From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 113 What kind of heaven-defying development is this? (Bonus Chapter)

"It's nothing, I was just asking... It's probably impossible anyway, haha!"

The man looked a little embarrassed and scratched his head.

gone.

……

Even after returning home, Wu Jian was still thinking about what happened in the parking lot.

As a Wuling Mini owner.

He felt truly "sour" at that moment!

Hold……

Why did he buy a Wuling van?
I bought it because Wuling is a traditional brand and the price was similar.

But I just discovered it now.

This is way too traditional.

The cheap seat design is just like Shi!
I contacted the official after-sales service, but I haven't received any effective response.

I should have bought the Starry Night Mini!

But there's nothing we can do now that we've already bought it.

We can't return the car!
I sighed inwardly.

……

After a while.

Wu Jian downloaded a Star Auto app.

With a sense of exploration, I opened the car store and started browsing.

He was then surprised to find that they not only sold seat accessories for Mini cars, but also inflatable mattresses.

This feeling is like discovering a new continent!

Inflatable car mattresses like these often require custom-made molds based on their dimensions.

At least on the market, there are no inflatable mattresses specifically designed based on the Wuling Mini.

...

"How about... we buy them all and try them out?"

He hesitated for a moment, then placed the order.

Since he could return the goods anyway, he didn't feel any guilt.

Two days passed, and the package arrived quickly.

Wu Jian unpacked the package, and everything, from the headrest to the lumbar support, fit perfectly!
And this inflatable mattress is the perfect size. The edges are a little loose, but you can easily adjust it by stuffing something in it, which will perfectly solve the problem of taking a nap in the car.

This amazing discovery filled him with joy.

The lack of seat comfort in Wuling vehicles that came standard with them has been perfectly resolved thanks to the "compatibility" of Starry Sky seat accessories!
Wu Jian took a bunch of photos of the car's interior, including the headrests and lumbar supports with the Star Auto logo.

...

Wuling Mini owners' chat group.

"Dear car owners, I have discovered a low-cost method to perfectly solve the factory seat defects."

...

"What method?"

"I've had the car for two months now. Everything else is tolerable, but I really can't stand the seats."

"Wow, does everyone else think the seats are uncomfortable? I thought I was the only one who felt this way!"

For a while.

All the Wuling Mini owners in this small group have started to chime in.

They are not part of an officially organized group chat. Instead, the group number was posted in a discussion thread for Wuling Mini on a forum, attracting a group of Wuling Mini owners to join. It can be considered a self-organized group.

Besides discussing car usage, what they found most unbearable was the factory-installed seat.

If they could, some of them would really like to return the car.

But no way.

The topic has already been brought up.

then.

Wu Jian posted the picture in the group.

"These are the headrests and lumbar supports for the Star Mini. I found that they are perfectly compatible with Wuling's seats. After installing them, the comfort of Wuling's defective factory-made seats is significantly improved, with a physical improvement of more than 50%. If you are interested, you can purchase them from the Star Mini app. The price is not expensive."

Also, I accidentally discovered today that Xingchen Automotive's official website actually offers window tinting services! I'm so envious!

A mini Starry Night logo in a masculine pink color scheme was posted in the group chat.

...

When other Wuling car owners in this group saw these pictures...

They were all completely stunned!
They roughly understood the meaning behind those words.

Despite the fact that Wuling's factory-installed seats have historically significant design flaws.

However, the eco-friendly accessories produced by Starry Sky make up for this.

Ok?
Something feels off.
A strange feeling that was inexplicable yet somehow familiar.

But anyway.

The problem can be solved, so at least the starting point was good.

then.

Many Wuling Mini owners in this group had the urge to place an order in their eyes.

Anyway, you can return it.

Let's buy it and try it out first.

...

I shared it in the group.

Wu Jian then posted the relevant content again in the Wuling Mini car owners' circle on the car forum.

The main character is helpful.

Out of venting his frustration, he even added a few curses to the post!
Hardware defects common to this type of vehicle, once discovered, tend to be widespread.

However, it is basically impossible to expect traditional automakers to step in and solve the problem.

Unless there is a widespread malfunction, such minor issues affecting comfort are at most considered a design flaw and will not be addressed in any way.

Post it online.

People will just say, "At this price, what more could you want?"
If you want comfortable seats, go buy a luxury car.

At such times.

Developing the secondary market for auto parts can often yield huge profits if it can accurately address the pain points of relevant car models.

...After officially joining Xingchen Motors, Zheng Guozhao's life did not change much.

After attending two meetings, I returned to the Shanghai flagship store.

This is mainly because the previous batch of car mall ecosystem accessories has been almost fully developed.

There aren't any novel ideas for the time being.

The subsequent supply and coordination work was also handled by people under the department.

Instead, I found myself with more free time.

Departmental matters can also be communicated remotely.

"Director, in the past few days, sales of seat accessories in our car store have suddenly surged, but the backend data seems to be somewhat abnormal..."

Zheng Guozhao received a phone call, but the information reported surprised him slightly.

"Sales have surged, isn't that a good thing? It shows that car owners recognize the value of our selected accessories. What's the big deal? Don't make a fuss!"

“We checked the delivery numbers of nearly a hundred orders, but there was no record in the order information. It seems that the buyers are not from our car owner group? It seems that a third party placed the order.”

"Third-party users? Why would our car owners buy this thing?!"

……

I heard the reply.

Zheng Guozhao was stunned.

A short while later, another call came in from the department.

"Director, we received a call from someone claiming to be a Wuling Mini owner who placed an order on the car store to apply for our exclusive window tinting service. They also mentioned purchasing our headrests and lumbar support accessories..."

Zheng Guozhao: "..."

what's the situation.

He was sure he hadn't misheard.

Wuling Mini owners, why the hell would they want to get their windows tinted at Xingchen's after-sales service and modification center?

Don't you Wuling Minis have your own after-sales service and modification centers?!

Oh—it seems there really isn't one.

……

Fortunately, the staff there asked quite detailed questions, and after a brief explanation, Zheng Guozhao roughly understood the cause and effect.

The Wuling Mini's seats have been found to be of poor quality, but their official seat accessories have conveniently made up for this.

"What a coincidence..."

Zheng Guozhao's face was slightly numb.

In fact, in order to save costs, both companies use the same size scheme for the cabin of A0-class cars for their seats, so it is not surprising that they are so similar.

As for the seats of Xingchen Auto, at least some optimization and fine-tuning were carried out during the mold making process. Even if the comfort level is not much of a plus, it is not enough to become a detriment that leads to a major failure.

In addition, with its inherent quality control advantages and timely release of seat accessories, car owners have no complaints.

……

"We need to consult with General Manager Xu about this!"

Zheng Guozhao thought about it and was a little undecided.

So he simply made a phone call.

After a short wait, the call was answered.

"What's wrong, Lao Zheng?"

"Mr. Xu, here's the thing, our department has encountered a strange situation..." Zheng Guozhao briefly recounted what happened.

"..." After hearing this, Xu Yi fell silent.

watt?

What an incredible turn of events!

Their Star Mini car store's product selection inadvertently "forced" Wuling Mini users to join in?
Make sense.

Because the research and development work is too intensive.

Xu Yi hasn't paid much attention to market competition lately.

In terms of market sales, the trend is one of steady growth.

While Wuling's product strength may be somewhat inferior, it has its own advantages, namely the support of a traditional brand and a wider coverage of dealerships.

But overall, their sales still maintain a steady lead.

The real victims are entry-level gasoline cars in the same price range, as the rise of the all-electric Mini has led to a significant reduction in the market share of gasoline cars.

In the short-distance commuting segment, the pure electric mini's product definition and cost advantages are simply too obvious, coupled with its positioning that is more appealing to young people.

This has accelerated the pace of several traditional brands' internal plans to transform into entry-level cars and the rollout of MINI models.

Now that the new track has been opened, what awaits is a new round of competition.

……

"Our eco-friendly products are sold freely as normal commodities; let them buy them if they want."

However, the modification service is not available to owners of other car brands.

After a moment's thought, Xu Yi made a decision.

If this concept were to be developed, it would be far too abstract.

Furthermore, it's difficult to handle the warranty issues related to subsequent modification parts.

I wonder what the other companies' expressions would be if they knew that their car owners were rushing to buy third-party parts from other companies.
"Okay, Mr. Xu, I understand."

Zheng Guozhao nodded.

……

After hanging up the phone, he fell into deep thought.

"Mr. Xu is right. It would be too troublesome to open the modification service to the public."

in contrast.

If our seat accessories, including phone holders and inflatable mattresses, can indirectly increase our sales share, then we can definitely promote them!

Yes!

That must be what Mr. Xu meant!

Think of this.

Zheng Guozhao suddenly had an idea and made a call to his department.

“Go and change our seat accessory ad page right away. Yes, change it according to my idea. Change the ad text to: ‘Mini car dedicated headrest/lumbar support, comfortable and reliable, designed to solve seat defects.’”

If you're going to advertise, target the Wuling Mini owners' community.

onslaught!"

……

(End of this chapter)