What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 539 Transformation
The initial order amount for the Silicon Carbon Group was 5426, and the total order amount was 913.

And, a small number of 78 users who have locked in their orders.

Small deposits come with cash discounts, while large deposits have 72 hours to confirm the configuration and lock in the order. Once the order is locked in, production will begin, followed by waiting and the final delivery process.

However, for "Jiuzhou," which is only the first carbon silicon new energy vehicle, even if users are willing to try it because of the various configurations and benefits promised at the launch event, the vast majority will inevitably have to test drive the car before they can place an order.

Taking this into consideration, Silicon Carbon Group prioritizes contacting and test driving customers who have placed orders, and the emergency allocation of additional test drive vehicles is also aimed at solving this conversion problem.

Customers who place a large deposit don't necessarily have to buy a car. They can choose not to pay the 5000 yuan deposit that converts a small deposit to a large deposit. Although there is a non-refundable clause in the contract, such a dispute would not be good for the reputation of Silicon Carbon Group, which is just starting out in the market.

Yu Xing's internal instruction was that if there were any impulsive customers placing large orders, they should try their best to retain them; if they really couldn't be retained, then they should just cancel the order. More energy should be devoted to converting potential customers.

As for the 78 customers who placed orders and are waiting to pick up their cars on the first day of the Silicon Carbon Group's press conference, that was basically just a matter of exchanging favors.

People like Joseph Tsai of Alibaba, Xiong Xiaoge and Zhang Suyang of IDG, Xu Xin of Capital Today, and Zhang Chaoyang of Sohu, etc.

These first batch of car owners weren't there for the cars at all; they were there purely for Yu Xing, to give him face, and to buy him a toy.

Yu Xing's inspection of the directly operated stores the next day was to see the specific situation on the front line. Even though Cui Zhiyu and others were in charge, he still had to see it with his own eyes to feel at ease.

During the morning's inspection, institutional shareholders such as Xu Xin and Xiong Xiaoge, as well as industry friends such as Zeng Yuqun and Wang Chuanfu, all inquired about the preliminary market situation of "Jiuzhou" directly or indirectly.

Yu Xing and the shareholders had nothing to hide and gave approximate figures, while the industry side used vague terms like "not bad," "not bad at all," and "better than expected."

To be honest, because of the added boost from Douyin, he is now more cautious about subsequent order conversions.

Yu Xing's first stop was Lin'an. He set off very early and arrived at the Hubin Yintai store in Shangcheng District at 9:30 a.m.

The first batch of stores of the Silicon Carbon Group mainly considered the business district and customer flow. For example, the Hubin Yintai in Lin'an has an average daily customer flow of more than 15 people, mainly local middle and high-income families, young parents and tourists, who have strong purchasing power and a high acceptance of new technologies.

Therefore, Yu Xing witnessed the bustling activity of the store upon his arrival.

Whether people were looking, sitting, or listening, the store was already quite crowded, and there were still people looking around and watching outside.

Regardless of personal aesthetic preferences, the rounded front of the "Jiuzhou" brand is highly recognizable compared to other products on the market. Coupled with the high foot traffic and the fact that people here enjoy watching the excitement, the goal of establishing a sales outlet here has been fully achieved.

Yu Xing was greeted upon entering the store, but he quickly asked the store manager to continue working, explaining that he was there to see the actual situation, not to cause trouble. He added that the store was already very busy and that the customer experience should be the top priority.

He strolled around, observing the flow of customers entering the store, and also listened attentively to the explanations given by the frontline employees.

As expected, the configuration of "Jiuzhou" was the focus of everyone's attention. The new energy and new technologies involved are obviously difficult to convince people in a short time, and the rights and guarantees mentioned at the press conference also drew probing questions.

Silicon Carbon Group provides a lifetime warranty for the three core electric systems to the first owner, with the battery being the most important component.

Among the crowd watching the explanation, a middle-aged man wearing glasses was clearly more knowledgeable. In addition to asking the Silicon Carbon Group why it chose lithium iron phosphate, he also asked about the time decay of lithium iron phosphate.

Tesla uses ternary lithium batteries, which has become a fixed label for those who pay attention to this aspect. Even though Yu Xing explained it at the press conference, it will inevitably be discussed in different occasions.

Yu Xing couldn't openly discuss certain situations under the camera's gaze, but his offline employees were quite direct in mentioning the safety performance of the two types of batteries. However, when pressed for details about the lifespan of lithium iron phosphate batteries, he ran out of things to say.

"That's right. According to our lab's standards, our batteries have a calendar life of 10-15 years under normal conditions, and it takes 12-14 years for the capacity to decay to below 80%."

“‘Jiuzhou’ makes six-seaters to better serve family customers. Range-extended vehicles are used with shallow charging and discharging, which can extend their cycle life to 2-3 times the rated cycle life. CATL’s battery will only have its capacity decay to 80% after 2000-3000 cycles, and its theoretical range is 30-45 kilometers.”

"Our lifetime warranty is provided under these circumstances. If the battery capacity degrades by more than 30%, we will replace it free of charge. Of course, this applies to the first owner of the vehicle for non-commercial purposes."

Yu Xing, who stepped out from the crowd, explained the questions and talked about the main issues that had been raised earlier.

Some people were wondering what this person's identity was, but after being identified by others, they realized that he was the founder of the Silicon Carbon Group.

"Only the first owner? If I buy it and then sell it, won't the value of the used car decrease?" someone in the crowd asked.

"It can only be the first owner. Well, if it's a transfer between spouses, it can be retained. This lifetime warranty is actually an additional benefit provided by our Silicon Carbon Group," Yu Xing explained. "The materials used in this car are absolutely top-notch. I believe you can see our sincerity after seeing the configuration and materials. Hey, our group's first car is really aiming for a good reputation."

He also talked about the limited application of 1500MPa in products on the market today, and the cost and safety trade-offs in integrated die casting.

Yu Xing may not be a great frontline salesperson, but his confidence in explaining the ingredients far surpasses that of the store staff, which brings him more charisma.

By temporarily acting as a salesperson in the store, he actually converted 7 customers into paying customers during the two-hour explanation and communication session.

Yu Xing hurriedly ate a boxed lunch with them at noon and saw that the frontline employees were basically running around in circles with their feet barely touching the ground.

As he set off for his next destination, he was already calculating the potential increase in his bonus.

"President Yu, Mr. Jia from LeEco is still in Lingang and wants to meet to have a chat," Zhang Yangxu, the secretary in the passenger seat, suddenly turned around to report.

"Huh? He hasn't gone back yet?" Yu Xing asked in surprise, then laughed, "Quite a few people wanted to meet and chat with me today, including President Xu, President Zeng, and President Jia."

In reality, it mainly involves three groups of people: investors, suppliers, and industry insiders.

Oh right, there were also representatives from organizations that were thinking about collaborating with Douyin in the future.

Yu Xing had anticipated this, and today's inspection was somewhat of a deliberate attempt to avoid it. Otherwise, it would have been rather awkward to ignore someone who had come to support the press conference yesterday.

The reason given that the Silicon Carbon Group has serious inspection work to do is easily understood, and it is indeed something they do need to do.

“Many people have already flown away. If he's still here tomorrow, we can meet in the morning, that would be fine.” Yu Xing pondered for a moment. “Don’t give me a definite answer, just say he’s going back to Lingang in the next couple of days.”

Zhang Yangxu said "Oh," and soon received feedback that LeEco said they were just checking out the silicon carbon factory and would leave after meeting President Yu.

Yu Xing didn't know why Jia Yueting insisted on sticking with him, but he wasn't difficult to deal with now because he didn't plan his actions.

The day after the Silicon Carbon Group's press conference, everyone was extremely busy, with everything being handled urgently. The three new stores in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions were quickly negotiated that day. Although their locations were not as advantageous as the first batch of stores, they were sufficient to accommodate customers transferring between test drives.

On the second day, the number of small orders increased by 1875, while the number of large orders increased by 248.

Meanwhile, both the Kyushu Pro and Max models have been delivered to customers, and both are located in Shanghai.

The free license plates for new energy vehicles in Shanghai are very attractive, but for potential users with this budget, they can't be the main course; they are more effective as a booster.

The two versions of Kyushu don't actually offer many optional features, as the configurations are already fully provided. Customers only need to confirm the interior and exterior colors, wheel size, and style.

Kyushu offers five metallic paint options: white, silver, gray, black, and red. The interior is available in five colors: black, brown, white, red, and orange. The wheels come in two sizes: 20 inches and 21 inches, and are available in two styles: silver-gray and black-gray.

Yu Xing returned to Lingang at night and held a short conference call late at night. He believed that the current trend was very healthy, with the first day's settlement rate at 16.8% and the second day at 13.2%, which was within a reasonable range of fluctuation.

Meanwhile, a surprising 21% of the small orders placed in the past two days were made online through the official website or app, directly contradicting the experience and understanding of Cui Zhiyu and others.

At the end of the call, Vice President Cui Zhiyu asked the boss, "President Yu, are we really going to create a weekly ranking?"

Yu Xing hummed in agreement, but before he could explain his reasoning, he heard the other person's voice as if they were afraid he would change his mind.

Cui Zhiyu raised his voice twice: "Okay, okay, I'll definitely finish it!! See you next Monday!!"

Kyushu's debut two days ago has been met with overwhelmingly positive market reaction – a welcome surprise. While the weekly rankings are bound to cause controversy and turmoil, this impacts foreign and joint-venture companies' territory, and the bigger the turmoil, the better. Why did I jump ship from Great Wall in the first place?
It's just... for money...

But how do you make money?
Of course, the goal is to make big money by enabling domestic brands to rise.

Cui Zhiyu was happy to attract the attention of the market and the industry, and was certain that it would cause a stir.

Yu Xing was stunned for several seconds before he reacted. He gave a few final instructions and then ended the call.

He had been on the go all day, his mind was racing, and he hadn't slept well yesterday, so he finally got a good night's sleep today.

The next morning, before Yu Xing even arrived at the Lingang headquarters, he received a call from Xiong Xiaoge, who told him that she was already waiting for him in the office.

When he arrived, he saw that Xu Xin and Xiong Xiaoge were waiting together.

"President Yu, how's your small order coming along?" Xiong Xiaoge didn't bother with pleasantries; she just wanted to confirm the truth.

"Number 21 is 5426, and number 22 is 7301." Yu Xing roughly understood the feelings of these two people, so he didn't explain much. He just pulled up the detailed data, which included a summary of data from different online and offline stores.

Xu Xin glanced at it only once before asking, "President Yu, really? Not that, um, that..."

Yu Xing simply said three words: "No need."

When faced with criticism, instead of responding with emotional outbursts and definitive statements, their calm and understated responses actually made them appear more confident.

Xiong Xiaoge and Xu Xin couldn't help but exchange a glance, a huge sense of astonishment welling up inside them. It's done?
Xu Xin swallowed hard. "President Yu, how could this be so much more than expected?"

"We sell at cost, the quality is evident, the license plate is given away for free, and the government provides subsidies," Yu Xing summarized simply. "Oh, and Douyin helps promote it."

Xu Xin seemed mesmerized by President Yu's five-word motto, staring blankly at the man in front of her.

Xiong Xiaoge remained silent. After a long while, she let out a long breath, feeling a tingling, itchy sensation in her back and heart, as if someone was scratching her.

He shook his head repeatedly, then suddenly said, "The local people trust you more than we do, President Yu. Shen Haiyin has already been invited by the copper market to conduct an inspection. Seeing the success of the carbon silicon group, they want to snatch the project right away."

Yu Xing: "..."

Xiong Xiaoge added, "Ma Zhihao is almost completely bewildered. He went back to Tongshi and now he doesn't know what to do."

Yu Xing hadn't expected that the silicon carbon group could play such a positive role. After pondering for a while, he said, "There's nothing we can do about it. If the local governments want to promote it, who can stop the GDP from growing?"

“No, I have a way.” Xiong Xiaoge’s eyes gleamed with Xiong-style wisdom. “The review of this kind of project goes to the provincial level. I know the leaders there, so it shouldn’t be a problem for me to be a consultant for the review.”

Yu Xing laughed and said, "You're going to be a consultant?"

Xiong Xiaoge understood the implication of "Why should I?" and said proudly, "Of course I can be it, just because my brother Yu is the number one person in the new energy independent brand. Who wouldn't give me, Old Xiong, some face?"

Yu Xing asked suspiciously, "Boss Xiong, Old Xiong, is it possible that Boss Ma Zhihao has some evidence of your wrongdoing?"

“He and I have a long-standing friendship. I’ll lend a hand if I can. Besides, I don’t really think much of Curiosity Auto. This is just my opinion. I’ve expressed my opinion clearly. If all else fails…” Xiong Xiaoge laughed, “If all else fails, I’ll just say that even my brother Yu, who sells 1 orders a day, doesn’t think much of it.”

Yu Xing sighed: "1 orders? What are you talking about? Don't brag about that. Old Xiong, looking at you with such a righteous indignation, I think you're some kind of superhuman."

A strange light flashed in Xu Xin's eyes; she was quite righteous and indignant, something she had never done before.

Xiong Xiaoge chuckled: "With so many small orders in two days, rounding it up, it's about 1 orders. Rounding up when necessary is an instinct of a good investor, Mr. Xu, don't you think?"

Xu Xin shook her head: "No."

Xiong Xiaoge said disdainfully, "That's why I said you're a low-class horse."

Xu Xin: "..."

While they were chatting in the president's office, the landline suddenly rang. It was from LeEco, the company they had been wanting to meet with since yesterday.

Yu Xing hesitated for a moment, then immediately called over the people from LeEco, without asking President Xiong and President Xu to leave.

About fifteen minutes later, Jia Yueting of LeEco arrived enthusiastically at the president's office of Silicon Carbon Group.

Jia Yueting exchanged pleasantries and praised the quality of the silicon carbon group's "Jiuzhou".

Yu Xing listened with little interest.

After praising the car, Jia Yueting stated his purpose: "Mr. Yu, LeEco is also manufacturing cars. I highly approve of Silicon Carbon Group's high-standard manufacturing. I think LeEco can have Silicon Carbon Group handle the manufacturing, which will not only make full use of the production capacity but also better expand the market."

He anticipated that the production capacity of the silicon carbon group would not be fully utilized, after all, it was a car priced at over 30 yuan, and the market acceptance was limited. However, the quality of "Jiuzhou" was indeed visible to the naked eye, and LeEco urgently needed a vehicle that could bring the story to fruition.

Yu Xing's answer was concise: "Not interested."

Based on the current small and large orders, silicon carbon production capacity is likely insufficient. Moreover, just by listening to Jia's words, it's clear what he's thinking; silicon carbon doesn't need to get involved with LeEco.

Jia Yueting stared in astonishment at President Yu's outright refusal, waiting for his explanation but receiving no response.

He couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Yu, this is a win-win situation. We can discuss cooperation in this area. LeEco has a strong customer base and brand... regarding this..."

Yu Xing interrupted and repeated, "Not interested."

Jia Yueting fell silent, eager for an explanation.

Yu Xing has nothing to explain; he's at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm and doesn't want to explain.

Xiong Xiaoge and Xu Xin were both surprised by Yu Xing's attitude, but they immediately thought of other factors.

Jia Yueting stared at Yu Xing, who remained expressionless, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Yu, you weren't like this when you accepted my checks."

"Weren't those cars ordered for LeEco employees?" Yu Xing asked, then added, "If President Jia doesn't want to order them, you can get a refund."

Jia Yueting once came to Hong Kong and presented a 1000 million HKD car order check, but at the time it was like hitting cotton.

After another moment of silence, he said, "Then return it to..."

Jia Yueting was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly considered the breakthroughs Yu Xing's Silicon Carbon Group had achieved in the new energy field. He felt that LeEco's car manufacturing bubble didn't need to be risked by angering Yu over money, even though it was his own money…

Seeing that things were hopeless, he stood up and said goodbye, "Forget it, I still have to deliver the cars I promised the employees. President Yu, since there is no opportunity for cooperation this time, we will have a long future together. LeEco and Silicon Carbon can definitely work together to promote the development of China's new energy industry."

Yu Xing nodded slightly and instructed, "Okay, Mr. Jia, goodbye. Mr. Xiong, please see him off."

Xiong Xiaoge glanced at President Yu, still taking on the responsibility of seeing the person off, and also smoothing things over a bit.

However, he was never optimistic about LeEco to begin with, and now, judging from Jia's performance, he felt that the situation inside was not good.

　I wanted to write more these past few days, but something always came up. I'll update more tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)