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

Chapter 240 The Beginning of Offline Order Surge

Mastering core technologies allows one to take the initiative.

This applies to any industry.

Xingchen had already laid the technical groundwork and conducted investigations for mineral exploration rights, which is why it now has the opportunity to enter the market.

of course.

Whether it can truly demonstrate its capabilities depends on further verification of the lithium extraction process in the laboratory.

Xu Yi has confidence in his own R&D team.

After the meeting, he also made a phone call to Liang Shouzhou, asking him to keep an eye out for lithium mining projects. As long as there were high-quality and suitable lithium mine equity interests, he could start expanding his operations.

Given Xingchen Auto's current size and cash flow, partnering with a lithium industry or lithium salt company to mine is the fastest way to obtain long-term, low-priced lithium resources. With these companies having existing qualifications, local infrastructure, environmental protection facilities, and policy issues are easier to resolve. This also allows them to develop and utilize the resource blocks they have already explored and converted into mining.

After all, brine extraction and processing also require supporting brine transportation pipelines and power facilities. Without the ability to integrate local resources, it's simply impossible to operate.

"Mr. Xu, I've been monitoring the stocks and futures of several upstream companies. If raw material prices continue to rise, we can hedge some of our costs by purchasing and building positions at the end of the year."

Half an hour later, Liang Shouzhou returned the call.

Xu Yi hummed in agreement and nodded.

Battery manufacturers holding lithium carbonate futures to hedge costs is not a rare practice in the industry. CATL, Guoxuan High-Tech and several other companies have taken similar actions, using long-term purchase orders to lock in final costs.

This is a short-term adjustment measure, but in the long run, it is still more effective to directly control lithium resource mining than to gain the initiative.

"In addition, Tianqi Lithium acquired a 23.77% stake in SQM for US$40.66 billion last December, but its debt-to-asset ratio soared to 70% by the end of the year. If you are considering upstream investment, this is a good option."

"Tianqi Lithium?" Xu Yi was slightly taken aback. When he remembered this name in his previous life, it had already become one of the leading lithium mining companies in China.

Of course, its current size still ranks among the top four lithium companies in the country.

"Last year, Tianqi Lithium's acquisition funds came from both its own capital and $12 billion in debt financing. Through SQM, it acquired lithium resources in the Atacama Salt Flats in Chile. This company has a history of debt-financed acquisitions..."

Liang Shouzhou paused for a moment, "Back in 13, when the income was less than 4 million yuan, he dared to mortgage all his assets to borrow funds from abroad to acquire Talison. Now it should be considered that he went all in again, but he took too big a step and it backfired."

After hearing the explanation, Xu Yi roughly understood.

Tianqi Lithium already possessed lithium resources in Greenbushes, Western Australia, and now, through SQM, it has supplemented its lithium reserves in salt lakes, making its resource volume considerable globally.

However, given that it is a leveraged buyout and cash flow is not abundant, the profitability of new businesses is not as expected, and short-term debt may default next year.

"Let's keep an eye on it first," Xu Yi said. As long as the conditions are right, Xingchen is willing to place a bet.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Yi fell into deep thought.

Expanding battery production capacity and controlling upstream raw materials are inherently synergistic and require a gradual approach.

Currently, global lithium carbonate production is limited, and the rapid expansion of new energy sources in China has already captured a large share of it.

If we cannot control the price and output of upstream raw materials.

Even if we build ten more car factories and expand the battery factory tenfold.

The price of battery raw materials may also fluctuate by tens of times due to severe shortages.

In that case, it will truly become "building cars at a loss".

This is also a significant difference from gasoline-powered vehicles.

……

11 month 25 day.

Xingchen Group is delivering a large number of vehicles to external customers, while internally it is still actively expanding production and conducting research and development.

Internal statistics show that over 6,000 Star Crimson L7 vehicles have been delivered!
"Mr. Xu, it's selling like hotcakes offline!"

No sooner had the data for the third week been released than Yu Nian couldn't resist coming over in person to share the good news.

"Our direct-sale stores in first-tier city business districts, using a model that surrounds competitors, have achieved significant growth and conversion of traditional offline customers in just one or two weeks. We currently have 7,000 large orders and 12,000 small orders in hand."

Yu Nian was very excited!
A groundbreaking achievement!

The press conference generated a large number of orders.

After the press conference, the focus will be on offline efforts and conversion rates.

As it turns out, in just three weeks, the Starry Night L7 has truly established itself in the luxury market at the 300,000 RMB level!

It's been almost a month since the last order was placed, and Xingchen still has a growing number of orders in hand.

What is the concept?
Based on the current trend, monthly sales will likely remain stable at over 6,000 units for the next six months.

“I’ve heard Wang Chuan say that many of our car owners are converted from traditional joint venture car owners, which shows that market acceptance is constantly expanding.”

Xu Yi smiled faintly and nodded.

Yu Nian was stunned for a moment, then cursed inwardly at how fast the sales department spoke.

"Yes, I also looked at the owner profiles. Some were former owners of BBA cars, while others were owners of Japanese and American luxury cars. The proportion of potential Highlander users among them is also quite large. Originally, the offline stores had prepared some test drive discount activities, but we did not expect that the brand power barrier in the high-end market is not as strong as we imagined."

The price range above 300,000 yuan has long been dominated by various joint venture and import car manufacturers.

Brand power has also acquired a certain elegance and symbolism of luxury. The online argument that "cars speak for people" has persisted for a long time.

Therefore, the marketing department has prepared some plans, such as after the initial deposit of 5000 yuan can be used to offset 8,000 yuan, customers who spend 5,000 yuan to lock in their order can still receive 3,000 yuan in car mall points.

To put it simply, it's just a different form of discount.

In addition, test drive participants receive more gifts and souvenirs.

The strategy remains the same: "give eggs".

However, the gifts included are more exquisite aromatherapy gift sets, plush toys, etc., and customers who order a car can also enter a lucky draw to win prizes such as carry-on luggage.

From the point of 50,000 to the point of 300,000, this Heavenly Rank Inherited Fighting Technique has never been defeated!
It has achieved positive market feedback.

“Our products are more practical, and the prices are transparent nationwide. In comparison, other competitors in the market are still quite arrogant.” Xu Yi looked at the order data.

The conversion rate in first-tier cities is quite remarkable. Apart from Xingchen's own home base, the number of orders in Shenzhen and Shanghai, two first-tier cities, is almost equivalent to the total number of orders in the other seven or eight cities.

"Rather arrogant?"

"Our investigation of offline channels revealed that several major luxury brands generally engage in price premium practices. This isn't limited to the BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) brands; even the Envision and Highlander require an additional 20,000 yuan or more to get on the road. Moreover, the pricing at individual stores varies, with a significant amount of room for fluctuation..."

……

Buy the car at the end of the year, and they're charging an extra 20,000?!

Yu Nian stared at the investigation report and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Exploitation and extortion."

Compared to its competitors, Xingchen's products are indeed much more practical.

Nationwide unified pricing is a brand-new model that has been strictly implemented since the first car. Today, its impact on the consumer market is becoming increasingly prominent. Yu Nian can almost imagine the scene of some car owners feeling very angry because of the extra charges and bundled delivery.

The saying goes well.

One is willing to fight, the other is willing to suffer.

Luxury isn't guaranteed without extra charges.

But those who paid extra to get their cars may not be without resentment.

In the past, joint venture brand cars did have an advantage, and domestic brands did not have corresponding competitors in the fuel vehicle field that could truly match their experience in engine and transmission technology.

Times have changed.

“They raise prices, we keep them the same. We try to get these heartbroken car owners to see us more often, and the subsequent consumer market response will catalyze that,” Xu Yi said.

How do I see it?

Aside from advertising, Xingchen's newly opened direct-sale stores in the business district are almost all adjacent to these luxury car companies' brand stores, or simply located across the street from them.

Any car owner with eyesight can easily see this as soon as they walk out of the other party's 4S store.

This is unprecedented among domestic car brands.

Even companies like NIO, which are willing to invest resources in prime commercial districts and set up high-end experience stores for promotion, will try to avoid direct confrontation with traditional luxury brands.

"Mr. Xu, since the delivery figures are so good, our marketing department plans to do some early promotion at the end of the month."

Yu Niandao.

Starry Sky's sales rankings are usually published monthly.

When the Star Mini's sales exceeded 30,000 units and the Star S7's sales exceeded 15,000 units, the sales figures were also heavily publicized.

The results achieved by the Starry Night L7 this time are unanimously considered by the team to be a new milestone.

Xu Yi nodded: "You can make the arrangements. We'll be going to Luzhou for an inspection and exchange in a couple of days. Let's show off our achievements in advance to deter some of the noise, let the outside world see, and reassure those who believe in and support us."

There has been constant noise from the outside world. Having orders isn't enough; people also need to see the delivery.

Just as building a car takes time and effort, people need something truly convincing to trust a brand.

……

The fourth quarter is the peak sales season and is often a crucial period for automakers to achieve their annual sales targets.

Huang Yongqiang set an internal goal of maintaining 11 and striving for 12.

I thought it was a sure thing.

After all, since the beginning of the month, 4S stores across the country have been receiving orders that are in short supply. If they can maintain a sales volume of around 13,000 units per month for the next two months, they can achieve their annual sales target of 120,000 units.

This puts it in the top three in the mid-to-large SUV market priced above 250,000 yuan.

If we break down the product into six-seater and seven-seater models in the same class, it could even rank in the top two.

However, things didn't go as planned, and on the 27th, the secretary handed over a set of data.

"The sales figures for the first week were 2942 units, the second week 2763 units, and the third week 2477 units..."

Looking at the internal data compiled in the first three weeks of this month, Huang Yongqiang felt a sense of helplessness.

"What's going on? The price has dropped so much in the third week compared to the previous two weeks? What are the sales channels doing? Have the Ford Edge and Teramont been discounted??"

(End of this chapter)