Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1176 Raising an army for a thousand days, using it for one.

"This is the latest design from the automotive division for the Land Rover SUV!"

Wei Taining handed the documents he had prepared before boarding the plane to Li Dongling.

It's said that when Li Dashanren joined Dongling High-Tech, he certainly made a lot of empty promises and gave Wei Taining a lot of toxic motivational speeches.

In particular, Li Dongling's statement that Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are just transitional vehicles, while Land Rover is the ultimate destination, directly hooked Wei Taining.

To be honest, which automotive professional these days can resist such a tempting offer?

Especially in the current domestic automotive industry environment, everyone is struggling in the low-end market, which is basically just commuter cars and doesn't even qualify as mid-range models, let alone luxury cars.

The slogan that Li Dongling shouted for Dongling High-Tech's automotive division was absolutely powerful, with a grand vision and high-class style.

Not only Wei Taining, but many engineers who joined Dongling High-Tech's automotive division were also fooled by this slogan.

As someone working in the automotive industry, who wouldn't want to design a world-class luxury car that becomes the dream car for men all over the world?
However, since joining Dongling High-Tech, Wei Taining has made version after version of the design, but he has never been able to get Li Dongling to sign the document to start manufacturing cars.

There was little hope that the document Wei Taining submitted to Li Dongling would be approved by Li Dongling.

"Dongling High-Tech's car license plate should be approved soon!"

But to Wei Taining's surprise, Li Dongling suddenly spoke to him while looking through the documents.

Dongling High-Tech did not choose to purchase license plates from other domestic automakers, but instead chose to apply for its own vehicle license plates.

For other companies, obtaining a car license plate might be incredibly difficult, but for Dongling Hi-Tech, it's not a problem at all.

Not to mention, the approval of car license plates is still handled by departments such as the Economic and Trade Commission, the Development and Reform Commission, and the Machinery Bureau. These departments are unlikely to hold Dongling High-Tech back, but the process takes time.

How much would it cost to build a car production line?

Wei Taining was stunned for a long time before he realized Li Dongling's question, and his tone couldn't help but rise a few degrees, "President Li, do you want the automotive division to build its own car production line?"

Seeing Wei Taining's excited expression, Li Dongling neither directly admitted nor objected, but simply chuckled, leaving Wei Taining somewhat puzzled.

But Wei Taining knew that if he missed this opportunity, he would never have another one.

Last year, Shanghai General Motors built a new factory at a cost of US$15.7 billion and introduced a complete set of overseas production equipment.

However, Dongling High-Tech's automotive division does not need such a large production capacity in the early stages; it can introduce a flexible production line with an annual capacity of 50,000 vehicles.

Flexible production lines are a new type of production line that is emerging internationally. The height of the slides, lifting devices, etc. can be adjusted, and modular assembly is possible. The same production line can carry vehicles of different sizes and chassis.

The production line can switch between producing different types of cars, including family cars and SUVs.

"If we build a factory and introduce production lines and equipment, the estimated cost will be around US$24 million, and the construction period will be 2.4 months."

Of course, if you use domestically produced or second-hand equipment, the cost will be only half, or even lower, but efficiency and quality may be somewhat compromised!

Wei Taining said to Li Dongling, then hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Isn't it too early to build a car production base and production lines now? Perhaps we could choose to cooperate with other car companies and have them manufacture the cars, which would reduce costs..."

According to Wei Taining, Dongling High-Tech's automotive division is still in the early stages of development, yet they've already started a car production base. If the cars don't sell in the end, it will be a complete mess.

The reason why GM in Shanghai dared to invest so much money in building a factory is that GM used Buick and other models to produce them. Once production started, they were not afraid of not being able to sell them.

But Dongling High-Tech's automotive division is different. Land Rover is a newly registered brand of Dongling High-Tech, and it has no brand recognition at all.

Moreover, according to Li Dongling's requirements, Land Rover's first model is a high-end SUV. Who knows if it can sell?
If you spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build factories and production lines, but the cars produced can't be sold, the losses would be unimaginable.

Upon hearing Wei Taining's words, Li Dongling closed the file in his hand, looked at Wei Taining, and said, "I believe in you, Taining. You won't let me down! The mainland automotive industry needs its own Audis, BMWs, and Rolls-Royces, and who else but you, Taining, can achieve all of this?!"

"The Dongling High-Tech Automobile Production Base will definitely be built. Once we enter this industry, Dongling High-Tech must produce the best cars for our users and cannot rely on others!"
"To Dongling High-Tech's automotive division, I'm willing to stake my own reputation and Dongling High-Tech's honor on supporting you. The cars that roll off the Dongling High-Tech automotive production base will undoubtedly be the best cars ever made in China!"

Wei Taining stared blankly at Li Dashanren, his mind in turmoil. At this moment, his thoughts were completely chaotic, and he had only one thought in his mind: Li Dashanren actually trusted him and was convinced that he could lead Dongling High-Tech's automotive division to stand up, so he spared no expense to build a new automobile production base.
With this level of support, I ask you, among so many people in the domestic automotive industry, who else has ever received such support?
Shen Xingyao, the chief assistant who accompanied Li Dashanren to Jiangcheng, saw Wei Taining's red eyes and knew that another die-hard fan of Li Dashanren had appeared!
"Mr. Li, I..."

With reddened eyes, Wei Taining felt that he had really misunderstood Li Dashanren. In fact, he had some complaints in his heart before, that Li Dongling did not pay much attention to Dongling High-tech's automotive department.

But now, Wei Taining realized that he was too superficial. Li Dongling was willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a production base for the automotive division and to introduce the most advanced production lines. Such a big spender, let alone in China, how many people in the overseas automotive industry could find?
Phrases like "gratitude" and "supporting Yulong to the death for the ruler" were already echoing in Wei Taining's mind.

Seeing Wei Taining's excited expression, Li Dongling patted Wei Taining on the shoulder, feeling that today's "poisonous chicken soup" might have gone too far, as its aftereffects seemed a bit too strong.

To enter the automotive industry, a production base will eventually need to be built. Using your own production base will always be more reliable in terms of quality than contract manufacturing.

Unlike computers and mobile phones, which break down and at most result in financial loss, cars are matters of life and death. When it comes to vehicle safety, you can never be too careful.

Li Dongling would not allow any mistakes in the safety of the cars produced by Dongling High-Tech's automotive division. It would be more reliable to keep the production line under his own control!

Furthermore, although building the factory and production lines for the production base is not cheap, the construction period is also nearly two years. During these two years, Dongling High-Tech and Zhixing Foundation are expected to cash out a large amount of US dollars from Nasdaq.

Therefore, building a car production base is not difficult. It's just a matter of cashing out more internet stocks. As for retail investors, they can be harvested and they will grow back!
"Dongling High-Tech's budget at the end of this year will allocate sufficient funds to the automotive division for the construction of a production base and the research and development of new vehicles."

Li Dongling looked at Wei Taining and said, "The automotive department still has enough time to perfect the first Land Rover vehicle. We must select good suppliers for the engine, chassis, transmission, and so on."

I hope this car will be a model that connects the present and the future!

Li Dongling pressed his hand on the design draft document and said to Wei Taining, "The philanthropist Li plans to design the exterior of the first-generation Land Rover model under Dongling High-Tech based on the Range Rover Executive III, which was the favorite of coal bosses and tycoons in my previous life!"

Dongling High-Tech's first vehicle is destined to be an assembly of various brands. Core components such as the engine, chassis, and transmission all need to be imported from overseas. Relying on its own research and development, it is unknown when it will be successful, and its performance is not necessarily reliable.

In the future, Dongling High-Tech's automotive division may develop components such as engines, but initially, the most important thing is to establish the reputation of Land Rover and make it a symbol of status and prestige!

As I said before, survival comes first. Only after we sell the cars can we consider independent research and development. You can't fight a war on an empty stomach!
"The automotive division will never let President Li down!"

Wei Taining gritted his teeth and said, "Talented horses are common, but discerning mentors are rare. Li Dongling has gone to such lengths for him. If Wei Taining cannot deliver a satisfactory performance, how can he face anyone in the automotive industry in the future?"

"When you go to Jiangcheng this time, you can visit the auto parts suppliers in Taining, as well as auto parts suppliers in Xidu, Shanghai, Nanjing and other places."

Overseas auto parts suppliers also need to start contacting them in advance to prepare for Dongling High-Tech's automotive division to build its own supply chain!

Li Dongling said that while the automobile production base needs to be built, the parts suppliers also need to start preparations in advance.

……

After circling over Jiangcheng several times, the plane began its descent towards the airport.

Meanwhile, at the airport, a large group of people had already gathered to pick up the passengers.

It was said that the Mainland Angling Association Council was responsible for receiving Li Dongling, but Huang Yongfeng, as the representative of the Mainland Angling Association Council and the person in charge of this year's fishing competition, knew after seeing the level of reception at the airport today that he was not even in the running.

Among the crowd, besides the staff of Dongling High-Tech Xiangbei Company, there were also the director of the Xiangbei Provincial Government Office, a deputy mayor of Jiangcheng City, the director of the Jiangcheng City Government Office, and a group of people from the Jiangcheng Investment Promotion Office, all of whom were present.

Not far away, reporters from various Hunan media outlets, including the Yangtze River Daily and Jiangcheng Evening News, were waiting with their cameras.

It's easy to imagine how high the level of this event was; it's nowhere near the level one would expect for welcoming the president of a mainland fishing association.

However, Huang Yongfeng also knew that among all of Li Dashanren's titles, the position of president of the fishing association was probably the least noticeable one!
(End of this chapter)