America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 282 BYD

Shenzhen, Longgang Zhenghua Sixth Science and Technology Industrial Park.

In BYD's office, the young Wang Chuanfu ran his fingers over a document with slightly wrinkled edges, a document he had read countless times.

He took a deep breath and then slowly walked to the window.

Outside the window, the vibrant city of Shenzhen was operating smoothly, showcasing the thriving vitality of a cutting-edge metropolis. All of this only intensified his anticipation and nervousness.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, breaking the silence inside.

Wang Chuanfu turned around upon hearing the voice. When he saw that the person was his old partner Yang Longzhong, his tense shoulders unconsciously relaxed a little, and the restlessness in his heart caused by the upcoming crucial meeting also calmed down and became more resolute.

"I've been your partner for so long, and I've never seen you so nervous before," Yang Longzhong said as he strode in with a playful smile, trying to calm the other person down.

Wang Chuanfu gave a wry smile, his voice carrying a barely perceptible heaviness. "There's no other way. This opportunity is too important for BYD. It can be said to be a crucial battle that will determine the company's future direction. Whether we can break the monopoly of Japanese manufacturers in the battery field, take BYD to the global market, and let the world see the strength of Chinese battery companies depends on whether we can win the order from AIG Technology this time."

His gaze turned to the window again, as if he could already see BYD's future dominance in the global market, and as if he could also see the difficult predicament the company would face after its failure.

Yang Longzhong walked to the sofa, casually leaned against it, and his gaze fell on Wang Chuanfu by the window.

At this moment, Wang Chuanfu's figure shone brightly in the sunlight streaming through the window, a radiant glow born of unwavering dedication to his ideals and goals.

Yang Longzhong shook his head slightly, but his tone was very firm. "There's no need to be so pessimistic. Regardless of whether we can secure this order or not, I firmly believe that BYD, with its own strength, will eventually become the world's best battery manufacturer. Haven't we already broken the monopoly of Japanese manufacturers in the nickel-cadmium battery field? We certainly can too in the lithium battery field."

However, he then looked puzzled. "But I really don't understand. I've never heard of this company called AI Technology before. What is its background that makes you value it so much? Anyone who doesn't know would think it's a representative sent by an industry giant like Motorola."

Wang Chuanfu walked over and sat down in the chair opposite Yang Longzhong. Leaning slightly forward, he said earnestly, "What I'm interested in isn't the company itself, but rather Ernst Garfield, the boss behind it, and the order volume brought in by CEO Cook. These two factors combined are the key to why I value this meeting so much."

"Ernst? You mean Ernst Garfield, who has become famous in the international business world in the last two years? This AI Technology is actually his?" Upon hearing the name, Yang Longzhong sat up straight on the sofa in surprise, exclaiming, his eyes revealing an expression that said, "No wonder the other party is like this."

Shenzhen, where they are located, is at the forefront of China's reform and opening up, a hotbed for the booming development of the electronics and technology industry, where all kinds of emerging enterprises are springing up like mushrooms after rain, and the speed of commercial information flow is astonishing.

As a company aspiring to become a major international manufacturer, BYD is certainly familiar with major international business events and industry trends.

Ernst Garfield's name has been one of the most frequently mentioned in the international business world this year, with his every move attracting much attention.

His various rumors are widely circulated in business circles. His investment strategies, which are incomprehensible to many but have proven successful, have become topics of discussion among people over tea.

His keen business acumen and decisive decision-making abilities have created a series of wealth legends that have driven business people around the world crazy, with countless people eager to replicate his path to success.

"That's right, it's Ernst Garfield."

"Although this is ASK Technology's first time entering the consumer electronics market, and we are still relatively new to this field with little market experience and brand accumulation, Ernst's past brilliant success in the business world makes me willing to believe that he can lead ASK Technology to the end in the consumer electronics market again."

"After all, his vision and judgment have been tested by the market countless times."

His tone was very firm, even somewhat admiring: "And the order volume that Cook brought this time, judging from the scale of this order, is enough to show that both Ernst and the Atech team have great confidence in their product, which has not yet been officially launched."

"Otherwise, no company would place such a large order for a product that has not been market-tested. This requires not only courage, but also absolute confidence in the product itself."

Two days ago, an American businessman named Cook landed at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. As soon as he got off the plane, he contacted relevant local departments in Shenzhen and expressed his intention to seek business cooperation in Shenzhen.

He then quickly attracted widespread attention from the entire Shenzhen business community with his decisive and efficient style of doing things.

Because they had never seen such an efficient and decisive way of negotiating cooperation as Cook. In just one day, Cook visited 17 companies in Shenzhen without stopping.

If a company he approves of during his inspection process meets AiTech's needs in terms of product quality and production capacity, he will have a brief but efficient conversation with the company's representative on the spot, and then decisively reach a cooperation agreement and sign an order on the spot.

The entire process was efficient and without any delays, leaving all the participating companies amazed by its high level of efficiency.

When all the orders signed by Cook were put together, they all pointed to a staggering number: tens of millions.

Regardless of the type of product, even if Cook signed cooperation agreements with several companies at the same time and split the orders, the total number of orders for a single component exceeded ten million.

Such an order size is definitely a super order, enough to make any company's heart flutter.

Then this morning, another major piece of news came from the Shenzhen business community: Cook has successfully reached cooperation agreements with four contract manufacturers and has purchased a total of 2000 million units of their production capacity for the next two years.

As soon as the news broke, the entire city of Shenzhen was in an uproar. Everyone was full of expectations for Cook, the generous spender, hoping to win his favor, reach a cooperation agreement with iTech, and get a share of the profits.

For a product that hasn't even been officially launched, and whose specific parameters and appearance haven't been publicly announced, Cook dared to pre-order such a large amount of production capacity. This reflects how much confidence iTech has in this product!

Everyone is speculating about what makes this mysterious product so appealing that AiTech is investing so heavily in it.

Wang Chuanfu naturally wanted to take advantage of this favorable wind and seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help BYD completely get rid of the current predicament in the lithium battery field and achieve the company's leap forward.

If BYD can successfully become AIT's lithium battery supplier, it will be doing exclusive business in China, unlike some other product suppliers who have to share orders with other companies.

This exclusive supply cooperation model plays a crucial role in helping BYD open up the market, build brand influence, and accumulate development capital in the lithium battery field.

"But then again, will Cook really choose BYD? After all, our lithium battery products haven't undergone large-scale market testing yet, and our reputation and recognition in the industry are nowhere near those of Japanese manufacturers who have been deeply involved in the market for many years."

Although Yang Longzhong also hoped that BYD could win the order, he still had some reservations and had to consider the practical problems.

For electronic products like the one that Aitech is about to launch, which have orders in the tens of millions, the stability of components is of paramount importance, to an almost demanding degree.

Because a problem with any component can cause the entire product to malfunction, thereby affecting the user experience and market reputation.

Especially since this is AGI Tech's first product, its market performance will directly determine whether AGI Tech has a smooth start in the consumer electronics market. Therefore, AGI Tech will absolutely not allow the quality of its components to affect the reputation of its products.

Once a product's reputation collapses due to component issues, it will be extremely difficult for AIT to recover in the market.

However, market validation is precisely BYD's biggest weakness.

Upon hearing Yang Longzhong's concerns, Wang Chuanfu stated firmly, "I firmly believe that the lithium batteries developed and produced by BYD are in no way inferior to those produced by the Japanese in terms of quality and performance."

"Just like when we started from scratch in the nickel-cadmium battery field and eventually broke the monopoly of Japanese manufacturers in the domestic market, we are confident that we can do the same in the lithium battery field."

In 1995, he founded BYD in Shenzhen.

At that time, BYD was just a startup in a small factory in the suburbs of Shenzhen, with a team of only 20 people. It lacked funds and had rudimentary equipment. It didn't even have a complete production line, and most of the production process had to be done manually.

But so what? He set his sights directly on the battery industry, which was almost entirely monopolized by the Japanese at the time.

In the market environment at the time, Japanese manufacturers, with their advanced technology, complete production lines and mature market channels, occupied the vast majority of the global battery market share, especially in the high-end battery sector, where they formed a monopoly.

For a startup like BYD, it's easy to imagine how difficult it is to gain a share of the market in such a competitive landscape.

Unable to afford expensive Japanese production lines, he combined China's labor cost advantage, developed some key equipment himself, and completed production in a semi-automatic and semi-manual manner, creating the unique BYD model.

Using this model, BYD built a production line with a daily output of 4000 nickel-cadmium batteries, at a cost 40% lower than that of Japanese manufacturers.

With its low costs and flexible trading methods, BYD quickly made a name for itself in the nickel-cadmium battery field, winning the recognition of some domestic customers and beginning to show its strength in the international market.

Now, BYD has achieved remarkable success in the nickel-cadmium battery market, with annual sales of nearly 100 million yuan and a 1% annual growth rate.

However, he was not satisfied with this. He knew that lithium batteries were the mainstream of the future battery market and would be more profitable.

Although only Japanese companies are in a leading position in this field globally, and their technology, equipment, raw materials, and processes are kept strictly confidential, and they are not even allowed to build factories overseas, he still resolutely decided to enter the lithium battery field.

Finally, through the team members' tireless efforts day and night, and their self-exploration and research, they successfully developed a lithium-ion battery and overcame the key technical challenge of lithium-ion batteries not being able to discharge at high currents, thus achieving mass production.

However, the ensuing problems plunged BYD into a new predicament: its lithium battery products had no sales.

On the one hand, established brands with high brand recognition and market influence in the electronics industry, due to their distrust of new brands, still choose to cooperate with Japanese battery companies that have mature technology and a good reputation, and are unwilling to try using BYD's lithium battery products.

On the other hand, for low-end brands, the production cost of lithium batteries is relatively high, resulting in a significantly higher product price compared to nickel-cadmium batteries. Since their target customer base is more price-sensitive, they tend to use the cheaper nickel-cadmium batteries.

Therefore, he felt that Cook's arrival was a great blessing from heaven for BYD, and an excellent opportunity for BYD's lithium battery business to open up the market.

Cook had originally planned to shift his lithium battery orders to Japan, but it was only after he stayed up all night at the Shangri-La Hotel where Cook was staying that the opportunity for the other party to come and visit today was secured.

BYD's lithium battery products have indeed been lacking large-scale market validation, but the test results do not lie.

If Cook can personally inspect BYD's production base and see BYD's lithium battery test data, he will definitely be able to see the advantages of BYD's lithium batteries.

Moreover, BYD has an advantage in lithium battery products that Japanese manufacturers cannot match: price.

Due to factors such as high production technology costs and brand premiums, the price of lithium batteries in Japan has remained high.

According to Wang Chuanfu's understanding, the lithium battery specifications that Cook needs require cost at least $16 per unit from Japanese battery manufacturers.

BYD, with its unique production model and cost control capabilities, even with each lithium battery priced at 6...

It is also possible to make a profit with US dollars.

Such a huge price advantage is extremely attractive to any company that pursues cost control.

Wang Chuanfu trusted Ernst's vision and judgment. He believed that with Ernst's foresight and insight, the CEO he selected was a wise choice.

It's impossible for him to be a short-sighted person who lacks courage.

If Cook can carefully examine BYD's lithium battery products and understand their quality and price advantages, he will definitely place an order.

Even if it's just a small portion of the orders given to BYD, as market validation, it would be enough for BYD to take a crucial step in the lithium battery field.

Once BYD's batteries are validated in the international market, cost control will be a crucial issue that any company's CEO must consider when formulating corporate development strategies and product pricing strategies.

No CEO would overlook a collaboration opportunity that could significantly reduce product costs, especially in today's fiercely competitive market where cost advantage often determines a product's competitiveness.

If BYD can successfully enter AIO Technology's supply chain system, and AIO Technology's products become a hit in the market, while BYD's lithium batteries can withstand the test of the market in actual use, proving the quality and stability of the products, then subsequent orders will naturally follow.

That's why he was so nervous about Cook's upcoming visit, because BYD's success or failure hinged on this one tremor.