2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 714 Selection of the Research Institute Leader

"You're quite something, kid. You've got guts too, but I really admire your courage."

The automotive engineering research institute of Weilai Automobile has been confirmed to be located in Beicang.

Due to a series of meetings recently, neither the district officials nor Tan Jincheng had time to deal with this matter.

Now that the meeting is over, both sides have time to sit down and talk about this. A research institute is equivalent to a school, and it requires a lot of space and various resources.

However, before discussing this matter, the leaders also learned about the recent actions of Weilai Automobile.

The claim that the 4S store acted spontaneously is just empty talk; everyone knows that without Weilai Auto's authorization, the 4S store wouldn't dare to do this.

"Haha, there shouldn't be any problem, right? Could the leader ask the Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce to extend the negotiations for a few more days?"

Tan Jincheng, on the other hand, had a carefree and playful expression, completely unlike the serious demeanor he displayed during interviews these past few days. As the RD representative, he was also required to make some proposals.

Mr. Tan's proposal had nothing to do with any of the company's business; it was related to his charitable work, specifically addressing education issues in impoverished mountainous areas. It wasn't radical, but it was still somewhat useful.

For example, providing extra meals for students to increase their nutrition, and increasing physical activity.

Anyway, Tan Jincheng has figured it out. He is now a public figure, and these kinds of things are unavoidable. As a public figure, he can't talk nonsense, but he also needs to make some contributions in certain aspects.

However, Tan Jincheng would not forget Lao Ma's lesson: some things are meant to be said, but not to be said as nonsense.

Adhering to the principle of not causing trouble, Tan Jincheng put a lot of thought into his proposal. Since the proposal was about his own industry, some people would think that he was abusing his power for personal gain.

Public opinion can be so black that it can be turned into white. Things have been a bit better in recent years, but in the future, in an era of highly developed internet, a single rumor can truly destroy a company.

"You wish! How can we interfere in such matters?"

Leader Gu was so angry he laughed. This kid sometimes really does act like a junior in the family, quite naive.

The Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce is currently in the midst of a difficult rights protection effort, with negotiations proving to be full of twists and turns. During the negotiations, Toyota made seven commitments regarding issues such as the recall timetable, door-to-door recall appointments, and compensation.

These promises weren't just verbal; they were all in writing. But the problem is that they just don't keep them, and the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce can't do anything about it.

It's important to understand that this matter involves not only Toyota, but also its joint venture partners, and the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce doesn't have the authority to handle it.

Negotiations have been ongoing since the 14th.

"Why would I want to buy it? I'm a RAV4 owner too, don't you think I don't want to get compensation?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I know why you bought the car. I bet you've already taken it apart. I don't believe you didn't know about these problems before."

"Haha, boss, you've really wronged me. I really didn't know about this. We bought the competitor's car just to learn from their strengths. Besides, I don't know that much about these professional fields."

"Stop being silly. I called you here to talk about the research institute."

Leader Gu didn't want to continue this nonsense with him; if they kept chatting like this, nothing would get done today.

However, there was no comment on Weilai Auto's blatant attempt to steal RAV4 customers. To put it bluntly, Weilai Auto's actions were not illegal or irregular; it was normal business competition, and no one could interfere as long as it did not affect consumer interests.

As for the consequences of doing so, we believe Weilai Auto will be prepared.

"I'm thinking of making the research institute comparable to the scale of BYD's automotive engineering research institute. We might need a lot of land, as we will continue to expand in the future. The location shouldn't be too remote either."

The Automotive Engineering Institute plans to integrate the designs of the four companies currently operating: Weilai Automobile, Jinshidai, Yangzi Automobile, and Huanghai Bus. The scale of investment and land area required will be substantial.

This is undoubtedly a pressure for Weilai Motors at this stage, but no matter what, they have to move forward despite the pressure.

"The issues of money and land are not major problems; the district will help you resolve them. But do you have candidates for the leadership position and mid-level technical personnel?"

Establishing a so-called automotive research institute is not just about having money and land. While money and land are the most basic things, having highly skilled leaders is the most crucial element. The core figures of an automotive company are often not the bosses who stand in the spotlight, but rather the senior talents behind the scenes who are responsible for controlling the entire R&D process.

The most criticized aspect of Weilai Auto is its lack of foundation. Even though its sales have entered the ranks of mainstream car companies, its market position is still only at the top level.

The fundamental reason is that there aren't many well-known technical R&D talents.

"Hehe, yes, the leaders probably don't know yet, but we've poached quite a few people from BYD before the Chinese New Year. They're currently being trained in Shenzhen. We originally planned to send them to Luzhou, but now we're preparing to bring them all to our Beicang."

"As for the person in charge, I have two candidates here, and we've been in contact with them for quite some time."

Without a pool of talent, how could one dare to establish an automotive research institute?

We already have a group of mid-level and lower-level talents. The rest can be recruited and trained internally. As for the candidates for dean and vice dean, Tan Jincheng has been looking for them for a long time. They will be the two key figures of Xiaomi Auto in the future.

Hehe, speaking of this, I have to thank the self-media of my previous life, otherwise Tan Jincheng really wouldn't know the ins and outs behind it. Back when Lei Jun was in the automotive industry, he visited Geely and took their research institute director with him.

Articles on social media certainly contain exaggerations to grab attention, but regardless, it's an undeniable fact that Hu Zhengnan has indeed joined Lei Jun's investment company. Why an investment company? To circumvent non-compete agreements, of course.

Non-compete agreements are practically useless for top talent; there are just too many ways to circumvent them.

At this time, it wouldn't have been so complicated for Tan Jincheng to recruit Hu Zhengnan. Hu Zhengnan hadn't gone to Geely yet. After graduating, Hu Zhengnan worked as an engineer at SAIC for a few years before starting his own business with his senior.

Hu Zhengnan founded an automotive design company called Longchuang and served as its design director. In 2004, Hu Zhengnan and his senior colleague's design company also helped BYD, which at that time had little R&D capability, to complete the reverse engineering of the F3.

The F3 was launched in 2005. Although it was not as popular as it was in 2009, it was still a hit. As a result, Longchuang, which was responsible for reverse engineering, entered the automotive industry and attracted the attention of industry insiders.

In the days that followed, Longchuang participated in the development of models such as Jiangling Yusheng, Toyota Viva, and Changan Yuexiang, among which Jiangling Yusheng and Changan Yuexiang sold very well.

When Tan Jincheng was looking for a design studio for Yuechi, he naturally noticed this well-known company in the industry. Moreover, Tan Jincheng was more recognized than many others as their design director.

Longchuang was also involved in the development of Yuechi A1. During this process, Tan Jincheng tried his best to invite Hu Zhengnan to join Weilai, but unfortunately, Weilai Auto was too inconspicuous at that time.

Simply put, they look down on Lieutenant.

That's normal. Why would someone who runs their own company and makes a good living as a small business owner risk working for a small company?

However, Tan Jincheng's greatest strength is his thick skin. He is incredibly patient with famous people he knew from his previous life. He could send Sun Tongyu short videos to seduce him, so how could he not have common ground with a tech guy like Hu Zhengnan?

Tech guys, as they get older and more successful, might become more composed, but in the early stages of their careers, they're usually a bit reserved and need someone to chat with and relieve their boredom.

For the past two years, Tan Jincheng has maintained contact with Hu Zhengnan without mentioning any invitations, until he came up with the idea of ​​establishing a research institute before the Lunar New Year.

The strong sales of the Yuechi A1 made Hu Zhengnan, who originally had no intention of pursuing this project, hesitate a little.

How could he not understand Tan Jincheng's thoughts? In the past two years, he had cooperated with Weilai Automobile quite a bit and had had a lot of contact with Weilai Automobile's executives and ordinary employees.

Overall, Weilai Auto gave him the impression of being a very energetic company. The boss was very generous in investing in research and development. Although he didn't understand it himself, he knew how to delegate authority. The independently designed Yuechi A1 was aimed at the top of the Japanese urban SUV market, fully demonstrating the company's ambition.

Now they're setting up a research institute. Just as their boss said, the company is aiming to become a well-known independent brand, unlike those small factories that just try to make money.

"Oh, who are they? Have I heard of them?"

From Zhongtai to Weilai, the automotive industry chain in Beicang District has developed rapidly in recent years. The district also regards the automotive industry chain as a key project for the future, and has also learned about some well-known figures in the automotive field.

"There are two people. One is an engineer who came from SAIC and participated in the design of the Yuechi A1. His name is Hu Zhengnan. The other is recommended by our General Manager Zhang. His name is Yu Liguo. He was his colleague at BAIC and served as the Minister of Strategic Planning at BAIC."

It is worth mentioning that Yu Liguo was in charge of new energy vehicles at BAIC. This future vice president of Xiaomi Auto is also a key figure at BAIC Jihu.

"Hmm? I'm not very familiar with Hu Zhengnan, but I do know Yu Liguo. You guys want to poach him?"

Leader Gu was somewhat surprised. Yu Liguo was a true figure within the system. Before joining BAIC, he had served as the top leader and a first-level researcher in a district of a prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang Province.

He is considered a political figure who transitioned to business, and his experience is quite unique, so the leaders within the system had an impression of him.

"Yes, that's him. President Zhang has been talking to him for a long time. He has shown interest since Wei came to establish the Luzhou Company."

"Haha, I didn't expect you to be so capable. You've practically hollowed out BAIC, haven't you?"

If Weilai Auto can invite such a person, then there's nothing to worry about for Leader Gu. As for Hu Zhengnan, whom Tan Jincheng admires, since he participated in the design of Yuechi A1, he must be a very capable person as well.

"Haha, standing on the shoulders of giants, huh?"

Weilai Auto was actually founded by the BAIC team led by Zhang Yong. The initial framework was heavily reliant on Zhang Yong, as a capable professional manager can save the boss a lot of trouble.

These days, when it comes to talent reserves, state-owned enterprises are the place to go. Many famous figures of later generations actually had experience working in state-owned enterprises.

Another advantage of poaching employees in state-owned enterprises is that as long as the person is willing, there are rarely any major obstacles. There's a specific position for each person, and there are plenty of people who covet the position and are eager for you to leave.

"Some people say you do business in a shady way, and now it seems to be true. You poach high-level management talent from state-owned enterprises and middle and lower-level technical talent from private enterprises, and you even have the audacity to say that you are standing on the shoulders of giants."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Once we grow bigger, there will definitely be newcomers poaching us. How can we avoid that?"

When it comes to poaching talent, everyone has their own skills, and Tan Jincheng really didn't feel guilty about it. Lei Jun could take a group of people away when he went to inspect a company; that was his skill.

So, is this guy already planning to poach talent from Meizu? Or has he already found someone?

Xiaomi's initial mobile phone team seems to have come from Meizu. Meizu phones had a lot of problems, but their engineers were still very capable.

According to the information Tan Jincheng knew, Lei Jun, who was starting his second business, had moved into the Yingu Building in Beijing and officially established Xiaomi Technology.

I wonder when this guy started soliciting investment?

(End of this chapter)