Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 671 Car Mayhem and the ARE78 Usage Plan
In late June, Vcool Electronics Group held a product launch conference for its new generation of electric vehicles in Shenzhen.

At the press conference, Bluegogo Auto, a brand under Vcool Electronics, launched three new cars in one go.

Including the coupe-style Little Blue C and the flagship coupe-style Little Blue S.

There's also the Blue U SUV, which was launched for the first time this year.

The key point is not the appearance of the models or the usual upgrades, but that the high-end versions of these three cars all use solid-state batteries and L3 level intelligent driving.

This makes it the second car brand globally, besides Aqua Automotive, to adopt solid-state batteries.

It is also the second car brand to adopt L3 level intelligent driving technology.

This immediately caused a huge reaction, greatly increasing the attention given to Bluegogo, a brand-new electric vehicle, and resulting in increased sales.

Although its total production and sales volume is not as high as those of the automotive giants, Xiaolan Auto has entered the top ten in the domestic market and has become a new brand second only to Hailan Auto in the mid-to-high-end model segment.

It sells hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year.

Xiaolan Auto launched a model equipped with solid-state batteries and L3 intelligent driving technology... This is naturally inseparable from the support of its sister companies, Hailan Auto Group and Zhiyun Group.

Regarding solid-state batteries, Hailan Automotive Group had already reached supply agreements with major automakers last year. However, the production capacity of Hailan Battery, a subsidiary of Hailan Automotive Group, is limited. Therefore, although agreements were reached last year, small-scale supply did not actually begin until June of this year.

Hailan Battery, a subsidiary of Hailan Automotive Group, has been making every effort to expand its solid-state battery production capacity in recent years, from initially only being able to meet the needs of its own Hailan brand's high-end models to now covering all Hailan Automotive brand models.

In mid-June, Hailan Battery, a subsidiary of Hailan Automotive Group, began small-batch production at its fifth solid-state battery factory, which is also dedicated to supplying solid-state batteries for export. Initially, the factory supplied Weiku Electronics Group.

Vcool Electronics Group, leveraging the fact that its own company is also controlled by Xu Shenxue and is a sister company of Hailan Automotive Group, has secured priority in supplying solid-state batteries.

Of course, it was only about half a month ahead of schedule, and the share was not large... In fact, it was just that the batch of goods produced in the trial production of the new battery factory was given to Weiku Electronics Group ahead of schedule.

The subsequent large-scale production capacity will be supplied to various customers according to quotas!

According to the plan of Hailan Automotive Group and the agreements reached with its partners, Hailan Automotive Group will begin supplying vehicles to car manufacturers such as Xiaolan Auto under Weiku Electronics Group, as well as domestic automakers such as Huawei, Dami, and BYD, starting in July, half a month from now.

Starting in August, Hailan Battery, a subsidiary of Hailan Automotive Group, will supply batteries to companies such as Tesla, Volkswagen Group, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai.

Currently, only the fifth solid-state battery factory has the capacity for external sales, and the overall capacity is expected to only meet the annual production capacity of 1.5 million vehicles. Therefore, the solid-state battery capacity allocated to each company is very limited, and each automaker can only use it in some of its own high-end models.

As for using solid-state batteries in mid-range models, the current cost is still too high and it is not realistic... Even Aila, the low-to-mid-range car brand under the Hailan Automotive Group, has not yet used solid-state batteries.

Of course, another factor is that Ningdai Battery made another technological breakthrough in the field of lithium iron phosphate batteries last year. Although the energy density of its batteries has not increased, the safety in terms of fire and spontaneous combustion has been greatly improved.

Furthermore, Ningdai Battery's new generation of lithium iron phosphate batteries is low enough in cost. Currently, this battery is not only used by Aila Auto under Hailan Auto Group, but also by a large number of domestic automakers, and even foreign brands.

Low cost, unparalleled safety among lithium batteries, and while the energy density isn't particularly high, it's around 200 watt-hours per kilogram... This energy density is actually sufficient for use in mid-to-low-end vehicles.

This new battery is selling very well!

Meanwhile, after years of large-scale production of semi-solid batteries, Ningdai Battery has seen continuous increases in production and sales volume, leading to a continuous decrease in costs and selling prices. Its costs have now approached those of traditional ternary lithium batteries. Furthermore, Ningdai Battery has been working on semi-solid battery technology for many years and has continuously researched safety, resulting in significant improvements in its safety.

Currently, Ningdai Battery mainly focuses on this new lithium iron phosphate battery and semi-solid-state battery, while the traditional ternary lithium battery has been completely discontinued because it no longer has any market in China.

There are lithium iron phosphate batteries at the low end, semi-solid-state batteries at the mid-to-high end, and solid-state batteries at the high end... There is no room for traditional ternary lithium batteries in the middle.

Developing high-performance, safer, and lower-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries and semi-solid-state batteries is also Ningdai Battery's response strategy after the emergence and commercialization of solid-state battery technology. This strategy has been quite successful so far, with its production capacity continuously increasing and its revenue and profits maintaining a high growth rate.

Meanwhile, Ningdai Battery is also trying to develop its own solid-state batteries, but the difficulty is quite high... If they want to rely on developing solid-state batteries on their own, they might as well hope to obtain technology licenses from Hailan Battery in the future. However, solid-state battery technology is extremely expensive, which involves a large amount of equity exchange, and it cannot be negotiated in a short time.

Although both companies are controlled by Xu Shenxue, a major shareholder, they are actually independent listed companies. In addition to Xu Shenxue, there are a large number of other shareholders and investors, making this large-scale transaction very complex.

It's not that just because Xu Shenxue said something, Hailan Automotive Group could transfer solid-state battery technology to Ningdai Battery.

Leaving aside future solid-state battery collaborations, let's talk about Hailan Battery's external supply. Currently, Hailan Battery, a subsidiary of Hailan Automotive Group, is nearing completion of its sixth solid-state battery factory, which is expected to go into production in November this year.

This factory also has a relatively large annual production capacity, which is expected to meet the demand for one million electric vehicles.

By next spring, Hailan Automotive Group's solid-state battery production capacity will be able to meet its own needs and provide more than 2.5 million vehicles to other automakers. This number seems large, but if it is distributed among a large number of automakers around the world, then each automaker will receive very little capacity.

Solid-state battery technology has been around for three years and is already being used on a large scale in fields where usage is relatively low or cost is not a concern, such as smart terminals and robotics.

However, in the automotive industry, solid-state batteries are used extensively and are very expensive, so they can only be used in high-end models... The cost of batteries in electric vehicles accounts for too high a percentage of the total cost.

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In the new models released by Bluegogo, solid-state batteries are only equipped in the high-end models, and the lowest price is over 250,000 yuan, which is not cheaper than the low-end models of the Hailan Auto YEV next door.

The new car released by Bluegogo Auto, a subsidiary of Vcool Electronics Group, also uses L3 level intelligent driving. This intelligent driving technology is naturally not developed by Vcool Electronics Group itself; they do not yet have this capability.

The entire L3 level intelligent driving system is the EYEQ solution purchased from Zhiyun Group... Of course, Vcool Electronics Group insists that it is self-developed, and they don't even use EYEQ, YUN, etc. on the chip, but instead print their own little blue brand logo.

Furthermore, with in-depth customization and optimization, there are indeed some of their own unique elements in it.

A layman really can't tell the difference in a short time!

However, insiders know that this is the EYEQ solution from Zhiyun Group... Currently, globally, apart from Hailan Automotive Group, only Zhiyun Group's EYEQ solution has L3 level intelligent driving capabilities; others are not yet capable.

This solution was actually fully matured and handed over to various customers in the first half of the year. Then, each customer will adapt and optimize it. If all goes well, we will see major car manufacturers launch their own L3 level intelligent driving systems on high-end new models in the second half of the year.

As for why it's a high-end new model... because this L3-level EYEQ solution is also very expensive.

After all, Zhiyun Group isn't here to do charity!

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Bluegogo Autos has taken the lead in launching its new model, which features solid-state batteries and L3-level intelligent driving technology, and has gained tremendous popularity in the market.

This prompted other car manufacturers to accelerate their own progress.

Just a week later, Tesla on the other side of the Pacific also held a new product launch event, releasing their new generation of models, which for the first time feature solid-state batteries, increasing the flagship version's pure electric range to 1,300 kilometers, and also incorporating Level 3 autonomous driving technology.

The L3 level intelligent driving technology installed on these models has passed the 'China Assisted Driving Technology Level Standard Certification'... After passing this technology certification, these models can use terms such as 'intelligent driving' and 'L3' in advertising in the Chinese market.

It became the third automaker to obtain certification for this technical standard, following Hailan Automotive Group and Weiku Electronics Group.

However, it is worth noting that Tesla's Level 3 autonomous driving technology actually uses the EYEQ solution from Zhiyun Group!

Because they haven't successfully developed their own Level 3 autonomous driving technology yet.

Since their own plan had not yet been successfully implemented, in order to avoid falling behind in market competition, especially in the fiercely competitive Chinese market, they had no choice but to use the EYEQ solution from Zhiyun Group as a temporary measure.

We can't just stand by and watch other car manufacturers use Zhiyun Group's EYEQ solution and play with L3 intelligent driving while we stubbornly cling to our own L2 assisted driving technology.

However, Tesla has not given up on developing its own autonomous driving technology, and is even investing more and more in it.

Tesla has reached a $30 billion procurement agreement with Zhiyun Group for the 'Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing System', and has already delivered a portion of it. Tesla is also recruiting a large number of artificial intelligence talents, especially top algorithm talents.

They are also preparing to use superconducting quantum computers to develop their own L3 intelligent driving technology, and even hope to develop better artificial intelligence technology in the future, thereby entering the field of robotics.

Musk also wants to work with robots, but unfortunately his company's technology isn't up to par, so he can't do it for now!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Tesla just released its new model, and other automakers are getting even more restless... Some manufacturers, due to their technical capabilities and other factors, haven't yet had time to resolve the issues of adapting solid-state batteries for vehicle installation and L3 autonomous driving.

But one by one they started holding press conferences... Holding a press conference doesn't mean they're selling cars right now.

First, hold a press conference to attract venture capital and generate attention. Then, attract consumers who are ready to buy vehicles and get them to place a deposit... even if that deposit is refundable at any time.

It doesn't matter if the deposit is refunded; the important thing is to attract these potential consumers in advance so that they are not snatched away by new models from other car manufacturers.

This has led to a very eye-catching, even chaotic scene in the automotive industry... Car manufacturers hold press conferences almost every day, and sometimes two car manufacturers hold press conferences on the same day.

These new cars released by car manufacturers all have two things in common: solid-state batteries and Level 3 autonomous driving!

This phenomenon has attracted the attention of many consumers and even the news media.

According to analysis by financial media, in just one month from late June to July, more than 50 automakers worldwide released their new generation of smart electric vehicles, with more than 100 new models, all of which adopted solid-state batteries and L3 autonomous driving.

what does this mean?
This means that the entire electric vehicle industry has entered a completely new level.

This has an even greater impact on the entire automotive industry than the previous release of solid-state battery models and L4-level autonomous driving models by Hailan Auto. Because no matter how powerful Hailan Auto Group is, it's still just a single company, primarily producing high-end luxury vehicles. Furthermore, the closed nature of automotive markets in various countries means that the Hailan Auto brand under the Hailan Auto Group can only achieve a maximum annual production and sales volume of four million vehicles.

It's not that the cars aren't good enough, but rather that the high-end market is only so big.

This is also why Hailan Automotive Group launched the Aila and Mite sub-brands, and is considering establishing more sub-brands... The market capacity for high-end luxury models is limited; once it reaches a certain level, there is no further growth potential.

This is also why Hailan Automotive Group has opened up the export of solid-state batteries... Relying solely on the sales volume of their own car company, they cannot achieve a large sales volume. Even if the sales volume of all car brands and models in the entire group is at its peak, it will only reach a little over ten million vehicles a year at most.

If you sell any more, it's no longer a technical or price issue, it's that they won't let you sell... If you take over the market, what will other people eat and drink?
The automotive industry is a very special industry and cannot be viewed simply as a consumer goods market.

Countries have always been very protective of their domestic automotive industries... It is extremely difficult to gain a market share beyond the norm, as it often involves issues of national interest.

Therefore, Hailan Automotive Group took an indirect approach: opening up the sale of solid-state batteries. On the one hand, it used the export of solid-state batteries to gain a larger market share in the export of complete vehicles, and on the other hand, it was also to obtain more solid-state battery sales.

Power batteries account for more than 50% of the total cost of pure electric vehicles. If a company can secure solid-state battery supplies from other automakers, it can generate substantial revenue and profits.

In this model, the money a car manufacturer makes from selling a car is less than what Hailan Battery, a solid-state battery supplier, earns.

The two reasons mentioned above led Hailan Automotive Group to open up the sales and export of solid-state batteries, which brought Hailan Automotive Group a lot of benefits.

Last year, Hyland Group and Volkswagen Group established a joint venture in Europe to prepare for the launch of a new car brand to the market.

Hylan Automotive Group holds 45% of the shares, while Volkswagen Group holds 55%. Hylan Automotive Group is responsible for supplying solid-state batteries, while Volkswagen Group is responsible for vehicle R&D and sales promotion.

At the same time, Hylan Automotive Group will also sell solid-state batteries to other automotive brands within the Volkswagen Group.

This will enable Hailan Automotive's solid-state batteries to enter the European market on a large scale, and even other markets, such as the United States.

The battery business has rapidly become an important core business of Hailan Automotive Group, with its revenue contribution climbing rapidly.

With solid-state batteries becoming increasingly popular, Hailan Automotive Group has also accelerated its expansion into the low-end car market.

In July, Hailan Automotive Group established a wholly-owned subsidiary to launch the new low-end sub-brand Waygod series to the market.

The newly released models are priced between 70,000 and 80,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan, with the main focus on the highly competitive low-end market priced around 100,000 yuan.

Its brand positioning is even lower than that of the Ella brand... The Ella brand's market positioning is mainly targeting the 150,000 yuan price range.

WayShen, on the other hand, targets a market price range of 100,000 yuan.

Weishen Motors, whose main models are priced around 100,000 yuan, offers both pure electric and plug-in hybrid versions. It uses lithium iron phosphate batteries supplied by Ningdai Battery and low-cost EYEQ L2 assisted driving technology from Zhiyun Group.

Although it is a low-end model, it carries the lineage of Hailan Automotive Group. It uses a lot of mature technologies from Hailan Automotive Group, so although the price is cheap, the technological content is not low, especially in terms of safety technology.

Hailan Automotive Group hopes to gain a share of the market in the 100,000 yuan price range with the new Weishen brand, so that together with the Ella and Hailan brands, it can form a price range covering 70,000 to 80,000 yuan to 1 million yuan.

In the future, Hailan Automotive Group is even considering entering the lower-end market, specifically entry-level models and microcars priced at 60,000 to 70,000 yuan, through equity investment or joint ventures.

After all, the ambition of Hailan Automotive Group is to become a comprehensive large-scale multinational automaker with annual global sales of more than 10 million vehicles. Its product line naturally cannot only cover the mid-to-high-end market, but also the low-end market, and even some niche models will be gradually developed in the future.

In short, they will try out every type of car on the market.

The low-end models are not only used to gain market share in the domestic market, but also to promote and sell them on a large scale in emerging markets.

Emerging markets have two main characteristics:
Firstly, low purchasing power means that high-priced models don't sell well... In response to this situation, Hailan Automotive Group first launched the Ella brand, and now it has launched the Waygod brand, gradually lowering the prices of its product line.

Secondly, the infrastructure is underdeveloped, such as the scarcity of charging stations, which limits the development of pure electric vehicles.

In response, Hailan Automotive Group's previous solution was to develop range-extended electric vehicles, and later it gradually shifted to developing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

However, the plug-in hybrid models produced by Hailan Automotive Group have not performed well. This is mainly because plug-in hybrid models involve key areas such as internal combustion engines and transmissions, and Hailan Automotive Group has not invested much effort and money in these areas.

Previously, they simply purchased products from other companies. Later, they acquired the engine business and patents of other companies and established Hailan Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to start developing their own gasoline engines and transmissions.

However, there are too many patent restrictions in these traditional fields, making it very difficult to bypass them. The problem that Hailan Power is facing now is not that it cannot design a better engine, but that even if it does design one, it cannot be commercialized... because it infringes on the patents of many other manufacturers.

Therefore, the path of self-developed technology is not smooth. Currently, the engines and other components used in the range-extended and plug-in hybrid models of Hailan Automotive Group are purchased from several partner manufacturers.

However, this cooperation model is changing... Hailan Automotive Group found the supplier's products to be too poor, so it began to design, optimize and improve the engine itself, and then let the supplier with the patent produce it.

This model is still evolving. Hailan Auto Group is in negotiations with Geely and BYD, several domestic companies with good technological reserves and patents in the engine field, to try to establish a three-way joint venture to produce more advanced engines.

Simply put, these three major domestic automakers are collaborating to develop advanced engines and transmissions... with the goal of directly surpassing or even leading the engine and transmission technologies of Japanese, Korean, European, and American manufacturers.

Negotiations are nearing completion, and if all goes smoothly, mass production may be achieved around the year after next.
Some of the range-extended and plug-in hybrid models under the Hailan Automotive Group will be able to use the new engines and transmissions from this new joint venture.

BYD and Geely can also gain a lot of benefits from this cooperation, and at the same time, some of their own models also use these new engines.

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The automotive market underwent dramatic changes starting in late June and continuing into July. These changes first erupted in the domestic market and then quickly spread to other countries overseas.

This dramatic change not only signifies the widespread adoption of next-generation solid-state batteries and intelligent driving, but also represents a significant step forward for Hailan Automotive Group towards its goals.

While the automotive market was undergoing dramatic changes, Xu Shenxue did not pay much attention to these changes... The strategic layout had already been finalized, and now it was just that Hailan Automotive Group was pushing forward according to the established plan. Xu Shenxue did not need to worry about or pay attention to these specific strategic executions.

Now, he is focused on something else... promoting the use of the drug ARE78 internally.

The research and development of the ARE78 project has been ongoing for many years. The efficacy and side effects are now very clear, and the safety has been guaranteed. In the first half of this year, it began to be supplied in large quantities to the sponsoring clients of Galaxy Life.

In terms of manufacturing costs, with the significant improvement of the computing power facilities of Zhiyun Group, the computing power cost has dropped significantly, and the maximum cost of ARE78 is also decreasing rapidly.

The cost of drug preparation is not too high.

According to calculations by Galaxy Life, the annual cost per person for ARE78 has dropped to approximately $300,000, a significant decrease from the previous cost of around $500,000.

Of course, this is just the cost of drug preparation... Strictly speaking, research and development costs should also be included, but if research and development costs are included, the price will be astronomical... Especially when the usage is relatively low, the huge research and development costs would be several million US dollars if spread out.

Xu Shenxue also considered reusing some of his important scientists who were physically fit and older, in order to improve their physical function and enable them to better carry out scientific research.

Although scientific research is mental labor, the heavy workload of scientific research also puts a great burden on the human body!
Furthermore, Galaxy Life's ARE78 drug does not simply limit its effects on physical fitness, but covers all areas of human function recovery.

Including the brain!

The metabolism involved covers the entire body... not just a specific area.

Its effects not only improve physical fitness, but also help restore memory and thinking ability in the elderly to some extent, and even have a side effect... that certain indescribable functions can be restored to some extent.

In most cases, a seventy-year-old man is no longer able to perform sexually, but after using the ARE78 drug, when his physical functions recover to the level of a sixty-year-old or even a fifty-five-year-old, his sexual function also recovers to the level of a fifty- or sixty-year-old.

This is much better than any specialized medication...

Based on the powerful effects and manageable side effects of ARE78, Xu Shenxue also decided to use it on his team of elderly scientists, enabling them to achieve greater research results.

Such a thing is naturally impossible to do in public... The AR78 drug is still kept secret, although it is no longer a secret in the upper echelons of the world. Currently, more than a thousand super-rich individuals or their families are using it.

Furthermore, the use of ARE78 continues to expand... especially after other super-rich individuals saw their friends or competitors go from old men to lively and energetic people, many of them couldn't resist.

Even if they are young and don't need it yet, they still have parents and other elders who need it.

Therefore, the number of users is expected to see a significant increase in the future.

However, even with a significant increase in the number of users, ARE78 still cannot be opened to the public...

Otherwise, it will cause a lot of trouble... This involves a matter of fairness.

So while many conglomerates were thinking of stealing or robbing AR78's technical secrets, none of them ever considered releasing them publicly...

Xu Shenxue had to keep it secret when he wanted to give it to the scientists under his command, so as not to attract outside attention.

With Xu Shenxue's formal approval of the plan, a new department was established within Liuhe Investment to provide health and medical care for the group's senior executives and technical personnel.

Under the guise of providing health insurance, they began screening qualified scientists and arranging for them to undergo detailed health examinations to determine the shortlist of candidates to use the ARE78 drug!

(End of this chapter)