Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1248 The First to Eat Crab
"This first-generation Chitu electric bicycle uses a brushed hub motor and a 36-volt lead-acid battery."

It can provide 180 to 250W of power, and under "smooth" riding conditions, its range can reach about 30 to 40 kilometers.

Guan Zhenming introduced the main configurations and functions of the car to Li Dongling and other senior executives from Dongling High-Tech headquarters.

He was originally a marketing manager, so he knows what to say when facing his superiors and customers.

When facing customers, if you need to sell a car, you have to exaggerate its features. Only by exaggerating its features can you get customers to open their wallets. This is a basic skill in sales.

But this approach won't work when dealing with your boss. You have to clearly explain its advantages and disadvantages. You can fool others, but you can't get yourself into a trap!

Li Dongling frowned slightly upon hearing Guan Zhenming's words. The technology of the first-generation Chitu electric bicycle seemed decent, but in reality, it was only decent in name only!

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this technology is rather subpar.

A 36-volt lead-acid battery is made up of three small 12-volt lead-acid batteries connected in series. In fact, the batteries used by Tesla in its early days were basically the same, consisting of a bunch of Panasonic batteries connected in series.

What frustrated Li the philanthropist was not the 36-volt battery pack or the insufficient range, but the brushed hub motor!

Brushed and brushless electric bicycles may seem to differ by only one word, but in reality, the resulting electric bicycles are worlds apart, and can even be described as products of two different eras.

The drawbacks of brushed motors are that they are noisy, and the failure rate is somewhat uncontrollable, especially in terms of maintenance. But the most critical issue is their weak power. With a 36-volt battery, they can only utilize about 70% of the power, making it difficult to even climb a hill.

Seeing Li Dashanren's expression, Guan Zhenming quickly explained, "The Chitu technical department has also been working on brushless hub motor technology, but it will take more time."

Currently, brushless hub motors, along with controllers, higher-power MOS transistors, and MCU microprocessors, are simply too expensive!

Brushless technology actually exists; it's not some far-fetched concept.

Just because something exists doesn't mean it can be used directly. This thing isn't like building blocks that you can just stack together.

Currently, the cost of a brushless motor is over 1,500 yuan, while a controller equipped with a high-power MOS transistor and a dedicated MCU chip costs around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan.

Then the battery, frame, tires, brakes, etc. all need to be replaced. Add in the labor and R&D costs, and the total cost soars to eight thousand or even more than ten thousand!

Which sucker can be expected to buy an electric bicycle that costs 10,000 yuan?

After buying it, you need to charge it after riding it for 30 or 40 kilometers. With that money, you could buy a motorcycle. Why would you need a bicycle?

Upon hearing Guan Zhenming's explanation, Ren Yuefeng, Hu Zixian, and the others understood the current predicament of Chitu Electric Bicycle Company.

"To address the issue of insufficient power when electric bicycles go uphill, the Chitu technical department has installed a range extender, which is essentially a climbing gear."

When riding uphill, you can use the hill-climbing gear, which can temporarily increase the motor's power, but it will consume electricity and affect the range.

The installation of a climbing gear on the Chitu electric bicycle is actually a compromise. You can't expect users to get off and push the bike when they encounter a small hill after buying it.

So, is it a person riding a bicycle, or a bicycle riding a person? Wouldn't that be a reversal of the natural order?
In the early days of electric vehicles, when battery range was insufficient, some manufacturers launched range-extended electric vehicles, which were essentially like carrying a power bank with you. They could also refuel when needed, avoiding breakdowns on the highway or running out of power in traffic jams.

This is actually a work in progress, though it may not look good on the inside, at least it saves face.

The same applies to the Chitu electric bicycle. Putting everything else aside, as long as the electric bicycle can climb a hill, the problem is solved, at least the practicality is addressed.

Upon hearing this, Li the Great Philanthropist glanced at Guan Zhenming, then stepped forward and circled the Chitu electric bicycle.

Subsequently, Li Keqiang, Asia's richest man, personally rode a small electric scooter around the backyard of the technology department a few times.

Li Dashanren can be considered to have taken the lead by example, and he is much more conscientious than those founders in my previous life who never used their own products.

In the past, many mobile phone manufacturers, including their brand owners and product managers, all used Apple devices. How could users believe that the products they launched weren't just a way to fleece consumers?

After getting his hands on it, Li Dashanren's first impression was that it was much heavier than he had imagined. That's the literal meaning; in reality, it was heavy!

Lead-acid batteries are significantly heavier than lithium batteries. Not to mention, Chitu electric bicycles use high-quality materials for their first vehicle, using iron whenever possible instead of plastic, aiming to be a vehicle that can be passed down through three generations, so that the rider is gone but the vehicle is still there... However, in terms of operation, there is no difficulty in operation, and it can be described as "smooth". However, this smoothness refers only to the operation experience.

However, this vehicle, lacking features such as an energy recovery system, assistant sensors, and riding modes, is certainly not as comfortable to ride as the fully-developed electric bicycles of my previous life.

However, after Mr. Li got his hands on it, he felt that the Chitu electric bicycle could still guarantee the most basic functions, especially the braking function, the braking effect of which satisfied Mr. Li.

After Li Dongling came down, Ren Yuefeng, Hu Zixian, Zhang Ao and others got their hands on it one after another. Electric bicycles are really not difficult to ride. As long as you have ridden a bicycle or motorcycle, you can get started without any difficulty. This is the biggest advantage that has made it popular!
What is the pre-sale price and cost of the first-generation Chitu electric bicycle?

After everyone had tried it out, the group went to the office, where Li Dongling asked Guan Zhenming directly.

Price is king; everything else is nonsense, especially for products like electric bicycles that are suitable for family and personal travel. Price is of paramount importance.

"The planned price for Chitu Electric Bicycle Company is 2599!"

Guan Zhenming said, "The cost of producing an electric bicycle is 1800 yuan. After adding advertising and promotion costs and commissions for dealers, the profit may only be about 12%."

Upon hearing the price, Mr. Li felt it was still too high, but given the current costs, it was impossible to lower the price further.

Only when Chitu electric bicycles begin mass production can the cost be completely reduced!

Chitu's first electric bicycle was actually just a trial run, to see how big the splash would be. Li Dashanren didn't have high expectations for sales volume.

"Before the Chitu electric bicycle goes on sale next year, the battery capacity needs to be increased to 48 volts," Li Dongling said, turning to Ji Youren, general manager of Kunpeng Power. "The battery of the Chitu electric bicycle cannot be too small, otherwise users will have no experience at all!"

What are users' impressions of an electric bicycle? Besides whether it's easy to ride and how easily it breaks down, one of the most important things is how far it can go. If it runs out of power after just a couple of laps, the manufacturer will be cursed out...

Ji Youren hesitated for a moment, but nodded in the face of Li Dashan's gaze. "Kunpeng Power will add batteries and redesign a power supply system!"

Adding a battery is not as simple as just increasing the current; it also requires adjustments and optimizations to the motor, circuitry, and components.

"Battery safety must be guaranteed, even if it increases the cost.

"The car body also needs to be optimized. While ensuring quality and safety, the car body materials also need to be optimized. Composite materials can be used. We can work with Hanxi New Materials to develop this together."

Users of Chitu electric bicycles may include men, women, young and old; it's essential to ensure that they can all pick up the bicycle if it accidentally falls over!

Li Dashanren instructed Guan Zhenming, "The first-generation Chitu electric bicycle was a trial product, but the second-generation Chitu electric bicycle must complete the research and development of brushless motor hubs, and brushless motors must become the standard equipment of Chitu electric bicycles!"

"This……"

Guan Zhenming hesitated somewhat, as the cost of brushless motors was quite high, making it difficult for Chitu to bear.

"Dongxin Semiconductor, along with Hanxi New Materials and other Dongling High-Tech component supply chains, will do their utmost to help Chitu electric bicycles reduce costs!"

Upon hearing that Li Dongling had mobilized the entire Dongling High-Tech parts supply chain, Guan Zhenming knew that this was a serious matter.

"Yes!"

But this also relieved Guan Zhenming. He couldn't have expected Chitu Electric Bicycle Company to reduce the cost of brushless motors, controllers, and other components.

With the support of Dongling Hi-Tech Components, the situation is completely different. The strength of Dongling Hi-Tech's component supply chain is evident to all. If it can't bring down prices, then let alone in China, probably no company in the world has that capability.

Of course, for Dongling Hi-Tech's parts supply chain, if they can secure this supply chain, Dongling Hi-Tech's parts suppliers will have an additional order for electric bicycles worth tens of millions of yuan every year, which will be enough to keep them very busy!

"In the future, Chitu electric bicycles will launch several new models every year. In addition to appearance design, there will be new breakthroughs in functionality every year, including the development of energy recovery systems, assistant sensors, and riding modes!"

Li Dongling said that the electric bicycle industry is also the most competitive industry, after all, the entry threshold for the industry is not as high as imagined.

As a pioneer, Chitu electric bicycles are sure to reap a big reward. However, to maintain their advantage, in addition to quality and after-sales service, they must also stay ahead in technology and suppress other competitors!
Li Dashanren and Dongling High-Tech's automotive division both have high hopes for the Chitu electric bicycle, expecting it to become a cash cow!
(End of this chapter)