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

Chapter 64 "The Young Man's First Car"

After becoming a car reviewer, Yang Li also drove some Mini models from abroad.

For example, the MINI Cooper, Smart Fortwo, Fiat 500... these are some of them.

In foreign countries, the "MINI model" is a standard of high-quality car in terms of design, performance, and safety.

The only problem is the price.

In China, the starting price is around 150,000 yuan, with higher-priced models costing 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, which has made these "MINI models" a niche market.

no way.

Given the current level of consumption in China, many people feel pressured even if they spend 150,000 yuan to buy a large car.

Moreover, it's a niche vehicle that can only carry one or two people.

This situation began to improve after domestic manufacturers officially started producing microcars.

Now, domestically produced microcars have basically driven the price down to the 60,000 to 80,000 yuan range.

just.

To be fair, there are almost none with a sense of design.

Most of them are extremely ugly.

They can't even copy properly.

The reason is simple: the price is low, the R&D cost is low, it's practical enough to drive, and it's safer than a scooter for the elderly.

Nobody wants to put in the effort on entry-level cars.

Just make something simple and sell it to consumers in lower-tier markets.

It's all for the sake of making a living, just going through the motions.

Once we make money... we'll definitely invest heavily in developing larger vehicles and target the mid-to-high-end market!
The problem is that the mid-to-high-end market won't pick up anytime soon, and the small cars that can sell in large quantities haven't been refined at all.

to be frank.

Sometimes, when Yang Li sees the exterior design of certain domestically produced cars, he feels like calling the police.

Original designs are increasingly abstract, while plagiarized designs tend to overdo it with unnecessary details.

The aesthetics are directly pierced through.

They're really disappointing.

It's not surprising that consumers, after working hard to build their wealth, would sell their original domestically produced cars and buy high-end imported ones as their first priority.

It's a case of mutual betrayal.

...

Looking at the MINI in front of him, its design was far superior to the domestic microcars he had seen in the 60,000 to 80,000 yuan price range!
The most crucial point is that it wasn't plagiarism!

Yang Li looked at him with suspicion, scrutinizing him repeatedly, his mind racing.

I was wondering if there were any niche car models that I had forgotten about, which happened to be copied by Xingchen Automotive Company.

Because, judging from its appearance, this doesn't seem like the design capability of a startup car company.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find it.

"Our new car design has been refined over a long period of time. It is not only original, but also has complete registered patents."

Seemingly sensing the doubt in the other person's eyes, Xu Yi smiled slightly.

Then she added, "Mr. Yang, I wonder if your team has any availability recently?"

“This—” Yang Li hesitated.

His business orders have been almost completely booked recently, and they are all during events and auto shows, so he can't find any free time.

but.

Xu Yi's next sentence immediately made him swallow the rest of his sentence.

"The video your team produced last time played a very good role in our sales and brand promotion. Now that the new car is being launched, we need some authoritative car reviewers to increase online exposure..."

This time, we hope to collaborate with at least three top car reviewers, and the promotional budget is ten times that of last time.

Ideally, it should be featured on the website's homepage for more than a week.

I wonder if you, Professor Yang, have time to help me make that contact?

......"

"Mr. Xu, I absolutely must be available!!"

Upon hearing the phrase "the advertising budget is ten times that of last time,"...

Yang Li's expression changed, and he immediately turned around and grabbed Xu Yi's hand.

What else to say.

Too temperamental!!

...

This time, Xu Yi adopted a saturation marketing strategy, ignoring everything else, but making sure the marketing was top-notch.

Therefore, it's definitely not enough for just one car reviewer to expose it.

He even came up with the promotional concept and advertising copy.

Let's go with the idea of ​​"the first car for young people".

"Easy to drive and affordable," "Heartwarming and reasonably priced," "Profit margin per vehicle does not exceed 5%," "Standard fast charging, 15 minutes of charging provides 50 kilometers of range"...

It's not just car review websites.

Even large-scale promotion on Weibo, forums, and Tieba is on the way.

In short, launch a fierce attack!
…Yang Li felt it was necessary to re-evaluate Xingchen, the car company.

Although the starting point for car manufacturing is low.

But every time he takes out a car, it always manages to catch people's eye.

The last elderly person's car was a pioneering move in the industry.

Quite magical…

Although it has greatly promoted industry competition in lower-tier markets.

But now there are high-quality imitations of old-man's cars everywhere.

It's hard to say whether it was a merit or a demerit.

And this time, the MINI models on the stand still gave him a refreshing feeling.

Judging solely from its appearance, it would score a 70 or 80 out of 100.

The rest depends on the configuration and pricing.

Based on Yang Li's experience, this kind of appearance clearly indicates that it is targeting the market as a high-end small car.

In addition, since it is a new energy vehicle, the cost of the battery pack is definitely not low.

The price will likely be around 60,000 to 80,000.

Ok…

That's for sure. This target market is likely aimed at urban middle-class people looking for a second car, and it definitely needs a lot of marketing.

If it's 80,000, spending money to hype it up and generate buzz can open up a significant market share.

For example, in Shanghai, the policy of free license plates for new energy vehicles was just approved at the beginning of this year.

A Shanghai license plate costs as much as 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, which is as expensive as buying a domestic car.

And if you buy a new energy vehicle, it will be given away for free.

Therefore, even though the new energy vehicle market is not yet mature, there will still be consumers who buy a new energy vehicle simply for transportation.

Choosing to debut at the Shanghai Auto Show is indeed an excellent opportunity for showcasing their products.

If the Starry Sky car is priced at 60,000, it might actually sell like hotcakes.

...

"Let's show Mr. Yang the detailed specifications and marketing plan for our new car."

Xu Yi smiled slightly.

When car companies hire car reviewers for promotion, they usually have their own press release with a few keywords and key points, leaving the rest to the car reviewers to elaborate on.

Yang Li nodded, took the proposal, and began to read it carefully.

Ok……

The base model has a range of 120km, while the high-end model has a range of 180km.

0-100 km/h acceleration – 10 seconds.

This data surpasses that of its competitors, most of which are microcars on the market that take 11-12 seconds to accelerate.

Top speed 110km/h... average.

Starting price (after national subsidy) —

The entry-level model is 42,000 yuan, and the long-range model is 48,000 yuan... which is also quite reasonable.
and many more.

forty thousand?!
……

"Mr. Xu, this car of yours... the starting price is only 42,000??"

Yang Li frowned, confirming that he hadn't misread it.

"Any questions?"

"You guys...you're not using lead-acid batteries from those old-age electric vehicles, are you?"

"Just kidding, Mr. Yang... We use lithium iron phosphate battery packs that have national standard certification, and their energy density and safety are top-notch in the industry."

"Where's the car body? A plastic car body?"

"The car body is also a one-piece stamped steel structure, and it even has laser welding..."

"what?!"

"These are the main selling points of our Starry Sky MINI, and they're all on the display boards on the booth. Mr. Yang, aren't you going to look at them?"

"What?? Where is it... I don't see it??"

"Oh, you've all moved to the side. This is a better angle to see the car models, and you can't see our new car's configuration display board from here." Xu Yi sighed, suddenly realizing this huge blind spot, which was his mistake.

He waved to the side, signaling the employee to bring over another large text display board.

Yang Li: "..."

……

　Report!

　　I've spoken with the editor, and it will be available on September 10th.

　　I've also seen feedback from readers about the writing quality, saying that the development process felt like reading an explanatory text, with the exposition and details being too verbose and rambling...

　　Sigh... but there are some parts that I have to write, and it's hard to choose which to include. I'm already trying my best to weigh the options.

　　As a tech-driven car manufacturing book, it covers company development, R&D, supply chain, market response, competitors, environmental policies, etc.

　　But frankly, it's the author's fault... too few updates!! My bad!
　　The word count is low, so it naturally doesn't read smoothly. (During the new book period, there's a strict requirement of 4,000 words, so I really can't update frequently.)
　　The above issues will be fixed after the product is released on the 10th. We will definitely repay everyone handsomely once it is released.

　　Finally, thank you all for reading and for your monthly tickets and recommendations!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)