Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1240 Filling the Gaps
"If we want to acquire enough land, the automotive division is expected to need more than 15,000 mu (approximately 1,000 hectares) of land this time!"

After pondering for a moment, Wei Taining said to Li Dongling that if it were just a car factory with an annual production capacity of 50,000 vehicles, then a little over 1,000 acres of land would probably be enough.

It can accommodate all the four components of automobile production: stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly workshops, along with office buildings, R&D buildings, joint power stations, warehouses, wastewater treatment plants, etc.

However, if the goal is to prepare for capacity expansion and reserve space for automotive supply chain companies, the required land area would be several times larger.

In addition, there is a large test track and testing center, so the land needed could reach tens of thousands of acres.

The price demanded by Pingyang is unlikely to be high; they will probably only charge a symbolic land transfer fee. The key is the land acquisition compensation, which is the main expense.

Even with the lowest possible cost, it would still cost hundreds of millions of RMB, which is unavoidable.

"It's always better to plan ahead and acquire land now than to need land later and not be able to get it!"

Li Dongling said that if land is needed, it should definitely be acquired. Over the years, Dongling Hi-Tech has been accumulating land in various parts of the country. These lands may seem useless now, but that doesn't mean they will be useless in the future.

Given Pingyang's current rate of development, who dares to predict what it will be like in ten years? If land prices and housing prices in Pingyang skyrocket, they will be several times higher than they are now.

After finalizing the Dongling High-Tech Automobile Production Base, it was decided that it would be located in Pingyang, and that a large amount of land would be acquired.

Once the location is chosen, the entire Dongling High-Tech Automobile Production Base will begin large-scale construction.

Wei Taining's production plan for the first vehicle of Dongling High-Tech's automotive division involves sourcing some parts and producing others in-house. The engine, transmission, and chassis, for example, all need to be sourced from overseas.

As for self-developed technology, it means setting up production lines for stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly, as well as automotive exteriors, headlights, interiors, wheels, body paint, navigation, etc., and cultivating a top-notch automotive R&D team.

To be honest, Dongling High-Tech's automotive division is basically doing the same thing as other domestic automakers.

The only difference is that Dongling High-Tech is only temporarily suspending the research and development of engines, transmissions, etc., not that it will stop researching and developing them altogether in the future.

As for those joint venture car companies, after reaping the benefits, they found it difficult to commit to their own technology research and development. After all, they could make money effortlessly, with cars in short supply and even selling at a premium. Why bother with research and development?

This change may not be immediately apparent, but the gap will become fully evident five or ten years from now.

"I hope that in 24 months, I can see the first Land Rover under Dongling High-Tech roll off the production line at Dongling High-Tech's automobile production base!"

Li Dongling looked at Wei Taining and said that as long as the location of the production base is chosen well and there is no shortage of funds, large-scale construction can begin.

The cycle from completion to production line installation and commissioning of a car production base with an annual capacity of 50,000 vehicles is generally between 18 and 24 months. The biggest factor affecting the progress of the project is... funding!
Meanwhile, the Dongling High-Tech Automotive Division's production base and the development of the Land Rover executive model were carried out simultaneously. Once the production base was completed, the first Land Rover vehicle began small-batch trial production!

Two years is a tight timeframe for both construction and research and development, but there is a chance that Mr. Li can replace his current Mercedes with a Land Rover.

Wei Taining felt immense pressure. He estimated that the entire Dongling High-Tech automotive department would be working like crazy, and even with the help of Dongling High-Tech's logistics department, he probably wouldn't get a full night's sleep for the next two years.

After discussing the automotive division, Ren Yuefeng and the others got up to leave one after another. When Wei Taining got up, he spoke to Li Dongling again.

"Mr. Li, Chitu Company is preparing to ship the first batch of trial-produced electric bicycles to Pingyang and would like you to take a look!"

Chitu Electric Bicycle Company and Kunpeng Power are both subsidiaries of Dongling High-Tech's automotive division. Even if Wei Taining is inclined towards the automotive division, he cannot show favoritism towards one over the other.

The Chitu electric bicycles were advertised to show off to the philanthropist Li, but in reality, they were there to ask for help, fearing that headquarters might have forgotten about them!
This is the difficulty for companies located in other places; it's hard for headquarters to keep a close eye on them, so they naturally receive far fewer resources.

The electric bicycles have been produced, but promotion requires publicity and marketing. Chitu needs the support of Dongling High-Tech headquarters; otherwise, it will be difficult to promote the electric bicycles to various parts of China and even overseas markets on its own.

"Have Red Hare take the car to headquarters!"

After guessing what Chitu Company was thinking, Li Dongling smiled and agreed.

Li Yanhong nodded to Ren Yuefeng, Wei Taining, and the others who had left, and then came to stand in front of Li Dashanren.

"Dongling High-Tech is going to enter the automotive market. It was just confirmed that the production base will be located here!"

Li Dongling brought up Dongling High-Tech's automotive project to Li Yanhong, but the sentence that followed left Li Yanhong stunned.

"Intelligent driving systems will be a turning point in the century-long history of automobiles."

In the future, whoever masters truly intelligent driving will control the automotive era. Can you help Dongling High-Tech Automotive develop the intelligent driving system they need?

Li Dashanren's sudden words stunned Li Yanhong. This was completely different from what he had envisioned. His prepared remarks were almost entirely useless.

For a moment, Li Yanhong was also caught off guard by the topic that the philanthropist Li had suddenly thrown out.

"Just kidding!"

Li Dongling chuckled and said, but Li Yanhong could sense that what he just said was definitely not just a joke.

However, Li Dongling's expectations for Li Yanhong's arrival were not simply based on that. If it were just about establishing a search company, then who could the philanthropist Li have asked?

However, Li Dashanren was quite interested in the artificial intelligence and intelligent driving projects that Baidu had worked on in his previous life.

Switching from gasoline to electricity to power cars is only the first step in the century-old revolution of the automotive industry. In essence, there is not much difference between burning gasoline and using electricity.

But when new energy electric vehicles are combined with truly intelligent driving, it directly divides the automotive industry into two different eras.

While gasoline-powered cars will certainly never disappear, the arrival of the era of electric vehicles with intelligent driving will bring a completely new operating experience, including intelligent assistance and autonomous driving, which will fundamentally change the car experience.

"To be honest, this joke isn't very funny. No car manufacturer wants to be replaced right now!"

Li Yanhong said with a wry smile, "The arrival of the era of intelligent driving is here to take the lives of traditional cars. No wonder those old-brand traditional car manufacturers are not happy about it."

"Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the way for decades!"

"The Internet age is an era where anything is possible. Everything will change because of its arrival, and of course... cars are no exception!" Li Dongling said meaningfully to Li Yanhong.

Upon hearing this, Li Yanhong vaguely felt that the philanthropist Li was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't quite figure it out. Given his current status, it was too early for him to think about such things.

Li Dongling only mentioned it briefly to Li Yanhong and didn't say much. Being one step ahead is genius, being ten steps ahead is madness.

You must do the right thing at the right time. Timing is very important. Being a step too early or a step too late will not work. Being a step too early will be like Baidu in its previous life, which was the first to enter the market but ended up not getting anything.

If you wait too long, you'll see how miserable those once-glorious car manufacturers were in the era of gasoline-powered vehicles. They were reduced to mere OEM manufacturers for new energy vehicle brands, practically washed ashore by the waves.

"Has Souxin been acquired by Disney?"

Li Dongling asked a question. The Zhixing Foundation was in charge of leading this transaction, but Lu Wenhua, the general manager of the Zhixing Foundation, had not yet reported to the great philanthropist Li. Obviously, he was still processing the transaction and waiting for the final settlement before reporting to the great philanthropist Li.

"It should only be waiting for Disney President Eisner's signature!"

With a touch of melancholy, Li Yanhong said that once Souxin is acquired and its brand name is changed, everything he has done for Souxin over the years will be buried in the dustbin of history and can never be retrieved.

Li Dongling did some calculations. He didn't know how many US dollars he could get from selling Souxin, but he estimated that it would be enough to cover the cost of building the automobile production base for Dongling High-Tech!
Next, as expected, Dongling Hi-Tech will enter a state of compensating for its lack of funds in the east by selling its equity and stock in Silicon Valley internet companies.

Let's make things even tougher for the American investors. Silicon Valley and Wall Street will bear the brunt of the criticism. There are so many Wall Street institutions that fleece Nasdaq investors, what difference does it make if Li the Philanthropist takes a few more cuts?

At this moment, Li Yanhong could never have imagined that the philanthropist Li was worried about the retail investors on NASDAQ, nor could he have imagined that selling the shares of Souxin was just the first step for the Zhixing Foundation!
"What are your plans for returning to the mainland?" Li Dongling asked directly.

When asked, Li Yanhong's eyes showed a hint of conflict. His return to the mainland was influenced by a variety of reasons.

In particular, the successful financing of China.com and 3721 in the port city, and the booming development of the Internet in Zhongguancun, were very appealing to Li Yanhong.

"I……"

"I want to build our own Chinese search engine in mainland China!"

Li Yanhong spoke to Li Dongling with some trepidation, even though he was one of the top search engine engineers in Silicon Valley and even the world.

However, when it came to building a Chinese search engine, Li Yanhong couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. Influenced by Silicon Valley, he naturally believed that the mainland internet was far inferior to that of Silicon Valley.

Establishing a Chinese search engine means competing with search engines like Yahoo! Search, Excite, Lycos, and of course, Souxin!
Having spent so many years in Silicon Valley, he knew all too well the strength of these search engine companies. Li Yanhong was also somewhat unsure about challenging these competitors.

(End of this chapter)