2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 815 The Competitors Panic

The NIO Pilot intelligent driving system, which officially debuted at the Guangzhou Auto Show, has attracted a great deal of attention due to its introduction at the Internet Conference.

The two events occurred at the same time; the news from the Internet Conference coincided with the Guangzhou Auto Show.

During this period, many car reviewers on the internet have already disassembled and analyzed the intelligent driving system of the vehicle.

The year-long promotional period in 2014 generated a lot of buzz for new energy vehicles. The daily active users of the Weilai APP increased significantly, and there were also many more posts about new energy vehicles on Baidu Tieba's automotive forum.

The popularity of the Internet Conference, coupled with the car reviewers' disassembly, brought a great deal of attention to the Weilai booth at the Guangzhou Auto Show, making it the most visited booth Weilai has ever had.

"The complimentary meals we provided at noon today might not be enough. Would you like us to bring in some more?"

Tan Jincheng didn't come; Li Xiang was in charge of the site maintenance.

This wasn't his first time at an auto show, but it was his first time being in charge of the event. He had initially thought it would be an easy job, but it turned out to be quite a different story.

"Other stores probably have them too, right? Maybe they saw we'd run out and went to get some from somewhere else?"

The staff on site were somewhat complacent, but Li Xiang clearly didn't think so: "Don't think like that. We were the first to start this practice of distributing food on site. We'd rather have a little waste than give the exhibitors something to say."

Nowadays, many manufacturers are indeed following suit and giving away free food and water at auto shows, and they are even competing with each other for dishes.

"Okay, then we'll urgently send over another batch."

"Okay, go ahead."

Li Xiang, who replaced Zeng Jixiang in some of the work, couldn't stay at the Internet Conference for long because of the Guangzhou Auto Show. Although it was a bit of a pity, seeing how well the auto show was going is some consolation.

As Tan Jincheng said, Li Xiang did have the idea of ​​building cars after he first came into contact with Tesla. He joined Weilai with the idea of ​​learning, and his idea of ​​building cars himself had not been extinguished.

However, his experiences during his time in Weilai gave him a completely new perspective.

It seems like continuing as a lieutenant wouldn't be a bad idea?
Two tigers cannot share one mountain. After Autohome merged into Bitauto, his departure was already imminent. Joining Weilai was just a transition, a way to learn new knowledge and prepare for future entrepreneurship.

However, after joining the company, the proud and confident Li Xiang was truly impressed by Tan Jincheng's demeanor. He was very generous to him, and when Weilai went public, he also received some shares, although these shares were nothing to him as he was financially independent.

When he had entrepreneurial ideas and wanted to leave the company, not only did they not set any obstacles for him, but they also invested in him. In addition, they often took him under their wing and trusted him a lot within the company, basically leaving him completely unguarded.

His magnanimity is truly admirable, and perhaps it was Tan Jincheng's demeanor and confidence that inspired him.

Perhaps seeing the potential of Weilai, Li Xiang had for the first time the idea of ​​staying in Weilai for a few more years to see how things go.

When the company went public, Li Xiang asked Tan Jincheng about his future plans. Of course, Mr. Tan replied, "Going public is not the end, but just the beginning."

Whether a company goes public or not has its advantages and disadvantages. From the perspective of the boss cashing out or taking a break, going public is advantageous. However, from the perspective of the company's long-term operation, there are actually quite a few disadvantages to going public.

Going public means having to account to all shareholders, making the financial reports look good, maintaining a growth rate every year, and meeting market expectations; otherwise, it's considered a failure.

Although the company's decisions are still in the hands of the founders, with so many shareholders, you have to listen to their voices and consider the stock price, right?
A physical business requires long-term investment, and it is inevitable that there will be loss-making businesses or bad years in the industry. However, shareholders don't care about these things; they only care about the stock price.

These are actually detrimental to business operations.

Of course, while there are disadvantages, the benefits of going public are also obvious. First, it allows you to obtain a large amount of capital. Second, it allows you to expand your network of contacts and resources, gain more shareholders to endorse the company, and increase its security.

This is why companies in certain sectors of the internet industry like to be the first to go public; it gives them a significant advantage when competing with their peers.

However, this is not particularly obvious in the physical industry, but the benefits are the same.

The listing of Weilai was the starting point for the company. After receiving the money, the company made various investments. The boss and management made a commitment not to reduce their holdings for 36 months, which is the highest limit for A-shares. This played a significant role in the stability of the company.

However, in Li Xiang's view, the boss does not seem to have much interest in reducing his shareholding. Since FlashTech went public in 2008, he has not sold a single share, even though the lock-up period has long passed.

Orange Technology's reduction of its holdings was not for cashing out, but to introduce new shareholders to the company.

This is quite different from the actual controllers of other private listed companies in the A-share market. Others, once the lock-up period is over, will rush to reduce their holdings as soon as the company's stock price rises slightly.

Now, the company has plans to expand overseas.

In the field of power batteries, Weilai has now entered the top three in the world. The company plans to become number one in the world in terms of production capacity by 2018. This area alone has unlimited potential.

Even if I were to establish my own car brand in the future, I would still source the batteries from Wei.

Before actually meeting Wei Lai, Li Xiang only thought of it as an emerging brand that was good at marketing, did a good job in traditional fuel vehicles, and used solid materials, but that was all. Core components such as engines used domestic technology.

However, after actually experiencing it, Li Xiang changed his mind. Although the technology of gasoline-powered vehicles was not outstanding, the progress was already very obvious.

In recent years, the engines that Weilai has developed in-house have become usable, and they have been gradually used in some low-end models. In the future, Weilai will gradually get rid of its dependence on Mitsubishi in the field of gasoline vehicles.

In the field of new energy vehicles, the technological reserves far exceeded Li Xiang's imagination. Just in terms of the concept of intelligent driving, they are several years ahead of their domestic counterparts.

The Guangzhou Auto Show, which lasted for ten days, was open to the media only on the first day, and then to professional visitors for the next three days. The Weilai Intelligent Driving System received high praise during the four days.

Many executives from companies that learned about the event from the Internet Conference went straight to the Weilai booth.

After experiencing it firsthand, BYD executives looked grim. If this thing were used on the Aion S, it would be a huge blow to Qin's sales.

We have to find a solution, and BYD really doesn't have much time left.

Upon receiving feedback from the executives at the exhibition, Brother Boatman immediately flew to Ningbo and also tried to use some administrative power to see if he could persuade Tan Jincheng to give BYD more time.

He frequently interacted with these people, and from initially being a somewhat cunning junior to now being an equal competitor, Brother Boatman experienced several stages of emotional shifts.

Based on his many years of experience dealing with Tan Jincheng, if there were no external pressure, he would indeed treat Aion S and Weilai ES6 users equally from the start.

Since Wei Lai first announced his involvement in intelligent driving, BYD has gradually begun to follow suit.

After seeing the full picture of NIO Pilot, Boatman was furious at the company. Compared to Weilai's intelligent driving system, theirs was nothing but trash.

"Alas, this year is just unlucky."

Before boarding the plane, the boatman couldn't help but make a self-deprecating joke.

Since 2012, BYD has been transforming and betting on new energy vehicles. Like Wynn, they are also advancing power batteries and self-developed models in parallel. The launch of Qin has impressed the market and changed the image of BYD.

Just when things were starting to recover, we were unexpectedly ambushed by a young man in the field of intelligent driving.

Other business owners share the same sentiment as Boatman. In the words of professionals, the Weilai ES6 equipped with the latest intelligent driving system and the Tesla Model S with its intelligent driving system can be called intelligent cars.

The others can only be called electric vehicles.

The difference between the two is obvious.

The CEOs of other companies were also anxious, but the most anxious was definitely Brother Boatman. The Guangzhou Auto Show is a hub for industry information, and they quickly received the message that the CEO of BYD was urgently flying to Ningbo.

Both sides are currently watching to see if they can reach an agreement.

At the very least, we should tell Wei not to use so many materials on the Aion S. Using some lower-grade materials would be better, giving them some time to react.

It's somewhat ironic, really. Those of them, aspiring to succeed in the new energy vehicle industry, can only hope that this newcomer to the industry, the young richest man, will "let them off the hook."

The higher-ups also noticed Wei Lai's big move. The emergence of a dominant company in an emerging industry is something they can't yet judge whether it's good or bad. They also know that the CEO of BYD urgently went to Ningbo.

Whether or not to intervene is still uncertain; we can only wait and see how their negotiations go.

It's understandable that the industry is panicking. To use the most well-known and best-selling Maodou Y as an example, if Factory Manager Ma were to lower the price of Maodou Y to between 10 and 15 yuan, what a blow that would be.

Most companies would be severely damaged, if not wiped out, let alone in the early stages of industry development.

Some companies may stop investing if they see no hope for the future.

What peers, professionals, and superiors think is not important; what matters is market performance.

On November 24, the Guangzhou Auto Show officially opened to the public and professional visitors. The Weilai booth was packed with people, as new energy vehicle enthusiasts were eager to experience firsthand how the ES6, equipped with the latest intelligent driving system, performed.

Long queues formed at the ES6 booth, with people waiting to experience the intelligent driving system.

The combination of novelty and a comprehensive marketing strategy involving a captain-level car reviewer has indeed attracted many people.

This scene made their colleagues frown even more. They knew all too well how the ES6, equipped with the latest intelligent driving system, performed; it really was just as they had described.

As netizens jokingly put it, this is Mr. Tan's first time building a car, and he hasn't learned how to lie yet.

They say they use what materials in the cars, and they really mean it; they say they've sold a certain number of cars, and they really mean it. The data they publish is even more accurate than what the China Passenger Car Association publishes. "Sigh, I wonder how Mr. Wang and Mr. Tan's conversation went."

Ningbo.

Tan Jincheng was somewhat surprised by the boatman's unexpected visit.

"Is it really that big of a deal? Aren't you guys doing it too? Even if you're not as good as us, there shouldn't be such a huge gap. Besides, the market isn't that big right now. You can just upgrade and push forward slowly."

"As for it, really, I know you're the richest man now and have plenty of money, but I still want to ask you not to use the same materials in the Aion S as you did in the ES6. Give everyone a chance and give yourselves a chance too."

"Think about it, your company, Weilai, aims to become a mid-to-high-end brand. If its configuration is the same as the Aion S, then who would buy your mid-to-high-end products, right?"

Um, did the boatman misunderstand something?

Tan Jincheng was also stunned. He was looking at his own company's current intelligent driving system from the perspective of a consumer who had experienced the fun of intelligent driving in the future. In his opinion, this thing was still lacking and could not be compared with the one 10 years from now.

Therefore, the experience is not very strong.

However, Lao Wang and his group are different. Although they have some judgment and plans for the future, they don't have the same kind of supernatural insight as Tan Jincheng.

All technologies are held back; the technology that Wei Lai can present is certainly not all of it. If a new OTA is released one day, the blow to them will be even greater.

"Um, Uncle, you've misunderstood. The one used on the Aion S is definitely different from the one used on the ES6, that much is certain."

How could the same configuration be used in a car priced around 10 yuan and a car priced around 30 yuan? ES6 users would be furious.

Spending 30 or even nearly 50 for a high-end model, only to find out someone else can enjoy it for less than 10, is pure nonsense.

"Of course I know the materials used in the two are definitely different. What I mean is that you can slow down the release of features and technologies, and give us some time to upgrade our technology."

"Oh, is that so? What's in it for me?"

Tan Jincheng chuckled. Yu Kai had already told him that his phone had been ringing off the hook these past few days, all from people seeking cooperation, including internationally renowned brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Another piece of good news for Weilai is that Nissan recently contacted Weilai, expressing its intention to purchase customized Xuanwu power battery packs from Weilai. This is the first time a Japanese brand has purchased battery packs from a company other than Panasonic.

This is a dangerous sign for Panasonic, but for Yu Lai, it is a wonderful sign.

Although Nissan has only expressed its intention to purchase, further communication is needed regarding how the two parties will cooperate.

"Hey kid, can you not be so direct with your words?"

The boatman looked helpless. It was quite unusual for people of their status to ask for benefits right away, but it was good that there was something to talk about.

"Tell me, what do you want, how much time can you give us, and also, if we cooperate with Horizon, you won't create any obstacles, will you?"

He can't control what other manufacturers do, but what BYD lacks most right now is time.

As long as Wei Lai gives them six months, or allows them to participate in Horizon's cooperation without creating obstacles, they are confident that they can keep up with Wei Lai's pace.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do something like trying to take over the entire new energy vehicle market, nor can I do that. Our upgrade is planned. But since you've come all this way, Uncle, you can make any requests you have, and I'll do my best to fulfill them."

Tesla's entry into China is a catfish, and Weilai also wants to be a catfish. Aren't you guys having a great time cheating on subsidies? Fine, then let you cheat.

By the time you finally realize it, the market is gone.

With Weilai now holding a dominant position in the new energy vehicle market and its commitment to technological advancement, coupled with Tan Jincheng's advanced concepts, it's possible that in the future, no other manufacturer will have a chance in the new energy vehicle market.

The boatman clearly understood this as well, which is why he had no choice but to humble himself and seek advice from Tan Jincheng.

"Just tell me what you want. My requirements are to give BYD six months, and then I'll talk to Yu Kai. I don't expect Horizon to treat BYD the same way they treat Wei Lai, but at least give us A-level treatment."

BYD can improve in six months, but Wei Lai is also improving. After careful consideration, Brother Chuanfu decided that it was more appropriate to cooperate with Horizon. These returnees are really awesome. I don't know how Xiao Tan got them.

"Sure, no problem. As for my request, it's very simple. How about giving us some access to your patents? Specifically, those related to power batteries."

In terms of the number of power battery patents, Weilai's share is relatively small. To date, Weilai has a total of 108 patent technologies, ranking 18th in the world.

Among established domestic manufacturers, BYD has 510 patents, Guoxuan has 158, and Wotema has 117, ranking 1st, 11th, and 16th respectively.

Guoxuan is a strategic partner of Weilai. The two parties have cross-shareholdings and can share patents, but this is far from enough.

The combined total of the two companies is only about half of Dizi's, so the gap is still very obvious.

If a patent alliance can be formed with BYD again, it will be very beneficial for future technological progress.

The boatman was speechless.

BYD's biggest advantage is its power battery patent technology, and it really doesn't want to open it up. Tesla and Wynn have both open-sourced their related technologies, and BYD did not follow suit despite the pressure, in order to preserve its only advantage.

"Don't worry, we won't take all of your patents. Just treat them the same as our patents. We'll still pay for any extra costs you incur."

"Let me think about it. This isn't something I can decide on my own."

Damn it, some of your patents have been made public, how can that be called equal treatment?

"Okay, no problem. We need to discuss the details carefully."

Tan Jincheng didn't expect the boatman to agree immediately. In terms of design and innovation, not to look down on Dizi, but they are really not as good as Weilai now. Although the car model that Tan Jincheng copied is not very amazing, it still has a high-tech feel by today's standards.

The design of the ES6 may not be particularly impressive 10 years from now, but it will feel high-tech right now.

The design of the Aion S is also superior to that of the BYD Qin, which is something BYD cannot match. As for government resources and cash flow, the Aion S is no less than BYD.

If you want to take the thing that saves your life, it's definitely not that simple.

"Actually, Uncle, you don't need to worry. We can cook catfish, but we won't cook crocodile. You can rest assured about that."

If he really defeats all these domestic manufacturers, then Boss Tan will be close to his demise.

This was said to the boatman, and it was also conveyed through the boatman. Boss Dizi rushed to Ningbo, so this matter is definitely attracting a lot of attention.

"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that. I trust you won't lie to me."

The boatman naturally understood what Tan Jincheng meant; everyone tacitly agreed on this point.

"By the way, since you're here, Uncle, why don't we go check out the international racetrack on Meishan Island? Construction is about to start there, so please support our district."

Meishan Island International Circuit was acquired this year by the Ningbo Municipal Government and the Beicang District Government. The circuit is about 3.6 kilometers long and can host major events such as the WTCC World Touring Car Championship, the CTCC Touring Car Championship, and the F4 National Championship.

It is scheduled to be officially operational in 2017.

This is not only an improvement in the level of sports facilities in Ningbo, but also a good thing for domestic car companies, especially those in Weilai that have an advantage.

A professional racetrack, besides being able to host large-scale events and attract attention, is also very beneficial for automakers to test the performance of new cars.

"If I had known you had this in mind, I shouldn't have come."

The boatman was speechless. This kid really didn't want to miss out on any benefit. Even for such a short visit, he wanted to squeeze out as much as possible.

"Hehe, let's go then, I'll treat you to seafood later, Uncle."

The district wanted Tan Jincheng to use his connections to get some well-known figures to endorse the track and raise its profile. Tan Jincheng was just wondering how to break the deadlock, and this was like a pillow appearing when he was sleepy.

The Guangzhou Auto Show concluded on November 29th. During the six-day public exhibition period, the ES6, fueled by the bandwagon effect and large-scale marketing campaigns, enjoyed ever-increasing popularity.

The corresponding A-shares have all seen the emergence of intelligent driving concepts.

Institutional investors and speculative funds analyzed the parts suppliers of Weilai and hyped them up one by one, creating many hot stocks in the stock market in the second half of November, with quite a few stocks hitting the daily limit for several consecutive days.

Although Wei's stock price no longer had the momentum of hitting the daily limit, it still rose steadily, exceeding market expectations.

A giant with nearly 200 billion yuan in assets hasn't even had a decent pullback; it really means the bull market for the ChiNext board has arrived!

"Boss, I estimate that our ES6 sales will explode in the next two weeks. You have no idea how lively our booth is every day."

Li Xiang, who had just returned to Ningbo from closing his company in Guangzhou, was beaming with excitement.

(End of this chapter)