From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 25 A Chance to Find a Bargain: The Ticket to New Energy Vehicle Manufacturing Qualification

"With such a significant improvement in battery life, if we appropriately reduce the battery capacity, I think we can further increase profits."

Yu Nian couldn't help but speak up.

Last month, the total sales of their two models reached more than 18,000 units.

This is an exciting number!

After the video criticizing them last time was released, sales actually increased instead of decreased, just as Xu Yi had predicted. Even some people who didn't usually pay attention to cars for the elderly started to notice Xingchen Motors.

With such high sales volume, even if the cost is reduced by a few dozen yuan per unit, the profit is still enormous.

This is why many successful products, after their initial explosive popularity, will secretly optimize their structure and reduce costs.

Because the returns are extremely high.

A good strategy should reduce costs while increasing efficiency and performance, but many manufacturers cut corners in areas that are not easily noticeable, either to save time or for profit.

"It's too early to talk about castration now. What I want is to reduce costs and increase efficiency, not simply reduce product quality to save costs."

Xu Yi rejected this approach.

"Several other brands of microcars have started to offer significant price reductions and promotions. The most aggressive price cuts have been made by Leding Auto, which has reduced the price of its models by 5,000 yuan to compete with our products. Our current minor facelift and iteration is just a precautionary measure."

in fact.

It sounds exaggerated.

A leading brand of electric vehicles for the elderly has reduced its price by a full 5,000 yuan and still manages to make a substantial profit.

This is due to the excessive chaos in the lower-tier market.

Because there are no unified industry standards, no clear product standards, and no transparency in the actual research and development and investment of each company, coupled with the fact that some local factories enjoy government subsidies and related policy support, as well as various external factors such as sales strategies, some companies can reduce costs to an extremely exaggerated level.

Previously, it had been a period of unchecked growth.

However, with the arrival of the motorcycle ban and the release of Xingchen 01 and 02, a sales miracle was created, even breaking the monthly sales records of several leading factories, just like a boulder being thrown into a chaotic body of water.

The pricing of the Starry Sky 01 and Starry Sky 02, as well as their related product capabilities, became two benchmarks for evaluation.

This also means that the industry is beginning to accelerate towards competition.

Currently, the market positioning of the two models under Xingchen is still quite stable.

Those with better battery life and configurations don't have as good a design.

Those priced lower than his are inferior in many ways.

……

After the internal meeting.

Xu Yi returned to his office and sat alone for a while.

"Mr. Xu, I've found all the manufacturers you asked me to investigate that might be selling their new energy vehicle manufacturing licenses. Recently, I've made some progress on two of them..."

Human Resources Manager Fang Ziqiang walked in.

The workload for HR has increased dramatically lately.

However, this did not prevent Xu Yi from assigning him an additional task: to keep an eye on the qualifications for manufacturing new energy vehicles.

Compared to the company's recent technological research and development, this matter is even the top priority.

Over the course of several months, the company's revenue broke records one after another, bringing in a large amount of funds, and his mind began to wander.

Despite the company's rapid growth and record-breaking sales of microcars, with net profits exceeding 500 to 600 million yuan in just a few months, it's still just a small-scale operation.

Even if the entire market for "old man's cars" were captured, it would still be a drop in the ocean compared to the future wave of new energy vehicles.

The bus stop sign is right in front of me.

If we don't buy tickets and get on the train now, it will be too late.

...

"How to say?"

Xu Yi stood up slightly.

"Let me have a sip of water first."

Fang Ziqiang sat down and, his mouth dry, gulped down two mouthfuls of hot tea.

For the past two months, he's been working like a slave, poaching talent, recruiting, and running around contacting various parties. Add to that the expansion of the HR department itself, and the ongoing efforts to inquire about and monitor new energy vehicle manufacturing qualifications. He's showing signs of evolving from a "super slave" to a "nuclear-powered slave."

of course.

Bonuses and performance-based pay are in place.

Otherwise, even a nuclear-powered ox or horse would explode on the spot!

"No rush, I have two more packs of Pu'er tea here for you to take back later. They're high-end goods from the port area, and they're great for boosting your energy. The marketing department also recently purchased a batch of special tribute black goji berries from Ningxia, and we'll distribute them to everyone later. As you get to thirty, you need to pay more attention to your health and energy levels," Xu Yi said with a beaming smile.

Fang Ziqiang: "..."

It sounds like words of consideration for subordinates, but something feels off.

Forget it.

Let's get down to business.

"In the past two years, many car companies have transferred their new energy vehicle manufacturing qualifications, mostly due to poor management or being acquired by large capital. Currently, there are almost no companies that intend to publicly sell their new energy vehicle manufacturing qualifications. However, through various channels, we have still managed to find some inside information."

Fang Ziqiang spoke up.

Big capital always has a keen sense of smell.

With the fact that the government will no longer issue vehicle manufacturing licenses almost an open secret, everyone knows that a vehicle manufacturing license will be extremely difficult to obtain in the future.

His net worth skyrocketed.

However, having the qualifications to manufacture cars doesn't mean you can rest easy.

Because the future domestic environment simply cannot accommodate so many car companies.

Even if you have the qualifications, you still need to manufacture the cars and be able to sell them in order to survive.

Billions of dollars are just the beginning.

There are also companies that have burned through hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars and gone bankrupt.

Competition will only intensify.

Players without the strength and capital are forced to sell their equity qualifications, clear their assets, and leave the market.

"Currently, we have found two companies that want to transfer their car manufacturing qualifications due to poor management."

One of them is Hafei Motors, which declared bankruptcy last year due to long-term poor management and accumulated historical debts. According to internal sources, it puts 38% of its shares up for sale for 1 yuan.

However, it needs to assume a debt of 40 billion.

However, the company has a factory in Harbin and a Suzuki production line with an annual capacity of 15 vehicles.

......"

Hafei Motors was one of the earliest car brands in China.

Its car manufacturing history can be traced back to 99, and it also has the background of a military enterprise. It was once the leader in microcars, but due to various reasons and poor management, it has become a discarded enterprise of the central state-owned enterprises.

Now, apart from its own production qualifications, it's a real hot potato.

Spending 40 billion to take over a company is only possible if you've lost your mind.

"Never mind, what about the other one?"

Xu Yi quickly interrupted.

If he remembered correctly, Changan Ford eventually spent 66 billion yuan to acquire all the shares of Hafei Automobile, including the factory and all production line assets, but in the end, it also faded away.

of course.

This is the liquidation of Hafei Automobile's total assets and equity. A single independent new energy vehicle manufacturing license is not worth billions.

Fang Ziqiang paused for a moment, then said with a wry smile.

"There is another company with a very special situation, which can only be considered as a backup among backups."

I found the public information and it shows that Shandong Guojin Group submitted an application for a new energy vehicle license last year and meets the application requirements, but it is still pending approval.

Furthermore, this company defaulted on 3 million yuan in bank loans in March of this year due to the sharp drop in cobalt prices and its failed speculation in mining. If we were to acquire it, it would essentially meet the application requirements for car manufacturing qualifications. However, it's uncertain whether the application will ultimately be approved; currently, the chances seem very slim.

……

(End of this chapter)