2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 662 Boss Tan's Net Worth Soars
In two weeks, 3563 vehicles were sold. This figure is certainly not outstanding in 2023, but it cannot be considered a complete flop either.

If we calculate the annual sales based on this data, the Yuechi series would rank among the top five in the annual SUV sales chart.

It would be no problem to rank it in the top 20 of the entire series.

It's a pity that it was released a little late; otherwise, based on these figures, the Yuechi could have really become this year's dark horse model.

The popularity of the Yuechi series in the market is something that many car companies did not expect.

"This kid's got some skills; he made a fuss with the first car."

Everyone in Beicang District is extremely satisfied with Yuechi's performance. It truly lives up to the district's strong support. They provided land, money, and people to help find the right people, and simplified the procedures for Wei as much as possible.

In just over ten days, Yuechi generated more than 3 million yuan in industrial output for Beicang District, a truly perfect start.

"In the past two years, the economic strength of the first batch of car owners and car owners has increased. Most of them have the need to upgrade or purchase additional cars. Coupled with strong policy support, it is not surprising that cars are selling well."

"It's a bit of a pity that your company missed this great opportunity this year; but it's okay, we'll try again next year."

With Yuechi gaining market recognition, the most important things right now, besides providing good delivery services, are solving productivity issues and ensuring parts supply for next year.

With only two months left in 2009, based on the current trend, the initial order of 6 sets of parts will only last for a maximum of six months.

Upon seeing the new Yuechi, Nagasawa Yu realized that this model would be very popular. After learning its market price, Nagasawa Yu became even more convinced that this model would pose a certain threat to the CRV.

But I didn't expect the threat to come so quickly.

Indeed, the Chinese market cannot be judged by common sense.

On October 20, a golden-orange Jiefang J6 rolled off the production line at the Changchun Automobile Plant, marking the 10 millionth vehicle produced in China's auto market this year.

1月份至10月份，国产汽车产销分别达到了1087.32万辆和1089.14万辆，同比增长了36.23%和37.71%。

Specifically for passenger vehicles, in October alone, production and sales reached 97 and 94.6 units respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 86.64% and 75.7%!

The rapid market growth caught many manufacturers and even distributors off guard.

With market sales skyrocketing, car companies that boasted an annual production capacity of 5 vehicles in previous years are no longer competitive. How forward-thinking it was for Weilai Auto to announce that it would increase its annual production capacity to 25 vehicles by 2012!

Given this rate of development and the popularity of the Yuechi, an annual production capacity of 25 vehicles is really not a problem for Weilai Auto.

Nagasawa Yu sighed inwardly. Tan Jincheng was right. Mitsubishi's market share in China had been shrinking in recent years. In terms of exporting luxury cars, it couldn't compete with European and American automakers, and in terms of mid-range models, it couldn't compete with its Japanese counterparts.

Of the Mitsubishi models produced in China, only the Pajero managed to crack the top 20 in sales, ranking a mere 16th, which is simply pathetic.

What's the difference between this and withdrawing from the Chinese market?
Sigh, one step behind, one step slower, it's hard to say whether the Outlander and ASX can pull off a comeback and grab a share of the market.

"They were too profitable selling engines before, so they've become complacent."

On the other end of the phone, Yutaka Nagasawa shook his head and smiled bitterly. There are many reasons why Mitsubishi's development in the Chinese market is not going well. In addition to the difficulties it has to deal with in other markets, it is indeed related to the fact that its engines are selling too well.

For nearly 20 years, China's engine technology has not made any breakthroughs. Mitsubishi can make a fortune just by relying on engine technology, so there is really no need for them to invest so much in developing complete vehicles.

At this moment, Nagasawa Yu couldn't help but recall a popular phrase that had recently become a hot topic online: "Sir, times have changed."

Forget about that. The Outlander and ASX won't be available for sale until next year at the earliest. Let's talk about the engine with Tan Jincheng for now. In a way, the good sales of the Yuechi are also beneficial to Mitsubishi.

"Don't worry, Mr. Tan. The 60,000 sets that we agreed on before will be delivered on schedule as you requested. Everything will be carried out according to the plan we agreed on the first time. You just need to submit a supplementary contract."

"Okay, thank you, Nagasawa-kun. By the way, are you attending this year's Guangzhou Auto Show?"

This may be a bit presumptuous, but Mitsubishi doesn't have a complete vehicle manufacturing plant in China, and apart from the Pajero, it doesn't have any other best-selling models. So, whether or not it participates in an auto show doesn't really make a big difference.

Changze Yu felt bitter inside. It was only because Tan Jincheng was young that he would get angry. If it were someone around his age, he would be furious.

"Those who participate will see the trends in new cars in your country this year and learn from their peers."

"Oh, that's good. Don't misunderstand, Nagasawa-kun. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just thinking that if you participate, we can talk about the issue of subsequent engine supply."

"Understood, see you at the Guangzhou Auto Show then."

Business still needs to be done. The engine supply order has been secured, so Nagasawa Yu wants to expand the business further. If possible, he wants to see if he can secure a diesel engine order.

Although diesel models only account for a quarter of Yuechi's expected production capacity, if the buyer's market is favorable, there is no reason for Yuechi to push orders out, and increasing production capacity is necessary.

Gasoline is the future trend, but to be honest, diesel is still quite popular these days, and its low fuel consumption is its advantage.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released sales figures for October. In fact, today is already the 5th, and the statistics show that sales in the first four days of November are better than those in October.

In just four days, Yuechi has sold 1127 vehicles, averaging more than 280 vehicles per day. Considering that Yuechi only has 400 4S stores nationwide, this number is truly remarkable.

The car market in November seems to be even more booming than in October.

Including October's sales, Yuechi is only two or three days away from reaching its first 5000 units. If it surpasses 5000 units in sales within three weeks of its launch and 6000 units in its first month, at this rate, Yuechi could sell 8 units in its first year!

"Alright, then I won't bother you any longer, see you at the Guangzhou Auto Show."

"Okay, see you at the Guangzhou Auto Show; by the way, congratulations to President Tan on his net worth exceeding 10 billion."

Haha, Tan Jincheng on the other end of the phone laughed. Many people had called him to congratulate him early this morning. What the hell is there to congratulate? Shouldn't we be congratulating Zhang Xupeng?
Zhang Xupeng ranked 303rd with assets of 25.9 billion yuan, marking his first appearance on the list.

Compared to Tan Jincheng, Zhang Xupeng, who was on the list for the first time, seemed much more excited. The rich list—it's the dream of so many men.

The minimum threshold for making the top 500 list this year is 20.5 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3 million yuan compared to 12.2 billion yuan last year. The financial crisis has not affected the increase in the assets of the rich at all; on the contrary, it has promoted the concentration of wealth to a certain extent.

"Hey, what's there to congratulate me on? Nagasawa-kun is teasing me too; alright, let's leave it at that."

After saying that, Tan Jincheng hung up the phone. Chang Zeyu on the other end of the line couldn't help but laugh. This young boss was really special. Today's data release should have been a day of great joy for him, yet he was still able to talk about business so calmly.

You know, today the news about him and Weilai Motors is like a bomb going off online, with news articles appearing everywhere on the internet.

According to Mitsubishi's public relations department, these articles were not press releases issued by Flash Group, as there was little repetition. This kind of spontaneous publicity is truly just a collection of trending topics.

Indeed, not only is the youngest couple on the list ranked, but they are also ranked in the top 30. This ranking is quite prestigious, as all of the top 50 have an extraordinary influence on the local economy.

Even before the automotive industry existed, Tan Jincheng already wielded considerable influence, leading the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry to become a leader, creating countless jobs and generating substantial tax revenue.

To be honest, when Mitsubishi first partnered with Weilai, the group company was not optimistic about Weilai Motors because it was too small. All they wanted was to get half of the shares, plus they valued Tan Jincheng's background.

This is why Mitsubishi initially wanted to obtain management rights during the negotiations; they didn't trust that Wei could manage the joint venture well.

The success of the Yuechi not only greatly surprised its peers in the automotive industry, but also gave Mitsubishi a huge surprise. This single model was enough to propel Mitsubishi into the mainstream automotive industry, making it a worthwhile deal.

Given the current popularity of the Yuechi, its total sales next year will likely exceed 60,000 units, reaching a sales volume of 5 billion yuan per vehicle – that's incredibly impressive!

The strong sales of Weilai have driven up the prices of related listed companies in the industry chain. Shuguang Auto, which is directly owned by Tan Jincheng, has seen its stock price rise by 30.62% for three consecutive trading days starting from October 30.

Since its last major surge, Shuguang Auto's stock price has remained stable at around eight to nine yuan. Today, it closed at 12.54 yuan, with a market capitalization approaching 28 billion yuan.

In the secondary market, stocks related to Weilai Automobile have also seen significant gains recently.

In addition, the stock price of Shanchi Technology, the most important listed company under Tan Jincheng, has also risen significantly in the past few days. As of today, the stock price closed at 21.54 yuan, with a market value of 107.92 billion yuan.

If calculated based on current market value, Tan Jincheng's net worth would be even greater.

Mr. Tan, whose net worth has skyrocketed, is currently directing Cheng Linfeng to sell BYD shares: "Sell 1200 million shares. This investment has made enough profit."

On the 27th of last month, BYD shares reached a high of HK$88.40. If calculated from the low of HK$4, BYD shares saw a maximum increase of 20 times in 2009.

It's safe to say that BYD is the biggest winner in the automotive industry chain this year, and Mr. Tan, who works with BYD, has also made a lot of money.

The 1249.71 million BYD shares, acquired at a cost of HK$9.56, surged to HK$88.40 before experiencing a sharp decline over two trading days. Currently, the share price is hovering around HK$75.

This is a signal that 2009 is almost over, and the stock market, which has rebounded for a year, is nearing its end. Stocks like BYD, which have seen abnormal annual increases, cannot last long.

This is almost the return after several years of overspending; it's time to liquidate.

Based on the current share price, if Mr. Tan sells 1200 million shares in a near-complete sell-off manner, his single investment in BYD will yield a profit of over HK$7.5 million.

ByteDance's advertising platform has also made a lot of money. Boss Tan's initial bottom-fishing plan was mainly focused on the automotive industry chain. Taking SAIC Motor, a leading domestic automaker, as an example, this is currently ByteDance's largest secondary market investment.

SAIC Motor, whose stock price has risen from around 5 yuan to over 24 yuan, has also seen a return of nearly 5 times.

Cheng Linfeng happily accepted the task. Damn, he was making a killing! He was really making a killing!

Unexpectedly, the boss bought a large amount of BYD shares in Hong Kong, and the investment returns exceeded 70% of the funds held in Hong Kong!

In addition, the boss's other two major holdings currently have a total market value of HK$18 billion, and the company's cash and stock holdings are worth more than HK$40 billion.

118 billion? You underestimate our boss. Cheng Linfeng is certain that Forbes has absolutely no record of this company that our boss has invested in overseas.

"Oh, by the way, after you sell your BYD shares, help me buy some US tech companies, like Apple, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, and the like."

Investing in US stocks (and profiting from retail investors) can also be started now. Buying mining requires a lot of money, so you have to make a move in the capital market.

Cheng Linfeng nodded, then asked, "What about the stocks in the ByteDance Engine account? What are the boss's instructions?"

As a professional, he now truly admires his boss's investment capabilities. Since going all in in 2007, the investment in ByteDance's advertising platform has been remarkably successful over the past three years.

"You decide what to do. If it's gone up a lot, just sell some of it. This is just a rebound; it can keep going up."

(End of this chapter)