What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 681 Open Source (4k)

The keynote speech on open source systems at Silicon Carbon Group was not given by Yu Xing or Cui Zhiyu, who is in charge of daily operations. Instead, it was given by Cai Shaojun, the senior technical director, who delivered more technical content to the domestic audience.

Internally, the system is referred to as a "silicon-based system," but in this context, the formal name is the SiOS In-Vehicle Open Source System Industry Alliance, which aims to jointly promote the development of the domestic new energy industry.

For upstream suppliers, the benefit is that an influential open-source standard can reduce fragmented customization and adaptation. If more car manufacturers and models are willing to adopt it, it will undoubtedly greatly reduce their costs of expanding the market.

For small and medium-sized car manufacturers, a proven in-vehicle infotainment system would undoubtedly help them reduce their investment in this area during periods of tight budgets, allowing them to focus their R&D efforts on more visible areas.

For Silicon Carbon Group itself, the benefits are naturally even greater. The cumulative promotion of its brand image alone can help the company acquire more customers, and the formulation of standards can also have a greater impact on the supply chain.

Yu Xing did not go on stage, not wanting the public opinion surrounding him to affect the theme of the event, but he still made an appearance and paid special attention to the reactions of his colleagues present.

Overall, they were unimpressed, and the applause was merely a polite response.

This was not unexpected.

Just like when he talked to He Xiaopeng about this, even Xiaopeng, a company that only makes mule cars, was unwilling to use another car company's system, let alone SAIC, BAIC and BYD, which have been cultivating the industry for many years.

As for foreign brands, such as the German BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) and the Japanese Mitsubishi, they are even less likely to relinquish the right to set standards to their competitors.

Yu Xing discussed this matter in an internal company meeting, expressing cautious optimism about the future of open-source systems, believing that the turning point lies in the slow response of state-owned enterprises to new energy.

He shared his experience, which is still relevant today: "People can often only imagine what is happening in front of them. The development of new energy is very fast. It is difficult for companies like SAIC and GAC to systematically do a good job in the new energy business. When the market undergoes tremendous changes, policy and industry pressure will urge them to accelerate their transformation."

“In the early stages of market development, they are slow to react; as the market develops, they become too hasty. Silicon-based systems can essentially help people get started.”

Silicon Carbon is not currently pursuing the adoption of this standard by automakers; it is simply working on the basics and framework first, starting with securing cooperation from the supplier level.

Regarding the often modified versions that open-source systems face, Silicon Carbon Group, both for the sake of maintaining its influence and for its commitment to automotive safety, clearly stated in this presentation that the establishment of the Alliance Technical Committee will lead the iteration of core code and the formulation of standards, and establish a strict compatibility certification mechanism. Only those who pass the certification can use the standard API and ecosystem services, thus avoiding fragmentation caused by excessive modifications from a mechanism perspective.

"President Yu, you guys are really ambitious." Li Hui, the deputy general manager of GAC Toyota, came to Lingang to attend the meeting amidst a chorus of opposition. After listening to the presentation on stage for a while, he switched seats with President Yu.

Yu Xing corrected, "President Li, it should be 'ambition,' the wording needs to be precise."

"You guys are really ambitious," Li Hui laughed. "Will a five-seater car be available by the end of this year?"

“It should be possible.” Yu Xing glanced at his competitor. “What comparable products do you have to follow suit?”

Li Hui shook his head: "That's GAC Motor's business. I'm really interested to see how you guys approach new energy vehicles. The Kyushu is a pretty good car."

Just as Yu Xing was about to say thank you, he heard the other person continue speaking.

“However, a large part of Kyushu’s current sales volume relies on license plates from major cities,” Li Hui said. “President Yu, you admit that, right? Without license plates and traffic restrictions, Kyushu would not have achieved its current sales volume.”

Yu Xing nodded slightly: "President Li, if the country doesn't support us, why would it support you? We have set up R&D in Lingang and cooperate with upstream suppliers in the industry. You don't even have the autonomy to design a car model, so what are you dissatisfied with?"

Li Hui was disgruntled.

After a moment, he shook his head and said, "I was just talking about the competitive situation in the market."

Yu Xing hummed in agreement: "Last year was probably the year when the gap between Highlander and us was the smallest in terms of market competition."

Highlander sold 7.18 units last year, and Kyushu sold 8.25 units last year.

Li Hui glared at him and said, "President Yu, I'm not here to argue with you."

Yu Xing asked, "Isn't that right? Then what are you doing here? Is GAC Toyota willing to equip vehicles with the SiOS system?"

“That’s definitely not going to work.” Li Hui’s tone was complicated. “First of all, congratulations to Carbon Silicon on its current achievements. Then, if the five Kyushu ships can sell well, I think it might be a good thing.”

Yu Xing pondered for a moment and understood the other party's meaning: the five provinces might reduce the competitive pressure on the Highlander.

He laughed and said, "Mr. Li, we're hoping that the popularity of the fifth seat will boost the popularity of the sixth seat."

“This piece of the pie is only so big,” Li Hui said. “You guys should go and compete with BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi), don’t keep focusing on ours.”

Yu Xing nodded: "Grab whatever you can, maybe we can push seven more seats later."

Li Hui was startled.

The seven-seater Highlander is the absolute mainstay, with over 90% of sales last year, while the five-seater version accounted for less than 10%.

Customers in niche markets often have clearly defined goals, which is why the Highlander has thrived in recent years. If the carbon silicon version were to actually launch with seven seats, given the current level of support from various factors, it would truly be impossible for anyone to survive...

Fortunately, they had their own countermeasures.

Before arriving in Hong Kong, Li Hui did one thing strongly voiced his opinion, hoping that the Highlander would introduce a six-seater model in the subsequent facelift, while further enhancing its entertainment features.

He felt that with the Highlander's long-standing reputation, a few modifications to the six-seater version would definitely allow them to regain some market share.

The problem lies in... Mr. Yu's sarcastic remarks just now.

The Japanese side has the final say on the Highlander's model planning.

Li Hui could only express his opinion solemnly and repeatedly, exaggerating the threat posed by the silicon carbon group in the market, but how much the Japanese side would actually take it seriously was truly unknown.

He knows better than anyone the arrogance of foreign manufacturers.

Unfortunately, domestic companies are not far behind in this regard either. The Trumpchi GS7 is a prime example. With the success of Kyushu already established, they still had to add unnecessary details to show off their heritage.

Unable to gain control externally and entangled in various interests internally, Li Hui sometimes feels truly helpless.

After a moment of silence, he shook his head and surprisingly said, "Let's just release seven seats if we want. If we can't outsell them, we deserve it."

The world is a giant wretch.

Yu Xing was surprised by Li Zong's inexplicable dejection.

Thinking that the other party was still a guest willing to attend the conference, he changed the subject: "GAC is quite impressive. The GS7 is one of the fastest-reacting moves in China. By the way, do you know Xia Yan? He's the one who's now the president of XPeng Motors."

Li Hui thought for a moment and replied, "I've heard of it. What's wrong?"

Yu Xing laughed and said, "What do you think of his abilities? He also comes from GAC Group."

Li Hui exclaimed in surprise: "He came from GAC Group?"

Yu Xing was even more surprised: "You don't know? Isn't he the youngest section chief at GAC R&D Center?" Li Hui looked blank: "Section chief? This..."

He usually deals with the dean, or at least the department head; he hasn't really talked to the section chief much.

"A big difference in rank?" Yu Xing understood roughly from the other party's reaction and flattered, "That shows that GAC still has a lot of talent. Even a section chief can become a president."

Li Hui shook his head: "Fourth or fifth floor, I guess. I'm not familiar with him, we don't have much work-related contact."

Yu Xing laughed and said, "President Li, GAC Research Institute is indeed capable. Look, they can become presidents and make a name for themselves in the field of new energy. If you are hampered in the company, you can always raise your voice and change the situation in the blink of an eye."

Li Hui said warily, "Don't talk to me about this."

A few seconds later, he added, "And don't poach our people either."

Yu Xing smiled and casually started chatting about the rapid development of new energy.

He had no personal issues with Li Hui, the top Chinese official who was his rival; anyone who could come to such an occasion was a guest.

However, the other guest mentioned by the head of silicon carbon industry felt quite depressed as he watched Mr. Yu and Mr. Li chatting happily from behind.

Mr. He wanted to conduct joint procurement and was also considering using SiOS, which led to a conflict with He Tao.

This trip to Lingang was truly awful.

What's worse, the G3 mule car didn't receive very good reviews, and ironically, some of the issues were indeed valid.

Xia Yan felt both pressured and frustrated. The rejection of G3 was practically a rejection of his work as president over the past period, and now there was the sensitive issue of internal procurement.

He stared at President Yu's back, constantly considering the pros and cons of joint procurement. The advantages were obvious, but the disadvantage was that once the low cost brought by this model was used, the competitiveness of future models might be at the mercy of others.

If XPeng sells one model well, and Silicon Carbon also launches a model with the same positioning, how will they compete?
"President Xia, I have good news." He Xiaopeng, who hadn't slept well the night before, sat down next to Xia Yan with dark circles under his eyes. He had just come over after communicating with Cui Zhiyu. "Red Falcon is interested in investing in us."

XPeng Motors has completed its Pre-A round of financing and borrowed an additional $4000 million.

Xia Yan was slightly taken aback when she heard the name Red Falcon: "Then...isn't that President Yu's idea?"

“Yes, Mr. Cui said that Mr. Yu believes that the G3 mule car has some merits besides the battery issues it is currently facing,” He Xiaopeng said. “However, Red Falcon’s investment also needs to see more results from us, including IDG, which is likely also observing Lingang’s assessment.”

Xia Yan naturally understood what this meant.

After much deliberation, he said from a perspective that could easily provoke a backlash: "Mr. He, if this continues, it's hard to say who will be in charge of the company in the future."

With joint procurement, investment intentions, and talk of open-source systems on stage, XPeng Motors might as well just change its name to Xiaoxing Motors.

He Xiaopeng stated firmly, "Only by doing well in the present can we have the right to talk about the future."

His voice was a bit louder, startling Li Bin who was not far away.

Li Bin turned his head and looked at He Xiaopeng: "Mr. He, are you talking about us?"

He Xiaopeng: "..."

He said irritably, "We're talking about NIO, but you won't even give me a car."

Li Bin said with a grin, "If you invest in us, I'll give you one. Or, if you license your patents to us, I'll give you one... a wheel."

He Xiaopeng scoffed, "So silicon carbide is going to make sports cars too? Let's see who's the fastest then."

Li Bin shrugged: "If silicon carbide is faster, then it truly lives up to its name. If it's not as fast as us, then don't blame me for buying press releases."

He Xiaopeng felt that he sometimes really needed to learn from Li Bin.

Li Bin turned his head, his expression instantly becoming much more solemn. He truly did not know that silicon carbide had plans to make sports cars. He turned his gaze to President Yu in front of him, considering his own situation.

After the presentations on stage ended, another leader gave a speech, and the meeting would then take a break once the leader finished speaking.

It was during this midday period that Li Bin, on behalf of NIO, presented the head of Silicon Carbon Group with NIO's ET9 sports car as a token of gratitude for Silicon Carbon Group's free licensing of its new energy battery patents.

Media reporters formed a circle around the perimeter, while an outer circle consisted of colleagues and industry insiders.

Yu Xing happily accepted the keys, thanked Li Bin, and commented: "The EP9 looks beautiful. I heard them say that this type of car is all about the pose, and the EP9 is indeed beautiful to me. Thank you, Mr. Li, and thank you, NIO. I also hope that, just like its name, NIO will become a part of the future of China's new energy industry."

The applause in informal settings was noticeably more enthusiastic.

Reporters and onlookers alike were egging them on.

"Mr. Yu, please say a few words."

"Mr. Yu, since you're here, let's talk about your views on the market."

"I've heard that there will be quite a few new energy vehicle models this year, including those from BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi). Mr. Yu, what are your thoughts on this?"

Yu Xing did not want to be interviewed, but he couldn't leave immediately. Considering that it was his home turf, he simply reviewed the situation and gave a brief response.

"The market is very good, and so is the carbon and silicon market. This year, the production and sales of new energy in China are expected to exceed 60 units, which is an extremely encouraging figure."

"Silicon carbon has proven that we can make mid-to-high-end models that consumers can accept and be satisfied with."

"I really hope that our competitors and peers will work together to make efforts in new energy, instead of..."

Yu Xing paused slightly and said rather directly, "I'm not talking about the person, but about the issue. Take BMW, for example. From the time I started working on silicon carbon technology until now, their current new energy models are still converted from gasoline to electric. What impressed me about Mercedes-Benz is the marginalized B250e and the heavily modified plug-in hybrids. They don't seem very sincere."

"As for Audi, it is likely stuck with the emissions scandal and is now practically lying flat."

The reporters stirred slightly, and someone in the crowd asked, "How did Audi get stuck?"

Yu Xing replied naturally, "Perhaps it was someone with a sense of justice who pointed out its own problems. In any case, not only BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi), but also Japanese and Korean car manufacturers, they are all very slow to react. On the other hand..."

Reporters and colleagues alike were bracing themselves for Mr. Yu's boasting about silicon carbon.

“Looking at CATL, it went to great lengths to squeeze into BMW’s supply chain, but now it is the leading battery supplier in China,” Yu Xing said with a smile. “Like CATL, companies such as Jingjin Electric, Huichuan Technology, United Electronics, Ronbay Technology, and Sanhua Intelligent Control have become the best testament to the development of our new energy industry.”

He made a heartfelt observation and remark: "Times have already changed."

(End of this chapter)