2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 740 The Boatman Regretted It (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

P.S.: It's the last day of September, so don't waste your monthly tickets, brothers, please vote for them!
Bald, with a full beard, and bright, piercing eyes.

Lying on the beach in baggy shorts and wearing sunglasses, that was Tan Jincheng's first impression of Chris Thomas.

"Hi, Chris, I've heard so much about you."

Tan Jincheng changed into beach shorts and waved to Chris Thomas from afar. Chris smiled and waved back at Tan Jincheng.

This is a rare cross-disciplinary designer.

He was involved in the design of the Gulfstream G650, the Coca-Cola bottle, and the BMW C1 motorcycle. He also worked at Ford, so his resume is quite impressive.

He has designed airplanes, plastic bottles, motorcycles, and cars; his crossover into various fields is quite rare.

"Hey, Tan, Thomas told me about you. You're a promising young man."

Chris's first impression of Tan Jincheng was that he was really young, far too young. His face looked almost childish to Chris. Such a young billionaire was quite unusual, even in the West.

Not to mention the environment in the East, and the fact that he was in the manufacturing industry. Thomas had told him that Tan's business was very successful in China.

As a design expert in the automotive industry, he certainly knows how difficult it is to expand both the complete vehicle and power battery businesses.

Unlike the various bubbles in the internet industry, these two industries cannot tolerate any falsehoods.

How did he do that?
"Chris, you're so relaxed. The scenery here is really beautiful."

Tan Jincheng smiled and pointed to the scenery on the beach, saying, "These foreigners really know how to enjoy life. Every year they take some time to leave their work and go on vacation."

It can take anywhere from a week or two to several months.

"Haha, Tan, you've already made enough money to retire completely, so why are you still working so hard?"

According to Thomas, Chris is a serious person who doesn't like to joke, but that's only at work. In his personal life, he's not that cold-hearted.

"Why are you still working so hard? Yes, why?"

Tan Jincheng was taken aback by the question and didn't know how to answer for a moment. Human desires are endless. At the beginning of his rebirth, he wanted to earn more money so that he and his family could live a good life.

However, as his business grew bigger and bigger, he couldn't control it anymore, and now even if he wanted to stop, he couldn't.

If he were to say now that he's planning to stop, then something serious might happen.

Why work so hard? To put it nicely and positively, it's for the automotive industry, to address people's needs, and on a smaller scale, to improve one's social status and provide some security for oneself and one's family.

He doesn't get involved in real estate, finance, or even the internet industry. He focuses on doing real industries that require a lot of manpower and have some technological content, which are not considered outdated or sunset industries.

Most importantly, the new energy industry complies with policies, does not harm established businesses, has no conflict of interest, and is relatively safe.

After thinking for a moment, Tan Jincheng said in a deep voice, "We Chinese have a saying: 'If you don't advance, you'll fall behind.'"

"If it were just for money and to enjoy life, I could have stopped in 2006. I wouldn't have needed to do Orange Technology, power batteries, or even complete cars."

"But now I'm building a career, and I feel like I can't stop. My career is no longer just my own."

Chris nodded. An industry leader like him also has a whole team, which is equivalent to a sizable company. It wouldn't be easy for him to stop if he wanted to.

He has a group of people helping him and eating with him, so it's not easy for him to stop, let alone companies like Weilai Motors.

This young boss is quite sincere; he didn't make empty promises or boast like those big entrepreneurs.

The scenery on the Hawaiian beach was beautiful, and there weren't many people in the area where they were. Tan Jincheng introduced Hu Zhengnan and Chris to each other. Hu Zhengnan was there to assist in this persuasion trip.

The CEO has found strong leaders for the three major business segments of R&D and manufacturing, and has even prepared some reserve cadres. The only weak link at present is the design segment, which does not have a big name in charge.

In terms of technology, domestic brands were unlikely to catch up with multinational automakers until at least 2015. Therefore, design language became extremely important. BYD, Geely, and Chery, the three major domestic brands, only experienced a major breakthrough after developing their own design languages.

Design inspiration can be drawn from successful car models, but directly copying others' models is ultimately not acceptable. Today's consumers lack this consumer awareness and have limited choices, but that doesn't mean it will always work.

As businesses grow, so do consumers' awareness of consumption. If businesses continue to use deceptive tactics, they will never be able to grow.

To put it bluntly, even if you're just copying, you have to copy with your own personality, creating something that catches the eye.

The current method of using measuring tapes and copying and pasting will definitely not work in the future.

"Tan, could you talk about the philosophy behind Weilai Auto and what your design language is like?"

The serious Chris didn't want to talk too much about anything else with Tan Jincheng. The other party had flown all the way here to invite him to take up the position of president of Weilai Automotive Design. Since he had agreed to meet, he should have a good talk with him, even if it was just for Thomas's sake.

Thomas had introduced him to Weilai Motors, and he had also seen the Yuechi A1 and the newly designed electric Weilai ES6. Both cars had a very novel design style, especially the ES6, whose design language was very much to his liking.

If he hadn't seen the renderings of the ES6 and felt a strong urge to see it, he would never have agreed to meet Tan Jincheng.

Boss Tan has been involved in the automotive industry for several years now. He may not be an expert, but he certainly has some knowledge. Besides, he has been making time to learn, so he can say something about it.

"Weilai Auto will focus on new energy vehicles in the future. In my opinion, the biggest selling point of new energy vehicles is the driving experience. Weilai Auto's design philosophy is to be user-centric and create a pleasant driving experience."

"The design language is pure, refined, and futuristic."

After saying this, Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "Actually, it's because we don't have enough time. If we had enough time, I would also like to build a pure electric sports car as our concept car."

Chris smiled but did not respond.

Car companies that can create concept cars are all capable and idealistic. He understood what Tan Jincheng meant.

However, what Tan Jincheng said was indeed to his liking. For some reason, he was particularly fond of the ES6's exterior design, and for a moment he wanted to see the prototype as soon as possible.

It was a very strange feeling, and Chris really couldn't explain it.

“We have a few other design drafts. If Chris would like to see them, we can go back to the hotel sometime and take a look. Please also give us some pointers.”

In Tan Jincheng's impression, designers tend to have very imaginative ideas, and he couldn't fathom what kind of thoughts these big shots were thinking.

Therefore, one should do everything possible to be sincere when extending an invitation.

Who knows, it might be a single sentence that touched them.

"Okay, shall we go back and take a look now?"

Chris didn't refuse; he really wanted to go and see. Tan Jincheng didn't need to worry about any unreleased design drawings being leaked or stolen by Chris.

Putting aside the fact that BMW and Weilai have different design styles, formal conversations at their level are usually conducted under confidentiality agreements, meaning that the information cannot be known to third parties for many years.

With something on their minds, the three of them lost interest in lying on the beach and got up to head towards the hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel room, Hu Zhengnan took out his laptop and began to introduce the vehicle lineup, including both gasoline-powered and new energy vehicles.

"Chris, our main focus in the gasoline-powered vehicle market is the Chi series. The competition in the sedan market is too fierce, so we have no plans to produce sedans. Our main focus is on SUVs and off-road vehicles; by the way, our off-road vehicles are named after tanks."

If you randomly open a few design drawings, the Yuechi series is actually quite simple. It's similar to Volkswagen's design style. When a car is selling well, the next step is simply to lengthen and flatten it. In short, there won't be much change.

Most car companies with their own design language actually do this: the best-selling products are all universal. This is business, not art, so there's no need to come up with so many fancy designs.

After reviewing the design of the Weilai gasoline-powered car, Chris nodded repeatedly. Although the company was not established for long and did not have many models on sale, it was clear that its business philosophy was already quite mature.

After seeing the design renderings of the Tank 300, Chris couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, beautiful! It really matches your brand name, Tank, perfectly!"

Chris's designs are generally softer, and the rugged design of the Tank 300 is completely different from his style, but he has to admire how beautiful this off-road vehicle really is.

"Haha, right? I think it's beautiful too. This model is a trial model. We will launch a larger off-road model in the future."

Tan Jincheng laughed and said, "The Tank series of off-road vehicles may not be the best, but among domestically produced off-road vehicles, it is definitely one of the best."

I'm sorry, Mr. Wei, but this belongs to me now.

While Mr. Wei might seem abstract in other areas, he's truly exceptional when it comes to off-road vehicles and pickup trucks. Tan Jincheng even believes that if it weren't for the strong government support for new energy vehicles, Mr. Wei's achievements might be even greater. He's genuinely dedicated to developing traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, and even the era of new energy vehicles doesn't seem to have changed his mindset.

People who can stick to their own beliefs and remain unaffected by external influences deserve respect, regardless of right or wrong.

"It matches your brand name perfectly, and I believe this model will amaze consumers after it is launched."

Chris nodded in agreement. After looking at just two models, he found that Weilai Auto's design philosophy was truly remarkable and very mature. This car company was no ordinary company.

Tan Jincheng exchanged some design ideas with Hu Zhengnan, but Hu was too professional, and he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

The two chatted for almost half an hour. Although he couldn't understand much of what Tan Jincheng said, he listened patiently the whole time and occasionally refilled their coffee.

Although Hu Zhengnan's design skills are not as good as Chris's, they are still among the top in China, and the two had a very interesting conversation.

Hu Zhengnan felt he benefited greatly from communicating with such a top figure.

As they chatted, Hu Zhengnan looked at his boss and remembered his task for the day: "Chris, let's take another look at our new energy vehicles."

"Currently, our new energy vehicles mainly have two brands: the Aion series and the Weilai series. The Aion series focuses on low-end sedans, while the Weilai series focuses on mid-to-high-end models, including SUVs and sedans."

"Our naming system for the Weilai series is divided into the ET and ES series. We currently expect to release the ES6 in November. I believe you, Chris, are already somewhat familiar with this model, so I won't go into too much detail."

"As for the Aion series, we also plan to launch the first model in November, which we will name the Aion S. In addition, the Aion S is mainly aimed at the taxi market. Both models will also be exported to the European and North American markets in the future."

Tan Jincheng doesn't know how well the Aion S, a low-end model, sells in Europe and North America, but he feels it must sell well in Africa or other less developed regions.

In his previous life, he had seen online that some Chery and BYD models sold very well in Africa, especially in the North African market. Our brands were everywhere, and they were mostly used as taxis.

The reason I had such a detailed conversation with Chris was because the boss arranged for him to gain a comprehensive understanding of the design department at Weilai Automotive.

In the boss's words, the fact that someone like Chris agreed to meet shows that he is interested in Weilai Motors, which means there is a certain opportunity. It's always good for him to learn more about the company.
-
Beicang.

"This old Zhou is really interesting."

It's already the end of July, and Gu Qingqing is almost out of her postpartum confinement period. Although her two elders still don't allow her to go out, she has already returned to work.

"Yes, 360 is a well-known company, and yet they still wage wars online like this. I'm speechless."

Gu Yanning was temporarily transferred to Gu Qingqing's side to help her cousin set up her work. After giving birth, Gu Qingqing needed to fully resume her work as soon as possible, and at that time she would also need to rebuild her own team.

Gu Yanning was referring to Zhou Hongyi's recent posting of over 40 Weibo posts revealing her long-standing grudge against Kingsoft, followed by a verbal exchange with Tencent's Pony Ma.

He's just like a troll on the internet.

She came to help her cousin set up TiMi Studio, which has entered a phase of rapid development. The studio is located in the headquarters building of Orange Technology, occupying two entire floors of the office building.

This is preparation for something big.

It was for this reason that their team paid special attention to the disputes between these companies, to see if they could take advantage of the chaos, in Tan Jincheng's words.

The fierce competition among these companies will definitely cause panic among employees within the company. Let's see if we can take this opportunity to poach some excellent programmers. Orange Technology also needs to cultivate security talent.

Tan Jincheng has gone abroad, and he has been busy with negotiations with Daimler and Tesla recently, so he hasn't had time to pay attention to these things. Otherwise, he would definitely be following the gossip every day.

The most interesting part of the 3Q War was the verbal sparring between the two companies. Zhou Hongyi and Ma Huateng appeared in the media to criticize each other, spewing insults everywhere.

"Pay close attention to this, and also keep in touch with headhunters to see if you can poach some security experts."

When TiMi Studio makes games, security is extremely important. The internet in the PC era was very brutal, and the security features of various software, including QQ, were very poor in the early stages.

In his previous life, Tan Jincheng had tried this: he obtained many QQ accounts and a whole bunch of antivirus software from internet cafes, which he had to pay money to buy, but the more he tried to kill the viruses, the more viruses appeared.

Although Zhou Hongyi is a rogue and his software is widely criticized, it must be said that he has made a great contribution to the Internet in terms of security. After 360 Antivirus became permanently free, the so-called viruses on the Internet seemed to disappear overnight.

It would be a miracle if someone didn't resent someone for cutting off their livelihood.

Little Ma is really ruthless. Old Zhou paved the way, and he's already drawn all the hatred. He turned around and wanted to steal from Old Zhou's house.

However, none of this has anything to do with Orange Technology. Before Tan Jincheng went abroad, he had already given Gu Qingqing and the senior management of Orange Technology a gag order.

Orange Technology's management does not allow any discussion about the dispute between the two companies to be made in the media.

Just keep quiet and quietly poach people.

The 3Q war has entered a heated phase, with companies such as Baidu taking sides. Tan Jincheng's requirement is that Orange Technology should not take sides.

The reason is simple: Tencent's reputation has been severely damaged in this dispute, and it's easy for them to be affected if they get involved.

Fortunately, there's no such thing as a "XX group" these days. Otherwise, if the internet environment were like it is a few years from now, with Tencent's actions, Orange Technology, as a member of the Tencent group, would still be splattered with blood even if they kept quiet.

"Okay, I'll arrange everything on my end. When is your brother-in-law coming back?"

Working from home, the two are quite relaxed, and recently Gu Yanning has occasionally slept here.

"It's not certain yet. I recently went to Hawaii again, but it should be soon. Mr. Yu and his team will be back in two days."

The news that Weilai Auto and Tesla have reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation has been transmitted back to China along with an announcement from Tesla.

This marks another instance of an independent brand achieving its overseas expansion plan, following Geely's acquisition of Volvo. While not as dramatic as Geely's acquisition of Volvo, it has still caused a huge sensation in China.

With the announcement that Tan Jincheng has replaced Herbert Kohler as Tesla's director, Jinqing (Hong Kong) Investment Company has finally come to the fore.

No one expected that the mysterious Eastern shareholder of Apple, which was reported by foreign media some time ago, was actually an investment company controlled by Tan Jincheng!
To be honest, the professionalism of domestic financial media is still lacking. Jinqing Investment made a name for itself in Hong Kong last year, but they didn't seem to notice.

Even in his busy schedule, Brother Boatman saw Tesla's announcement. As someone who has been determined to work in the new energy vehicle industry since 2003, Brother Boatman naturally pays special attention to Tesla.

When he learned that Tan Jincheng had become Tesla's second-largest shareholder and director, and that Weilai Auto had reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation with Tesla, Boatman was stunned for a long time.

Boatman knows Tesla's position in the electric vehicle industry better than anyone else.

For the first time, he felt that the little brother he had never taken seriously before, and the Weilai Motors that BYD had never paid attention to, might become BYD's strongest competitor in the future.

The previous collaboration between Hangxin Technology and BMW's power battery project enabled the latter to rapidly rise from an unknown battery company to a leading position in the industry in terms of technology.

Xiao Tan reacted quickly, and after the technological breakthrough, she swiftly integrated the company with Weilai Auto. The integration of resources enabled Weilai Auto to rapidly grow stronger.

Today, Wynn Motors is not just a vehicle manufacturer, but a large group company like BYD, which also has businesses in mobile phone batteries, power batteries, and complete vehicles.

This kid has already created the prototype of a company worth hundreds of billions.

There is no doubt that the collaboration with Tesla will enable Weilai Auto to achieve a major breakthrough in new energy vehicle technology.

The boatman is now genuinely regretting letting this kid go so easily when he tried to poach his girlfriend.

However, even if he knew, there was nothing he could do. BYD was currently mired in various crises, and problems had arisen in all its projects. His most important task at the moment was to help the group company overcome the crisis.

F3 sales are still good, but those in the know know exactly how many have actually been sold. This year's sales forecast has been lowered from 100 million to 60.

July has ended, and considering the sales trends of the past two months, it is very likely that the target of 60 will not be achieved!
This is really a headache.

Seeing that Tesla's second-largest shareholder had changed to Jinqing (Hong Kong) Investment, Boatman felt his eyelids twitching; he couldn't stand the sight of it.

He suspected last year that Xiao Tan controlled this company, and after checking, he found out it was true.

Although he didn't buy in near BYD's lowest point, he sold off almost at BYD's highest point. The company calculated that this guy made over 8 million yuan from BYD.

With an average selling price of HK$73.15, and now that BYD's share price has fallen to HK$50, his timing for clearing out his shares was impeccable.

It's infuriating! Not only did they poach our own employees, but they also made a fortune from our own company's stock.

"This kid seems to know BYD better than I do. Should I find a chance to have a chat with him?"

(End of this chapter)