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

Chapter 160 Xu Yi: If the East doesn't shine, the West will?
It can be said.

When Jason revealed the "spring-hydraulic shock absorber" under the car.

They've already won too much.

The cheapest set of this stuff on Amazon costs tens of dollars.

And now.

It was simply and unremarkably placed on the three tires.

"Hey boy, I guarantee it."

This is absolutely the cheapest three-wheeled electric car you can buy in the world...

For the price of just a bicycle, you can get such an indescribably large machine.

Look what I found!
Not only does the body use thick stamped steel plates, but a small spare tire is also mounted in the rear trunk.

How exactly does China's car manufacturing industry manage to keep costs so low?
This is truly a perplexing matter.

...

Jason continued speaking into the camera.

He probably wouldn't be so surprised if the car originally cost $1600.

The truth is that this three-wheeled electric vehicle only costs $1200 to start.

This price, this configuration...

It also carries such a large battery and industrial motor.

He was truly confused.

I can't understand how Chinese companies make money.

"I've heard that although China's internal industrial factories are very large, the competition is also extremely fierce. There are two terms circulating within them..."

Sweatshops, cutthroat competition.

Oh, that's obviously not a good word, but it is indeed a phenomenon.

Jason tried hard to recall the words he had heard on video websites and from some domestic "public intellectuals".

Those words were all maliciously directed at describing how deplorable and inhumane Chinese industry was.

He immediately understood the cause and effect!

"So—if it's really as the internet says, many factories in China often manufacture products without making a profit, or even at a loss, just to expand their market size!"
It's like an industrialized form of charity.

If I'm not mistaken.

This car manufacturer from China is very likely losing money while making cars!

Jason came to a shocking and outrageous conclusion!
Besides losing money building cars.

There is no other possibility.

"Of course, these are all based on my reasonable speculation."

Over the next month, I will be experiencing this car more thoroughly and conducting various tests. Please stay tuned to my channel.

……

A standard ending, after recording this narration video.

Jason was very satisfied.

He looked so handsome today! Including this car!

The video has been uploaded to YouTube.

This quickly caused quite a stir.

As a car reviewer with 200,000 followers, I already have a lot of fans supporting me.

Jason's headline this time was also quite bold—

I bought the world's cheapest car.

"Cheapest"?
"car"?
I saw these two words.

Even dogs would click in to take a look.

Five thousand...ten thousand...thirty thousand...one hundred thousand...

The click rate is outrageous.

That afternoon it broke through 300,000 and soared toward even higher levels.

Many foreigners were amazed when they first saw this uniquely designed little car in the picture.

Then came the persistent stagnation.

The impact came wave after wave!
this time period.

Where have they ever seen something like this before?
Although there are many similar small mobility scooters in the United States.

But the old man's car has a strong Chinese style!
It fully embodies "humanistic care" in all aspects!
For example, an oversized gear shifter designed specifically for elderly people.

For example, there are thoughtful features such as in-car heaters, open storage boxes inside the car, huge storage space, and roof racks.

There's even a semi-hidden tow hook at the rear of the vehicle, which can be used temporarily to haul goods on the farm...

When Jason announced the price.

The people who saw the video were stunned!

A unified gasp of amazement erupted from them!
—"Oh!!!"

A bunch of comments appeared below.

The most frequently posted sentence was:

Where is the link?

……

Fortunately.

Jason mentioned his purchase channel in the video, namely BABA.com, which is used for cross-border e-commerce.

Some curious people logged on and found the store selling Xingchen brand electric cars through a search.

The price of a bicycle can buy an electric car.

This option is too good to pass up for them.

Owning a foreign car is quite a "cool" thing!

The rapidly increasing number of views has even caught the attention of some influencers in the same category.

This platform has no shortage of talented people who enjoy "creating interesting content".

These experts quickly realized that this Chinese electric vehicle, which they were seeing for the first time, was a very promising topic.

-

"Factory manager, something terrible has happened... We've suddenly received a batch of online orders!"

After reviewing the "strange" order data in the online shopping backend.

Zhang Fuguo's eyes widened in surprise.

Refresh repeatedly.

I made sure I wasn't mistaken.

He rushed to the factory manager's office immediately. "What's going on... all this fuss? Ordering online isn't a good thing."

Liu Shengjun sat in his office drinking tea.

Hearing his startled expression, she seemed a little puzzled.

This isn't the first time their Xingchen Laotou Le (a type of electric vehicle) has seen sales boom on online shopping platforms.

Sometimes they really do come in waves.

Sales are usually so-so, but suddenly there's a bulk purchase.

For example, a while ago, a group of young men from a small county town wanted to form some kind of "social dance gang".

They actually want to purchase their old man's car as a "helper vehicle".

At the same address, more than a dozen units were sold out in one go, and there were even more purchases to follow.

It seems to be quite popular on that Kuaishou platform.

They have publicly explained their reasons.

Why target electric vehicles for seniors?
The answer is just three words: cheap and stylish!
...

He was too embarrassed to talk about this with President Xu.

Who knows what kind of things this group of "spirited young men" might do?
Their Starry Sky logo is still hanging on it.

"No, this order is from a rather far away..."

"How far?"

"Besides Texas, we have orders in the East and West regions of the United States, totaling around two to three hundred units, and the number is still increasing..."

Zhang Fuguo gave an honest answer.

As soon as these words came out.

Liu Shengjun's brain has really crashed!
He froze instantly.

The hand holding the teacup... trembled slightly!
What the hell? ?

Further than Texas?

Nearly two or three hundred overseas orders?

He had never seen anything like it before.

"Has the old-age electric vehicle we sent over last time been signed for?"

"Correct."

"This is a big deal, I need to report it to President Xu."

Liu Shengjun immediately realized that capturing a very crucial piece of information could very well be a signal of the opening of a new market.

Cross-border e-commerce has always been a hot industry, but I've never heard of shipping old people's cars over there to sell. I've only ever heard of shipping motorcycles and electric bikes out in large quantities to sell.

After all, that thing is small in size, and the shipping cost isn't that high.

But who would have thought that even with shipping and customs fees included, people would still be happy to place orders?

Environmental policies are becoming stricter every day.

It's hard to say how long the domestic market will last, or how long the "old man's car" phenomenon can continue.

If they could open up a channel in overseas markets, wouldn't their Xingchen car factory have hope for a resurgence?!

……

"Mr. Xu, I'd like to report something. It seems that the electric vehicles for the elderly produced by our factory are making waves in the overseas market. Here's the thing: last month we received an overseas order..."

Liu Shengjun recounted the whole story, and also sent over the order data from the backend.

at this time.

Xu Yi, who was at the Starry Sky headquarters, received a phone call.

I was stunned after hearing it.

But it happened very quickly.

He reacted.

Good guy——

The script for going overseas… How could he have forgotten about that?!
In his memory, the decline of the domestic market for electric vehicles for the elderly was a gradual process, almost beyond human control.

After all, it's constrained by both the all-electric Mini and traffic regulations.

The space for elderly-friendly vehicles to survive isn't nonexistent, but it has shrunk to an extremely small circle.

Of the hundreds of counterfeit electric vehicles for the elderly, only a dozen or so have gone out of business.

But during this period.

Going overseas is indeed a good path.

Domestically produced electric vehicles for the elderly are extremely popular in the US and Europe.

The labor and manufacturing costs there are very high. Even to produce an electric mobility scooter with the same product specifications, it would cost at least three or four thousand US dollars, not including sales and shipping costs.

But things were different with the domestically produced "old man's cars" in the past.

The product is quite impressive!

Even with current sea freight and import tariffs, it's still cheaper than a bicycle.

In addition, the environment in Europe and the United States is sparsely populated, and the low-speed mobility vehicles are very suitable for driving on roads, farms, and for everyday shopping, which makes foreigners very happy.

Unlike the one-size-fits-all approach in China, they have quite comprehensive standards for low-speed vehicles on the road.

As long as it meets their road standards, such as European standard front and rear reflective strips, three-point seat belts, electrical CE certification, and environmental standards, it can legally be driven on the road.

Xu Yi thought about it.

Their Starcraft Factory also has a significant overcapacity.

Selling these elderly-friendly vehicles overseas is clearly one possible approach.

Before the tariffs come down, we can take the opportunity to "harvest" some money from foreigners.

of course.

This can't be called a harvest; people bought it willingly and praised it highly.

At least until anti-dumping duties of up to 300%-400% are imposed, it is definitely worth pursuing.

With this tax added, the old man's car, which originally cost $1500, now costs over $7500, making it completely uneconomical.

At that time, we can also consider expanding into Southeast Asia.

Although domestically produced electric vehicles for the elderly are "poor," it depends on who you compare them to. Countries like Vietnam, which have their own brand of cars, are not as good as domestically produced electric vehicles for the elderly!

Again.

Domestically produced electric vehicles for the elderly are only popular in China!
The main reasons for their demise are policy guidance and the impact of the industrial chain environment.

On an international scale, it's definitely not even remotely considered "vegetable"!

It just goes to show that when the east is dark, the west is bright.

"You've done a good job. We need to pay attention to overseas orders, as they are very likely to become our main area for sales growth going forward. Developed countries really don't have meal replacement products in this market..."

……

(End of this chapter)