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

Chapter 118 Everyone Has Dreams

"Switching to WM Motor...Are you sure?"

Xu Yi's expression was strange.

what.

—Don't laugh at the challenge?
This career choice is truly remarkable.

"Yes, WM Motor offered very good benefits, and in terms of resources and background, they also have a large-scale R&D team that combines traditional big manufacturers with internet talents."

They publicly claim to be a large, self-developed team that has mastered all aspects of new energy vehicle manufacturing, electric drive architecture, and intelligent driving, and that they have already completed their Series A funding round and their factory is nearing completion. They are currently enjoying great success in the industry…

Fang Ziqiang then added.

WM Motor has indeed been riding high this year. Several giants participated in its Series A funding round alone, including Baidu, Tencent, and Sequoia Capital as lead investors. Founder Shen Hui attracted hundreds of core talents from Volvo, Geely, Volkswagen, Tesla, and Baidu by leveraging his connections in traditional car companies.

Such qualifications and team.

By all accounts, they are far more successful than other emerging electric vehicle companies that are still in their early stages.

If we disregard the series of questionable actions after the IPO, coupled with several years of continuous losses that led to its sudden collapse.

WM Motor's starting point was quite high among the new energy vehicle startups. Compared to its subsidiary Star Auto, its real advantages are its leading battery technology reserves and its early profitability through microcars. In other aspects, it can only be described as a nobody.

"Although Zhao Yang is the head of the vehicle system at GAC Research Institute, the development priority of intelligent vehicle systems is quite low within GAC Group, and he is basically not well-regarded."

Moreover, while Linux-based in-vehicle infotainment systems offer virtually no noticeable lag in terms of smoothness and operation, updating their ecosystems is a massive undertaking, making them several times slower than Android-based systems.

Subsequently, the group showed no intention of expanding its team, leaving little room for me to grow, which led me to consider changing jobs.

After listening to what Fang Ziqiang said.

Xu Yi couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, mixed feelings).

Sure enough, that saying came true.

Traditional automakers have their own set of problems.

In terms of technological starting point, many traditional car companies are not at a low level.

They have no shortage of financial resources.

In fact, with just a little effort right now, they could crush all the emerging startups.

Currently, there are several car manufacturers that can develop in-vehicle infotainment systems based on the Linx kernel.

However, while the marketing campaign constantly touts intelligence and high-end features, the development of in-vehicle infotainment systems has stagnated for several years, and they have been outcompeted by new car infotainment systems from companies that have only been established for a few years. This is quite abstract.

The reason for this is that talented core personnel like them have all moved to emerging car companies that focus more on related fields.

The difference between a chicken's head and a phoenix's tail is still quite clear.

Most importantly, if a new energy vehicle company becomes the leader, it will be a real success, much better than sitting on the sidelines at the factory and earning a fixed salary.

Everyone has dreams!
...

"Can we meet up?"

"There were some problems before, but now there aren't any major issues."

"it is good."

...

I paused for a second or two.

Xu Yi immediately understood.

Previously, Xingchen Motors was at most a manufacturer of electric vehicles for the elderly, but now things are different; they are now a car company that can "speak for itself through sales."

And it also has its own near-4.0 factory (to be completed).

People ultimately change jobs for their dreams.

If it were Xingchen Motors in the past, even if you sold your old-age electric vehicles to the sky, they wouldn't give you a second glance. Without a background, the success rate of building cars is too low. Without sales and a technical team, even the best talents can only sigh in vain.

New energy vehicle companies that receive follow-up investment from top-tier capital and have their R&D resources restructured by major manufacturers are often the preferred destinations for top core talents.

……

Guangshi.

Zhao Yang sat on the outside of a coffee shop, watching the traffic outside the window.

His real thoughts were preoccupied with preparing for his departure these past few days, completing all the handover work, and the next step would be a new beginning in his life.

In the past two years, talent mobility like his has become quite common in the industry.

With the rise of the new energy vehicle boom, almost all emerging car manufacturers, after securing initial funding, immediately began poaching talent from major manufacturers, such as GAC Group Research Institute, Geely Automobile Research Institute, SAIC Motor Technical Center, and BYD Engineering Institute.

It's not uncommon for some departments to fire a dozen or so key technical personnel at once.

A high-EQ perspective: These new players are so rude, they've poached all the big companies' talent.

A low-EQ statement: Big companies pay low wages and can't retain employees.

...

To put it bluntly, working people also need to earn money.

Even those who are the backbone of core technologies are considered highly skilled workers.

Many large manufacturers were poaching each other a few years ago, so it's a bit unreasonable for them to now criticize these new car startups for stealing their talent.

It can be said that personnel turnover is a normal manifestation of the industry's vitality. The talent poaching wars in the early days of the internet and mobile phone industries were much more intense than this.

originally.

Zhao Yang has already reached an agreement with WM Motor. As long as he goes there, the salary will not be a problem. With his qualifications, he can completely lead the entire intelligent development team.

But at the very last moment, things took a slight turn for the worse.

With the arrival of a research and development team poached from Baidu, WM Motor has begun to change its tune again, emphasizing that intelligent technology should be based on internet thinking. Although the compensation remains the same, there is a growing risk of being demoted.

"Holy crap... This car hasn't even started production yet, but it already smells like a factional struggle?"

Zhao Yang had a slight headache.

His intuition told him that this car company was not as glamorous as it seemed on the surface; the internal chaos was evident even in the inconsistent front and rear nozzles.

He is currently considering more than just this one car company, but not many of them meet his expectations.

For example, recently, the head of a company called Xingchen Auto contacted him through a headhunter, leaving a deep impression on him.

They started by making electric vehicles for the elderly... and now they offer salaries and benefits higher than those of WM Motor?

Senior talent often seeks stock options and long-term value when changing jobs, which is very important. Once the company takes off, they will also achieve financial freedom.

But then again, who would complain about short-term salaries being too high?

If salaries are tight in the early stages, it's foreseeable that R&D funding and investment won't be much better.

So Zhao Yang specifically looked it up.

The information he found surprised him.

How to describe it.

"Although they started by making electric vehicles for the elderly, their track record is terrifyingly strong!"

By circumventing regulations by manufacturing "old man's cars" (a type of recreational vehicle for the elderly), they managed to generate nearly 10 billion yuan in revenue in lower-tier markets. This can be attributed to good luck and a stroke of luck.

Having officially entered the car manufacturing industry, they launched a blockbuster model with a precise positioning. In just a few months, they achieved sales of more than 10,000 units, creating another blockbuster track. Currently, they have received full support from the local government of Shandong, and their independent car manufacturing qualifications and car manufacturing plant are about to be established.

In addition, he also found that this car company had acquired a large number of shares in Shandong Weineng Environmental Protection, which seems to be a move towards vertical integration of the supply chain.

The battery, motor, and electronic control system are all self-developed, and the battery factory is also integrated for dual-directional R&D.

If the development of typical new energy vehicle companies is considered to be taking an unconventional approach...

In Zhao Yang's view, Xingchen Motors was going to some extremes.

It has a style reminiscent of a nouveau riche who smashes things up after getting rich.

This guy... does he really think that the more he invests in research and development, the stronger he will be?
Take the battery industry as an example; it takes more than ten years of accumulation for any of them.

Even if the integration with Vaillant saves time, catching up with the industry's top tier will not be an easy task.

What if new cars don't sell well, the cash flow breaks down, or research and development hits a bottleneck?
Now they're even going to develop smart car infotainment systems.

……

hiss--

and many more.

Could it be that Xingchen Motors has actually achieved some key breakthrough in battery technology?
A rather outlandish guess suddenly popped into Zhao Yang's mind.

……

(End of this chapter)