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

Chapter 26 Beautiful designs are always similar
It's more than just a distant dream.

Based on current trends, the probability of obtaining such qualifications is close to zero.

of course.

Now that Xingchen has no shortage of working capital, if they want to enter the new energy vehicle industry, they can still find companies with existing car manufacturing qualifications to register and produce vehicles.

However, that would not be an independent qualification for manufacturing cars.

And they can only choose the joint manufacturing approach.

To put it bluntly, we're still living under someone else's roof.

Even after selling a car, you still have to share the profits with others.

...

"Shandong International Financial Group?"

Hear the name.

Xu Yi was taken aback, and suddenly remembered some information that had been overlooked!
Yes!

He almost forgot.

The 12th new energy vehicle license officially approved and confirmed by the National Development and Reform Commission in China belongs to Guojin Auto!
According to his understanding, Guojin Auto was established in 16 after obtaining approval.

In addition, a new model called "Guojin GM3" was released in 17.

But it went bankrupt not long after due to poor management.

Nevertheless, the company and its car manufacturing license were eventually acquired by Chery a few years later and sold for a high price of 2 billion yuan.

Behind this car manufacturer is Guojin Group, a local mining company in Shandong.

What's even rarer is.

This is a purely privately owned group with an initial investment of only 80 million.

Essentially, it is a resource company engaged in mineral mining and reprocessing.

can be seen.

These days, even those who make money from mining are thinking about squeezing into the new energy industry.

There is no shortage of intelligent people in any era.

But how many of them actually survive the storm, even amidst the great tide?

vision--

Many people have it.

To get involved, you need real strength.

If he remembered correctly, Guojin Group was eventually approved for a "dual qualification"!
This is the only "new energy passenger vehicle production and sales qualification" in Shandong Province.

Compared to other companies that rely on contract manufacturing or leasing qualifications, independent automakers with "dual qualifications" have absolute autonomy in subsequent R&D and channel development.

At this stage, 500 million could secure control of Guojin Group.

This is absolutely a highly profitable business!

Even if you leave it untouched, it can appreciate several times in value after a few years.

"I'll delegate the recent recruitment tasks to other colleagues in the department. I need you to closely follow up on the Shandong Guojin Group project, and ideally, you should be able to contact the CEO of Guojin Group soon to make preparations in advance..."

Xu Yi made a decision.

Currently, one of the provinces where their vehicles sell best is Shandong, the birthplace of the "old man's car".

Unexpectedly, the final determination of the qualification for manufacturing new energy vehicles still ended up in this area.

It can be considered his lucky place.

in fact.

According to rumors from the following years, there are some stories surrounding this "dual qualification license," the only one approved in Shandong Province.

One of the biggest speculations is that the owner of Guojin Group has close ties with the local government. Whether it was establishing a mining company or applying for car manufacturing qualifications, it was all done with the help of high-ranking figures and through connections that reached the highest levels.

In Xu Yi's view...

This kind of speculation may have some merit, but it is not the absolute root cause.

The biggest fundamental reason is probably the investment and involvement of local governments.

As mentioned before.

As the largest machinery and steel processing and large agricultural machinery origin in China, and with Qizhou as its base, Sinotruk Group is also a leading heavy truck manufacturer in China. It has a unique advantage in the vehicle manufacturing supply chain.

however.

The local area only has a few car manufacturers such as FAW, SAIC and Geely, and it is only one of the production bases for commercial vehicles.

Despite bringing in vehicle production, it did not truly incubate a core manufacturing enterprise that could dominate the market.

The government wanted to develop the passenger vehicle industry, so it threw out its bargaining chips.

Guojin Group's "dual licenses" were ultimately obtained under these circumstances. The government wanted development, planned industrial upgrading, and wanted tax revenue.

Businesses need to make a profit.

People need jobs.

The vision is always beautiful.

Unfortunately, you can't make something out of nothing.

Even with the city investment company's acquisition and loan repayments, plus advance government subsidies, Guojin Auto was not revitalized.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the past few years have seen a great leap forward in new energy vehicles.

However, the number of car manufacturers that have been wiped out along the way, as well as the brands of all sizes, is too numerous to count on two hands.

Looking ahead a few years, even among those new energy vehicle startups with industrial scales of hundreds of billions, several have gone bankrupt in succession.

But nobody cared about any of this.

"Mr. Xu, you mean...we want to place a bet on Guojin Group?!"

Fang Ziqiang was slightly startled.

“That’s right.” Xu Yi nodded firmly.

"Guojin Group has defaulted on its loans and its internal cash flow has dried up. According to the investigation data, the situation will only worsen. With several months left, this is the perfect opportunity for us to make our move..."

If they can actually obtain the vehicle manufacturing license, it will be a highly profitable business.

Even if the application isn't approved, this company still possesses considerable real assets, including land owned by the company, and enjoys numerous policy resources from the High-tech Zone. After internal restructuring, it's not impossible for them to become profitable.

Some communication.

Xu Yi set his sights on Guojin Group.

With their foresight and advantage, this will be their chance to secure the "dual qualification" entry ticket with maximum benefits at minimal cost!
Fortunately, there is now a time frame to operate.

……

the other side.

Reading Auto is getting a bit anxious lately.

It's not just Reading.

Even the other two leading brands that produce microcars felt a strong sense of crisis.

no--

Everyone was doing well selling cars.

There's some competition, but it's mostly minor squabbles, and they generally coexist peacefully.

What the hell is that suddenly appearing?

With its incredibly convincing replica appearance, outrageous specifications, and pricing that was completely out of line with market positioning, it caught them off guard.

As mentioned before.

The microcar market is indeed growing.

But it wasn't a surge; rather, it was a slow, steady increase.

Therefore, the surge in sales of Xingchen's microcars led to a decline in sales for other brands!
What's most hateful is!

They clearly lowered their prices, yet as an established brand, they still can't outsell cars under the Star brand!
Consumers are saying they want to buy a cute and stylish little car.

The cars they build are considered "outdated minivans" by consumers.

Several manufacturers are stunned!

Don't be shameless!

That's utterly unsportsmanlike!

That design is clearly a high-quality fake!
This is shameless plagiarism!!
But market rules are ruthless, as evidenced in the mobile phone market.

In the early days of the Android market, there was a wide variety of phone designs. During its most active years, you could even see more than a dozen different designs on the same model.

Eventually, some manufacturers simply gave up and abandoned the business.

On the one hand, designing it is really mentally taxing, and on the other hand, it is also very expensive.

They discovered that by simply imitating the appearance of the fruit, despite being criticized, sales unexpectedly skyrocketed each time.

wrong.

It's about tech companies.

How can it be called mere imitation?
Rather, aesthetically pleasing designs are always similar.

Recently, Leading Auto has come to understand this principle.

……

(End of this chapter)