2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 637 You want so much?
A seat, a steering wheel, two wheels, and battery power—that's the basics of a "senior citizen's car."

These days, anything that has a battery installed is called a new energy source.

Making electric vehicles for seniors isn't just about making money; it's about giving Weilai a legitimate new energy vehicle brand, and who knows, maybe with a bit of luck we can even get a new energy vehicle license.

The regulations on this are not strict now; even hybrid electric vehicles like those modified versions of Zhongtai have been included in the new energy vehicle catalog.

The "old man's car" belongs to the low-speed electric vehicle market. In reality, it is just a four-wheeled vehicle designed according to the standard of ordinary electric vehicles, which is fully achievable with the current technology of FlashDrive Technology.

It's worth noting that during the Olympics, Flash Motors also provided the Organizing Committee with 25 four-wheeled electric vehicles.

Technically speaking, it's already mature, and there aren't any major difficulties in production. Besides, the Flash Motors three-wheeled electric vehicles are actually selling quite well.

Now Tan Jincheng is considering whether to place the elderly car business under Shanchi Technology or Weilai Automobile.

Putting it under FlashTech's name could boost the company's stock price, while putting it under Weilai Auto might allow them to obtain a new energy vehicle license, which is of little use to FlashTech.

Furthermore, even if it is a joint venture between two companies, there should still be a distinction between primary and secondary entities.

"New energy vehicles require a huge investment. Adding gasoline vehicles to that, Mr. Tan is really ambitious. Seeing Mr. Tan is like seeing myself when I was young."

Li Xianjin also felt a bit emotional, thinking that when they were young, they were also ambitious and wanted to make a name for themselves, otherwise they wouldn't have resigned and gone into business.

Although they started their businesses in different ways, their initial motivations were almost the same: to build a successful career.

"It's alright, we can take it slow. This isn't something we can do all at once, we still have time."

Compared to the booming new energy vehicle industry, one advantage of the current automotive industry is that it allows for continuous investment, without the need for a large upfront investment.

If you're bold enough, you can invest 100 or 200 million yuan without any problem. Currently, only a handful of domestic brands have truly grown. In many places, the government provides land and policies to help them connect with the automotive industry chain.

With the full arrival of the new energy era, although these policies exist, the qualification review of manufacturers will be much stricter. If you don't have money, it's impossible to start a business.

As competition intensifies, investment has increased exponentially in order to gain a foothold in the market.

Investments of billions or even tens of billions of yuan are not uncommon.

"Haha, that's true. Alright then, I wish Mr. Tan a prosperous business. I'll head back now. Once our teams have finished their discussions, we'll submit the application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for approval."

"Why don't you eat before you leave?"

"No, no, I'll just eat at the airport, so I don't have to rush."

According to the business practices of the North, eating and drinking were the norm, but after arriving in Ningbo, Li Xianjin found that Tan Jincheng's life was really simple, even somewhat boring.

There was a banquet, and the people who accompanied him were quite high-class, but he himself was indeed as rumored in the circle: his alcohol tolerance was extremely poor.

Furthermore, the way Flash Group and Beicang operate is quite different from that of the Northeast. They are very efficient and can finalize cooperation plans without needing too many banquets.

During negotiations, they never stop in the middle to have a big drink like they do; they always eat fast food in the office, including the government officials here.

Not only did it save time, it also kept things as confidential as possible.

This is something they should definitely learn from. Also, they should pay attention to this when doing business with Wei in the future. As the second party, they should follow the pace of the first party to some extent.

Tan Jincheng extended his hand and shook hands, saying, "Alright then, time was too tight, I'm sorry for neglecting you, Mr. Li. If you have the chance to come next time, I will definitely invite you to my home for a simple meal."

Li Xianjin also extended his hand and smiled, "No problem, and President Tan is also welcome to visit Shandong."

After three days of close contact, he genuinely admired the young man. He was very focused on his work and had a high level of prestige within the company. When he took him on a tour of the workshop, the lower-level employees all liked him very much.

He has a wide range of knowledge and can talk about many things related to cars. This shows that, given his high school diploma and experience, he must have been studying hard.

In addition, her ability to manage the event at the exhibition today was also impressive.

What Li Xianjin admires most is that, at such a young age, he already understands the importance of sharing profits with his partners, which may be the key to his success.

As entrepreneurs or businesspeople, everyone knows that the best outcome is to have as many partners as possible and as few competitors as possible, but how many people can resist the temptation when faced with such interests?

"Where is Mr. Tan going next? May I ask?"

"I'll probably stay in Shanghai for another day, and then I'll go to Yongkang. Don't worry, Mr. Li, I'll have my secretary follow up on the specific details of the cooperation, so it won't cause any delays."

This refers to the suspension of trading in Shuguang Automotive. The suspension of trading in Shuguang Automotive was quite abrupt, and Li Xianjin must have used some underhanded tactics.

However, such a suspension of trading cannot last too long. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will not allow Shuguang Auto to be suspended for an extended period like Changfeng Group. "That's good. Then I'll have our team work overtime to get this done as soon as possible and try to get approval from the CSRC sooner."

"Okay, no problem. Then I won't keep you any longer, Mr. Li. Let's keep in touch."

Exchanging non-core businesses for orders from the second-largest shareholder, along with cash, is generally beneficial for Shuguang Auto's long-term development. The 8000 million yuan in cash provides Shuguang Auto with significant room for maneuver.

Tan Jincheng naturally went to Yongkang to find Ying Jianren.

The cooperation with Zhongtai is not as close as before. In any case, when Weilai was first established, it did have its eye on Zhongtai's Beicang factory, and some rumors reached Boss Ying's ears.

It's impossible to say there's absolutely no resentment.

Given Ying Jianren's current situation, he wants to sell the Beicang factory to Tan Jincheng. This would not only reduce his brother-in-law's workload but also alleviate the financial pressure on the group company.

Fiat really lost a lot of money on this acquisition.

According to the original equity and registered capital of Zhongtai Beicang Branch, Zhongtai was established with a valuation of 4 million yuan, and Zhongtai actually invested 6000 million yuan.

Currently, Zhongtai holds 49% of Beicang Company's shares, which were valued at 1.96 million yuan at the time.

Frankly speaking, in Tan Jincheng's view, the valuation at the time was a bit too high. Given the current development of Zhongtai, the investment in Beicang District was not a loss, but at least it did not make a profit.

According to Tan Jincheng's idea, he wanted to acquire Zhongtai Beicang Factory through leasing. Buying it now would be too unprofitable. In the next few years, when Zhongtai could no longer survive, he could acquire it at a low price.

I just don't know if Zhongtai is willing to do so.

From Ying Jianren's words, Tan Jincheng sensed that he was inclined to sell the shares directly.

After seeing Li Xianjin off, Tan Jincheng quietly left the exhibition hall from another direction.

Some reporters were also looking for him. Tan Jincheng has rarely given interviews recently. Although today's interview was a group interview, it was quite long, and such an opportunity was very rare.

Some shrewd reporters wanted to take advantage of the breakup to see if they could still get a few more questions from Mr. Tan. If they were lucky enough to get an exclusive interview, they would be making a fortune.

The last time Tan Jincheng gave an exclusive interview was during the Chinese New Year holiday, when his hometown television station was broadcasting.

"Let's go, to Mitsubishi."

Now that I'm in Shanghai, I definitely have to go check out Mitsubishi. Whether Nagasawa Hiroshi is there or not, I have to take a look around. Who knows, I might be able to pick up a few people and bring them back.

Weilai Auto is currently experiencing a severe shortage of personnel, especially in the field of professional design.

Having spent some time with Yu Nagasawa, Tan Jincheng felt that Mitsubishi's company was quite good. If we didn't look at them with prejudice, Mitsubishi was a company that had been very helpful to us among Japanese companies.

While both companies are stingy with technology and wary of us, Mitsubishi is much more generous compared to other companies.

Tan Jincheng came to talk to Changze Yu about the procurement of engine-related parts, specifically regarding the purchase volume and price.

Controlling the cost of a car is quite difficult. In addition, the profit margin of cars is not high. Manufacturers are considered to be doing very well if they can achieve a profit of around 10%.

According to a rough calculation, if a car priced at 10 yuan can have a production cost of 8.5 yuan, that would be considered very impressive.

Different companies have different cost control methods, and their costs will vary. In the early stages, Weilai Auto's cost control was not very good. Like the first car of Shanchi, the core components were still personally controlled by Tan Jincheng.

The profit model of automobiles is quite unique. Most car companies cannot make a profit on every car they sell. They need to find a certain profit break-even point.

For emerging brands and entry-level car products, due to factors such as brand awareness, they need to test the quality and reliability of their products through small-scale sales in the early stages, while also accumulating user and market feedback to prepare for subsequent expansion.

Generally speaking, initial sales may be relatively low, possibly only a few hundred or even a few thousand vehicles.

Tan Jincheng believes that Zhongtai's Mengbo Dilang has not sold many units in the past few months, but Ying Jianren believes that it can still be saved. If it can sell 1 units or even 5000 units in a year, he will not give up on this model easily.

Tan Jincheng is different; he has great ambitions.

悦驰A1正式的销售应该是从2010年初开始计算，2010年第一个自然年，檀锦程对于悦驰A1的销量是剑指5万辆！

Therefore, when Tan Jincheng was discussing with Nagasawa Yu the need to order 6 sets of 2.0L gasoline engines from Mitsubishi.

Nagasawa Yu's first reaction was: "Are you crazy? What do you need so many for?"

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "Of course I'm not crazy. I just have confidence in our product."

(End of this chapter)