2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 713 If Heaven grants something and you do not take it, you will surely suffer the consequences.

"What does this have to do with me? Stop slandering me."

Tan Jincheng would never admit to this, even if he were beaten to death.

Competition among car companies is that ruthless. If Wei Lai doesn't go all out, other competitors will. And if this matter really blows up, it's not Wei Lai's fault.

Moreover, from a consumer's perspective, the compensation plan is indeed a bit infuriating.

The attitude of the Japanese executives in China was extremely arrogant. When a reporter asked why they didn't provide car owners with a means of transportation during the repair period, their reply was that their repair speed was very fast and there was no need to provide such a service.

Aside from a worthless bow, there was no other gesture.

The situation has developed to this point, and it's no longer just about compensation; it's blatant discrimination.

Chang Zeyu's phone call reminded Tan Jincheng that since the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce had intervened, at least in the Zhejiang market, no matter what Wei did, as long as it wasn't illegal, he would be fine.

If something happens, the taller ones will take care of it.

"Release a few more press releases, focusing on the culture of bowing. This time, don't send them directly to Bitauto, send them to Tencent and NetEase, and other major portal websites."

Through Zhang Yong, Tan Jincheng directly instructed the public relations department to take even more drastic measures.

Taking advantage of your weakness, the Yuechi A1 was created to compete with the CRV and RAV4, aiming to become a substitute for these two models. If the Yuechi A1 fails to benefit from this large-scale event, then...

That would truly be a gift from Heaven, and if one does not accept it, one will surely suffer the consequences.

As for Mitsubishi? Let's ignore them for now and fight them first.

Anyway, their two new cars won't be launched until the second quarter, and by then the hype will probably have died down. Let Nagasawa Yu figure out a solution himself.

Of the three major portal websites, two have very close ties with Flashpoint. Tencent is a partner, and as for NetEase, Tan Jincheng gave them his first internet interview during the Guangzhou Auto Show, which is quite a show of respect.

Moreover, from beginning to end until now, Tan Jincheng has only given this one exclusive interview to an internet media outlet; even his own Kaixin.com has not received this treatment.

"In addition, we can make our promotional activities more aggressive. For example, if RAV4 owners trade in their cars, our Yuechi A1 will be 5000 yuan cheaper on top of the existing subsidies and discounts."

"If the deposit is not refunded, we will cover the cancellation fee that has already been booked."

These days, Japanese cars are a behemoth. Besides their appearance being more in line with the aesthetics of Chinese people at this time, their fuel efficiency and high cost-performance ratio are simply unbeatable for Chinese people who haven't enjoyed a good life for many years.

German and American brands are nothing compared to him. It's impossible to defeat him just by winning over public opinion. We still have to offer the necessary preferential policies. Only tangible benefits are the most important thing.

"Huh? Isn't this a bit too obvious? Isn't this targeting too clearly?"

Zhang Yong's previous system was commercial vehicles. After joining Weilai, Yuechi became an instant success without encountering major obstacles. He was clearly not used to Tan Jincheng's blatant business-grabbing approach.

In later generations, it was common to see that the tactics used by competitors to steal customers were still somewhat outrageous in this era. Even if some businesses did it, they did it secretly and without any large-scale publicity.

The boss clearly intends to escalate the situation, which could have a negative impact.

"Who told you to use the company's name? You used the name of the dealership, the 4S store. If this gets out of hand, just say it was a spontaneous action by the dealership for promotional purposes. Don't you understand this basic principle?"

"Alright then, I'll arrange it right away."

For Zhang Yong, this approach was somewhat impactful, but since the boss had said so, he might as well do it. It has to be said that doing it this way could indeed boost sales.

5000 yuan is a lot of money; it's a month's salary for a middle-income worker.

One hot news story is often overshadowed by another. Zhang Yong knew that time was tight, so he had no time to hesitate and quickly took action with both approaches. To this end, he also borrowed some of the network professionals from Flashpoint's public relations department from Zhou Ao.

That's right, most of the part-time online trolls that Tan Jincheng initially trained have now been incorporated into Flashlink's public relations department, and their work is no longer shady.

But when it comes to internet marketing and hype, these people are definitely professionals.

Tan Jincheng has fulfilled his promise when he first started training the online army: if they are willing, he will provide them with a decent job at the right time.

At the beginning of the collaboration, most of these people were out of curiosity and were looking for extra income. There weren't many who were actually professional in the internet industry. They came from all sorts of professions, some were even unemployed, and some were experts who frequented internet cafes.

When Zhang Yong's instructions were transmitted to dealers and 4S stores through various channels, most people, like Zhang Yong, were initially confused.

However, unlike Zhang Yong and other high-ranking managers, many 4S store owners are seasoned business people, and some of them started from small businesses.

Facing the end-user market directly, the competitive environment they face in order to earn a living is unimaginable.

"That's great, that's great. We'll put up the banner right away and spread the word. Don't worry, I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. I definitely won't implicate Weilai." Hahaha, the extra expenses will be paid by Weilai Auto. They just need to boost sales. After running a 4S store for so many years, this is the first time they've encountered such a generous manufacturer.

And the way Toyota did this was really awful.

While we may like Japanese brands, when they make mistakes, especially blatant discrimination, the Chinese people are united in their indignation.

Nie Ruoxi, who had just started learning how to do business and become a boss, also received the notification.

"Huh, you can do that? That's too ruthless."

Newlywed, Nie Ruoxi loved to be with Zhang Xupeng. Right now, she, the owner of the Weilai Auto Beicang 4S store, was in Zhang Xupeng's office in the Shanchi Building.

"Hehe, that's Xiao Tan's style. Back when Lü Yuan hadn't made any mistakes, he would still beat him up at close range. Now that Toyota has made such a big mistake, as a direct competitor, he certainly won't let it go."

Outsiders describe Xiao Tan as humble and polite, but only Zhang Xupeng knows that he can be ruthless when it comes to business.

Back then, they secretly made preparations, launched a sneak attack on ChipJapan in the design scheme of Olympic sponsors, engaged in close combat with Green Yuan, and poached technical talents from Yadi. Every single thing they did was aimed at hitting the opponent's sore spot.

Many of the news articles online that are unfavorable to the RAV4 are probably written by him.

Thanks to Weilai Auto's digital system and the role played by Dingding, Weilai Auto's customer acquisition solutions were delivered very quickly.

Currently, the entire FlashCyber ​​ecosystem, including Orange Technology and some FlashCyber ​​suppliers, is using Dingding. Unbeknownst to many, Dingding has already reached a certain scale.

This thing is definitely not good for cattle and horses, but I have to say that the bosses really like it.

Some suppliers and business owners who were familiar with Tan Jincheng felt good about it after trying it out, so they started using it. Anyway, there was no charge for using FlashDrive's license, but if the company needed to customize some functions later, a symbolic fee would be charged.

Tan Jincheng has been quietly using his connections to promote Dingding. Whether it will become a big success in the future is hard to say, but he'll give it a try.

What if it works out, right?

Weilai Auto acted swiftly, but Toyota was no pushover either. Their actions were equally rapid. The involvement of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce was probably unexpected. After the press conference, Toyota urgently responded that it would negotiate with them.

As for the team of 100 lawyers, Toyota didn't elaborate much. To be honest, Toyota doesn't take this kind of small case seriously.

After all, under current laws and regulations, there's really not much you can do about it; multinational corporations handle these kinds of minor lawsuits with too much ease.

The pressure isn't actually on Toyota in China, but on Toyota's headquarters. According to incomplete statistics, the number of vehicles recalled globally should exceed 800 million, and could potentially reach tens of millions.

The trouble is much greater globally than the hundreds of thousands of vehicles in China.

In addition to protecting consumers, Toyota has also responded very quickly in terms of maintaining sales volume. Beijing dealer Jing Shi Toyota took the lead in launching a series of highly cost-effective promotional methods.

Financial solutions include cash incentives, discounts or price reductions, low-interest loans, zero-interest loans, extended loan terms, or down payment discounts.

In addition, there are free gifts, gift packs, and trade-in subsidies, among other measures.

"They reacted so quickly, simply modifying the car purchase and trade-in incentive policies in the North American market and using them directly. But I have to say, they are very useful."

When Tan Jincheng saw the compiled information, he couldn't help but sigh at the profound foundation of this multinational corporation.

They have the right to be arrogant.

Currently, among urban SUVs, besides the soon-to-be-released Tiguan, only the CRV and RAV4 have the highest brand value.

Yuechi cannot compare to these two in terms of brand influence or other aspects; it is merely following the route of being a cheaper alternative to these two.

Before the new Tiguan was launched, the RAV4's highly cost-effective promotional model was really tempting, especially before Japanese brands completely lost their appeal.

Consumers only care about affordability; any deception is worthless in the face of a low price.

"Let's intensify our efforts in the black market. While we're still negotiating with the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, let's grab as many customers as we can. Even if we only manage to snatch one more, we'll consider it a win."

In the days following the meeting, Tan Jincheng spent his free time in the public relations department of Weilai Auto.

He was quite open-minded; he never thought about crushing anyone. Winning customers was the most important thing. Besides, this time, Weilai Auto made a direct attack, which was a way for him to show his face.

Normally, Tan Jincheng is not willing to use that kind of plot to sell products, but this opportunity is so rare that it's no exaggeration to say it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

So Tan Jincheng didn't care about anything else. As for the subsequent impact, he could deal with it slowly.

(End of this chapter)