2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 653 Yuechi A1 Promotion Launch
"Jin Yue is almost five years old, should we raise her generational rank?"

After meeting their advisors and school leaders, it was already noon. Tan Jincheng declined the school leaders' arrangements and quietly ate lunch with Gu Qingqing in the cafeteria of Ningbo University.

Gu Qingqing is a celebrity at Ningbo University; more people probably know her than the university president.

She often appears in the cafeteria of Ningbo University, but most of the time she is accompanied by a middle-aged woman with sharp eyes. Today, she is sitting next to a man, and the two are so intimate.

His identity is self-evident.

"He is indeed quite handsome, even more so than on TV."

"Yeah, he and Senior Gu look so good together. Their relationship is really good."

A female college student passing by whispered that Boss Tan's looks have always been top-notch among entrepreneurs, and in terms of what we'll say more than a decade from now, he still has quite a few fans who admire his looks.

"Ok?"

Gu Qingqing was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that this person was planning to have a baby.

Well, it's not impossible. She still has two years of graduate studies, which are supposed to be her most relaxed years. After graduation, she'll be working, so having a baby during this time seems like a good idea.

"Hehe, Jin Yue will be six years old when the baby is born, so she can take care of the baby and our parents. We just need to focus on giving birth."

Gu Qingqing rolled her eyes upon hearing this: "Hurry up and eat, didn't you say you had a meeting this afternoon?"

He made having a baby sound like he was just completing a task, which was really disappointing.

Tan Jincheng chuckled and didn't continue.

Zhang Xupeng is getting engaged on National Day. In their past lives, they got married around the same time, but Zhang had children earlier than she did.

Both generations are older in the Zhang family, so they have to suppress him at least once in their lives.

The afternoon meeting was about Weilai Auto. Weilai Auto will enter the sprint stage in the fourth quarter, and Zhang Yong, who has been away on business trips, has officially returned to the Ningbo headquarters to take charge.

With only two months until the Guangzhou Auto Show in November, the most crucial thing for the Yuechi A1 is to achieve instant success or gain acceptance in the mainstream market.

However, Tan Jincheng wasn't particularly worried about sales figures. In 2009, the car market could be summed up in one sentence: almost every car sold quite well.

In the SUV market alone, the best-selling model right now is the Honda CR-V. The top 10 sellers include models like the Honda 5008 and the Honda Santa Fe, and even the Huanghai SUV is among the top sellers.

Yes, you read that right. Getting on board early really does have its advantages. Even a low-end model like the Huanghai SUV can make the list and sell well, ranking among the top 20 in SUV sales.

This also shows how scarce SUV models were in the market in 2009.

Huanghai Automobile's trademark handling method is the same as Changfeng Cheetah's; both parties share ownership. However, Weilai Automobile uses the trademark on large and medium-sized buses, meaning the trademark usage rights for commercial vehicles belong to Weilai Automobile.

The right to use the passenger vehicles will remain with Shuguang Automotive.

For this reason alone, Li Xianjin particularly admired Tan Jincheng. He would never take more than what he wanted, even if the business was quite profitable.

This applies to Changfeng's off-road vehicles, and it also applies to Huanghai's SUVs.

If you get the car out a quarter earlier, even if it flops, you can still sell several thousand units. Taking Huanghai SUV, which ranks 20th in sales, as an example, it sells more than 1500 units per month on average.

After joking around for a while, Gu Qingqing asked seriously, "This meeting today must be very important, right?"

"Well, it's quite important. Are you interested? If you are, let's go back and listen to it together. Anyway, it's the first day of school and we don't have much to do."

The promotional plan for the Yuechi A1, the first self-developed model from Weilai Auto, is about to officially launch.

The process of launching a new car is very important. Regardless of whether the car is well-made or not, the brand name must be established first. This includes pre-launch hype, such as new car leaks, and mid-term pre-launch promotion, which must be very lively.

Gu Qingqing was somewhat tempted. There was really nothing to do on the first day of school, so staying at school or not was fine.

"Then I need to tell my advisor and the department leaders first."

"Sure, since you've already shown your face, it's no problem for you to go back early."

Privileges will always exist. Gu Qingqing, as a graduate student, is just a figurehead. Even if she rarely appears at school, no one will say anything, and her supervisor will not, or rather, dare not, exploit her.

Ningbo University has undergone significant changes in recent years. IT-related majors have become increasingly popular. With the development of the automotive industry chain and the establishment of Weilai Automobile, Ningbo University also intends to reach more cooperation agreements with Flash Group.

The collaboration between Luzhou University of Technology and Weilai Automobile has made many other universities envious. Power batteries and automobile manufacturing are cutting-edge fields with excellent job prospects and ample research funding. Furthermore, the local vocational and technical college in Beicang has also collaborated extensively with companies like Flashpoint and Orange in recent years, launching numerous new majors with very good employment prospects for its students.

Ningbo University is not short of money, but if it can cooperate with more powerful companies, there is no reason not to.

Tan Jincheng came here today at the invitation of the leaders of Ningbo University. The invitation was actually sent at the end of August, but Tan Jincheng and his family went on vacation at that time.

"Alright then, let's go back and listen to it. Let's eat quickly, and then we'll go back."

Investment ventures have not yet commenced. Gu Qingqing's primary focus is currently assisting Tan Jincheng's automotive business. Although she does not hold a position within Weilai Automotive, she is fully aware of Weilai Automotive's activities.

"it is good."

After exchanging greetings, the two did not linger and drove away from the campus of Ningbo University one after the other.
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Beicang, Shanchi Building.

Weilai Auto's main area of ​​operation is Meishan Island, and it doesn't have a headquarters building. If we're talking about a headquarters building, it's in Xiangcheng.

The Flash Drive Building has reserved a few offices for Weilai Auto for their usual meetings, as Meishan Island is really too far away.

At 1 p.m., Zhang Yong and other senior executives of Weilai Automobile had already gathered together.

Tan Jincheng led Gu Qingqing and Zeng Jixiang into the conference room. Looking around, the long desks were full except for the main seat and the first seat on the left.

Zhang Yong was seated at the head of the table on the right. The rest of the attendees were senior executives of Weilai Automobile, including leaders from departments such as technology research and development, production and manufacturing, marketing and sales, support and service, and project management.

Among them were foreigners and several newly joined employees, all of whom were recruited from Mitsubishi.

Tan Jincheng didn't try to poach people secretly. Instead, he asked Changze Yu to make recommendations. This year, the turnover rate in the automotive industry has been very high. Even if Boss Tan didn't try, there would be plenty of people to poach him.

There were also some European faces.

"Everyone, I apologize for keeping you all waiting. I'm very sorry to have gathered you all here on such a hot day."

Tan Jincheng walked quickly to the main seating area, and Gu Qingqing behind him sat down smoothly on the left. Logically speaking, she, as an observer, should not sit here, but who doesn't understand this kind of workplace etiquette?
Foreigners? Foreigners understand social etiquette better than we do.

As for Zeng Jixiang, he quietly moved a stool and sat in the area behind Gu Qingqing. He was only responsible for taking meeting minutes for Tan Jincheng and didn't need to worry about anything else. Being Boss Tan's chief secretary was quite a tough job.

They are involved in electric vehicles, power batteries, automobiles, clothing, and some other miscellaneous businesses.

"Without further ado, let's get started. The promotional plan for Yuechi A1 is officially launched. All departments, please report on the current progress."

Everyone here has seen the actual A1 model. It was the first model of an independent brand, and of course, the first generation model. For Weilai Auto, Shanchi Group, and even the entire Beicang District, it was a top priority.

Although it is the first model, everyone present is full of confidence after actually experiencing it.

As a mid-size SUV, the Yuechi A1 adopts a front-engine, front-wheel-drive design. From a design perspective, this car is considered a stunning creation even by some foreigners.

The few newer technical staff who joined later were truly astonished after learning about the design and development process.

This stunning product, which boasts top-tier industrial aesthetics and power design in China, was originally conceived by the chairman, who had no professional knowledge of the field.

Currently, the first impression that domestic independent brands give to consumers is that they are copying. Apart from established brands like Hongqi, no other private car company has any models on sale that can be called independently designed.

The F3 "borrowed" from the Corolla, and the QQ even went to court with Daewoo. These are currently the two best-selling domestic models, and some other models that don't sell well are also direct copies.

It's just that his products aren't very popular and people don't bother with them.

While the Yuechi A1 may have some elements of borrowing from other designs, it can be considered an independently designed model. The company has handled its patent technology very well, and there is no infringement involved.

This was truly unexpected for these foreigners.

In other words, they don't know the price yet. If it's not expensive, then domestic SUV brands are no match for it. The Yuechi A1's competitors should be joint venture brand models like the Honda CR-V and ix35.

"The marketing department should go first. Submit the advertising plan to me for review and approval within three business days. Is that alright?"

The first step, of course, was to shoot commercials. Tan Jincheng had little experience with car commercials, but he believed he had some aesthetic advantages.

"No problem, I promise to complete the task."

The marketing director was feeling frustrated. Everyone knew the boss was a marketing expert, and the advertising plan needed to be reviewed within three working days. He didn't know if he could satisfy the boss.

(End of this chapter)