2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 969 "Wei Lai's advantages have not yet been demonstrated"

In April, the situation in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres can be described as starkly different. On April 12, when we were in the dead of night, we received news from Old Mi.

According to the latest statistics, the United States has become the country with the most GR (Government Relationship) cases globally, and also the country with the most SW (Science and Cooperation) cases. In terms of cooperation, the United States is extremely uncooperative.

"Musk is really lucky."

When Tan Jincheng received the message, it was already 11:30 p.m. Since it was the weekend and there was no trading, Tesla had escaped a disaster. It is said that the competition between bulls and bears in Tesla's stock price this year has been very fierce.

On February 4, Tesla's stock price soared to a record high of $969, and its market value once surpassed Volkswagen to become the world's second-largest automaker. However, on March 18, affected by the outbreak in its home market, Tesla's stock price once again fell to $350, with a range of 79.29%, which is quite exaggerated.

In comparison, the A-share market is relatively stable. Currently, the ChiNext market still implements the 10% daily price limit mechanism, and the stock price trend of the ChiNext market has a significant impact on the ChiNext index, thus making it relatively stable.

According to the latest policy in 2020, only new energy vehicles priced below 30 yuan are eligible for subsidies. The starting price of the Tesla Model 3 was not included in this policy. However, Tesla quickly responded by lowering the price, making the Model 3 more competitive.

The rapid commissioning of the Shanghai Gigafactory, along with the efficient response of the Yangtze River Delta region to the events this year, makes Tesla one of the first automakers, along with Weilai and Geely, to resume operations.

With the price reduction and the resumption of work, Tesla's production of the Model 3 was able to keep up, resulting in the best Q1 delivery performance in Tesla's history. The Model 3 quickly became Tesla's flagship model.

In the first quarter, Tesla delivered approximately 70,000 vehicles in China. Except for February, which was affected by the Chinese New Year and other special factors, Tesla's momentum in China was quite strong in January and March.

Even in February, the Model 3 was still the best performing single model.

尉来目前能够依旧的也就ET5以及ES3再加上L1三款车型，勉强能够跟毛豆3抗衡，至于说ES6以及ES8，则对标的是特斯拉其他两款车型。

"Overall, isn't Wei Lai still in the lead?"

Gu Qingqing hadn't rested yet either. While Tan Jincheng was analyzing the data, she also came over to take a look.

In the field of new energy vehicles, Weilai is currently pursuing a two-brand strategy: the Aion series and the Weilai series. As for its sub-brand Exeed, the first model is still under intense design.

The inability of the Woolai to enter Tesla's home turf has greatly affected its sales. However, this is somewhat of a consolation, as the Model 3 is simply too strong. Just by fulfilling the current orders, it is enough to secure its position as the king of pure electric single models.

All Weilai can do right now is to use a massive car fleet strategy to compete with Tesla.
Tan Jincheng shook his head: "It's different. The Aion series targets the B-end market. Although the shipment volume is large, the damage to the brand influence is also significant. Our main focus is still on the Weilai and Xingtu brands."

Similar to two-wheeled electric vehicles, the ride-hailing market has also experienced a second boom. Compared to public transportation such as subways and buses, ride-hailing services during this special period, although not cheap, are the only two options for some people who need to go to work but do not own a private car.

For short-distance two-wheeled electric vehicles, ride-hailing services are the best alternative for longer distances.

The true explosive growth period for the Aion series has not yet arrived, but it is precisely because of this explosive growth that the Aion series is difficult to transform. Weilai is also unlikely to give up the B-end market. Xingtu is the alternative for the Aion series, which is facing difficulties in transformation.

“Competition is a good thing. Tesla’s explosive growth is not just putting pressure on Wei Lai. It can force the industry to progress.”

"That's true. Having strong competitors is definitely a good thing for Wei. Let's go to sleep and stop thinking about it."

By 2020, although subsidies for new energy vehicles were still in place and would likely continue for several more years, their policy advantage over gasoline vehicles had diminished considerably, and the two were now roughly on the same starting line.

For new energy vehicles to achieve rapid sales growth, they cannot rely solely on subsidies; new technologies must be introduced, and Weilai has already made preparations for this.

In a sense, the global success of the Elephant 3 is actually a good thing for new energy vehicles. Having a star product can help more consumers understand new energy vehicles.

"Okay, let's go to sleep. Everyone's been very busy lately, so we should all go to bed early tonight to avoid any trouble if something unexpected happens."

"Too."

Gu Qingqing's description of being busy was indeed accurate. The next morning around 7 a.m., Tan Jincheng hurriedly got up and drove himself to the Weilai Headquarters Industrial Park. During this special period, in order to avoid trouble, Tan Jincheng always drove himself.

However, Lai Yiu-fai and other related personnel often followed him in their own cars. In the Beicang District, there was no need to worry about Tan Kam-ching's safety. Tan Kam-ching would also give Lai Yiu-fai and other security personnel a day off from time to time.

This holiday was truly a rare treat for them; their boss, who hadn't had any business trips planned for months, was someone they had never even dared to dream of before.

"Dear colleague, all your indicators are normal. Please go to the registration desk next door to collect your personal supplies for today, and then you can go to work. Have a nice day."

When Tan Jincheng drove to the headquarters industrial park, the park had already started its daily security checks. Normally, Weilai Auto starts work at eight o'clock in the morning, but recently, an extra hour has been added to the security check time.

There was nothing that could be done about it, and the employees were quite understanding. In fact, like Flash, some employees at Weilai also did not want to return to work, but it was already mid-April, and that excuse could no longer be used.

If you still don't want to return to work at this point, then no company will be willing to be lenient with you.

"OK, thanks."

He breathed a sigh of relief, thanked the inspectors, and quickly walked towards the sign-in area next door. This was a temporary prefabricated house used to distribute supplies, containing a series of personal items.

After signing in at the window, He Wei received his daily supplies, which included personal protective equipment, vitamin C tablets, and some traditional Chinese medicine protective kits.

"Hey, there are N95 masks today. Aren't they in short supply now? They've been issuing them for three days in a row."

He was somewhat surprised. He had no shortage of ordinary personal protective equipment, but previously, relatively advanced equipment such as N95 masks were prioritized for frontline workers due to supply shortages.

Even though Tan Jincheng had stockpiled a lot, he donated it all. His company's employees received an N95 mask every two days.

"Isn't this a good thing? Hehe, I've saved up quite a bit, and I can send some back home for my family to use. It's quite difficult to buy this kind of thing back in my hometown."

Factories, including Weilai Automobile, distribute personal supplies on a need-based basis. Frontline employees are equipped with higher standards than office staff to ensure the safety of high-contact positions. He Wei and his colleagues are frontline employees.

They all come from Guizhou Province. According to incomplete statistics, as of the first quarter of 2020, there were approximately 280 million people from Guizhou Province in Zhejiang Province, of which about 20% flowed into Ningbo.

They didn't know how many people from Guizhou Province lived in Beicang, but they often ran into fellow villagers at the Weilai bus station.

The company cafeteria even has a special window serving dishes from their province of Guizhou.

"Yes, I've saved quite a bit, and I can send some of it home."

There will definitely be some left over after daily distribution. If we are economical, we can use one every two or even three days without any problem. Most of the frontline employees are from other places and they must be worried about their families back home.

The person in charge of managing and distributing the supplies had previously raised this issue with his superiors, but Tan Jincheng told them to turn a blind eye and distribute the supplies according to the original design.

In fact, Tan Jincheng had already considered the employees' families when it came to distributing supplies. The families in Beicang received the supplies directly, but as for those from other places, he could only say that he couldn't help them and that they had to find their own way.

When Tan Jincheng arrived at the headquarters by car, it was already past eight in the morning. There were still many people queuing for inspection at the entrance. Although he arrived an hour early, the number of people queuing was increasing as the resumption rate of work increased.

"Hello, Chairman."

Without lingering at the entrance, Tan Jincheng headed straight for the workshop, where he encountered He Wei and others.

Tan Jincheng nodded: "Hello, thank you for your hard work. Judging from your accent, you're from your province, right?"

He Wei and the others laughed and agreed, without lingering for long, and walked to their work stations. Recently, the company has been enforcing rules to minimize gatherings. From initial misunderstanding and confusion to current adaptation, it has actually taken less than two months.

"Pay attention to balancing work and rest during work hours, and go back to the dormitory early after work to avoid contact."

Tan Jincheng added a reminder: there are quite a few people from Guizhou working at the headquarters of Weilai Automobile. During the construction of the Seven Star Data Center, Tan Jincheng had promised the local area that he would be responsible for solving part of the labor demand.

These people are the first batch of personnel who came from your province to work in the headquarters industrial park.

Counting the time, they've been working in Weilai for almost three years and have gradually gotten used to the lifestyle in Ningbo. They've also adapted to strict inspections like today's in less than two months. "The boss is quite approachable and bold; he's always running around in the various workshops."

As the employees hurried by, they greeted Tan Jincheng while secretly thinking that it was quite audacious of the boss to come to the workshop in the current situation.

"To be honest, the boss really doesn't need to come to the workshop to inspect every day. It's quite dangerous to have too much contact with him."

Zhang Li, who came to accompany Tan Jincheng on his inspection, clearly heard the employees' murmurs. Tan Jincheng would conduct such inspections every day, visiting different workshops to monitor the production situation.

"Currently, the resumption rate of our headquarters has reached 100%, and normal production order has been basically restored. In addition, some companies in other industrial parks and supply chains have also basically returned to normal with our help."

"Boss, you don't need to worry about production anymore."

Since March 12, when Dongfeng Fengshen became the first automaker in Wuhan to resume operations, production in the Wuhan area has gradually returned to normal, which means that most regions in China have basically returned to normal.

Lotus's Jiangcheng factory resumed operations on March 23, and by April, almost all of its industrial parks across the country had returned to normal.

Tan Jincheng smiled and said, "Today is the last day. I won't be coming anymore, so as not to put pressure on you."

After the Spring Festival, Tan Jincheng adjusted his work content, focusing his main energy on resuming work and production. Going to the workshop became his routine. To say he wasn't afraid would be pure nonsense; he knew better than anyone how powerful the first batch was.

Moreover, he has to go home every day, which affects not only him but also his family.

However, to achieve something, the most important thing is to overcome the fear in one's heart. Although he could not actually go to the production line to tighten screws, his frequent appearances in various workshops did help stabilize the emotions of employees, and there is data to prove this.

Since he started inspecting the workshop, the attendance rate of workshop employees has clearly increased.

Zhang Li laughed as well: "It won't put any pressure on us, but you really need to be careful, boss. You are our backbone."

After Dai Ying's incident, it completely overturned everyone's understanding, showing that this thing can really achieve equality for everyone.

Having worked at Weilai for so many years, Zhang Li, who earns his living through his own abilities, has absolutely no need to flatter Tan Jincheng. His words are truly from the bottom of his heart. He had previously talked to his wife about how Weilai and its sister companies have been able to maintain such high efficiency entirely thanks to their boss, the key figure in the company.

The multi-enterprise collaboration plan initiated by the headquarters of major groups in Ningbo is almost entirely issued by the boss himself. When problems arise, the response is rapid and the strategy is changed in time. Without the boss's coordination, it would be impossible to form such a synergy.

Take Orange Group as an example. Dingding and the Orange Cloud project team have provided a lot of help to their sister companies. All of this is based on the fact that the boss is always watching over them. Otherwise, no one would give up a valuable development opportunity and work overtime to help others.

In terms of timely response, the boss is almost always on call, and any problems can be contacted for immediate handling. Factories like Lotus Jiangcheng and Heysel are performing exceptionally well in their respective regions.

Jiangcheng goes without saying. The CEO gave up the opportunity to leave and personally took charge. With the massive investment of funds from the controlling shareholder, things quickly stabilized. As for the Heysel factory, even with Dai Ying's disorganized system, it was managed in an orderly manner, providing security for the employees, which made the employees of the Heysel factory exclaim how awesome it was.

In addition, some of Weilai's overseas factories have also appropriately adopted our corresponding policies based on the different local cultures. Although they are not as good as those in the mainland, they are already quite good and have played a significant role in protecting Weilai's overseas assets.

Weilai's major overseas assets are divided into three parts: the first is Proton cars, the second is the lithium battery factory in Germany, and the third is the Lotus Heisel factory, depending on the size of the three.

As for Proton, being located in Asia, it has handled the relevant policies better. Although it officially closed its production line after March 18, it has done well in terms of online sales, working from home, and other models, similar to those in China.

The cultures are somewhat similar, so the acceptance is much better. As for the two major industries in the European region, Germany is handling things well, and the lithium battery factory in Weilai is scheduled to resume work on April 20. As for Daiying, the resumption of work may not be until May.

In February and March, Dai Ying put on a show of nonchalance to the world, but now the consequences are coming. The employees of the Heysel factory are currently all staying at home, and some are even living inside the factory. They are being paid well, and they are relatively more obedient.

These are all advantages reflected in the boss's series of response policies, not to mention the series of plans the boss has made since last year. At present, it seems that Weilai is being closely followed by Tesla in terms of sales, but in fact, Weilai is not worried at all.

“Overseas markets are almost at a standstill. In Europe, only Germany has plans to resume work, which has had a significant impact on the automotive industry chain.”

Back in the office, Zhao Xinyi, who is in charge of the supply chain, began to report on some recent changes in the global automotive industry.

Similarly, before entering the office, Zhao Xinyi also gave Boss Tan a good scolding.

"Our opportunity for domestic substitution has arrived."

In Tan Jincheng's view, the localization rate of the current automotive industry chain is still insufficient. In his opinion, just like the requirements of the Shanghai Stock Exchange for Tesla, the localization rate of automotive parts should reach 90% to be considered a success.

Only in this way can we demonstrate our cost advantage and maintain a leading position in global competition.

"Indeed, everyone has definitely woken up after this incident. These foreigners can't be relied on. If we want to build good cars, we still have to rely on ourselves."

Many things change amidst unforeseen events. Some companies thrive while others decline. In the frictions of the past two years, the automotive industry was not significantly impacted.

This is especially true for our car manufacturers, since we are just getting started in exports. Even SAIC, which is doing relatively well, only exports 35 vehicles a year. This amount is nothing compared to SAIC's total annual sales.

The impact on external factors is not significant. Neither vehicle manufacturers nor domestic parts suppliers have much incentive to conduct technological research and development. After all, the existing industrial chain means that developing many parts in-house is indeed much more expensive than buying them.

Wei Lai wants to develop a complete industry chain like BYD, but this will take time. Domestic companies are unwilling to conduct research and development, and most parts can only be imported, which is why he stockpiled goods throughout last year.

Otherwise, with our recovery mechanism, why would we need to stockpile a year's worth of goods? Although Flash Group also stockpiles goods, it's only for some raw materials. In the manufacturing of two-wheeled electric vehicles, domestic companies can completely achieve the entire industrial chain.

Flash has a fairly comprehensive parts system. For example, Bafang Electric, which went public on Singles' Day last year, is a core parts supplier for Flash. By the way, Wang Qinghua has also been quite unlucky.

Bafang Electric, with an issue price of 52.13 yuan, is currently only maintaining a share price of around 70 yuan. Compared to the initial hype surrounding previous batches of listed companies, which saw increases of 30% to 40%, the stock price has only doubled at most, showing no momentum whatsoever of a new stock.

It was Wang Qinghua's fate to be caught at this time. However, in Tan Jincheng's opinion, Bafang Electric's current market value of more than 80 billion yuan is still somewhat overvalued. Its business is too singular. Although it is stable, it lacks imagination.

"Yes, once domestic manufacturers collectively realize this, our advantages will become apparent."

There are some things you really can't be lazy about, and mindset is extremely important. The old man's idea was actually very good, and it was indeed quite scary at first, but after this incident, I believe domestic manufacturers have all seen it clearly.

"The localization rate of components will still take some time, but our advantages will come soon."

Automotive-grade chips require rigorous certification, and the process from order placement to delivery typically takes six months. The performance of overseas markets in the first quarter and beyond led to a sharp drop in car sales.

As a result, automakers have significantly reduced their chip orders. This is the current prediction of major global automakers, including Volkswagen, BMW, and Toyota, and most major domestic automakers share the same prediction.

On the other hand, with the explosion of consumer electronics, wafer foundries, facing significant cuts in automotive-grade chip orders, have begun to shift their focus to consumer electronics, such as PCs and mobile phone chips.

These companies do not include Wei Lai.

Currently, 90% of automotive-grade chips in China still rely on imports. Although WILAI has a large inventory, it does not have a complete industrial chain like BYD and cannot achieve self-sufficiency. Therefore, WILAI is still placing orders with global automotive-grade chip manufacturers according to its original plan.

Orders for high-end chips such as intelligent driving AI chips produced by domestic companies like Qualcomm, Nvidia, Horizon Robotics, and Black Sesame Technologies, as well as power semiconductor orders from Infineon, BYD Semiconductor, and some traditional automotive-grade chips, and foundry plans from wafer foundries such as TSMC.

These are all orders placed on schedule. Although production has been affected, as long as the orders are not cancelled, given Weilai's current position in the new energy vehicle industry, these overseas manufacturers will have to think twice before trying to back out.

In the field of high-end chips, Weilai is at a disadvantage and needs to rely on imports. However, apart from Guomin Technology, which has not yet played a role in the chip field, Weilai is not entirely useless.

Companies like Horizon Robotics are considered part of the Wynn Group. Wynn itself has invested heavily in smart cockpit chips and has achieved certain results. In addition, Li Bing's Wenjie has also started to develop its own chips.

Tan Jincheng really admires this guy. Not only did he do such an expensive job as battery swapping, but he also developed his own system and chips. He has made some progress in the system, but he has only just started working on the chips.

Tan Jincheng greatly admires this spirit; at least it's not just about putting together a PowerPoint presentation.

Speaking of which, Li Bing's good days are just around the corner.

(End of this chapter)