2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 646 The Old Man's Joy Starts Up

The 2008 subprime mortgage crisis actually had a significant impact on us.

Taking Beicang District as an example, many small and medium-sized enterprises did not survive, and many purely foreign trade enterprises went bankrupt. The unemployment rate last year was actually not low.

Backed by a major port, import and export trade still plays a significant role in the GDP of Beicang District and the entire city of Ningbo. The decline in import and export trade is a cause for great concern.

This year, with policy support, the economic situation has eased somewhat, but this will take time.

In this context, the Flash project is particularly important to the district. Last year, the entire Flash system not only did not lay off any employees, but even recruited more.

The expansion of factories, the development of Meishan, and the construction of residential buildings have brought a large number of construction workers to the district.

After the factory was built, they started recruiting workers, and other industries also expanded their recruitment at the same time.

Flash Motors' rapid development has eliminated the need for layoffs, which has benefited not only the group company but also other industrial chains. Today, there are countless garment factories, electric vehicle parts factories, and auto parts factories in Beicang District that are dependent on Flash Motors' industrial chain.

For cost reasons, Tan Jincheng tries to solve supply chain problems within Ningbo as much as possible, with Beicang District being a natural priority. It can be said that this has brought huge economic benefits to Beicang District in recent years.

Flash is about to launch a new project, and the company has already been registered. Beicang District is paying relatively more attention to it.

Looking at the projects that Tan Jincheng is about to launch, one advantage that local governments particularly welcome is that they are quick to produce results, even for the power battery project in Luzhou.

This one is the slowest, but it's developing quite well and has a certain amount of business, although most of it is its own.

Projects in the Beicang District have always been the best and fastest. Apart from the normal factory construction cycle, they are all put into production as soon as possible. For example, Jinpeng Industrial's factory is so good that they are too lazy to build it. They either rent it or buy it directly.

If it weren't for concerns about the impact, the district would have wanted to set up a small team specifically to serve the Flash project. After reviewing the project proposal Xie Hongjun brought back, the district was even more anxious than Tan Jincheng himself.

Everything is readily available, and if the pace is fast, it can be officially put into production by the end of the year. This old man's car is a very low-end product, but before it is produced, no one knows what it looks like.

Furthermore, judging from the blueprints provided by Sai Ling, the old man's car in Tan Jincheng's hands isn't that ugly. Compared to other purely imitation old man's cars, it still has a certain level of sophistication.

Of course, this only applies to recreational vehicles for the elderly; treating them as real cars is definitely not an option.

There is a designated person in the district responsible for maintaining contact with the president's secretariat of the Flash Group. After learning that Tan Jincheng would be going to Shandong on a business trip during the May Day holiday, they immediately contacted him, hoping to finalize the so-called low-speed electric vehicle project with him as soon as possible.

Beicang Zhongtai Factory has completed the change of business registration, and the company's signboard will be changed to Leichi New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. after May Day.

"I still prefer to call low-speed electric vehicles 'old man's rides,' meaning they are models that even old men can easily drive. They are essentially a combination of a car and an electric vehicle."

Tan Jincheng was presenting a PowerPoint presentation in the conference room. Most of the attendees were high-ranking officials from Beicang District responsible for economic matters, and Xie Hongjun was also present.

"It looks like a small car, can protect you from the wind and rain, but you don't need a driver's license to drive it on the road. It's easy to operate, and anyone with a strong learning ability can drive it right away. It can be considered a transitional product between a car and an electric car."

Tan Jincheng brought the actual sample from the drawings, and also had the design team render it to create a rendering that looked more intuitive. The people present nodded in approval after seeing it.

With pictures, it's easy to understand. As for this thing, there's really no need to keep it a secret. You can just buy any car, take it apart, and make it yourself.

Furthermore, Tan Jincheng is not afraid of the pictures being leaked; he believes it's best if everyone works together to expand the market.

In terms of technology, Tan Jincheng doesn't plan to set too high a barrier. He'll just give a small licensing fee and everyone can use it. Once the market gets bigger, everyone can make a living based on their own abilities.

"Wouldn't it be a bit troublesome to make calls without a driver's license?"

When it comes to investments in vehicles, transportation is always an unavoidable topic. There were also leaders from the transportation bureau in the meeting room who raised some objections to how people could drive on the road without a driver's license.

"There are no relevant regulations yet regarding its use on the road. Local areas may have their own regulations. Also, if it becomes widespread, it may be banned in cities, but that's not a big problem. Our target is the rural market and overseas exports."

After listening, the leaders of the Transportation Bureau nodded. That way, there wouldn't be any problems. It would be somewhat dangerous if a car didn't require a driver's license. The rural market doesn't have that many cars, so it would be better.

There's another point Tan Jincheng didn't mention: the business of elderly people's electric vehicles is destined to have little future. Making money is really just about profiting from periods of lax regulation and policy loopholes. Once regulations mature, it will be almost impossible for the industry to grow in the domestic market.

"It looks rather cute with its small size. Has the price been set yet? And can it really achieve the market scale of tens of millions of vehicles as stated in the project plan?"

Leader Gu also asked, "Tan Jincheng was someone I discovered. Generally speaking, I have to be involved in all of Flash's projects. In any case, I deserve some credit for this."

"The price has not been set yet, but it is certain that the domestic price will be kept around 10,000 yuan. Of course, if you need more power, it will definitely be more expensive, just like our electric vehicles, which have prices below 2000 yuan and also five or six thousand yuan."

"As for exports, it's about the same. Some models will be more expensive, but cars that sell in normal volumes won't be too expensive. My plan is to sell them for around a thousand US dollars."

$1000 is roughly equivalent to 6800 yuan at the current exchange rate, and it won't be higher than this year's exchange rate for a long time to come, which is a bit of a pity.

In terms of profit, Tan Jincheng doesn't plan to make too much money. He'd be happy if he could make 1000 yuan per car, and 700 or 800, or even 500 or 600, would be acceptable. His main strategy is to make small profits but quick turnover.

"Mr. Tan, I wonder what the difference is between the 'old man's car' you mentioned and new energy vehicles? Or are they the same thing? I see that your company's name has the logo of new energy vehicles."

The team from Beicang District attached great importance to Tan Jincheng. Despite it being just an elderly people's entertainment project, the team included high-ranking leaders, the head of the city investment company (the investor), experts in transportation, and relevant technologies.

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "These two are actually two different things. The process of making old people's cars is simple. To put it bluntly, many parts can be made by hand. Using Zhongtai's existing production line to make old people's cars is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

"One purpose of this project is to make some profit, increase tax revenue and employment in the district, but my main purpose is to accumulate some technology for our new energy vehicles in Weilai."

"Making money is not the main goal."

This is quite a show of bravado, but there's nothing we can do about it; some people just love hearing this. However, Boss Tan wasn't exaggerating too much. Using Zhongtai's car production line to produce high-quality cars might be a bit lacking, but when it comes to producing electric vehicles for the elderly, the quality is definitely incomparable to those small factories from his previous life.

The biggest problem with electric vehicles for the elderly is actually safety hazards. Many manufacturers cut corners to make money and are not bound by traffic regulations, so once a traffic accident occurs, it can easily cause serious injuries.

The reason this thing is called "old man's joy" is mainly because it is very popular among the elderly. However, it is really difficult to deal with traffic accidents involving it, and even the traffic police have some headaches.

Therefore, Tan Jincheng is not too stingy when it comes to materials and labor.

The experts present smiled and said, "I see. No wonder President Tan named the company 'New Energy Vehicle Company'. Leaders, I have no further questions."

"Then, Mr. Tan, do you have any questions regarding production?"

Actually, everyone is fine with this project. Although it seems to pose significant risks from a regulatory perspective, it can bring economic benefits to the local area and is marketed as a new energy source, so the local government is unlikely to back down from it.

"There's nothing too serious. After the holiday, I'll arrange for the lab to design the car model as soon as possible, and then we'll start training the workers for production."

"Has the brand name been decided?"

"Oh, I forgot about that. I'll look into it when I get back. It's not a big problem."

How about calling it Leichi or Lichi? Tan Jincheng has registered quite a few brands in the Chi series. These trademarks were registered a long time ago to create a brand firewall, but they are convenient to use now.

As for the design aspect, Tan Jincheng plans to hand it over to the previously established S1 laboratory, letting them practice their skills.

The S1 Lab was the R&D team that Tan Jincheng initially assembled, and it was time to bring it out and make its debut. Starting with the simplest solution for elderly people was the best approach.

"Okay, if you have any difficulties, you can ask the district for help. The district will do its best to help."

Leader Gu made the final statement: "Big leaders like to say ambiguous things, but Leader Gu knows that it won't work with Tan Jincheng. Besides, the two sides have a close cooperation and have created countless benefits, so there's no need to play this game."

"Then I'd like to thank the district on behalf of Leichi. Don't worry, leaders, I will get the prototype out as soon as possible. I hope you will come and experience it when it's ready."

In his previous life, Tan Jincheng had never bought a "senior citizen's car" (a type of electric vehicle for elderly people), but he had certainly experienced it. You know what, these things are really interesting, especially those "senior citizen's cars" that are almost designed like luxury cars, such as Porsche, BMW, and Lamborghini.

It's truly hilarious. If placed in the senior citizen market, the elderly would find it to be a very cost-effective mode of transportation, perfect for grocery shopping, picking up and dropping off their grandchildren at school, and solving their transportation needs.

But young people buy quite a few; simply because they treat them as toys, and when they get tired of them, they pass them on to their fathers or grandfathers.

In his previous life, Boss Tan had done similar things before. When he first went to the countryside, he was very curious when he saw the three-wheeled electric vehicle. He spent several thousand yuan to buy one and played with it for a few days before leaving it at his hometown.

This is actually a fairly large market.

Food, drink, and entertainment will always be the biggest market.

"Alright, let's call it a day then. Everyone go about your business."

Leader Gu stood up and gave Tan Jincheng a wink.

There's something else going on. Tan Jincheng couldn't figure out what it was. It seemed like the industrial layout in Beicang District was almost complete.
After the group dispersed, Tan Jincheng walked towards Leader Gu's office.

"I heard that your company's residential complex is about to start handing over the units?"

"Huh? This? Yes, what happened?"

The newly built Shanchi residential community in 2007 welcomed its first batch of residents this May Day holiday. If it weren't for Leader Gu mentioning it, Tan Jincheng would have completely forgotten about it.

Mr. Tan is now very interested in factories, but he's not really interested in residential properties anymore. Now that his horizons have broadened, he really doesn't care about those anymore; if he's going to buy anything, it'll be a luxury house.

Leader Gu was somewhat exasperated: "You kid, how come you don't take this great publicity opportunity seriously at all?"

Housing prices rose for a period of time in the first half of 2008, but fluctuated in the second half of the year. Due to the financial crisis, there was a brief period of zero down payment in Beicang District.

Although housing prices have not risen much this year, developers are not fools. It is obvious that housing prices will rise significantly, and the situation of major real estate developers holding back sales is very obvious.

The location of Flashpark Community is good, near the Sports and Arts Center. There are high-end communities such as Huangshan Haoting, which are under development nearby. If you work at the headquarters or Orange Technology, it will be even more convenient, as you won't have to walk long to and from get off work.

The average price in this range is around 8000. Even with some price reductions, it is still much higher than when it was pre-sold in 2007. Moreover, employees of Flash Group have internal housing purchase discounts.

All things considered, the price that employees of Flash Group receive is roughly between 5000 and 6000 yuan, so they won't lose money no matter what.

Nationwide, it would be excellent publicity material for private enterprises to build their own residential buildings and sell them to their employees at low prices. However, Flash Group acted as if nothing had happened. If it weren't for informants keeping an eye on things, the district wouldn't even know.

"Look at you, people praise you as a marketing genius, why don't you promote this? It would enhance the group's reputation. What are you worried about?"

Tan Jincheng smiled but did not answer Leader Gu's question.

Damn it, I'm in business making money, not some saint. Why would I bother promoting this stuff? Even if I sold it cheaper, I'd still make a profit. What's the point of promoting it?

If it weren't for the social environment, Tan Jincheng would be more than happy if no one knew about him and he could make a fortune in silence.
What's the point of acting like Ma, pontificating everywhere? The backlash can be terrifying.

"I've been a bit busy lately, so I forgot about this little thing."

(End of this chapter)