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

Chapter 153 A car worth 200,000 yuan, you're going to use it as a taxi?!
After discussing the market positioning of the new Starry Mini.

then.

On the other end of the video call.

The newly established energy services department has begun compiling data.

"Mr. Xu, our Xingchen Supercharging Station has reached its fiftieth location, and the total number of branded supercharging piles has reached three hundred, covering 17 cities... distributed in densely populated user areas in first-tier and strong second-tier cities."

Zhou Zhao, who was in charge of building the supercharging network, was poached by Fang Ziqiang from a competitor, TELD, with a high salary.

Previously a regional project manager for TELD in a first-tier city, he is now the Energy Service Director of Xingchen Automotive, possessing extensive experience in charging station construction.

After all, building supercharging station infrastructure is a technical job.

Not only do they need to understand power systems and transformer planning, but they also need to have grid resources, actually visit business districts and negotiate with property owners, and be responsible for the construction cycle of charging stations... In short, it is a senior management position that requires strong comprehensive abilities.

It's hard to find executives like this who are good at getting things done.

Fortunately, our competitor had just nurtured him.

just now.

The Star Energy Department is still in its early stages. Once the charging network expands and becomes profitable, and even expands into more energy storage and supercharging businesses, the energy replenishment department can operate independently.

How to say it.

Zhou Zhao has had a strange feeling since joining Xingchen Automotive.

Besides the State Grid and third-party charging companies, car manufacturers are only making tentative moves in the construction of supercharging stations.

Some car companies simply set up a batch of pilot projects as a token gesture, serving a publicity purpose.

There are also companies like BYD, which mainly invest in new energy vehicles but don't actually build any websites.

after all.

If the location is not good, it is quite difficult to recoup the cost of building supercharging station infrastructure.

Even with subsidies to cover it.

However, Xingchen Motors is different.

He didn't even consider the issue of recouping his investment. From the very beginning, Xu Yi's goal was to build a nationwide supercharging network, starting with an operational plan of 1,000 stations.

The construction cost of a single supercharging station is 400,000 to 500,000 yuan. In just over a month, fifty supercharging stations have been built, costing 25 million yuan.

Even with Zhou Zhao's extensive operational experience, it's hard to say whether he can recoup his investment.

Of course, the losses won't be significant.

On the one hand, there are government subsidies; on the other hand, Xingchen Auto's sales are so good, and there is also a continuously expanding group of car owners to support it. Given the compatibility of the Xingchen S7 with its own charging piles, it can be charged at branded charging piles, and it is impossible for it to be charged at external charging piles.

This has provided a significant boost to internal confidence.

"Okay, keep it up."

Xu Yi affirmed this, saying that 50 seats in two months was a good pace.

"We need to set up at least 500 charging stations this year, to cover the vast majority of cities first."

Zhou Zhao responded, "We plan to launch some charging benefits for car owners soon, such as discounts and free service for charging on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or at night. This will attract car owners who have just taken delivery of their vehicles to charge, and also attract other new energy vehicle groups, thus promoting our brand."

Xu Yi smiled and said, "It's a great idea to hold an event, but your scale is a bit small. We can be more generous to car owners."

In this way, all owners of Xingchen Automotive who take delivery of their vehicles will receive a free 1,000 kWh charging allowance when charging at our charging stations, valid for one year.

Secondly, if a car owner invites a friend to complete an in-depth test drive, they will receive an additional 1,000 yuan in free charging credit, limited to one time only.

If the person invited by the car owner subsequently places an order and takes delivery of the car, an additional 5,000 kWh of free charging credit will be given.

...

On the operational side, we are still considering the pressure to generate profits.

Xu Yi simply didn't consider it.

The initial investment in supercharging stations is meant to generate losses!
So why not just think about it properly?

How can we maximize the profit from the losses?

As mentioned before, the sales figures for a new car in the first few months after its launch depend on its advertising, positioning, and cost-effectiveness.

However, maintaining stable sales and attracting a continuous stream of test drivers will put the overall reputation and the company's "independent dissemination capabilities" offline to the test.

This autonomous diffusion range is quite significant.

Some spread because of viral memes, some because of positive reviews from car owners, and some because of their appearance or other special reasons.

In short, it is something that has a wide-ranging, long-term, and subtle influence.

Among them.

The car owner's ability to spread the word is crucial.

Taking China's social structure as an example, as a society based on personal relationships, when an adult picks up a car, it often attracts the attention of at least dozens of relatives, colleagues, and friends.

If a car owner is particularly good at spreading the word and is a loyal fan of Xingchen Auto, it is not uncommon for them to encourage several, or even more than ten, people to take delivery of their cars.

This is not boasting, but is supported by actual survey data.

Especially some KOCs who have their own built-in online traffic, one person can rival a top salesperson, and the key is that they don't need a salary, they just have a natural love for online debate!

Promote your own beliefs!
That sounds terrifying enough!!

If these groups are large enough.

From now on, Xingchen Automotive will no longer need to hire online trolls to promote new cars or conduct facelift campaigns.

A large group of car owners themselves promoted and defended Xingchen Motors.

And this is the strategy that Xu Yi is now proposing.

This is a classic "soft pyramid scheme" strategy that Tesla adopted in its previous life when its Supercharger network was expanding rapidly.

Because there are free charging credits available.

Car owners are very enthusiastic about inviting friends to test drive the car!
Even if I don't place an order after the test drive, it doesn't matter!
The brand has already gained extra foot traffic.

If someone does manage to pick up their car because of this, the spread of the virus will continue to grow.

Furthermore, due to the network effect, many car owners are willing to spontaneously post videos to promote their vehicles.

In short, car owners who were willing to help promote the car earned charging credits, Xingchen Auto gained extra foot traffic and locked orders, and new car owners mentioned their new cars.

This is a win-win-win situation!!
...

"Wow—this promotional approach is so innovative! Mr. Xu, you're so clever!!"

Zhou Zhao pondered for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, I was amazed.

He was definitely not trying to curry favor with President Xu just because he had recently joined the company.

Instead, after careful consideration, they felt it was a truly feasible solution. Third-party charging companies often conduct promotional activities to boost sales, but these are usually one-off events and depend heavily on the location.

Xu Yi's proposed model is somewhat like a combination of his own car owner community and the synergistic effect of charging network coverage.

It's hard to say how much impact it will ultimately have, but it sounds much better than the advertising model of third-party charging brands.

"In addition, our service fee waiver program can still be implemented, but it is still only for owners of Xingchen Motors vehicles. As long as it is during off-peak hours, you can charge your vehicle at half price with no service fee."

However, there is one rule: parking beyond the allotted time will incur a fine deducted per minute.

Xu Yi pondered for a moment.

When providing welfare benefits, it's essential to accurately target the right groups.

In addition, there should be rewards and punishments, and clear bottom lines to prevent chaos.

Given the scale of Starry Sky Supercharging Stations, even if they were completely free at this stage, they wouldn't lose much money.

Besides, their goal was to lose money but gain publicity anyway.

Naturally, we need to firmly lock in those groups who are most willing to spend money on themselves, and then let them promote it, gradually locking in other groups.

Calculate the time.

The Xingchen S7 has now delivered nearly 10,000 units, and its cost-effectiveness as a pure electric family car is now widely known online.

Its strong economic potential has yet to be fully realized.

Xu Yi wasn't in a hurry, since it was only the first month.

As time goes by and the Star Charge network expands, it will eventually bear fruit.

……

a few days later.

Owners of the Starry Sky S7 who have already taken delivery of their vehicles have received a notification of a major benefit.

Updates regarding the benefits and policies for Starry Sky Supercharging Stations, as well as the charging map on the app.

Once you open the Starry Sky app's charging map, it will automatically display information on all new energy charging stations in the current city. Starry Sky's own supercharging stations will be displayed with a slightly larger, elegant icon, and there will also be a gold coin mark on it, indicating that you can get a random points reward of 1-100 points for checking in at the station.

Also pushed out were related charging benefits for car owners.

Deep city.

Upon seeing this app announcement, a Star S7 owner fell into deep thought.

The Starry Sky S7 in front of us, equipped with star-ring headlights and a cool racing gray color, has a beautiful streamlined design that looks good from any angle...

Huang Jun was filled with deep regret.

Absolutely did not expect ah.

He lost his job just a few days after taking delivery of the car.

Unemployment is not the worst thing.

The most terrifying thing is that in order to buy this high-end, long-range Star S7, he took out a loan of 180,000 yuan, and the down payment was only 30,000 yuan plus an insurance policy.

Over three years, that's more than five thousand a month.

Even with his previous sales job, which only paid five or six thousand a month, the loan pressure to pay for this car was still outrageous.

You should ask him why he did that.

All he can say is—he was brain-dead back then!

When I saw this car, I really liked it and wanted it so badly!
And I don't want a low-spec configuration.

Thinking about those sayings online—"You only get young once in your life," "When buying a car, you have to go for the fully equipped version," "If you like it, just go for it!"

……

In short, he was full of enthusiasm.

After picking up the car, my mind gradually calmed down.

It's time to face reality.

"Anyway, this car is really comfortable to drive, and it looks cool too, plus it doesn't need gas..."

"But what about the loans that follow?"

Huang Jun looked utterly miserable.

In an instant, I thought of going to work in a factory.

But it was quickly rejected.

There's no way I'll ever get into a factory; it's impossible for me to ever work in one in my entire life.

correct.

What's it like driving for a ride-hailing service?

The thought came to mind.

He felt he must be going crazy.

Isn't that just plain stupid?

A car worth 200,000 yuan, used for commercial ride-hailing?

It's important to know that once a private car is converted into a commercial vehicle, the scrapping period is usually 8 years, and even in first-tier cities, it may only be extended by one or two years at most.

But he had heard about it online before.

It seems that driving for ride-hailing services has become quite lucrative in the last two years.

The major ride-hailing apps are still fiercely competing, offering massive subsidies to drivers, and there's no shortage of orders in first-tier cities.

I already have a car, so what if I go to the factory?

Wouldn't that car have been wasted?

None of them can be opened.

If you were to become a ride-hailing driver, there wouldn't be much cost involved.

You should be able to earn six or seven thousand a month, right?
Huang Jun pondered to himself, "For a young man like me with little education and skills, the only options besides sales or factory work are to deliver food."
You might as well drive for a ride-hailing service!

When I saw this message pushed by the Xingchen Auto app.

He was even more shaken!

Free charging credits and half-price electricity during off-peak hours!
If you make full use of this, charging it will be completely free!!
Upon opening the charging map, he discovered that there was a newly built Starry Sky Supercharging Station just a few kilometers away.

Once the idea of ​​starting a ride-hailing business took root, it lingered in his mind.

……

(End of this chapter)