What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 402 Germination
Yu Xing discovered a perspective he had previously overlooked.

Diesel vehicle business.

He had clearly read Volkswagen Group's financial reports before, but he always subconsciously overlooked the possibility of diesel vehicles. Now, upon reviewing them, he realized that more than 40% of Volkswagen's total revenue in 2012 came from diesel vehicles.

Yu Xing often talks about oil cars, which are divided into gasoline cars and diesel cars. However, perhaps because he is used to the mainstream of the domestic market, he never thought of the latter.

He quickly looked up more detailed data.

Diesel cars are selling very well in the European market today. Last year, they accounted for more than 50% of all new cars sold. In countries like Germany and France, the figure is as high as 60%. That means that out of every 100 people buying a car, 60 will choose a diesel car, which is known for its fuel efficiency and high performance.

Of Volkswagen Group's global diesel vehicle sales, 80% came from the European market, 15% from the United States, and 5% from other markets.

From this perspective, diesel vehicles have completely different reputations in the European and Chinese markets.

The current emission standards for diesel passenger cars in Europe are Euro 5, which include limits such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) not exceeding 0.18 g/km, particulate matter (PM) not exceeding 0.005 g/km, and carbon monoxide (CO) not exceeding 0.5 g/km.

Yu Xing felt that by following these indicators and going by the clues, he might soon see the anomaly that Guoshanfeng was looking for.

Finding the right target is always difficult, but knowing the right target and constantly looking for loopholes around it makes it much easier. Even if you haven't found any abnormalities in the public before, by constantly browsing and pondering the other party's information, a direction that can potentially lead to its demise will suddenly emerge.

After clarifying his general ideas, Yu Xing took the opportunity to discuss the construction of the new test scenario with Liu Wanying.

Mitsubishi Motors' engine data is cross-verified by multiple third-party organizations. Despite the isolation measures, Volkswagen Group's current market value is as high as 1500 billion euros, a completely different scale, making it the world's second largest automaker after Toyota's 2000 billion US dollars.

Given such a massive target, it is only natural that the already rigorous process must be made even more stringent.

“After much thought, I think it’s best to keep the test data for this engine under our control. Cross-validation by third-party organizations can be used, but we’ll have to wait until we have complete data and have secured funding.” Yu Xing actively shared his plan. “We can set up the crime scene in Lingang and hire employees or interns from the Silicon Carbon Group to do some side jobs. But the hardware team and the execution team will be completely separate, with no contact between them. The final data will be sent directly to us, and then we’ll figure out how to analyze and compare it.”

The hardware team employed mechanical engineers who lacked data analysis skills. They were only responsible for setting up test benches, installing sensors, and debugging hardware. They only had access to raw physical hardware signals such as voltage and current, and were unable to interpret the data.

The data team only assigns software engineers to generate data logs. The data is segmented by timestamp and then encrypted, making it impossible to present a complete data chain.

As for the processing of emission models and encrypted data, someone can be responsible only for model training, which can also ensure the isolation between the work before and after.

“We’ll start with Toyota, then test Volkswagen, and then Nissan,” Yu Xing said. “We’ll start with these big brands to see if they have any similar issues with exploiting loopholes.”

He also concealed his true purpose in his words.

“Then let’s just use a shell company. The process is real, and we do register a third-party organization, but it only serves us.” Liu Wanying felt there was nothing wrong with this process. “If any problems arise, you will be the first to know. If your employees can find the problem from the slightest clues, they might leak it to Bai Xiaosheng or report it to you, the BOSS, in secret. You will become the last line of defense.”

Yu Xing shook his head: "None of us have access to the complete data and verification process. We also mix multiple brands anonymously together, and the final data processing is done independently. How could there be any clues?"

“Just in case, isn’t that because you’re worried about other third-party organizations having ‘what if’ problems?” Liu Wanying laughed. “It’s like a martial arts hero discovering a problem and rushing to report it to the martial arts alliance leader, only to find out that the martial arts alliance leader is the mastermind behind it all. It makes perfect sense.”

After hearing what she said, Yu Xing also felt that it made a lot of sense.

"They're all Japanese brands. I wonder if Toyota has similar loopholes to exploit," Liu Wanying said with a hint of fascination. "It's time to let those well-known car companies undergo a secret inspection by the mountain."

After finding a possible direction for the problem, Yu Xing was also very excited. Just thinking about how Guo Shanfeng might cause the world's second-largest car company by market capitalization to collapse with hundreds of billions of euros of business every year... made him very excited!

He even considered and analyzed the potential problems with Volkswagen diesel vehicles in his notebook.

For example, nitrogen oxides (NOx) are produced more naturally in diesel engines due to their oxygen-rich combustion characteristics, and currently there are only two mainstream exhaust gas treatment technologies available in the industry.

One type is selective catalytic reduction (SCR), which reduces NOx by injecting urea solution, but requires regular urea replenishment, making it relatively expensive. The other type uses nitrogen oxide traps (LNTs), which are less expensive, but have limited efficiency and can also affect power performance and fuel economy.

Why would Volkswagen fabricate data?

It's simply a matter of cost considerations.

After discovering these highly correlated exhaust treatment methods with varying costs, Yu Xing couldn't help but suspect that Volkswagen might have manipulated the system in this way.

Volkswagen's current official publicity mentions the use of LNT technology, stating that it meets Euro 5 emission standards. However, its technical documents emphasize that the EGR exhaust gas recirculation system is the core of emission reduction, while LNT, as a supporting after-treatment device, is only mentioned vaguely and is treated as part of a technical black box.

This kind of behavior...

Yu Xing's mind was set on the Volkswagen Group, and the more he looked at this action, the more it seemed like he was guilty.

Perhaps, the problem could be found before Q3.

Yu Xing read through Volkswagen's financial reports and technical data, his mind filled with the pleasure of studying the scam.

On May 16, a haggard-looking Liu Jiankai knocked on the door of the president's office of the Silicon Carbon Group again and met his boss, who had repeatedly made excuses not to see him for days.

"President Yu..."

"Yes, Mr. Liu, please have a seat. What's the matter?" Yu Xing gestured for him to sit down. "Xiao Zhang said you've been looking for me several times."

Liu Jiankai hesitated, then asked, "President Yu, why are you avoiding me?"

"Why would I avoid you?" Yu Xing chuckled. "What's there to avoid?"

Liu Jiankai sighed: "President Yu, you don't need to worry at all that I will ask you to get those Bitcoins back. They're sold, so be it."

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow, casually picked up the documents on the table and tossed them to Liu Jiankai across from him: "I don't know, and I don't care whether prices go up or down. I've been looking into Mitsubishi Motors lately. Tsk, you know, Mitsubishi Motors really knows how to exploit loopholes. The US EPA requires automakers to submit data and conduct random inspections, but Japan only requires voluntary declaration. The loopholes in the policies on both sides are being exploited."

Liu Jiankai took a look and found that it was indeed information from Mitsubishi Motors, but he wasn't surprised. It's normal for people in the automotive industry to be curious about their competitors being shorted.

He casually flipped through the pages and found information on well-known car companies such as Toyota and Volkswagen, as well as information on emissions in different regions around the world.

Liu Jiankai closed the file: "President Yu, you've been looking at quite a variety of things."

"What's so complicated about that? I'm a car manufacturer now. I can't just go to the auto show and criticize people. I need to find common ground to chat about. The differences in standards between different regions are a great topic," Yu Xing said with a smile.

He actually wanted to see if there were any differences in emissions standards testing between Europe and the United States, the world's major diesel vehicle markets, but he didn't see anything amiss; both tests were conducted on laboratory benches. Even though there were no differences, Yu Xing still followed the instructions and made annotations regarding the testing process.

Since neither European nor American tests have found any evidence of Volkswagen falsifying data so far, the lack of discrepancies might be the problem. Both tests are conducted on benches, so could we consider testing Volkswagen's diesel vehicles in real-world driving scenarios?
Yu Xing kept a question in mind and wrote it down in his notebook.

Liu Jiankai nodded, not seeing any problem.

He hesitated before saying, "Mr. Yu, I advised you to make a move before, but Bitcoin has dropped this month."

Yu Xing calmly asked, "Really? How much has it dropped?"

Liu Jiankai frowned and said, "Last month it reached a high of $147.98, and today it has already dropped to $68. That's a really drastic drop!!"

Upon hearing this, he finally saw a look of surprise on the boss's face.

"No way..." Yu Xing exclaimed in surprise, "You...you can remember such a precise number as 147.98?"

Liu Jiankai made an "uh" sound and said somewhat awkwardly, "I, I have a good memory, President Yu, I've always had a very good memory."

He has a good memory and often thinks about the rise and fall of Bitcoin. He was very distressed that Mr. Yu failed to take profits in time. If he had been in charge, he could have sold at the highest point.

"Fine, you're not planning to go back anyway, and the price has dropped now, so why are you looking for me?" Yu Xing asked, puzzled.

Liu Jiankai took a breath and asked, "President Yu, are you aware that a trading platform has emerged in China?"

Yu Xing was genuinely surprised this time: "Really? Who did this? Which gang?"

“That guy’s name is Xu Mingxing. He used to be the CEO of Douban. I’ve met him before. I think he also tried to do a catering O2O project last year, but it failed,” Liu Jiankai said. “I didn’t expect him to have such a strong interest in Bitcoin. He even created a trading platform, saying that it was designed to address the pain points of slow deposits and withdrawals and poor security of current trading platforms. It became very popular as soon as it was launched.”

Yu Xing nodded slightly, unaware of this person's situation.

At this moment, Liu Jiankai said painfully, "President Yu! You suggested to me before that I create a Bitcoin wallet similar to Alipay, but I... I didn't listen at the time!"

“Liu Ge, I’ve given you a lot of advice. I even suggested you stop paying attention to Bitcoin. Why are you paying attention to it again? You even know the price by heart,” Yu Xing said. “Haven’t you heard that before?”

Liu Jiankai was indeed older than Yu Xingnian. Seeing that his boss called him "brother," he felt a deep friendship between them, but also said helplessly, "President Yu, I... to be honest, I... I can't let go! I can't do it!"

Yu Xing frowned and said, "Liu Ge, you worked very hard last year and didn't pay attention to the ups and downs. There are so many ways to make money in the world. Look at the stock market, aren't there opportunities to make money every day? Look at short selling, you can make so much money in one trade when the price peaks! Why do you have to focus on this?"

"Short selling... is that something we can play around with? The stock market... sigh..." Liu Jiankai said dejectedly, "I don't know why, I just feel unwilling. Why couldn't I hold on to the end? I've lost so much money, why did I have to cut my losses?"

Yu Xing calmly asked, "If Bitcoin completely crashed after you sold it to me, would you still think this way?"

Liu Jiankai sighed: "The problem is he hasn't collapsed, but I'm about to..."

He looked up at President Yu and offered his idea: "President Yu, if I were to create another domestic trading platform now, also targeting the pain points of slow withdrawals and poor security, do you think I could succeed?"

Yu Xing was taken aback: "Liu Ge, you want to start a platform?"

After hesitating for two seconds, Liu Jiankai nodded: "President Yu, you said a long time ago that the platform's commission is promising, and that wallet tools similar to Alipay are feasible. Moreover, you're holding onto those Bitcoins and haven't let go, and you even deposited 100 for my daughter. Regardless of what you say, just seeing what you're doing makes me feel that its future potential is still very large."

Yu Xing almost smiled, but held it back and pondered, "If you want to do it, do you have the start-up capital?"

Liu Jiankai shook his head: "President Yu, if you think it's feasible, could you invest some money in me?"

Since losing money trading cryptocurrencies, he has entrusted his wife with the money he earned from selling himself to manage for family expenses and children's education. Even now that he wants to start a trading platform, he won't touch that money. So, the question came to the boss.

Yu Xing laughed this time: "Liu Ge, you came from Capital Today. As an investor, do you think you can invest?"

Liu Jiankai took a deep breath and discussed the prospects of trading platforms and the changes in Bitcoin from the end of last year to the present.

After patiently listening to this man's eloquent speech, Yu Xing gave him a very serious piece of advice: "Liu Ge, if you are really interested, then wait a little longer."

"Why?" Liu Jiankai asked, puzzled.

“Your mindset is wrong right now,” Yu Xing said calmly. “With your current anxious and hesitant attitude, I don’t think you can manage a project well. This is entrepreneurship, and regardless of anything else, your mindset is definitely not right.”

Liu Jiankai immediately realized that his boss's words were spot on.

He was convinced by those words, but hesitated and said, "Mr. Yu, if we don't do it now, what if Xu Mingxing's platform grows too big and there's no market left?"

"That's a matter of competition. Competition is actually easier. There are no clear policies in China right now. I hold a lot of Bitcoin. I'll find an opportunity to run on it, create negative news, and take down my competitors first," Yu Xing said.

When Liu Jiankai heard his boss say it so casually and without thinking, he suddenly realized that his boss was decisive and ruthless.

“Liu Ge, starting a business isn’t like hosting a dinner party, and competition isn’t like painting or embroidery.” Yu Xing noticed Liu Jiankai’s expression. “In short, you need to calm down before you start talking. The market is there, and you can be more flexible in your competitive tactics.”

Liu Jiankai suddenly realized that he still had a lot to learn.

As for mindset...

He really needs to take some time to reflect and mature.

Regardless, today's trip at least resulted in some consensus being reached with President Yu.

Liu Jiankai seemed to have left with the budding seeds of Liu Ge.

Before Yu Xing could think about it in detail, another message about wanting to investigate the Silicon Carbon Group was placed on his desk.

The vice president of LeEco hopes to visit Hong Kong to see the electric vehicle project of Silicon Carbon Group.

Yu Xing glanced at the message for only three seconds before quickly replying with a four-word statement: "Warmly welcome."

(End of this chapter)