The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 585 Tram
After receiving the key technology from Liu Hua, Wang Chuanfu's team has already produced several vehicles and deployed them for extreme testing across the country.

This kind of testing has only emerged in recent years. Car companies didn't have this step in the long run. I don't know if it's to follow the West or if it's just a recent trend, but car companies of all sizes are going to drive their new cars around the Northwest, Northeast and Southwest a few times.

Wang Chuanfu calls Liu Hua every week; he's practically befriended him, and he reports everything to Liu Hua whenever something happens.

It turned out he'd guessed right. Whenever a problem arose, Liu Hua would offer a few targeted suggestions, and those casual words were enough to resolve Wang Chuanfu's major issues.

Wang Chuanfu is also very determined; he wants to get the electric car into mass production before Musk does.

Liu Hua remembers that in his previous life, Wang Chuanfu brought electric cars into mass production in 2010, Tesla started small-scale deliveries in 2008, but the Nissan Leaf was the only pure electric car that truly achieved mass production and was launched to the market.

But Wang Chuanfu seems to have been holding back for a long time, feeling extremely uncomfortable, and he is determined not to give up until the first tram is mass-produced.

However, what Wang Chuanfu didn't know was that the electric car he launched in his previous life had a claimed range of 300 kilometers. In actual tests, it only reached 200 kilometers in the city with the air conditioning on, and 298 kilometers on the highway.

In this lifetime, he's become much more impressive. Thanks to Liu Hua and Taiyi New Energy, this time the electric car has a range of 500 kilometers right from the start.

It's important to know that the biggest complaint from gasoline car enthusiasts about electric vehicles is the lack of range. 300 kilometers is indeed nerve-wracking, but 500 kilometers is a different story, greatly alleviating the anxiety about insufficient range.

Wang Chuanfu complained to Liu Hua, "My only worry right now is that the car is still too expensive. After our cost accounting department calculated it, the price is around 200,000 yuan, which is still unaffordable for ordinary people."

Liu Hua suddenly remembered that owners of BYD Qin cars would all become ride-hailing drivers because the cost was so low that they could make money.

So Liu Hua told Wang Chuanfu, "Don't sell the first batch of cars to individual owners. Find a taxi company and use electric cars to run taxis. Wouldn't that reduce the cost?"

“That makes sense,” Wang Chuanfu said with a smile. “A typical taxi only travels three or four hundred kilometers a day, but our electric vehicles have more than enough range. Gasoline is now over six yuan a liter, while electricity is only a little over fifty cents a liter. The operating costs are plummeting.”

Wang Chuanfu immediately dispatched his marketing personnel to major cities to negotiate with the main taxi companies in first-tier cities.

These taxi companies aren't stupid. They just calculated the operating costs and knew it was a win-win-win situation. The drivers could earn more money, the taxi companies could increase their daily fleet size by buying new cars, and Wang Chuanfu would also make money. It was definitely a win-win-win situation.

Because major taxi companies in first-tier cities still have a lot of orders, Wang Chuanfu took the opportunity to lower prices, reducing the price by 20,000 yuan per vehicle.

In the second half of 06, taxi companies in the Southern Special Economic Zone, Beijing, and Shanghai had already launched trolley taxi services.

Because of its low operating costs, it's very popular with drivers. While the ride doesn't have the same engine feel as older gasoline cars, it's quiet and smooth, which is also appealing to consumers. Therefore, this car, named the BYD E4, quickly gained market share, and in addition to taxi companies, car rental companies and government departments also purchased a significant number.

While the price of over 200,000 yuan may deter many people, the middle class is on the rise. These people earn an annual salary of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan and have knowledge and vision. Therefore, when choosing a car, they have also set their sights on the E6. After all, the E6 is more than enough for urban commuting.

Of course, it's not without its downsides. For example, charging is a major problem, as older garages and parking lots don't have charging stations.

Liu Hua gave Wang Chuanfu another suggestion: they could start a new company to build public charging stations in major cities, or cooperate with the power sector to build public charging stations, similar to the old-fashioned IC card phones where you insert a card to charge.

This suggestion immediately alleviated Wang Chuanfu's worries. The problem is, once someone identifies a trend, many others will follow suit.

Wang Chuanfu's construction of public charging stations in Shanghai, Beijing, and special economic zones immediately attracted the attention of investors, who recognized this as a lucrative opportunity. As a result, numerous public charging station companies, large and small, began to emerge, greatly facilitating the promotion of electric vehicles.

Wang Chuanfu specially gifted Liu Hua two exquisitely decorated E6s. The shell was the same, but it was equipped with bulletproof glass, and the interior decorations were also unique, just like the car that the Germans had given him back then. It had practically become his personal trademark.

Liu Hua's driver was a bit resistant: "Boss, I suggest we go back to driving the old Hongqi. Your status is what it is. This E6 looks a bit small compared to the Hongqi."

Liu Hua joked, "This car is 100% domestically made, including the technology. The old one wasn't like that. Just imagine how much fun it was to drive that one."

“I know supporting domestic products is important, but this E6 just doesn’t feel right to drive.” The driver shook his head: “I can’t hear the engine roaring. I keep thinking the car is broken. When I was test driving it just now, I had to stop six times along the way.”

"You'll get used to it," Liu Hua smiled. "Electric cars are the future; fossil fuels will eventually be phased out."

"I'm just a driver, I don't have that kind of long-term vision." The driver said helplessly, "You've brought this issue up to this level, so I can only comply. I suggest you take the car from a few days ago first, let me drive this car for a few days to get used to it, otherwise, stopping every three steps will be unbearable for both of us."

"Take it home and get used to it," Liu Hua said, waving his hand dismissively. "Once you've mastered its performance, I'll have other people drive it for the next couple of days. Let me tell you, once you're used to this car, you'll know just how good it is."

“I still stand by my opinion, how can an electric car be better than a gasoline car?” The driver shook his head: “My car can go several hundred kilometers on a single tank of gas, it’s convenient and fast.”

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Wake up. I've never let you drive long distances. When we were commuting in Beijing, when did you ever drive more than 300 kilometers in a single day?"

"That's because of the boss. You didn't give me a chance. If you had given me a chance, I could have driven 1,200 a day." The driver said indignantly, "It's a pity that I have all these skills but can't use them."

(End of this chapter)