2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 895 "Boss Tan is opening the car door again"

The rise of Great Wall, Weilai, and Geely led the way for the rise of domestic brands in 2016.

After several years of rapid development, private car companies have made significant improvements in product strength, brand influence, and user reputation.

If 2016 was the year of the rise of domestic brands, then from the beginning of 2017, with the support of the blue ocean market of new energy vehicles and the dual-credit system, car companies with the ability to manufacture new energy vehicles have become highly sought-after by various foreign brands.

Mercedes-Benz is to BYD, BMW is to Weilai, JAC is to Volkswagen. Even second-rate car companies like Zhongtai have been favored by Ford. After returning to Ningbo from the capital, Tan Jincheng heard that Zhongtai had plans to cooperate with Ford.

Similar to the collaboration between JAC and Volkswagen, the collaboration between Zhongtai and Ford also plans to not use either of their brands, but to establish a new brand, like BYD's Denza.

"We can start considering the location of the joint venture factory."

The initial preparations for the joint venture factory with BMW were handed over to Wei Lai. After the Two Sessions, the domestic auto market was in turmoil again, and a new wave of joint ventures began.

Just days after Tan Jincheng signed the cooperation agreement with Kruger, FAW, SAIC and Audi signed a so-called Sanya Declaration in Sanya.

According to the statement, if Audi wants to cooperate with SAIC, it needs to meet a prerequisite: Audi's annual sales in China must reach 90 vehicles before the "SAIC Audi" agreement can be revisited.

Even after the new company is established, it must use the same sales channels and network as FAW-Audi.

"The market share of new energy vehicles is increasing year by year, and the competition among BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) is becoming more and more intense. It is simply wishful thinking for Audi to achieve its annual sales target of 90 vehicles."

Audi sold 58.9 vehicles in China in 2016. It is very difficult for luxury brands to achieve explosive growth in sales. Even with the most reasonable estimate of a 10% annual natural growth rate, it would take at least 2021 to reach annual sales of 90 vehicles.

By then, it will be too late. Moreover, even with a sales-driving machine like the A4, Audi cannot maintain a 10% annual compound growth rate.

This major prerequisite effectively severed the path to cooperation between Audi and SAIC.

SAIC signing this agreement is merely a way to save face.

"In the end, it's still a struggle for interests."

Luxury brands have very high profit margins, and those who can secure dealership channels for luxury brands must have powerful connections. SAIC, being part of the system, clearly couldn't withstand the pressure.

The reason why Wei Lai's cooperation with BMW was carried out in secret was precisely this; he didn't want to become a target.

If the news had been leaked from the beginning, even if it complied with the policies and guidelines, and even if BMW currently only has Brilliance as a partner, it might still have been sabotaged. Who would want another person to share their pie?

Kruger wasn't very familiar with the progress of domestic policies, but Tan Jincheng was.

It's almost a done deal that the investment threshold for foreign capital in the new energy vehicle sector will be lowered. It will be officially announced as early as July this year, or at the latest September, at which point there will be no more concerns.

The power struggle between FAW, FAW, and Audi ultimately ended with FAW winning, and the cooperation fell through. On the other hand, JAC and Volkswagen are making very smooth progress, and if nothing unexpected happens, the two sides will be able to officially reach a factory construction plan in a few months.

With JAC and Volkswagen leading the way, the joint venture factory between Weilai and BMW became less conspicuous even if the news leaked.

Where would be a suitable place to book?

In Shanghai, the Weilai Building, built at great expense, has been put into use. This 20-story building has a floor area of ​​9.8 square meters above ground and 5 square meters underground. Its exterior is almost integrated with its neighbor, miHoYo, making it one of the most popular photo spots on the street.

Just 300 meters away from the Weilai Building is Tencent's Shanghai Building, where automobiles, the internet, games, and anime have become key elements of this street.

According to discussions with companies such as miHoYo and Lilith Games, this street will be developed into a one-kilometer-long ACG cultural ecosystem, encompassing facilities such as a car museum, an animation museum, and a VR exhibition hall.

The Weilai Building also plans to open its first floor to the public free of charge, showcasing Weilai's classic car models, giant figurines, illustrated standees, and company honors, among other things, for the public to visit.

Additionally, the game division of Orange Group and the Shanghai offices of TiMi Studio are also located in the annex building of the Weilai Building.

Besides game companies like Tencent, miHoYo, and Lilith Games, this place also has offices for companies like NetEase and Ubisoft. Wei Lai mixed his brand with a bunch of game characters, which seemed abrupt, but it was actually a very good marketing strategy.

Anime fans and hardcore gamers are both potential or existing users of the brand. It would be a great thing if the brand image could leave a perfect impression on them.

There was some opposition to this plan within Weilai, with some feeling that the marketing approach was too deliberate. However, Tan Jincheng overruled the objections.

It's all relative; it might be like that at first, but people get used to it over time.

Many game enthusiasts come to the downstairs of the Weilai Building every day to check in, and some even come in to visit. Although it is not yet fully open to the public, visitors are not prohibited from visiting the exhibition hall on the first floor.

The person asking the questions was a new face from Weilai: Zhang Hailiang. Also present at the meeting in Shanghai were Qin Zhi and Fu Qiang, who were also new faces from Weilai.

The new internet car manufacturers are still being ridiculed as "PPT car manufacturers," with none of them producing a single actual model. However, it must be said that their entry into the market has had a tremendous impact on the traditional automotive industry.

Firstly, the departure of senior executives from major automakers is becoming increasingly frequent.

There's no way around it; the new car manufacturers are offering way too much. They've used internet-based methods to confuse the management of traditional car companies, especially Li Bing, who really knows how to spend money. Among all the new car manufacturers, Wenjie offers the most generous salaries, and Tan Jincheng is starting to regret investing in him.

He's still using the same tactics as in his previous life, wanting to get into battery swapping. Tan Jincheng really admires him for that, but he always feels that this guy is copying Dongzi in this regard, since Dongzi also invested in him.

Dongzi also invests heavily in assets. He had a tough time in the early stages of his business, but once he established his logistics network, his status in the industry changed dramatically.

Li Bing's idea for battery swapping is roughly the same.

To put it bluntly, this is a combination of a car and a gas station. If it succeeds, it will be very profitable. However, Tan Jincheng knows that it is quite difficult, but he did not stop it. Anyway, Li Bing has strong fundraising ability and does not lack investors.

In addition, Wenjie's battery swapping station model is also beneficial to Weilai. Once the other party's battery swapping stations reach a certain scale, Weilai can cooperate with them.

These three are all highly accomplished individuals. Zhang Hailiang is one of SAIC's youngest vice presidents, Qin Zhi is an old acquaintance, the former CEO of Autohome, and Fu Qiang is also quite prominent, having served as the former president and CEO of Volvo China Sales Company.

Speaking of these three, apart from Qin Zhi, Zhang Hailiang and Fu Qiang are both representatives of those who left the traditional automotive industry to join the new forces. However, they were both snatched away by Tan Jincheng. After all, in terms of the amount they were paid, Tan Jincheng was no less generous than the internet giants who started the new forces in car manufacturing.

Throughout 2016, a year of turmoil for major traditional automakers, the most stable executives, besides Great Wall Motors which saw a surge in sales and net profit, were Wei Lai.

Wei Lai's HR director not only ensured the stability of middle and senior management, but also actively sought opportunities alongside emerging forces.

Zhang Hailiang is the funniest guy. As the youngest president of SAIC, even with his outstanding abilities, he still needs to spend a long time accumulating seniority to get promoted in a system that values ​​seniority.

As a result, he became the object of contention among various emerging forces. The funniest thing is that he was eventually fooled by Jia Yueting, and LeEco collapsed in less than half a year.

Zhang Hailiang joined LeEco Supercar in March. After LeEco resumed trading in June, its stock price never closed in the green. In November, LeEco experienced a complete collapse, and its stock price plummeted. Zhang Hailiang was dumbfounded.

However, Zhang Hailiang cannot be blamed for this. Jia's disguise was indeed very good. Even in November when the company was in full collapse, he was able to fool many people into taking over his shares. LeEco's shares are still around 30 yuan, and its market value is 120 billion yuan. Can you believe it?

Fu Qiang's situation was similar. Although he did not go to LeEco, he was a relatively unknown new car company with insufficient financial strength last year. He soon realized something was wrong and ran away.

These two were relatively lucky; they joined as employees, and when they realized something was wrong, they ran away in time and were even recruited by Wei. In reality, there are many people who are worse off than them, especially those middle managers who have no skills or reputation.

Qin Zhi's situation was much better. He was the CEO of Autohome and was very familiar with the tricks of internet companies. Moreover, when he was thinking of leaving, Tan Jincheng invited him to join Weilai.

After joining Weilai, Zhang Hailiang, Qin Zhi, and Fu Qiang, like Baoteng CEO Li Chunrong, did not have a fixed project to be responsible for. Instead, they took turns working within the group for a period of time to understand Weilai's specific business and corporate culture.

Zhang Hailiang was originally in charge of the service trade sector at SAIC, leading innovative businesses such as Chexiang.com. To be honest, Jia Yueting's car manufacturing philosophy was quite advanced, and many new car companies followed suit. It's not shameful that Zhang Hailiang was fooled by him.

"Give me a map, let me take a look."

Krueger suggested that the joint venture factory be located in Jiangsu Province, with the specific location to be decided by Wei Lai. Tan Jincheng still needs to consider the suggestions from Krueger and BMW.

After ruling out northern Jiangsu, Tan Jincheng searched the southern Jiangsu area and finally found a location. He said to Zhang Hailiang, "Let's go to Zhangjiagang. It's a good place. We both have the surname Zhang. You can go and check it out. If you need me to help, just let me know."

Zhang Hailiang was chosen by Tan Jincheng as the chairman of the joint venture, while Qin Zhi and Fu Qiang were also candidates for management positions in the joint venture.

"Zhangjiagang? That's a great place, and it fits our industrial chain perfectly."

After discussing it for a while, the three of them said in unison that as the core area of ​​the Yangtze River Delta, Zhangjiagang has the only complete vehicle import port in Jiangsu Province and a well-developed collection and distribution system. It has a strong water transport capacity and is also close to Shanghai.

In addition, Tan Jincheng also has its own factories and battery production bases in Suzhou and Changzhou. The localized supply chain not only reduces logistics costs, but also facilitates R&D collaboration and accelerates the launch of new models.

"Okay, let's get started. I'll submit the proposal once it's finished."

The joint venture between Weilai and BMW is not just a matter between the two car companies, but also between the two countries. For the joint venture to be established smoothly, it needs to be approved by the governments of both countries. If Tan Jincheng wants to move forward quickly, he must make the cooperation plan perfect.

It is currently the first quarter of 2017. If things go smoothly, Tan Jincheng hopes that the construction of the factory will proceed as soon as possible and that the Cooper will be mass-produced as soon as possible. Tan Jincheng's idea is to launch the electric version of the Cooper to the market in 2019.

If we wait any longer, we won't be able to sell it at a good price.

MINI's main competitors are the Beetle and the Smart. The Beetle is about to be discontinued, and the remaining competitor, the Smart, has a huge price advantage over MINI. If the price is too high, MINI will not have an advantage.

While the new energy vehicle subsidies are still in effect for some time, they can still sell at a good price through subsidies. In the future, in addition to improving performance, they also need to lower prices to maintain competitiveness with Smart.

"Okay, we will complete it as soon as possible." Zhang Hailiang, who has just finished his shift, is now full of energy. He had already sensed that LeEco Supercar was in trouble last June. At that time, LeEco had not yet fully collapsed, but the overall situation was already very bad.

From a high-ranking vice president at SAIC to the head of a struggling new energy vehicle company, Zhang Hailiang has persevered, but the sense of loss he feels is indescribable.

The moment Wei Lai, the HR director, found him, Zhang Hailiang, who had been under immense pressure, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Without much consideration, Zhang Hailiang agreed to Wei Lai's request to join the company. In the words of the HR director, there are plenty of people who will die with LeEco, it's not your turn yet.

It was this one sentence that made him lower his guard.

By November, news of LeEco's complete collapse was flooding the internet, which relieved Zhang Hailiang. It had only been six months; if he had waited another six months, he didn't know what would have happened to him.

After eight months of rotating shifts in Weilai, Zhang Hailiang gradually settled down. Then this month, his boss called him to Shanghai, and he knew his opportunity had come again.

It took a year, but we finally made it through.

Tan Jincheng nodded: "Okay, then hurry up, I have something to do so I'll be going now."

These three are the core members of the future joint venture factory. Apart from Qin Zhi, Zhang Hailiang and Fu Qiang can be said to be "unlucky". One is the vice president of SAIC and the other is the president and CEO of Volvo China Sales Company, but they have encountered a Waterloo in their careers.

It would be a stain on their careers if word got out, but it's good that they can reflect on their mistakes and return to their important positions with a fresh mindset.

For Tan Jincheng, he is not afraid of ambitious new management joining the company, nor is he afraid of them slipping out of his control, nor is he afraid of placing them in important positions. Within his bottom line, he can allow management to have certain ambitions, but if they cross his bottom line, then the law will punish them.

Zhang Hailiang previously oversaw service trade and innovative business segments at SAIC. Placing him as chairman would allow him to effectively connect with BMW and serve as a bridge between the two companies.

Fu Qiang is competent to serve as president and CEO of Volvo's sales company, and his abilities are fully suited to the position of sales manager at the joint venture factory.

As for Qin Zhi, the former CEO of Autohome, Tan Jincheng plans to appoint him as the general manager of the joint venture, responsible for daily business operations and marketing.

Qin Zhi, who works under Li Xiang, has managed to run Autohome so well, which shows that he is also very capable.

The joint venture is still in the preparation stage, but Tan Jincheng has already selected the management team he considers suitable.

"Is the boss going to prepare for the L1 delivery ceremony?"

Qin Zhi had been in the company for a longer period than the other two. After his routine shift, he stayed to work in the marketing department, which gave him many more opportunities to interact with Tan Jincheng, and the two could talk much more casually.

"Yeah, do you guys want to come and see what's going on?"

With only two models currently on sale, the Weilai brand must accelerate the launch of new vehicles. This year, Weilai is launching the range-extended Weilai L1. Like Xiangzi's range-extended model, the L1 has also been the subject of much controversy since its launch last year.

The Weilai L1, positioned as a mid-to-large-sized new energy SUV, focuses on range-extended electric vehicle technology that eliminates range anxiety, with a NEDC combined range of up to 800km, which has generated huge controversy in the new energy vehicle industry.

However, the features of four-screen interaction, full-vehicle voice control, refrigerator, TV and large sofa, and a price slightly lower than the ES8 (starting from 32.8 yuan) have accurately targeted the family user market.

The three looked at each other and nodded.

"The car industry scoffs at it, but the market feedback is quite good. Hopefully, it can fill the market gap left by the Weilai ES8."

All three of them had participated in the development and promotion of the Weilai L1, so they were certainly familiar with the model. Whether range-extended electric vehicle technology was outdated was a matter of ongoing debate in the industry, but as the boss said, as long as the market could accept it, who cared what kind of technology it was?

"Haha, 30 yuan for a refrigerator, TV and sofa is quite attractive to families, so I believe sales should be good."

According to research by Weilai's marketing department, the sales of Weilai L1 should exceed those of ES8, and it may well become a major sales breakthrough for Weilai in the field of new energy vehicles.

The ES8 sold over 10,000 units last year, a sales figure that the entire company is very satisfied with.

However, based on L1 pre-orders and market research, with market growth, L1 is very likely to sell 3 units in its first year on the market. Currently, L1 has more than 5000 pre-orders.

Another point to note is that refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas have actually been found in cars for a long time. For example, Tan Jincheng's Maybach has these features, but it was Wei Lai who first put them all on a car in the 30 yuan price range.

The appearance of such configurations at the launch events of several models was quite impressive. It wasn't some advanced technology, but these were previously standard features on luxury cars.

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "A good cat is one that can catch mice. Range-extended electric vehicles are very controversial, but they are also an experiment for us."

Kyoko was criticized in various ways back then, and even Lifan was used to attack his products for a long time. The root cause was that they sold too well. With limited space in the new energy vehicle market, the sales of ONE quickly rose to the forefront of domestic new energy vehicles and were able to compete with Maodou Y.

More than 5000 L1 vehicles have been pre-ordered, with sales from first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai accounting for as much as 45% of these pre-orders. These pre-ordered vehicles have already been produced.

The first batch of ES8 deliveries was held in Beijing last time, but Beijing, which had just held the Two Sessions, was obviously not suitable for holding another first batch of new car deliveries ceremony. This time, Tan Jincheng held the L1 delivery ceremony in Shanghai.

Starting from March 20th, the first batch of Weilai L1 2017 models rolled off the production line and began full-scale delivery, with shipments gradually starting from Weilai Automobile's Meishan Island production base in Ningbo.

"The boss is absolutely right. Every car has its share of controversies. As long as it sells well and consumers are satisfied, that's all that matters. Today, let's see how the boss opens the door for the car owner."

The ES8 launched a large-scale "Billionaire Opens Car Door" event, opening up a new way for car companies to market. Tan Jincheng, who attaches great importance to the Weilai L1, continues this first batch delivery method.

However, this time it was a bit more low-key compared to the ES8, with only 40 units delivered at the largest Weilai experience store in Shanghai.

"This new car delivery method will become our tradition this year, and you should also promote it in the same way when the MINI Cooper electric version is launched."

"Of course, I hope that day will come soon."

These words made the three of them somewhat happy. Although they were going to work for a new company, the boss's simple words meant that they were also entering the ranks of senior executives at Weilai.

The management team present at the previous ES8 delivery ceremony represented their status in the company.

The L1 was launched in Shanghai and will be delivered nationwide. In addition, after the L1 was launched, Weilai also upgraded its delivery method. Previously, customers could only pick up their cars in person at the store. This time, Weilai upgraded its delivery method.

In addition to in-store delivery, we also offer door-to-door delivery within a 300-kilometer radius. The only difference between in-store delivery and door-to-door delivery is that it is a bit more troublesome in terms of services such as obtaining temporary license plates.

"Mr. Han, I've heard so much about you, it's great to finally meet you in person. I grew up reading your books."

The JIA Dingqu Weilai Experience Store is Weilai's largest experience store in East China. Today, at the delivery ceremony of the Weilai L1, a special car owner came, namely the "King of Cars" who is as famous as Xiao Si Ge.

This guy is a controversial figure. His book, "I Want to Talk to the World," which was limited to only 100 copies, unexpectedly became a "financial product" because each copy came with 10 grams of gold.

What's funny is that this guy is terrible at investing, but he's made a lot of money making movies.

Regardless, he seems to have a genuine passion for racing. This time, he ordered an L1 car from Wei Lai through internal channels, which surprised Tan Jincheng. However, Tan Jincheng was still quite happy that a celebrity or race car driver was willing to buy Wei Lai's car.

This at least shows that Wei Lai's car has gained recognition from professionals to some extent.

"Mr. Tan, you're too kind. I'm sorry to have bothered you today."

Having cut his long hair short, 35-year-old President Han is much more low-key than when he was younger. He has not been very active on social media in recent years. His appearance at the delivery site of Weilai was at the invitation of Weilai.

Regardless, they paid for Weilai's products themselves and were among the first to order, so we should definitely give them the respect they deserve. It's also a good opportunity to promote Weilai L1.

"Hey, I'm not kidding, I really did grow up reading your novels."

Tan Jincheng smiled and shook hands with him. This guy and Xiao Si are a generation of memories for those born in the 80s.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Tan Jincheng did the same thing as when he delivered the ES8 last year: take a group photo, bow to open the car door, and watch President Han leave. He repeated the same actions for each car, as dedicated as ever.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Mr. Han rolled down the window, leaned out, waved, and drove off with a flourish.

He was the 001st owner of the Weilai L1, and Weilai's official Weibo account even posted a special message to thank him, while also promoting his new movie, "Duckweed," which was released on January 28th during the Spring Festival and received good box office and word-of-mouth reviews.

Tan Jincheng also noticed him and waved to him. This was the first time a celebrity car owner, a race car driver, had appeared at the delivery site.

This is quite a lot of buzz for Wei Lai.

Noticing Tan Jincheng's response in the rearview mirror, President Han slowly rolled up the car window and chuckled, "Interesting."

He bought the Weilai L1 to capitalize on the popularity of his movie, which is full of racing elements. Actually, he wanted to buy the Weilai EP9, but unfortunately he couldn't. However, he was still very interested in the Weilai L1.

At this moment, he couldn't wait to experience it.

"The boss is really dedicated."

Seeing Tan Jincheng driving one vehicle after another with the same movements, Zhang Mingliang and the other two were full of admiration. At the same time, they also felt a certain urgency about the joint venture factory plan. There was not little competition within Weilai. If the boss was working so hard, they would be left behind sooner or later if they could not keep up with his pace.

(End of this chapter)