2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 523 Engine Opportunity?
"Is Zhang Yong really that amazing? But he's actually leaving the company. Where is he planning to go?"

Xiao Wang is a seasoned user of automotive websites, frequently browsing various automotive websites and forums. He is also a BYD F3 owner.

In the past two days, while browsing car forums, and even on leading websites like Autohome and Bitauto, he has seen prominent introductions about the life of the sales manager of Beiqi Foton.

The commercial vehicle market is relatively unfamiliar to ordinary consumers. In Xiao Wang's eyes, Zhang Yong was just a truck seller. He didn't expect him to be such a powerful figure.

A 33-year-old mid-level manager in a state-owned enterprise, achieving the second-highest sales ranking for Foton's global commercial vehicles is quite impressive. He also graduated from one of the best universities in China, and the key point is that this guy is from Henan Province.

Xiao Wang is also from Henan Province. He knows better than people from other provinces how difficult it is to get into Tsinghua or Peking University from Henan.

"Mr. Tan, those press releases on Autohome, were they written by people you paid to write?"

Zhang Yong is the sales manager of Foton Motor. How could he not know that websites like Autohome, which are highly professional and have a large number of users, are where BAIC spends a lot of money on advertising every year?

The reports about him were all in prominent positions, so he naturally noticed them very quickly.

BAIC did not obstruct his resignation process. His resignation had already been announced within BAIC. Zhang Yong was not ignorant of anything, and he was an upright person. After making some arrangements with his superiors and subordinates, the resignation review went very smoothly.

He will be able to start working at Weilai Automobile on May 1st this year.

"Haha, after you join the company, Mr. Zhang, remember to settle the advertising fees for me. This money shouldn't be paid by Flash Group." Tan Jincheng laughed.

This was indeed his doing, intended to create momentum for Zhang Yong.

The passenger car market is quite different from the commercial vehicle market. The target customer groups are different, so the marketing methods needed are also different. If the person in charge back then had no reputation at all, how could he have sold any cars?

Car brands place great emphasis on marketing. Many models with good quality and reputation suffer from poor marketing and brand operation, resulting in a bad reputation. Even luxury cars are no exception.

The most typical example is Land Rover. As a luxury car, Land Rover does have quite a few minor problems, but not many major ones. However, its lack of attention to operation has led to the reputation of "Land Rover that can't be fixed".

Land Rover doesn't have much brand recognition in China yet, mainly because it's too expensive and doesn't have a proper business model. To the average person, it's just a Jeep.

Despite its high price, the Jeep is very popular among the wealthy, especially in Northeast China and among coal mine owners.

You have to pay extra to buy one.

"Okay, okay, then I'll thank you, Mr. Tan, for helping me gain fame. But next time, could you please not exaggerate it so much? It's really embarrassing for me, the person involved."

Zhang Yong didn't expect Tan Jincheng to joke about advertising fees with him. He felt a little helpless, but he was also happy. Who doesn't want to become famous? At 33 years old, he didn't have that much cunning.

"The industry is different. Whether it's a brand or the actual manager of a company, they need to pay attention to changes in their marketing methods. Mr. Zhang, you can pay more attention to this in the future. I'm not just flattering you, you can handle this."

"And another thing is that even if you can't bear the responsibility, you have to be able to. There will be no shortage of this kind of awkward boasting in the future."

Although he hadn't had much contact with Zhang Yong, through some of the guy's interviews in his previous life, Tan Jincheng knew that this guy wasn't very good at dealing with the media, and also lacked eloquence; otherwise, he wouldn't have been criticized by Zhou Hongyi in public.

He often puts himself in awkward situations in front of the public and the media, which makes him seem somewhat awkward. However, he has a good attitude and responds promptly to any questions from the media or the public.

It's like having an argument with someone that you didn't win, and afterwards you feel extremely regretful, wondering how you should have responded.

When I talked to Zhang Yong about joining the company, I mentioned that Zhang Yong would be in charge of all the specific operations of Weilai Automobile. Tan Jincheng would not interfere with how the factory operated, nor would he mind how Zhang Yong did it.

However, in terms of brand marketing, Tan Jincheng retained control over the car factory, and all brand marketing plans had to be approved by him, including marketing of Zhang Yong's personal image.

Zhang Yong had no objection to this, after all, Tan Jincheng was well-known when it came to marketing.

Zhang Yong never expected that this kind of personal image marketing would begin before he even joined the company.

Zhang Yong was somewhat moved by this feeling of being valued.

"Oh, by the way, our company is going to partner with Cummins to set up an engine company. I wonder if Mr. Tan would be interested? If so, I can help you make the connection."

Zhang Yong remembered the real reason for the phone call. He recalled that Tan Jincheng had asked him if he could bring some resources with him last time, and he had been thinking about these issues ever since.

It's certain that he'll poach a team, but that's clearly not a resource; it's merely the foundation of his position. Without his own team, he certainly wouldn't be able to perform well as the general manager of Weilai Motors. However, I heard a few days ago that Foton and Cummins are negotiating to establish an engine company, and coincidentally, his former boss has some influence in the negotiation team.

It was already a pity that he left his job. If we had known that he was starting his own business, he might have had a better chance.

Tan Jincheng was taken aback: "Cummins? Is that the American engine company?"

Damn, it was just a casual remark back then. I was only thinking about getting more technical talent and patent technologies that we could collaborate on. I never dared to think about engines. Currently, only Chery dares to make this thing on its own.

"Yes, that's the one. This time, BAIC is leading the effort, and Foton and Cummins are working together to establish an engine company to research new engines. I was thinking that if Wei Lai could join, even if he were just a small shareholder in name only, it would be a great start for the company."

"Which direction? Diesel or gasoline?"

Diesel engines are currently a direction encouraged by the government, with multiple policy supports, and most companies are focusing their research and development on this area. However, Tan Jincheng knows that the explosion of the domestic automobile market has far exceeded expectations.

The rapid growth of automobiles in the future is beyond anyone's imagination. Diesel fuel simply cannot be supplied. Developing gasoline engines is the future direction of the market. Developing diesel engines would make it difficult for the company to truly develop.

It's like bringing an iPhone 14 back to the present in 2023. Don't think it's useless, but in the hands of someone with the right mindset, it's incredibly powerful. Take it apart and climb the technology tree, and you'll avoid countless detours.

Breakthroughs in technology can actually be quite easy sometimes, as long as you find the right direction.

"Of course, it's about developing diesel engines, since the country is currently encouraging this. However, we are also developing gasoline engines at the same time, and there are other areas of cooperation as well. As for the specific details of the cooperation, I don't know them yet."

Zhang Yong greatly admired Tan Jincheng's reaction; he was surprisingly calm. After all, engines are something many car manufacturers covet, yet Mr. Tan remained composed in the face of such temptation.

Tan Jincheng frowned. To be honest, he really didn't want to invest too much in diesel engines. After all, Changfeng Group made off-road vehicles. If he acquired Changfeng Group, the relevant technology would belong to Shanchi, and it would be usable as is.

However, if it's a collaboration with a world-leading engine company to develop gasoline engines, then it's a different story, even if Flashcar's future direction is new energy vehicles.

However, this doesn't prevent them from selling gasoline cars at the same time. BYD also had a gasoline car business during the period of explosive growth in new energy vehicles, and the consumer groups for the two do not actually conflict.

Cummins is a Fortune Global 500 company, has been ranked among the top 100 companies in the United States for eight consecutive years, and is also included in the Dow Jones Index. It is a very powerful engine company, although its focus is currently still on diesel engines.

Generally speaking, most engine companies are currently focusing on diesel engines.

After a moment of contemplation, Tan Jincheng said, "You can make contact with him. If Wei Lai is willing to join the cooperation, then we'll join in."

The chances are slim. Futian today is not the Futian that will face bankruptcy in the future. It is not short of money at all. The other party is unlikely to be interested in Flash's paltry sums. If Flash really wants to get involved, it will be more of a test of Zhang Yong's personal ability.

Diesel it is. Right now everyone is focused on the government's subsidies and not paying attention to gasoline, so it's easier to get the relevant technology.

In terms of engines alone, there are many patented technologies. Even if Wei Lai cannot develop an engine, as long as he owns or is allowed to use a certain number of patented technologies, it will be extremely valuable to the company.

Even if Nokia loses its mobile phone business, it can still thrive thanks to its patented technologies.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try, but I can’t guarantee success. I only found out about this because of my old boss.” Zhang Yong clearly knew this was a very difficult task.

But how will we know if we don't try? If we really succeed, his influence in Weilai will be completely different.

It's time to leverage the network he's built over his 10 years at BAIC.

"No need to force it. Generally speaking, state-owned enterprises rarely allow third parties, especially private enterprises, to participate in such collaborations. It's okay if we can't secure the deal, just don't let it affect Mr. Zhang's normal onboarding."

"I have more faith in your personal abilities than in any engine."

Zhang Yong had heard this rhetoric many times, but he was still happy to listen to it more often.

To be honest, Zhang Yong believed that Tan Jincheng's words were sincere. The two hadn't had much contact, but Tan Jincheng was willing to delegate authority to him to manage the entire Flashway's newest and most important project.

How could this be possible if we didn't believe in his personal abilities?

(End of this chapter)