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

Chapter 58 is simply about going with the flow!

Competing with elderly people for market share is a bit dishonorable.

But Wuling did some internal calculations.

With the current national new energy vehicle subsidies, even though the manufacturing cost of microcars is relatively high, the gross profit margin of 20,000 yuan per car, plus the gross profit margin from cost reductions later on, is already higher than that of a car costing 100,000 yuan.

Many low-priced car repair packages are like this.

Moreover, microcars costing tens of thousands of yuan have a unique advantage: they are very easy to sell in large quantities.

If they are willing to put in the effort, they can completely sweep through the lower-tier market with overwhelming force.

The reason we hadn't launched it before was because our own entry-level gasoline cars in the same segment were selling very well.

However, once they saw the gap in the lower-tier market, they quickly came up with an internal plan.

As for disregarding martial ethics, that was never even considered.

joke--

Big companies should use their technological reserves, resources, and scale to bully smaller companies!

...

"By the way, how's that thing going?" Jiang Ze asked.

aside.

Several senior executives and department staff from Wuling were present.

As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately responded.

"Director, the relevant reports and applications have been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This time, we jointly submitted road regulation suggestions with provincial representatives from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. According to the internal information we had previously gathered, these 'old man's cars' have indeed attracted a lot of attention in society recently. Some leaders at higher levels have already taken notice, and the relevant regulations should be issued in the near future."

The administrator said with a smile.

Do not misunderstand.

What they submitted this time wasn't some new vehicle application or similar document; that had already been submitted before.

To enhance the appeal of the "Wuling Mini," Wuling, together with provincial representatives from the local automobile industry association, submitted some suggestions on industry road standards to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The process was completely legal and compliant.

The main issue is the proliferation of unregistered mini-vehicles and "old man's light" vehicles on city streets, which disrupt market supervision and traffic rules.

This phenomenon violates industry and national regulations, but it has simply lacked effective governance.

Submitting it now will only bring back the attention of those above.

...

in fact.

When it comes to car manufacturing, cars priced under 100,000 yuan in China currently don't have much of a technological barrier.

In the early stages, it can have a significant impact on the development of car companies.

It is precisely these factors: funding, resources, integration capabilities, and development strategies.

What is the biggest difference between traditional large factories like theirs and small factories?
Without him.

Just go with the flow!

The reason why your old man's car can sell so well is because it has taken advantage of loopholes in the market, such as the lax regulations in peripheral cities and urban-rural fringe areas.

Now, counterfeit old-man's cars are trending on social media and have even led to several lawsuits, drawing considerable public attention.

It's hard for those above not to notice.

Taking advantage of this, Wuling seized the opportunity to join forces with the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers to submit some industry suggestions and hopes to improve traffic regulations, and the feedback was very positive!
Based on the above, it's practically equivalent to nodding in agreement!

These suggestions are not problematic for urban development or the promotion of civilized transportation.

Once the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issues the regulations, things will be much easier.

Major first- and second-tier cities, as well as third-tier cities, will completely eliminate the use of "elderly-friendly" vehicles.

As time goes on, other provincial capitals and fourth-tier cities will also be affected.

This way.

Their "Wuling Mini" will have a unique advantage in the new energy microcar market; it's hard for it not to be a hit!

"We expect that in a few months, we will be able to complete three-quarters of the development work on the Wuling Mini. Should we make some preparations in advance, or release marketing information about the new model to generate some advertising buzz?" Because of the technical reserves of the EV platform in advance, coupled with the fact that the development of an entry-level model is not a difficult task for traditional OEMs, Wuling's progress is quite fast.

Of course, it will be at least several months before full research and development and small-scale production can begin.

An executive suggested.

Jiang Ze raised his hand: "No rush. Let's wait for the official documents to be released. Once the authorities have made their statement, we can release new car promotions and also mention the poor safety and traffic hazards of 'old man's cars' in advertisements and offline promotions..."

Anyway, this track is already reserved by Wuling. It seems that other major manufacturers have almost no models developed for it.

In Jiang Ze's view.

Steady!

It's completely stable now!!

He admitted that the old man's electric vehicle manufacturer called Xingchen had indeed been a bit clever and had achieved a small success.

However, compared to traditional OEMs like them, their ability to create momentum and strategic planning is still far behind!

The real battleground for competition lies in the markets of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities.

As for electric vehicles for the elderly, within three to five years at most, they will not only fail to sell in cities, but also will have little market share in outlying cities and rural areas!

……

A week later.

"Hold!!!"

After being embroiled in lawsuits for several months, Levdeo Auto has finally resolved the legal issues related to the lawsuit.

Zhou Tao, who had just returned to the company, had a gloomy face as he thought about everything that had happened during this period.

I couldn't help but curse at the air!
Yes.

They lost the case.

The kind of result that's a foregone conclusion.

In the first instance judgment, Porsche demanded eight million in damages for infringement and brand loss.

They appealed the decision, but lost the case. Ultimately, through court mediation, they were ordered to pay 280 million yuan in compensation and the production and sale of the infringing models were prohibited.

How could Zhou Tao possibly accept this result?

He immediately used his connections to appeal, and the appellate court upheld the original verdict.

There's nothing we can do but accept our fate.

The chain of evidence was overwhelming. Fortunately, they didn't sell many of the relevant models; otherwise, the compensation amount would have been much higher.

What humiliated him most was the lawsuit filed by Xingchen Motors.

They found some strange legal team from who-knows-where, but they were incredibly powerful. They managed to convincingly label their appeal as flawed in court.

Despite their repeated insistence in court that they had copied Porsche's design patent and presented the judgment and evidence of compensation from the "Porsche case".

However, the other party claimed that Xingchen had already registered a patent in advance and presented relevant national standard records for low-speed electric vehicles in the law GB/T 34657, forcibly equating them.

do you know?
That's so weird!!
Having manufactured motorcycles, tricycles, and even "old man's cars" for so many years, they were unaware that there was a national standard that could classify "old man's cars" as part of the relevant regulations.

But the opposing legal team managed to dig it up.

In contrast, their legal team was utterly incompetent in the face of the other party's professionalism.

In the end there was nothing we could do.

Reading Auto had no choice but to humiliatingly accept this defeat once again.

However, the evidence and relevant grounds are not very sufficient, and the bill only provides suggested regulations for relevant vehicle types, but does not have stricter implementation standards for similar types of motor vehicles.

The final judgment awarded 300,000 yuan in compensation.

After this experience, Zhou Tao was convinced of her superiority.

but.

In the process, they didn't just fight lawsuits; their next-generation "senior citizen's car" model, the "Leading D60," has already been developed.

……

(End of this chapter)