2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 717 One Door After Another

Thursday, March 4th.

Pig Factory Auto Channel exclusively obtained a photo document titled "2010 BYD Auto Sales Co., Ltd. A3 Network Product 4S Policy," which was subsequently officially released to the public.

Ten years later, when the media gets such a big news story, their first instinct is to ask the person involved for public relations fees.

But these days, journalists only have one thought in their minds: to make a big splash.

It must be said that media reporters these days still have some integrity. Kaixin.com also has a news department, but they dare to forward even news that is unfavorable to Flash Group.

Tan Jincheng had given them a heads-up, telling them to be careful when maintaining journalistic independence and not to join in the criticism.

However, the head of Orange Technology's news division also said that since others are criticizing it, why not take this opportunity to repost it and ride the wave of popularity? I'm really speechless at this line of thinking.

As time went on, Tan Jincheng stopped caring. Anyway, so far, Flash Group hasn't encountered any major public relations crises.

Minor problems might give them a taste of success, but if there's a major public relations crisis, Tan Jincheng certainly won't let it go unchecked.

"Hey, buddy, you're really going to scare Dizi to death."

The information was released in the form of photos, which were obviously taken secretly. Tan Jincheng didn't know how they got them, but this information was like adding fuel to the fire for the Dizi distributors who had recently been making a fuss.

"Haha, what does that have to do with me? This is a matter for the news department or the automotive channel. I can't possibly manage all the departments in the company."

Ding Yangzhu, on the other hand, looked completely calm and collected. Coincidentally, he was also on a business trip in the capital these past few days. When he heard that Tan Jincheng had come to the capital, he arranged to meet up with him.

"Who would believe that? I don't believe you were notified in advance about such a big news event."

"Haha, don't criticize me. You used the same trick with Toyota. Anyway, the problem doesn't lie with Weilai Auto."

Old Ding wasn't buying it. He then started probing for information: "Speaking of cars, are you guys making some big moves? I see you're all running around in Shanghai and Beijing. And what's with that piece of land that's been advertised on the Beicang District government's website? Over 1000 mu?"

The news of Weilai Automobile establishing a research institute has not yet spread and is still in the internal preparation stage. As for Ding Yangzhu's mention of the publicized land, he only said that Weilai Automobile acquired the land, without specifying what project it was for.

This thing hasn't been approved yet.

Unless you're a businessman or a media person, very few people pay attention to the government's official website. Even in Beicang, apart from a few well-informed individuals, very few people know that the area is about to be demolished.

It's quite interesting that the three largest private enterprises in Beicang have tacitly divided up their respective territories. Apart from its headquarters being located in the city, Flash Motors has most of its factories in Daqi and Meishan Island, which is the eastern part of Beicang.

The other two large-scale private enterprises are located in different areas. Haitian is more concentrated in Xiaogang Town, which is the westernmost part of Beicang, while Shenzhou is more concentrated in the Dagang Industrial Park area.

The three parties do not interfere with each other and have not communicated on industrial land, but they have maintained a very harmonious relationship, and there has never been a case of real estate companies fighting over a piece of land.

"Oh, it's because it's selling well. Let's get some land first. Meishan Island is still a bit remote. It's convenient to leave the port, but transportation into the city is still a bit troublesome."

Old Ding pursed his lips, clearly not believing this claim, but he didn't press the matter.

Based on his understanding of this younger brother, if he wanted to tell him something, he certainly wouldn't be too stingy, but if he didn't want to tell him something, asking more questions wouldn't be of any use.

"By the way, how many cars did you sell last month? You can tell me that, right?"

Weilai Auto has an internal system that can calculate the number of vehicles sold nationwide the previous day, and this advanced digital management has now been accepted by all dealers.

"Not bad. We sold 11792 vehicles last month. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll most likely be able to win the monthly sales championship."

The market was good in March. The Toyota recall incident stimulated the car market to some extent. Not only Toyota, but other manufacturers also wanted to take a bite out of Toyota.

Toyota, however, was not about to be trampled underfoot, so the promotional war between major manufacturers intensified with the activities launched by Weilai Auto.

The Yuechi A1's audacity in openly stealing RAV4's customers set a good example. Apart from the CRV, which had some self-respect and refrained from openly following suit due to being a fellow Japanese brand, other competitors didn't care about such things.

Even the CRV receives subsidies in secret.

Toyota's primary dealers have not seen a significant drop in sales since adopting similar promotional tactics as those used in the North American market.

"Haha, if you exaggerate a little more, say 1.2 or more, you'll definitely get the number one sales position. Look how ruthless Dizi is."

"Hey, there's no need for that. Actually, being number one isn't necessarily a good thing. It's better to stay in the front row and quietly make money."

"That's right, Dizi got into trouble."

Old Ding sighed, saying that becoming number one is not easy. He understood this principle after he became the richest man in China.

Actually, the issue of Dizi's distributors already existed at the beginning of the year. The main reason was that the targets for this year were set too high, which led to excessive exploitation of the distributors, resulting in many distributors being trapped.

Since CD Pingtong withdrew from BYD at the end of March, Hunan Guangda and Shandong Chuangzhang also began to withdraw from BYD's sales network in early April, in addition to the blow from the hog car channel.

This series of withdrawals from the internet thus opened the prelude to the entire internet withdrawal controversy.

Last month's recall scandal, this month's dealer withdrawal scandal—the automotive industry has certainly been quite eventful in 2010. Speaking of Honda's exploitation of its dealers, it's truly ruthless. According to data released by Honda, taking the G3 model as an example, this model, on which Honda had high hopes, only sells an average of around 3000 units per month.

According to the official website of Dizi, there are a total of 129 A3-level dealerships nationwide. On average, each store sells less than 30 vehicles per month. In some prefecture-level cities and inland cities, the monthly sales are even less than half of this number.

Sales weren't great, but Dizi set very high delivery targets for its dealers. The policy stipulated that the target for provincial capital cities was between 64 and 80 vehicles, but the dealers' monthly order volume was on average higher than that.

80 vehicles is the minimum, and during peak periods it can even reach between 150 and 200 vehicles. If you sell 30 vehicles a month, then the inventory backlog will be very serious.

In addition, there's the rebate aspect. For every G3 model sold, the dealer can earn 8000 yuan, which is quite a substantial profit.

But how could Dizi let the distributors get that 8000 yuan so easily?

To get a rebate, you have to take delivery of the car.

This scheme is almost identical to a pyramid scheme, where distributors take millions or even tens of millions of yuan worth of goods each month, but can only sell one-third or even less of them.

After a few months, some distributors with weaker financial strength simply couldn't withstand the cash flow problems caused by this overstocking, and leaving the network was a last resort.

However, Dizi doesn't just exploit distributors; it does the same to the supply chain. Payment terms have always been a problem for their suppliers, and there's a reason why their reputation has always been poor.

"What are you doing in the capital? By the way, haven't you already moved most of your business here?"

When Flashpoint was first established, it had a lot of cooperation with the Institute of Physics. At that time, it also set up a branch in Beijing. However, as the business changed, Tan Jincheng gradually lured away these scientific and technological talents.

Currently, there is only one office left in the capital.

"It's nothing; by the way, do you know Lei Jun? Could you introduce me to him?"

After arriving in the capital, Tan Jincheng had been trying to get in touch with Lei Jun. If he had to choose which company he would most like to invest in after the restart, it would definitely be Xiaomi. As for Pinduoduo and Douyin, those would be secondary.

This is all because Xiaomi is not just an internet company, but also a company with a complete industrial chain, which drives many real industries and many real industries can complement Flash Group.

Ding, the pig farmer, asked with some confusion, "Lei Buss?"

"Oh, that's the nickname I gave him. He's Lei Jun, the former CEO of Kingsoft. I heard he founded Xiaomi and plans to make mobile phones."

It's highly unlikely that Lei Jun will come knocking on your door to solicit investment. Even though ByteDance's advertising platform, Ocean Engine, has a considerable reputation in the investment world, Tan Jincheng is not entirely part of the internet industry.

Then we have no choice but to take the initiative.

"Oh, you're quite well-informed. His company hasn't been established for very long. Are you planning to bring business to your battery company?"

Old Ding didn't quite understand what Lei Jun meant, so he didn't think much of it and just assumed that Tan Jincheng was giving Dexian Electronics a business opportunity.

"That's partly the reason. I mainly wanted to get to know him. I'm quite curious that someone who works in the internet industry is making mobile phones."

Lei Jun is a well-known figure in the internet industry, and his every move attracts attention. After leaving Kingsoft, he disappeared for a period of time, but now he is back to make mobile phones.

However, the company has only just been established, and this news is only known to a limited number of people.

"I do know him, but if you want to meet him, I can introduce you. However, you have to tell me what you do with your 1000-plus acres of land."

Old Ding stroked his chin, looking at Tan Jincheng with a slightly joking expression.

Even if Weilai Auto sells more than 10,000 vehicles a month, its current production capacity is more than enough. There is no need to acquire so much land. In fact, this is the largest plot of land that Shanchi has offered in Beicang at once.

Tan Jincheng looked at him speechlessly: "There's nothing I can't say. Okay, okay, I'll tell you. We're planning to set up an automotive research institute."

Since last year, automobiles have become a major source of internet traffic. The pig farm's automotive channel has invested heavily and secured strategic partnerships with several A-level auto shows, bringing significant traffic to the website.

The advertising revenue of automotive channels can be substantial. Take Weilai Auto as an example; their automotive channel features a considerable number of advertisements, including both direct ads and advertorials.

In order to bring more traffic to the website, Lao Ding always tries to get some insider information whenever he has the chance.

"A research institute? Damn, you're going all out like this? So your trip to the capital this time was nothing special?"

Old Ding immediately thought of the reason why Tan Jincheng came to the capital: to poach talent. He still vividly remembered his experience of poaching Sun Tongyu from Hangzhou a few years ago.

"It's just a small matter, what big deal could it be? Alright, I've told you, when are you going to introduce me to Lei Jun?"

Old man, if you want to ask this question, then that's a different price.

"Let's go now. I'll call President Lei, and we'll head to Yingu Building. It's too boring drinking tea here. Let's go check out their company."

In terms of status in the martial arts world, Lao Ding is not low either.

(End of this chapter)