Bafang Electric went public, Leichi New Energy was acquired, and he participated in the restructuring of Zhidou Auto. All of these can be attributed to Zhang Xupeng.

Under Zhang Xupeng's leadership, FlashTech transformed from a relatively pure two-wheeled electric vehicle company into a comprehensive enterprise integrating core businesses and investments. Its participation in the restructuring of Zhidou Auto also allowed FlashTech to enter the automotive industry.

The gap between two-wheeled electric vehicle companies and four-wheeled car companies is not actually that significant. If they accumulate enough technology, it wouldn't be surprising if they could manufacture their own cars.

However, FlashDrive Technology currently has no plans to manufacture its own cars, but that doesn't stop it from making some investments in this area.

Whether it makes money or not is another matter, but at least it can boost the stock price and increase the concept. The new energy concept was very hot in 2020. One acquisition and one participation in restructuring have given Flash Technology the concept of new energy.

An eight-day holiday goes by quickly.

Before we knew it, it was the eighth day of the first lunar month, the first day back to work, and also the day when the Exeed S01 and Zhidou Rainbow began their pre-sales.

The Xingtu S01 and Zhidou Rainbow project teams were both quite nervous at this moment. The company had invested so much in promotional resources, and the boss himself had publicly promoted the product several times. The specifications on paper were also quite good. If the sales were not good, they would be in trouble.

"Don't worry, the sales of Exeed S01 will be good. As for Rainbow, it's hard to say, since Wuling sells so well, but overall, selling tens of thousands of units a year should be no problem."

The two models started pre-sales at noon. The team members were so nervous that they couldn't even eat, staring at the computer screen.

It's hard to predict the exact sales figures for the Zhidou Rainbow. Wuling has a huge advantage in the A00-class market, holding a 30% market share. Given similar prices, choosing Wuling may not be the best option, but it's definitely the right choice.

If Tan Jincheng were to choose for himself, his first choice would definitely be Wuling, and he would only consider other brands after that.

It can be said that in the A00 segment market, there are only two brands: Wuling and the others.

In January, Wuling Hongguang MINI EV sold 36,700 units, achieving a market share of 57.3% in a single month. Chery, which ranked second, sold more than 30,000 fewer units of its single model, demonstrating a clear advantage.

Therefore, it is impossible to be certain about the performance of Rainbow Zhidou after its launch. However, if domestic sales are not good, Zhidou has a strategy to deal with it, which is to focus on export business.

Zhidou Auto has restarted its export channels, starting with Turkish chickens and the South American market, primarily Brazil. Zhidou still has a certain advantage in these two markets.

As for the Exeed S01, Tan Jincheng is quite confident because, in terms of the segment, there is currently only one pure electric sedan in the 10 to 15 yuan price range that is purely aimed at the C-end market.

Both the Aion series and the BYD Qin series have certain ride-hailing components. Although the Qin series plans to launch a new DM-i version, it has also announced the launch of Dolphin and Seagull models, both of which are aimed at the 10 to 15 yuan market.

But that's several months away, and with that time lag, consumers might not be willing to wait.

Besides the fact that there is currently no other choice, there is another major change: in January of this year, the monthly sales of new energy vehicles reached as many as 18 units, an increase of 238.5% compared with the same period last year.

Last year, due to special circumstances, the data for the first quarter cannot be used as a reference, but compared with the sales volume of 9.6 vehicles in January 2019, its growth rate is still very obvious.

Another important signal is that the number of new energy vehicle models with monthly sales exceeding 10,000 has increased from two to four.

Wuling Hongguang MINI EV, Maodou 3, BYD Han, and ET5.

Besides being all pure electric models, these four models also have one thing in common: they all belong to the sedan category.

While SUVs continue to sell well, the popularity of pure electric sedans seems to be on the rise, as evidenced by the sales rankings of new energy vehicles.

Mini, compact, and mid-to-large sedans occupy the top spots in the pure electric vehicle sales rankings.

The spring for pure electric cars has arrived.

(End of this chapter)