2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 199 Lithium Battery Layout
January 4th, the first working day after the New Year's Day holiday.

The first case in Zhejiang Province involving a traffic accident caused by a driver operating an oversized electric vehicle has been adjudicated.

He was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for killing someone while riding an electric scooter and was ordered to pay 18 yuan in compensation for medical expenses and other economic losses.

"It's going to be harder and harder for small factories to survive in the future," Tan Jincheng muttered to himself, holding the newspaper.

These days, the problem of electric vehicles exceeding standards is very serious. Many electric vehicles can actually be called "electric motorcycles" because they are very fast. These electric vehicles that exceed standards are mainly produced by small factories and are sold very cheaply, making them very popular in the market.

Especially among the non-mainstream teenagers in third-tier cities and small counties, there is a particular fondness for these electric bikes. They spend two or three thousand yuan, or even less, to buy an electric bike that functions similarly to a motorcycle, and it looks very cool to drive.

However, these vehicles have very serious quality problems, and the probability of traffic accidents is much higher. Moreover, the manufacturers offer absolutely no after-sales service.

These non-compliant electric vehicles are currently the most criticized issue by transportation departments across the country. The verdict in this case in Zhejiang Province is a blow to these non-compliant electric vehicles and also a wake-up call for buyers.

Currently, there are three major bases for the electric vehicle industry in China: Tianjin, southern Jiangsu, and Zhejiang Province. Zhejiang Province is also the most standardized electric vehicle market in the country. It can be said that changes in policies and laws and regulations in Zhejiang Province will affect the electric vehicle industry to a certain extent.

Unsurprisingly, this year should see the rapidly developing electric vehicle industry undergo its first major reshuffle, with a number of small workshops lacking sufficient strength and qualifications being forced out of the market.

The market has become more regulated, which is naturally a good thing for established companies like Flashpoint Technology, especially for Flashpoint's affordable models.

Some young people might choose to buy the affordable version of the Flash Spur. Although it is not as fast as the over-standard model, it is far superior to the over-standard model in terms of both price and battery range.

These figures can be gleaned from the sales figures of the Flash Brand flagship store's three-day New Year's Day promotion submitted by Zhou Ao.

During the three-day New Year's Day holiday, the standard version of the Flash sold 107 units, the luxury version sold 85 units, and the Wind Chaser, due to its significant discounts, was the store's main product, selling a total of 135 units. Among them, the pink version was still the best-selling.

In terms of a single product, the best-selling one is naturally the FlashCheap affordable model, which achieved sales of 76.02 yuan in the three days of New Year's Day. After deducting normal costs, the profit was 25 yuan, with a profit margin as high as 32.91%.

"Well done. This New Year's Day promotion was quite successful. I'll have the finance department arrange the bonuses for you." Tan Jincheng nodded to Zhou Ao with satisfaction.

The word "bonus" made Zhou Ao's eyes light up, and he couldn't help but smile and say, "Thank you, boss. It's what we should do."

"Okay, let's hand over the brand store to the store manager to run it normally. You have more important things to do later." Tan Jincheng nodded and said.

The Flash Brand Store is just a small test. Electric scooters cannot do without research and development, but in the fierce market competition, marketing methods are even more indispensable, especially in the early stages of brand building, where marketing methods are even more important than technological research and development.

In the face of fierce market competition, marketing strategies cannot be accomplished by Tan Jincheng alone; an outstanding team is essential.

"Should we open a few more directly operated stores in Beicang later?"

After pondering for a while, Tan Jincheng said, "Let's wait and see, and talk about it in a few months."

They earned over 20 yuan in three days, and that was just during the New Year's Day holiday. Holidays like National Day and Chinese New Year are even longer. With just a few long holidays and a few promotions, a store's annual profit can reach millions.

It is now 2006. No matter which city he opens a directly operated store in, Tan Jincheng has no desire or willingness to rent a shop. It would be more cost-effective to buy directly.

It is indeed profitable, but the investment is also very large. Let's let the Beicang direct-sale store operate for a few months to half a year first, and then see if it is suitable. If so, we can start to expand in Beicang and the surrounding areas of Ningbo, or even other cities.

Another advantage of buying a shop is that it's cheap now. If you buy a 500-square-meter shop and operate it yourself, you can exchange it for a larger area in a relatively remote urban area after the shop appreciates in value in the future.

At that time, without investing much cost, a seamless transition from electric scooter direct sales stores to new energy vehicle direct sales stores can be achieved. Tesla used the direct sales model in its previous life, and Tan Jincheng also plans to use this method to manufacture cars.

Buy a shop to open a directly operated store - sell the shop after its value increases and exchange it for a larger area in the same city - set up your own new energy electric vehicle directly operated store, which can be considered a perfect closed loop.

"Three months from now, we can launch directly operated stores in first- and second-tier cities. You can go back and write down the plans now. In addition, we can also start selecting sites in other areas of Ningbo."

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away."

"Okay, if there's nothing else, you can go ahead and do your work."

Whether it's the electric scooters we have now or the cars we dream of building, Ningbo is the home base of Flash Technology. The home base must be managed well. Tan Jincheng did not arrange a ground promotion team in Ningbo, in order to set up directly operated stores in various regions.

Because of their larger profit margins, directly operated stores can hold larger promotions, which to some extent infringes on the profits of distributors. However, FlashTech will not open directly operated stores in every city. Apart from its headquarters in Ningbo, Tan Jincheng will only open stores in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou, as well as future emerging first-tier cities. These large cities have large enough markets that one or two directly operated stores will not have a significant impact. This has already been discussed with distributors.

While self-production and self-sales can be more profitable, it requires a lot of effort.

The primary purpose of opening directly operated stores is to purchase the shops, wait for their value to appreciate, and make some early arrangements for the future automotive business.

In conclusion, no matter how much money the Flash and Windspeed series make or how they are structured, it's all in preparation for the future of the automotive business.
-
imperial capital.

As soon as Tan Jincheng stepped out of the plane, he couldn't help but wrap his down jacket tighter around himself and said to Zhao Jinsheng behind him, "It's so cold, Brother Zhao."

Zhao Jinsheng glanced at Tan Jincheng and replied with a smile, "Let's go, don't block our way."

"Ok."

This was the first time in his life that Tan Jincheng had set foot in Beijing, and it was winter. The dry cold of the north was something that Tan Jincheng, who had never experienced much hardship in his life, found very difficult to adapt to.

The main reason for coming to Beijing this time is to solve technical problems for the battery factory.

That's right, Tan Jincheng is preparing to launch a lithium battery research and development project. Lithium batteries were first proposed and studied in 1912, and have a history of more than 90 years. After more than 90 years of research and development, the fifth generation of rechargeable batteries was officially born in 1996.

Technically speaking, lithium batteries are already close to being fully mature for use in electric scooters, but they are not yet widely known, mainly because lead-acid batteries are cheaper and have lower technical requirements than lithium batteries.

The research, development, and production of lithium batteries are certainly not for electric scooters, but they can be piloted on electric scooters in the early stages to identify shortcomings and make improvements, accumulate technology, and prepare for future automobiles.

Lithium batteries can be broadly divided into two categories: lithium metal batteries and lithium-ion batteries. There are even more detailed classifications, which are too complex for Tan Jincheng to understand. Therefore, specialized technical personnel are needed.

For cutting-edge technologies like this, the most advanced ones in China are always found in major research institutes, and Beijing is one of the regions with the most research institutes. You can't go wrong by contacting them.

This time, Tan Jincheng was going to visit the Institute of Chemical Physics and Power Sources of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. The institute possesses lithium-ion battery technology, which is among the most advanced in China.

Many domestic military industrial enterprises have accumulated impressive technological expertise in every era. For example, many electric fans, televisions, and even ice creams from the last century were produced by local military industrial enterprises.

During the process of military-to-civilian conversion, many local brands emerged across the country. Their products were of high quality and low price, becoming childhood memories for many people born in the 1970s, 1980s, and even 1990s.

After a period of contact and by leveraging various personal connections, Tan Jincheng finally made contact with the Chemical Physics Power Source Research Institute of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), and they agreed to meet with him before the end of the year.

Whether a cooperation can be reached remains to be seen.

Tan Jincheng's idea was to collaborate with the Institute of Chemical Physics to establish a battery company, and to build a lithium-ion battery R&D team belonging to Flash Technology by hiring technical talents from the institute and technical backbones from various large lithium-ion battery manufacturers.

To ask whether the Institute of Chemical Physics Power Sources has the technology to undertake this task? That's a joke. They're the same institute that participated in the development of Shenzhou V and Shenzhou VI; their technology is more than capable.

The experts at the research institute also need to make a living. In recent years, they have frequently collaborated with private enterprises, and it is very common for them to establish companies by contributing technology as equity. Therefore, as long as they are sincere enough, FlashTech still has a chance.

Although Tan Jincheng was the one who ultimately made the final decision on this cooperation, the visit was led by Zhao Jinsheng. The district attached great importance to whether this cooperation could be concluded, fearing that Tan Jincheng, a young man, would not be able to handle the situation, so they specially sent Zhao Jinsheng over.

The assembly plant is under construction, and the battery R&D project is also progressing. The district is quite satisfied with Flash Technology. In addition, the frequent appearances of Flash Technology's advertisements on CCTV-1, CCTV-2, and CCTV-3 recently have, to some extent, enhanced Beicang's reputation.

Ningbo is a very low-key city. Even in 2023, many people did not know about Beicang District. But even the most low-key city needs some fame.

In 2005, the Beicang District Government invested a total of 230 million yuan to put into use the Sports and Arts Center, which covers an area of ​​70,000 square meters, into use and became the domestic home stadium for the women's volleyball team. This was also due to this consideration.

In addition to Zhao Jinsheng and the staff of Flashpoint Technology, the district also assigned two technicians to provide technical support for this visit.

As soon as I left the airport, a car came to pick me up; it was arranged by Flash Technology.

"Let's go to our accommodation first, and then we can discuss it further," Zhao Jincheng said to Tan Jincheng behind him.

"Okay, I'll do as Brother Zhao says."

(End of this chapter)