2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 936 "Security Test, Live Stream?"

"It would be good to do some promotion to boost our sales."

Faced with the dismal market response in the first quarter, Tan Jincheng had no choice but to bow to the market.

Due to the combined effects of the Chinese New Year holiday and the downgrading of consumption, the overall market sales declined by 10.5% in the first quarter. The sales of new energy vehicles plummeted by 55.1% year-on-year due to factors such as the cooling of subsidies and the upcoming localization of Tesla Model 3.

In the first quarter, excluding the Aion S delivered to Didi and other ride-hailing and taxi companies, Weilai only sold 3.65 vehicles in China, a dismal sales figure. However, this sales volume still makes it the best-performing new energy vehicle company in the world.

The only model to achieve monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units is the Tesla Model 3. However, this is a global figure and only represents a March estimate. Undoubtedly, the Model 3 remains the most popular pure electric vehicle worldwide.

With dismal domestic sales, Mr. Tan had no choice but to agree to the marketing department's new marketing plan for Weilai New Energy Vehicles.

"But you have to be careful about the degree, you have to grasp the right measure, this thing is really a double-edged sword."

"A double-edged sword? It can't be that bad. This is just how the public opinion is now. If we don't use it, other manufacturers will. Boss, look at the mobile phone industry, look at what it's become."

"Besides, if it's a double-edged sword, we can deal with it later. Let's make use of the current public opinion environment first, and if there's a backlash later, we can think of other ways to deal with it slowly."

The person in charge of liaising with Tan Jincheng in the marketing department was his old subordinate, Zhou Ao, who had always considered himself Tan Jincheng's apprentice.

As for why Zhou Ao jumped from Shanchi to Weilai, in his own words, the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry was too boring, with no one capable of competing. Shanchi Technology, which had already established its market position, had no need for him at all.

Three years ago, Zhou Ao sold his shares in FlashTech, instantly achieving financial freedom. He then left FlashTech and joined Weilai Group, starting as a middle manager in the marketing department. Gradually, he established himself and became Tan Jincheng's subordinate.

Many people in the marketing department regard the boss as a god-like figure, and they feel a lot of pressure when reporting their work. Only Zhou Ao dares to speak to him in a questioning tone.

"It's precisely because the mobile phone industry has become so ruthless that I have this concern."

Tan Jincheng sighed. He admired the Chrysanthemum Factory very much. Its strength, accumulated over time, was something every company should learn from. He also admired Da Zui very much. Da Zui was simply a born salesman.

In terms of technology, Huawei is undoubtedly top-notch. However, in terms of marketing, from an entrepreneurial perspective, Huawei is also top-notch and worth learning from, especially for him.

However, from a user's perspective and personal feelings, he doesn't really approve of Da Zui's marketing tactics. While "leading by a wide margin" wasn't very popular in the last two years, the more exaggerated "boiling point" has become in recent years.

A simple internet search for the word "boiling" will yield countless results related to the Huawei company, with headlines like "Boiling Over," "National Shock," and "Western Exclamation."

Some self-media outlets jumped on the bandwagon, but most of them were still marketing chrysanthemums. It was indeed exciting to watch, but it was also extremely disgusting. It's just that most people didn't dare to say it out loud in the current public opinion environment.

However, this does not mean that it has no impact on the brand image. If it can continue to be so strong, that's fine, but if the company faces a major crisis or difficulties in transformation, this impact will be magnified infinitely.

Tan Jincheng, who came from 2023, is well aware of the harm of this kind of patriotic bundling marketing, which is why he has been hesitant all along.

Last year, Wei Lai confronted the old man over the issue of lithium battery supply chain security. Tan Jincheng's public statement attracted worldwide attention. If Wei Lai wanted to use the chrysanthemum-like marketing method, it would be entirely feasible.

The public opinion environment, public goodwill, and the interview in the dialogue program under this publicity have brought considerable popularity to Tan Jincheng and his company, and even other industries have benefited greatly.

However, that's just how the market is. Weilai has no plans to launch any new models this year, and its declining influence is an undeniable fact. Fortunately, its gasoline-powered cars are still selling well.

The high price of new energy vehicles after the significant reduction in subsidies makes them incomparable to gasoline vehicles in the current market environment. The main reason is that although gasoline prices have risen sharply, they are still within the acceptable range for most car owners.

When 92-octane gasoline rises to eight or nine yuan per liter, that's when new energy vehicles will truly take off.

In addition, there is the continuous occurrence of traffic accidents related to battery safety incidents. Internationally, there have been incidents of electric vehicles from well-known automakers such as Tesla and Audi spontaneously combusting after collisions around the world, which has drawn attention.

In China, Li Bing was probably the most unlucky. His first car caught fire and emitted smoke while charging in multiple cities across the country in February and March.

Although the multiple spontaneous combustion incidents at Wenjie have not resulted in any injuries or fatalities, the ongoing problems with the vehicles of this leading new energy vehicle company have drawn considerable attention. Wenjie has already planned to recall approximately 4803 Wenjie M9 vehicles to provide after-sales service by replacing the battery modules.

This batch of trains was produced by Wenjie between April and October of last year. It was a significant blow to Wenjie, which had just started operating. Li Bing was the unluckiest person at the beginning of 2019, but Wei Lai was also implicated by him.

Wenjie's battery suppliers are WILTECH and CATL. The batteries in the vehicles that caught fire or emitted smoke were supplied by both WILTECH and CATL. As two of the world's top battery suppliers, they cannot solve this problem, so the public's concerns about safety are completely understandable.

Unfortunately, both of these companies are closely related to Tan Jincheng. In addition to being the actual controller of Weilai, Tan Jincheng is also the second largest shareholder of CATL, which just went public last year, and holds an absolute position in the battery industry.

Although there haven't been any recent safety incidents involving Weilai vehicles due to battery issues, there have been previous incidents, and these criticisms have significantly impacted sales.

"While the unfavorable market environment is certainly a major reason, the bigger reason is that our own batteries are still not up to par."

Given the complex environment, it's impossible for Boss Tan to directly reject the marketing department's new marketing plan based on some future concerns. However, this isn't the fundamental issue. The fundamental reason is to dispel consumers' concerns about battery safety.

After all, this thing can really be deadly.

Consumers' understanding of new energy vehicles can be roughly divided into three stages. The first stage is the range anxiety during the promotion period. At that time, due to the immaturity of battery technology and insufficient infrastructure, consumers had great doubts about the range of new energy vehicles.

It runs out of power after running for tens or hundreds of kilometers, and you can't even find a charging station. There are really not many people who dare to buy this thing.

With improved infrastructure and the ubiquitous availability of charging stations, coupled with breakthroughs in battery technology, while some people still raise concerns about range anxiety, the basics have largely alleviated the worries of most consumers.

A single charge can power you for 400-500 kilometers, and you can always find charging stations at service areas, so there's no need to worry about it anymore.

For the average user, with a range of 400 to 500 kilometers, it's really difficult to encounter the so-called range anxiety problem during their car ownership career. Even if we calculate based on 300 kilometers (60% of the range), it's not a problem.

Within 300 kilometers, charging locations can be easily found. The investment in new energy infrastructure in recent years is not a small amount. In addition to the investment of major car companies themselves, the country has also invested heavily. Some relatively remote cities now have a considerable number of charging stations.

The first stage of range anxiety is basically over, and the second stage is the current period.

With range anxiety eliminated, battery safety becomes the most important issue. Although the high price seems daunting, with substantial subsidies, users willing to try new energy vehicles are not particularly concerned about it.

Tan Jincheng and Wei Lai have always emphasized the safety of cars in their past promotions. This has not been questioned much in the case of gasoline-powered cars. After all, although we don't have much core technology in this area, with a mature industrial chain, it is not a big problem to build a car with good safety performance.

However, the promotion of new energy vehicles has never been very effective. The cars are still being sold, but doubts persist. This is the background of the entire industry.

"What methods can we use to popularize battery knowledge among users on a large scale?"

After seeing Zhou Ao off, Tan Jincheng pondered the problem. Battery spontaneous combustion is, to put it bluntly, a physical phenomenon, and it is almost impossible to completely eliminate it. No car company can produce an absolutely safe vehicle or battery.

The most urgent task right now is to find ways to popularize battery safety knowledge among consumers, so that they can have a basic understanding of car batteries. Just like the intelligent driving system, thanks to the persistent efforts of Tan Jincheng and Wei Lai, most of Wei Lai's car owners have already gained a relatively intuitive understanding.

After undergoing intensive training, sales staff at the terminal stores will educate car owners about the various features of intelligent assisted driving when the vehicle is delivered. The most important point mentioned during the explanation process is the assistance.

The years of hard work have certainly paid off. The owners of Weilai cars generally have a higher level of awareness than other new energy vehicle owners. At least they won't let go of the steering wheel on the highway and completely let the intelligent driving system take over the car.

The popularization of battery technology is based on the same principle as intelligent driver assistance systems, both being grounded in safety theory. However, this technology is significantly more complex, with many technical terms that users simply cannot understand.

This applies to all sales personnel at the retail level.

“Since we can’t popularize it, let’s just not popularize it. Let’s do the opposite.” After thinking for many days, Tan Jincheng convened the management of multiple departments and made a major decision on popularizing knowledge about battery safety.

"In internet terms, a good product design is one that treats users like idiots. A product that even an idiot can operate is bound to be a bestseller."

"However, implementing such a design in automotive products is too difficult, and the same goes for popularizing knowledge about it. So, in that case, we might as well not popularize it and let them see for themselves whether the battery is safe or not."

"Give the decision-making power regarding battery safety to the users, and let them use their own perception to determine whether this thing is safe or not."

"So I decided to conduct a large-scale live broadcast of battery puncture test in all the major parks in Weilai. Every park has to participate. In addition to inviting car owners to watch on-site, I also want to conduct a large-scale online live broadcast."

"We demonstrate to users, through live streaming and in-person events, that our battery safety capabilities are trustworthy."

Weilai and CATL supply batteries to Wenjie. The safety concerns raised by Wenjie cars are partly due to battery issues, but more so because of the underlying problem: Wenjie's inadequate battery pack supply capabilities.

Simply put, this is like damage to a package during transit due to packaging, and Tesla is no exception. This aspect of the business has always been the responsibility of the automaker itself.

Battery suppliers, including CATL, only provide them with battery cells or modules. Tesla's battery packaging technology is the most advanced in the industry, but this also takes time.

Tan Jincheng does not agree with questioning the safety of Weilai Battery's supply based on a few safety incidents.

"Live stream? How exactly? What if it goes wrong?"

Mr. Tan's outlandish move left the executives dumbfounded, especially Lu Ruifeng, the technical director in charge of the battery business. This expert, who came from the Institute of Physics, had been with Weilai for longer than Weilai's entire lifespan.

Lu Ruifeng was recruited to serve as Vice President of Weilai Group, Deputy Dean of Weilai Research Institute, and Chief Technology Officer of Jinshidai, responsible for battery technology development and production.

"Haha, Engineer Lü, don't be in a hurry, let me finish."

It's normal for a tech guru like Zhou Ao to have some marketing ideas that don't quite match Tan Jincheng's. However, Zhou Ao, his "apprentice," had a bright idea. Although his new marketing plan was approved by the boss, he knew it wasn't what the boss wanted.

The boss has never liked this kind of patriotic marketing that uses emotional blackmail. Last year, when they were so confrontational, their department wanted to follow suit and learn from the chrysanthemum factory's marketing strategy, but the boss stopped them. Wei Lai's current image is purely a spontaneous act by netizens.

On this point, Wei Lai and DJI share the same idea and did not use this topic to market themselves too much. Although they did not communicate with Wang Tao, they had the same marketing ideas.

However, the marketing department wasn't idle. Zhou Ao always liked to secretly "mess around" with the boss. He often did this during the FlashCar era to boost sales. As long as it didn't involve any bottom-line issues, the boss would usually let him off the hook.

The marketing focus wasn't on patriotism, but rather on WIL's battery technology. Like DJI, our products have enough market share in North America. If you don't want them, plenty of others will. If you're serious, then raise the price and see who suffers in the end.

And you know what? It actually works quite well.

It's just that our competitors are really disappointing. These internet giants are all-powerful in the internet field, with endless marketing tricks, so why can't they make it in the automotive sector?
Sigh, I wonder what kind of marketing tactics mobile phone manufacturers would come up with if they were to enter the car manufacturing industry like internet companies?
As far as Zhou Ao knew, Huawei was also developing and researching intelligent vehicle system solutions. If their top marketing team were to enter the automotive industry, it would be something to look forward to.

"Mr. Lü certainly knows more about our battery technology than I do. Can you tell me if there are any problems?"

Tan Jincheng still habitually called Lü Ruifeng "Engineer Lü," and Lü Ruifeng also liked the way his boss addressed him.

When Tan Jincheng asked him about battery technology, Lü Ruifeng replied decisively: "There are flaws, but the general direction is definitely not a problem, and we are also improving the safety performance step by step."

In simple terms, there are two main types of automotive power batteries: lithium iron phosphate and ternary lithium. Smaller manufacturers, due to their scale and other limitations, can only choose one of these two technologies for development.

However, powerful battery suppliers like WILTECH, BYD, Guoxuan High-Tech, and CATL definitely use both technologies.

Jinsheng's initial idea was to vigorously develop ternary lithium batteries, as did CATL. To this end, both companies, along with other large domestic raw material suppliers such as Huayou Cobalt and Ganfeng Lithium, went overseas to acquire mineral resources with the support of the state.

Upstream raw material suppliers hold the key to manufacturers' survival. Wei Lai also has a lot of his own mineral resources, but they are mostly concentrated in lithium.

Two important raw materials for ternary lithium batteries are cobalt and nickel. Although the price of cobalt fluctuates, the overall supply security is not a major issue, as there are still large domestic cobalt resource companies.

However, regarding the supply of nickel, although Tsingshan Group, another powerful enterprise in Zhejiang Province, supplies a portion of it, the supply chain still relies on foreign companies, with 60% of China's nickel being imported.

Several years before the old man came to power, Tan Jincheng had already realized this problem. This was also due to his lack of expertise in the early days. In the context of the 2008 global subprime mortgage crisis, he only knew how to grab lithium resources and did not pay much attention to these rare metals.

Once you realize what's happening, it's not so easy to buy it anymore.

Therefore, Jinshidai decisively shifted its resources from focusing on the research and development of ternary lithium batteries to lithium iron phosphate batteries. Compared to the supply chain security issues of ternary lithium batteries, there is no need to worry about lithium iron phosphate batteries.

In the lithium iron phosphate supply chain, both the core raw materials and the concentration are dominated by our own people.

"Then there's no problem. Even if it goes wrong, it's not a big deal, because my live streaming plan isn't just for a day or two. I plan to hold large-scale safety testing events like this throughout the year."

"From now on, I will be conducting a nine-month live battery puncture test in our various industrial parks. Whether each industrial park conducts a live test once a month or once a week depends on your technological breakthrough capabilities."

The puncture test in battery safety testing is probably the most direct and cutting-edge test that all users can understand. It easily and intuitively demonstrates the safety of the battery to users through the needle puncture method, which is much easier than popularizing any professional knowledge.

Live streaming is the best way to generate buzz. This time, Tan Jincheng is going to do something big, taking on all the work of a car reviewer, and doing it through live streaming to eliminate the possibility of fabrication.

As long as Wei Lai's battery can withstand the test during the live broadcast, the trouble caused by the unlucky Li Bing can be resolved smoothly.

With its self-produced battery cells and battery packs, Weilai, like BYD, has a complete supply chain advantage, ensuring reliable battery supply and safety performance. The series of accidents involving Tesla and other new energy vehicle companies have always been linked to Weilai, serving as a reminder to the company.

Damn it, all we do is sell you some battery cells, and you always have to drag us into it. You bunch of scumbags.

"Where are you guys? Are you all okay?"

After hearing that the boss wasn't afraid of failure and that the live stream would continue until the end of the year, Lü Ruifeng had no more concerns. One or two failures didn't mean anything. If the success rate of the puncture test increased by the end of the year, even reaching 100%, wouldn't that be the most direct proof of Weilai's technology?

Thinking about it this way, Lü Ruifeng actually wanted to see a few live stream mishaps. As for whether it would affect sales, that was none of his concern.

"It was a great success. Boss, do you want to go and take a look? Our lab has been doing experiments like this recently. If we used our blade battery for this live stream, I think it would be even more awesome."

Many years ago, the cunning boss Tan poached a lot of people from various engineering institutes of Dizi. If he could travel back to 2025, he would know that the key technical and project teams he poached from Dizi that had been with the company for less than five years included key R&D personnel for Dizi's blade battery.

Zheng Weixin, Huang Qin, and Chen Gang are prime examples. After joining Weilai, they received salaries several times higher than at BYD, and their worries about family and other aspects were also resolved by the boss.

In terms of talent, Boss Tan was very generous. As long as someone was capable, he would pay them money to solve the problem without hesitation. His generosity made the younger members of the group somewhat doubt whether they were really that capable.

That's right. In addition to traditional battery methods, Weilai has also been developing blade batteries. The flat shape of blade batteries provides a larger heat dissipation area. Combined with the liquid cooling plate design, the heat dissipation efficiency is 20% higher than that of traditional batteries.

The reason why Boss Tan dared to play such a bold live-streaming trick was because he knew that Wei Lai had made a major breakthrough in blade battery technology.

The project team that was poached from Dizi back then, after years of dedicated research, finally lived up to his years of hard work.

"Okay, let's go and see. Let's give consumers a shock and also put pressure on our competitors, so they won't blame us if something goes wrong."

(End of this chapter)