2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 657 The Stunning Debut of Yuechi

October 18th, Sunday, sunny.

Located in the JD district of Shanghai, the Shanghai International Circuit, affectionately known as the Shanghai International Circuit by F1 fans, was packed with people even though no sporting events were being held today.

Such event venues usually host large-scale events.

At this very moment, countless staff members are setting up the venue for tonight's press conference, transforming the Shanghai International Circuit into a construction site for a large-scale event.

"Can you make it?"

He's held many press conferences, but compared to this one, it's nothing. The launch of FlashTech's two-wheeled electric vehicles was held at the Beicang Hotel, a small event with limited space, and it was done very simply.

"There's still time. It's mostly done. Besides, there are still so many workers. Boss, don't worry."

Zhang Yong answered with great confidence.

That said, the boss was incredibly generous, spending a whopping 3000 million yuan on just this one press conference, which is astounding in the entire automotive industry.

In addition to the usual arrangements of hiring bands, inviting celebrities to perform, and having leaders give speeches, they also used their extensive network to invite many colleagues to attend.

Tomorrow is a workday, so it's quite an achievement to have so many industry leaders at tonight's press conference.

"Hey, if it weren't so far away, I would have held the new car launch at the Bird's Nest. Actually, the Bird's Nest would be more suitable."

The Olympics have just ended, but the Bird's Nest seems to be more well-known now?
"That's not necessary. The F1 track is more suitable for our car company. Besides, Shanghai and Ningbo are so close, it's easier for us to arrange our work. For our first new car launch, we'll focus on stability."

"That's true. We'll try again next time if we have the chance."

F1 racing has been incredibly popular in recent years, and Boss Tan quite enjoyed watching it in his previous life. This is his first time being able to attend the Shanghai International Circuit in person; the roar of the engines can always stimulate a man's senses.

Unfortunately, Wei Lai simply doesn't have the capability to run a racing team. While a racing team can significantly improve one's skills, most car companies can't afford the speed at which they burn through cash.

"You'll be speaking tonight, are you ready?"

After looking around and finding no major problems, Tan Jincheng asked his helpful assistant with a smile, his tone slightly teasing.

For a large-scale event with a budget of 3000 million yuan, and for a tech guy like Zhang Yong to say he wasn't nervous would be a lie. Just a few days ago, Tan Jincheng happened to see him secretly memorizing his speech in his office.

"Let's try to avoid any problems. Boss, you've experienced more of these kinds of situations, so why don't you host the whole thing yourself? Why did you make me go up there?"

Zhang Yong was still a little scared, but he couldn't afford to lose in words.

"You definitely have a better advantage than me in explaining those professional techniques. I'm not even that knowledgeable, and it would be funny if I made a fool of myself. This time, we're doing a live online broadcast."

When it comes to innovation, look to Wei Lai. Not only did he spend a huge amount of money, but he also pioneered the use of live video streaming to present his work to a wide audience of netizens for the first time.

The live streaming platform was Orange Live. The professional equipment that He Jia had previously acquired came in handy once again. But that wasn't enough. Boss Tan also used his connections to borrow a batch of professional equipment and professional technicians from the TV station to assist them.

During his inspection of the event site, Tan Jincheng also saw many staff members wearing Orange Live uniforms.

For over a month, there have been continuous leaks from three mainstream automotive websites, about ten automotive magazines, and print media. Weilai Auto has invested heavily in publicity for this new car, providing tremendous support.

The main theme of Yuechi A1's promotion this time is its extravagance, with almost all mainstream automotive media covering it. In addition, six TV commercials will also be launched simultaneously during tonight's launch event.

Tan Jincheng approved a total of 100 million yuan for the promotion of the Yuechi A1 alone. Few car companies in the country have such courage in their early stages.

"Have most of our cars already been delivered to the 4S store?"

"They've all been shipped over, and the 4S dealership has started accepting test drives and pre-orders starting today."

The first batch of Yuechi vehicles launched to the market totaled 8000, including 2000 diesel models and the remaining 6000 distributed across four gasoline models. The initial launch was evenly distributed.

Subsequent production will be adjusted accordingly based on the pre-order data; the more orders for a particular model, the more of that model will be produced.

In terms of the order system, Weilai Auto has also made significant innovations. While it often takes little time for a car factory to produce a car, the delivery cycle to customers can often be as long as 21 to 40 days.

Most of this time is consumed in costly processes such as order processing, planning, production scheduling, and waiting for transportation, which not only affects the customer's car buying experience but also increases the company's operating costs.

Tan Jincheng had witnessed the digitalization of later generations, and if it weren't for the limitations of the times, he would have really wanted to replicate the efficient operating methods of new energy vehicles from his previous life.

Firstly, due to technical reasons, it would be time-consuming and laborious for Wei Lai to develop it himself at this point, and he would not be able to develop it in a short period of time. Secondly, if he were to actually develop it now, it would affect the interests of a large number of distributors.

However, Weilai Auto has made significant innovations in its order system. Weilai has partnered with Lianyou Technology, a Shenzhen-based automotive intelligent software company, to jointly develop an order system unique to Weilai Auto.

Covering three major areas—complete vehicle OTD, marketing rebates, and sales forecasting—it enables more effective communication between the company and dealers regarding order delivery through order management, production and sales linkage, business and finance integration, order visualization, and a complete vehicle OTD process visualization tool.

These innovations will all be showcased at tonight's launch event. Overall, although Weilai Auto is a small car company, it has some impressive achievements through its long-term strategic planning.

Some of its internal management software and methods are considered quite advanced among independent brands.

However, to be honest, Tan Jincheng prefers Tesla's direct sales model, where orders are placed through the app and transmitted in real time, eliminating intermediaries like 4S stores and making car buying simpler, just like online shopping.

The order system also allows for better inventory control, and the deposits collected can help solve some of the company's working capital problems.

Unfortunately, this situation is unlikely to be realized for gasoline-powered vehicles, and the current company doesn't have the capacity to establish too many directly operated stores.
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"Nagasawa-kun, it's been a long time! Thank you for coming!"

"President Ying, welcome, welcome. Please forgive any neglect."

"Mr. Xia, your reputation is legendary. F3 has always been our role model. We would love to learn from you sometime."

"Mr. Wei, thank you so much. I'm flattered. I didn't expect you to come in person."

At six o'clock in the evening, at the brightly lit Shanghai International Circuit, Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing led Zhang Yong and other senior executives of Weilai Automobile to greet the guests at the entrance.

There were quite a few big names from the automotive industry in attendance. Chang Zeyu lives in Shanghai, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to take the time to attend the press conference. Ying Jianren is also an old friend; Tan Jincheng provided a lot of help with the marketing planning for the Zhongtai 2008 model when it was launched.

Whether it's due to the cooperation between the two parties or to return a favor, it's all perfectly normal behavior to come and show support. What Tan Jincheng didn't expect was that both BYD and Great Wall sent heavyweight representatives, with General Manager Wei of Great Wall even attending in person, which was somewhat unexpected for Tan Jincheng.

To be honest, as a newcomer, I feel both proud and a little apprehensive, as these are all well-known figures in the domestic automotive industry.

"Haha, Mr. Tan, please don't be so polite. I'm just here to gather some information."

After shaking hands with Tan Jincheng, Boss Wei chuckled and joked that since it was their first time meeting, Tan Jincheng wasn't quite sure about his personality; he was rather low-key.

The Great Wall H3 is also an SUV. If we're talking about competitors among domestic brands, the H3 can be considered one of them. The H3 has sold well this year, and it's expected to sell more than 60,000 units.

"Mr. Wei, you're too kind. Great Wall has always been a role model for us at Weilai. You've probably noticed that Weilai is following the same path as your companies. We hope that one day we can become a mini Great Wall."

Mr. Wei laughed too. "That's right," he said. "Pickups, commercial buses, SUVs—that's exactly the Great Wall Motors' strategy."

It's rare to see Tan Jincheng being so honest. Weilai Auto has indeed learned from Great Wall Motors in terms of gasoline vehicles. Among independent brands, Great Wall Motors' approach is the most suitable for Tan Jincheng to manufacture cars.

The approach taken by Geely and Chery is not only extremely costly, but also takes too long. By the time they get it done, it's too late.

As for BYD, Tan Jincheng doesn't think much of its gasoline-powered cars. 2009 should be BYD's most glorious year, but many years later it will enter a period of decline.

It seems that some dealers have turned against him? They refused to sell his car even if he offered a high penalty for breach of contract. Tan Jincheng doesn't remember the exact year, but it was a big deal back then.

Perhaps the other party's mind was never really on the gasoline car; the gasoline car was just for making money, so there was no need to put so much effort into it.

Tan Jincheng doesn't want to ruin his reputation too much with gasoline-powered cars, so he won't develop too many models. Instead, he plans to focus on SUVs, just like Great Wall Motors.

Besides these automotive industry bigwigs, many of Tan Jincheng's old friends also came to show their support. Zhang Congxun, Dong Jinggui, Wang Qinghua, and others came all the way from Jiangsu Province. In addition, many of Weilai Auto's parts suppliers also came.

This included Li Xianjin, as well as Gu Qingqing's roommate Chen Yanan and her father.

Chen Yanan seized a rare opportunity, and now his family's parts factory is a member of Weilai's supplier system. They have been making a good living for the past two years. After graduating, Chen Yanan helped out at his family's factory.

"President Tan, Qingqing, it's been a long time."

Chen Yanan greeted her with a smile. Although they were both in Ningbo, they were both very busy and it was really difficult to meet. Chen Yanan would occasionally go back to school to see Gu Qingqing, but the number of times they could run into each other was very limited.

"Long time no see, Mr. Chen and Xiao Chen, how's business lately?" Tan Jincheng greeted them with a smile.

"I'm so glad you're here. Business is good. By the way, I've had a chance to test drive your company's cars, and they're really quite good."

Chen Yanan's father responded enthusiastically.

"No, we hope Mr. Chen can offer more suggestions so that we can have room for improvement."

"No, no, your company's cars are indeed very good, very practical, spacious, and have a great design."

That said, in a society based on personal connections, these suppliers, if they want to get more orders, have to support each other with at least one vehicle, which adds up to a considerable sales volume.

However, Chen Yanan's father was not simply blindly praising the car. In his opinion, it was already quite impressive that a domestic car brand could achieve what Yuechi has.

At the same time, we are more confident about the orders that follow.

"Could our own company also have to take a gamble like Top?"

If we're talking about the huge sales of Weilai cars, which supplier is the biggest winner? Besides Mitsubishi, it must be Top, who dared to gamble with Boss Tan. He's here today too.

In addition to these business friends, many leaders from Ningbo and Shanghai were also present as guests.

The rest is up to the media and Weilai Auto to arrange for actual consumers. Among these consumers are car reviewers and consumers who simply like Yuechi. This group can be considered the first batch of Yuechi consumers.

There was also a group of people who came simply to watch the excitement. These people had come out of curiosity after hearing the news through various channels, and Wei Lai had no reason to refuse them.

Perhaps these people will become Yuechi's first customers?

In terms of media alone, Weilai invited nearly a hundred media professionals from all over the country, making it an unprecedented event.

When it comes to creating buzz and generating online buzz, it has to be said that Mr. Tan has always been ahead of entrepreneurs in the physical manufacturing industry.

At seven o'clock, all the LED lights at the press conference venue were turned on, illuminating the entire venue.

"Holy crap, so many people have arrived?"

"Damn, looks like he wasn't bragging. He really did spend 3000 million. He's really rich and powerful."

In the dim light, nothing was visible, but now that it's brightly lit, the scene looks especially spectacular.

Against the backdrop in the center of the venue, the logos of Weilai and Yuechi, along with a huge photo of the Yuechi A1, stood out brightly under the lights.

The large banner proclaiming "New Era, New Possibilities!" also highlighted the theme of the press conference.

The opening was also unique; instead of speeches from leaders or various introductions, it started with a hot dance.

A group of youthful and beautiful women dressed in orange T-shirts and white skirts were showing off their youthful energy in the center of the booth to the beat of upbeat music.

"How are you prepared? The opportunity is yours; whether you can seize it is up to you."

On one side of the stage, Tan Jincheng, who was about to go on stage, watched the hot dance while giving instructions to He Jia beside him.

Ever since learning that Wei Lai was going to spend 3000 million yuan to hold a new car launch event, He Jia has been like a persistent leech, trying every opportunity to meet with Tan Jincheng in an effort to fight for the right to broadcast the event online.

Tan Jincheng, tired of being bothered, finally agreed. However, seeing He Jia's sweaty palms and indifference to her boss's instructions, he felt his head buzzing.

"Damn, such a huge scene, if something like that happened, wouldn't the losses be hundreds of billions?"

(End of this chapter)