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

Chapter 71 "Quick and Easy"

In this era of rising live streaming and video.

The effect of the massive traffic was also very obvious; in just three days, Xingchen Auto's keywords reached more than eight million clicks.

For a small car company, this is even more effective than spending millions to hire celebrities for exposure.

Along with the "Star Mini" new energy vehicle, which has also gained some popularity, another new energy vehicle has also gained some attention.

This marked the first time the brand gained public exposure.

Its unique appearance and low price have generated some discussion online.

More than 300 cars were ordered on the spot.

This is an astonishing figure.

Even if a large car brand's directly operated store holds a large-scale event to attract customers, it would be considered a huge success if it could sign hundreds of orders a day.

Moreover, it's a car showroom with incomplete functional spaces.

Later on, the sales team could only add the contact information of all potential customers first, and then contact them after the auto show ended.

……

"Mr. Xu, the online ordering and configuration options for our Xingchen Automotive official website have been developed and are ready for launch. After functional and safety testing, it should be officially launched within the next two days at the earliest. In addition, our brand app is also under development."

Inside the meeting room, everyone's expressions carried a hint of excitement.

Hao Xiuwen, the manager of the newly established Network Operations Department, had just finished reporting the latest progress of Xingchen Automotive's official website.

In fact, their official car website project had already been initiated internally a long time ago.

However, it was only completed and launched a month ago.

The reason is that Xu Yi made some very unreasonable demands regarding the website's display page and functions.

First, the car's official website display page must present a 3D rendering of the vehicle. The overall visual style should be exquisite and bright, and it should also be able to achieve the 3D graphics of the actual car, and rotate as the mouse is clicked and moved.

In other words, to achieve a 360-degree unobstructed view of the car, in addition to having different interior color schemes that can be switched with a click, promotional materials for the three-electric technologies, and dynamic diagrams simulating wind resistance at high speeds...

To achieve a smooth and silky finish.

Most importantly, it should also allow users to log in and register on the webpage, and pay a deposit to select and order vehicles.

Don't underestimate the convenience of ordering and configuring car options through websites and apps; these will become extremely common in a few years.

However, at this juncture, only Tesla and a handful of emerging automakers have adopted this strategy.

For brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Porsche, although they have developed optional features on their official websites, these are only for display purposes and do not allow for online ordering and actual payment. Customers still need to contact the physical stores in person.

Most traditional automakers did not realize the importance of "online display" and "online payment" until 17-18.

At first, I didn't realize how important this was.

……

What is the biggest change brought about by the Internet age?
Without a doubt—

The ultimate in "short, simple, and fast"!
For example, when you click on a novel, you don't even need to look at the cover, the display page, or the comments section; you can jump directly to the main text.

When you tap on a product to pay, all apps urge you to enable one-click password-free payment, omitting the password input process, and even optimizing fingerprint and facial recognition payments.

When you go to the video page, the first thing that always starts is autoplay.

If the process is reduced to nothing, consumers will be guided and controlled to a great extent without their awareness.

……

The traditional car buying process typically involves consumers going through the following steps: being informed about the car model, researching or discussing the model, visiting a dealership, scheduling a test drive, negotiating with the salesperson, tedious configuration options, making financial payments, and finally completing the paperwork and picking up the car.

Almost every task takes a lot of time.

If a customer hesitates even slightly, a prolonged tug-of-war ensues. And in the era of big data networks, this becomes even more extreme.

All intermediate steps can be eliminated.

All that's left is: being spread the word – paying a deposit via a website (app) – paying in-store and picking up the car.

Some cars don't even require optional extras; all the features are highly integrated into two levels, and once you choose the color and style, you're done.

That sounds shocking.

People in this era could never have imagined that just a few years later, many young people would place an order for a car worth hundreds of thousands of yuan without ever seeing the actual car, or even before the car was fully released, but only after a PowerPoint presentation, and there is a high probability that they will complete the car delivery process.

This is the pinnacle of the field of network information and communication studies.

The first to reap the benefits is undoubtedly Tesla, which pioneered this model.

then.

These are the glorious achievements of various "marketing gods".

The online and app-based car purchase model is undoubtedly the fastest way for young people to access information and also the method that maximizes the efficiency of communication.

Therefore, Xu Yi has very strict requirements for web pages.

Creating a direct-sales ordering website and a car purchase app is the first step in launching nationwide direct sales. Only in this way can the complete hierarchical relationship of the "brand direct sales + dealer" hybrid model be established.

All car purchase orders must be placed through the official website or app backend.

This means absolute control over the franchised brand's dealerships, rather than a cooperative model similar to traditional 4S stores.

"Yes, once the ordering and configuration options are available, we'll immediately push the notifications to all stores, allowing consumers to register and log in to the official website by scanning a QR code, pay a deposit, and make online configuration options, thus simplifying the communication process during the sales and configuration phase..."

Xu Yi nodded and said.

This year was also a big year for the promotion of mobile QR code payment.

It can be said that QR code payment has become widespread in mainstream scenarios in first- and second-tier cities, while it is still in the rapid coverage stage in third- and fourth-tier cities and among small and micro merchants.

Most people have not only seen QR code payments, but have also gradually developed the habit of not carrying a wallet when going out.

Before long, we will see bizarre situations like "begging by scanning QR codes" and "QR codes hanging on donation boxes in temples."

However, Xingchen Auto currently has fewer than thirty stores in operation.

It also includes Shanghai and Shenzhen, two cities with license plate restrictions.

Therefore, before selecting the configuration online, there is an additional regional option, which only supports vehicle pickup within the city coverage area of ​​the brand's directly operated stores in that region.

To save costs, all brand-owned stores are operated in a comprehensive manner, integrating display, sales, delivery, and maintenance services.

In first-tier cities where rents are high, the number of stores is increased based entirely on sales data, rather than simply opening five or ten stores outright.

It's worth noting that the annual rent and additional renovation costs for these stores can reach several million yuan, and these aren't even in prime commercial areas.

Moreover, based on the profit margin of MINI models, a single store needs to achieve monthly sales of over 100 units to be considered a reasonably profitable expansion strategy.

Taking thirty operating stores as an example, with each store selling one hundred units per month, the total monthly sales would be three thousand units.

More than 30,000 units were sold in a year.

To reach this level, it is necessary to recover most of the costs of factory construction and R&D. With the addition of carbon credits and new energy subsidies, it is possible to achieve a preliminary balance between income and expenditure.

It seems that they can achieve this goal without any effort at all.

"Mr. Xu, thanks to the successful exposure at the auto show, our store in Shanghai alone has received a total of 631 orders and delivered more than 100 pre-production vehicles!"

……

　Thank you to Christmasadsf, Qingfeng_oLove_month, SkyLi, Dream_☆, and 2023FairyTalesWithoutEnding for their generous donations.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)