2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 416 2008EV Project
Tan Jincheng thought this product was somewhat crazy, as it didn't seem to have considered safety features at all.

However, this is just one example of the frenzy that occurred in the automotive industry in 2007. 2007 was a year of rapid development for private car companies, and many established car companies went bankrupt.

Similarly, there are many new players like Zhongtai who are waving their cash and entering the game.

Various mergers and acquisitions, and the launch of all sorts of car models into the market, created a chaotic scene, much like the period of explosive growth of new energy vehicles in later years, when the roads were filled with unfamiliar car logos.

Since last year, the domestic gasoline vehicle market has entered a frenzied phase.

Simply put, the market has started to heat up, and the intensity of this surge has made joint venture brands wary. According to the Ministry of Commerce's forecast, passenger vehicle production and sales this year are expected to increase by about 12% to 15% compared to last year, exceeding 800 million vehicles.

Compared to 2003, the production and sales forecast for 2007 had doubled, and the automotive industry had entered a stage of rapid development. With so many cars produced, the biggest headache for major car dealers was deciding who to sell them to and how to sell them.

Tan Jincheng had a divine eye and knew the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, but for many companies, they did not know what was going to happen in the future. Coming from humble backgrounds and during a period of rapid development, most entrepreneurs were only thinking about making money and had no business planning at all.

Seeing that others were doing it, and that the industry was indeed profitable, some people followed suit.

The world is a big makeshift organization, and so are businesses, but many people haven't thought about how to build their makeshift organizations more rationally and with fewer leaks.

Next year, many companies are destined to go bankrupt, especially in industries like automobiles that are capital-intensive and require heavy investment. In fact, every year a large number of new and old players exit the market, while there are also new players ready to enter at any time.

Ying Jianren's theory is simple and straightforward: acquiring Jiangnan Automobile is not enough; he has more acquisition plans in the future. Thanks to the listing and financing platform, the stock market has rebounded this year. Old Ying is really not short of money.

To be honest, Tan Jincheng is quite envious of this. Having a listed company is really important for a business. It not only allows you to cash out and achieve personal financial freedom, but it is also a great financing platform.

A company can raise funds once when it goes public, and then raise funds a second, third, or even multiple times through methods such as issuing debt and private placements. And the market is never short of people willing to pay for it, no matter when it is.

In the end, it's always the retail investors who foot the bill, and the institutions that receive the goods never have to worry about shipping them out.

After discussing Alto, which has already been acquired and has a planned IPO, Ying Jianren also mentioned that he has more acquisition plans in the future, which is somewhat similar to Flash's acquisition path.

He didn't say what the specific target was, but that didn't mean Tan Jincheng, who had the ability to see the truth, didn't know. It was nothing more than Fiat in Jinling. As Ferrari's parent company, Ferrari's success didn't mean Fiat would be successful.

Fiat, which has been struggling in the Chinese market, will withdraw from the domestic market this year. The company that will take over is Zhongtai. The acquisition of Jinling Fiat is an important step in Zhongtai's development path, which is similar to that of other car companies such as BYD and Geely.

After digesting and integrating Fiat's technology, ZTE's cars finally started to look decent and began to show some of ZTE's own characteristics, unlike the current models which are pure copies.

Of course, although Ying Jianren was shameless during this period, he still had a bottom line. The models he copied were all purchased with real money. He copied, but he didn't steal. He still had that bottom line.

It's unclear whether it was due to unsuccessful technology integration or because too many models were produced at once, leading to a chaotic product line, but Zhongtai later abandoned its technological approach and reverted to its original one, even going so far as to escalate the situation.

Put down the technical skills, pick up the measuring tape, and a new world opens up for you.

Tan Jincheng, who has the ability to see the future, knows that Zhongtai wants to buy Fiat, but he certainly won't stop it. First of all, Shanchi doesn't have the capability to acquire Fiat at the moment, and secondly, it is still a partner with Zhongtai. Doing so would be tantamount to turning against them.

Turning against them isn't out of the question, but Flash doesn't currently have the strength to do so directly. Turning against them without the strength would be a bit foolish.

Tan Jincheng didn't come to inquire about the inside story of the business war, nor did he come to meddle in other people's business. No matter how bad or rip-off the Alto TT was, it had nothing to do with him. There's a saying on the internet in later years: "Put aside your desire to help others and enjoy a life of immorality."

Xiao Tan doesn't do anything immoral, but he's not interested in stopping others from doing so either. He comes to Zhongtai for serious business.

Zhongtai is a pioneer in China's new energy vehicle industry. Although they couldn't even get a license for a gasoline-powered vehicle, they obtained the first production and sales license for a pure electric vehicle in China.

Tan Jincheng didn't know how he got it, and Ying Jianren wouldn't say either. It wasn't his business, but he could still take advantage of it.

The land in Chunxiao can be utilized. Tan Jincheng plans to set up a pure electric vehicle production line there and conduct experiments, using the Zhongtai 2008 oil-to-electric conversion method to test the performance of his own power battery.

To make a good power battery, it ultimately needs to be tested on a vehicle. If you cooperate with other car companies, the cost will be too high. But it's much better to set up your own production line and conduct the tests yourself.

Incidentally, it also allows for the accumulation of electric vehicle technology. Chunxiao will actually become an automotive industry base in the future. Most of Geely's JK and Lynk & Co series models will be produced there. Beicang's automotive manufacturing industry is also quite famous in Ningbo.

Tan Jincheng never intended to build a lithium battery factory on the land provided by Beicang City Investment. It was originally intended as preparation for the development of the automobile base. As for not having money, that was true at the time. But if he really wanted to build a factory, it wasn't impossible. As long as Tan Jincheng had the intention, Beicang District and the City Investment Company would support him no matter what.

"President Ying, I'm bothering you during this holiday because there's something I'd like to discuss with you. As you know, I've set up a power battery factory, which is what will be used for future pure electric vehicles. You should know about the 863 Program, right?"

"Of course I know that. That's why I entered the automotive industry. Otherwise, my company would have gone public by now, why would I be in the automotive business?"

Ying Jianren usually gives Tan Jincheng the impression of being a bit eccentric, or how to put it, a bit flamboyant, but when it comes to serious matters, he is absolutely decisive. Just now, he was casually bragging to Tan Jincheng about how awesome his acquisition of Jiangnan Automobile was.

But when Tan Jincheng got down to business, his expression immediately changed.

"The batteries from my power battery factory will definitely be installed in electric vehicles in the future, so I want to conduct power battery tests on the entire production line in Beicang. What I lack right now is a car company to cooperate with."

"Does Mr. Tan mean to cooperate with Zhongtai?"

"Yes, we'd like to try converting the Zhongtai 2008 model from gasoline to electric. Our two companies could collaborate on the research and development. I wonder what Mr. Ying thinks?"

Install a battery in the 2008 and convert it into a 2008EV. EV means pure electric vehicle. According to Tan Jincheng's plan, the full-charge range is 300km, which is sufficient for the current electric vehicle experiment.

Ying Jianren's eyes flashed; this was indeed a good idea.

"This is a good idea. In terms of current policies, the future trend of electric vehicles is also very clear. Although we can't see how big the market is right now, it's a direction we're heading in."

Beyond the development of the automotive industry itself, Ying Jianren has more to consider. Having tasted the sweetness of going public, his ultimate plan is to package Zhongtai and list it on the stock exchange. Whether electric vehicles will succeed in the future has little to do with Zhongtai; having this gimmick is enough for the listing.

Stock speculation is nothing more than expectations. As long as there are expectations in the electric vehicle market, the market value of Zhongtai can be pushed up.

"Right, so I was thinking about whether our two companies could cooperate. If it really works, then our technology will be able to keep up with the four giants."

Hangxin's power battery business started late, but thanks to its partnership with Guoxuan and the strong support from the Luzhou Municipal Government—which provided funding and personnel—and the great interest shown by universities in Anhui Province, the company has made significant progress.

Several major engineering universities, especially those in Anhui Province, are very willing to cooperate with Hangxindai to develop power battery systems. Therefore, Tan Jincheng is not worried about catching up with the progress.

Speaking of which, last month Tan Jincheng went on a long business trip to Luzhou. Anhui University was quite disappointed because they had sent out admission notices, but Tan Jincheng did not enroll due to special reasons.

A prospective college student from our school suddenly disappeared. It was an incident that the school couldn't possibly be unaware of; back then, it was quite a strange story.

At the time, Anhui University provided some assistance in finding Tan Jincheng, and even agreed to Tan Lihua and his wife's request to postpone their enrollment. In the era of short videos, this is not surprising, as it has become a trending topic.

But in 2003, that was a fairly open-minded view, and it also shows how hard Tan Lihua and his wife were trying to find their son and secure his future.

Unfortunately, Tan Jincheng was unable to get ashore quickly and had to wait for more than a year, so the matter had to be left unresolved.

Who would have thought that Tan Jincheng, who had not enrolled in school, would return to campus as a CEO with a net worth of hundreds of millions? The changes in life are truly unpredictable.

Technological breakthroughs are difficult to achieve from 0 to 1, but going from 1 to 100 isn't actually that hard. Just look at how our semiconductor industry performed after we were sanctioned by the US; it's actually quite fast to develop something like this.

It all depends on whether you're willing to invest in it.

With technology, funding, and manpower support, and with its actual controller wholeheartedly dedicated to promoting the project, how could the development speed of Hangxin Era be slow?

"We can give it a try, but we have no experience in converting gasoline cars to electric. Shouldn't we go and learn from other car companies?"

"That's for sure. We still need to learn from others in terms of technology. If Mr. Ying is interested, I'll think of a way to see if we can go to a few state-owned enterprises to learn from them."

"We can give it a try. I'll also check with the technical department to see what's appropriate to do."

(End of this chapter)