From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 107 Starry Sky Auto Community? The Prototype of a Car Mall
"Although it was very successful."

"But success that is too stable and whose upper limit is easily visible can also be boring."

Zheng Guozhao sat in the lounge of the largest directly operated store, gazing listlessly at the crowd of people looking at cars outside.

The sales team is specially trained and very professional…

He doesn't need to worry about it.

Each store under its jurisdiction also has a store manager responsible for handling operational matters.

Because Xingchen Motors' strategy is too professional.

In addition, the car's positioning was also very successful.

The only thing that has some impact.

It's probably a Wuling Motors store that just opened nearby; I don't know when it "stuck" up there.

They even launched a "Wuling Mini" to compete with their "Star Mini".

I have no idea where they learned this disgusting fighting style.

It did indeed steal some customer traffic.

Overall, however, the impact is not significant, and Xingchen Auto's customer base remains stable.

……

He smoked a cigarette, stroked his chin, and fell into deep thought.

A peculiar sense of emptiness slowly began to grow within him.

The business of the old man's car has been handed over to my cousin to manage.

Because the market for elderly-friendly vehicles can only be expanded to the urban-rural fringe areas and some peripheral cities where regulations are not particularly strict. The market share has passed its explosive growth period and is slowly shrinking, so there is nothing to worry about.

But he misses the old days when he was in the elderly entertainment business, trying to open up the market, visiting various car dealerships, and even developing a derivative car film business, making a fortune.

"Oh right, speaking of screen protectors..."

Zheng Guozhao took a breath, couldn't help but look down and open his phone, clicking on a large group chat with over a thousand people.

[Star Mini Owners' Community Group]

During this period, he instructed the sales teams at each store to create an official group for all car owners who had already taken delivery of their vehicles.

As a startup brand.

Mr. Xu himself said that Xingchen Automotive should pay attention to after-sales quality.

If there are a large number of problems offline, or if a vehicle experiences an electrical malfunction, it must be reported and resolved immediately.

Create groups to maintain customer relationships.

This was Zheng Guozhao's specialty, and the old man Lequn used to maintain it with great success.

The current atmosphere in the official Starry Sky car owner group is generally very harmonious.

As the group admin, he can see any issues immediately.

The target audience is mostly young urban residents, including office workers, young women, and stay-at-home mothers.

During this period, a few cars in the group experienced some occasional minor malfunctions and abnormal noises upon delivery.

Upon seeing this, he immediately contacted customer service and resolved the issue.

This service has also led to a sharp rise in the after-sales reputation of Xingchen Automotive among car owners.

...

The group chat content is constantly being updated.

There were people driving Star Mini cars to go grocery shopping, people driving them to work, and people driving them fishing.

Looking at the chat.

An idea suddenly popped into Zheng Guozhao's mind.

I wonder if the owners of these Star Mini cars need to get their windows tinted?

With such a large group of car owners, the profit margin could be enormous if related businesses could be developed!

That's when.

A message popped up in the group chat.

A car owner with the ID "Axu" said: "It's terrible. I just put the film on my new car and I hit the back. Not only do I have to go to the after-sales service to get the paint repaired, but the color-changing film will cost me several hundred more to fix it."

Below is a picture of a Star Mini with a gem green wrap. The body is dented, a large piece of the wrap has been scraped off, and the paint underneath is not protected at all.

"Oh no, what bad luck!"

"This emerald green color-changing wrap looks pretty good. Where did you get it done? How much did it cost?"

"The official car is impeccably made, but there are too few colors available for the paint and interior."

"By the way, does window tinting actually work? I've heard it can protect the paint and prevent scratches and minor abrasions?"

Does anyone know?

...

The car owner, named "A Xu":

"I suggest you don't post it, it's completely useless!"

It's supposed to prevent minor scratches, but after a close inspection, the film didn't offer any protection on the areas that weren't hit that hard...

However, I didn't expect color-changing films to offer any protection anyway; it's enough to change the color and change my mood. The official car paint colors are too limited. The main problem is that after applying it, I drove it for a while and washed it a few times, and I found a lot of tiny scratches on the film. It looked great for the first few days after application, but it lost its shine in less than a month. It's such a rip-off! It's not even as good as the original factory paint with occasional waxing!

...

The discussion in the group caught Zheng Guozhao's attention.

He clicked on the picture and looked at it, his expression slightly surprised.

"Young man, how much did you pay for this screen protector? Where did you get it installed?"

His remarks immediately attracted the attention of the group.

"President Zheng is out."

"Haha, Mr. Zheng, as an official leader, really cares about car owners. He came out as soon as he saw the car was hit."

"Mr. Zheng, can we come to Xingchen 4S store for a meal next time you get your car serviced?"

……

"Come on in, come on in! The Starry Sky Grand Dining Hall is always open to all our distinguished car owners!"

Zheng Guozhao replied.

Each of their directly operated stores is equipped with a coffee area and a light meal area.

For customers who regularly come to look at cars, have a light meal with their car owners during maintenance, and enjoy some complimentary refreshments like tea or coffee, it's quite casual.

There are plenty of 4S stores on the market that offer light meals.

But Xingchen is the only company that offers so many services for a small car that costs tens of thousands of yuan.

The main selling point is: selling cars doesn't make money—just want to be friends!

Test drive reviews and customer satisfaction with the vehicle have skyrocketed.

"Hello Mr. Zheng, I had this color-changing film applied at a modification shop in the auto parts market. The color is agate green, and it cost a total of 3,600 yuan."

"Could you take a closer picture of the membrane so I can see it?"

"no problem."

...

An uploaded image clearly captures the details of the color-changing film.

"Young man, not to be rude... but I know quite a bit about screen protectors. You spent 3,600 yuan, and it seems like you got the lowest-end screen protector, right? It's made of PVC!"

Zheng Guozhao zoomed in on the picture and examined it carefully.

He can't speak for other things, but he's been in the color-changing film and modification parts business for several years. He knows the ins and outs of it very well, and he's familiar with all the manufacturers at the source.

At a glance, you can immediately tell that the material of this film is the cheapest and lowest grade.

"PVC? What's that? I don't really understand, Mr. Zheng. But the auto parts market did say that this film is the regular kind. There's also a more expensive kind that costs five or six thousand to apply to the whole car. They said it's because my car is relatively small. Otherwise, even the regular film would cost four or five thousand."

...

Inside an apartment in Shanghai.

Wang Xu stared at the replies in the group and was slightly taken aback. He had enjoyed driving the car very much since picking it up last time.

But young people love to experiment, and they always want to do something different with their new cars.

So he bought a car air freshener and found a color-changing film with a really nice color. After applying it, it turned a deep green, which matched the appearance of the Starry Mini perfectly.

As a result, not long after the screen protector was applied, this happened today.

Looking at this reply.

Zheng Guozhao remained silent with a smile.

He'd seen far too many clients like that.

There's no way around it... auto parts markets are such rip-offs!

If it weren't for the fact that everyone in this group is his car owner, he wouldn't bother explaining. "Alright... let me give you a little lesson. Color-changing films are divided into PVC and PET."

PVC material is the worst. It's not very smooth, has a heavy orange peel texture, and is not durable. It may fade in one or two years, which is what you have.

PET material is much better, with uniform color, high saturation, and good flatness. However, it also depends on the cost and brand. Some good brands do a good job in terms of light transmittance and other aspects.

In short, the screen protector industry is extremely profitable. If you find a decent shop, you can get it done for around 2,000 yuan; anything over 3,600 yuan is a huge rip-off.

Wang Xu: "..."

I was completely dumbfounded after reading this.

Holy crap, I got ripped off just for getting a screen protector installed?
……

Zheng Guozhao sighed: "I advise you, there's no need to repair this film. If you repair it in the past, the seller will rip you off for another 500 yuan. That's 1,000 yuan for both sides. You might as well just get the paint repaired at the after-sales service center."

"Why don't you stop by for a meal? I'll ask the waiter to bring you a cappuccino."

Wang Xu: "..."

...

"President Zheng really knows his stuff!!"

"Mr. Zheng, could you recommend a shop for color-changing film? How can I tell the difference in the material of the film so I don't get ripped off?"

"Mr. Zheng, the official paint colors are too limited, and the seat interior is also very simple. It doesn't look quite right without changing the color..."

As it turns out, even with four color options available, the number is still too small for young people.

Many people in the group have expressed interest in changing the color.

Moreover, the car modification culture has been booming in recent years.

For a while.

There were numerous replies, and the public sentiment was overwhelming.

See this.

Zheng Guozhao was conflicted.

In the past, if so many customers were begging him to modify his cars, he would have been overjoyed.

But things are different now; he's an official!

Is it really appropriate for officials to get involved?

……

He thought for a moment, and suddenly an idea popped into his head.

"As an official, I'm not really comfortable recommending the modification shops in the auto parts market, and besides, I can't offer any guarantees..."

"How about this? I'll start a poll. If any of you car owners are interested in changing the color of your car, and the poll gets more than 200 votes, I'll take a chance and try to secure an official color-changing channel for you. In that case, the high-quality color-changing film selected by the official company will not only be reasonably priced, but will also come with an official warranty."

If it's damaged during the warranty period, you can get it repaired at will.

I can't guarantee absolute success, but at least I, Lao Zheng, have brought some benefits to car owners!

Zheng Guozhao typed.

His idea was to see how many car owners actually wanted to change their car's color, and how much they were willing to do so.

If there are really a lot of people, then he will prepare to apply to General Manager Xu!

This money—it doesn't matter who earns it!

As for window tinting and modification services, he's an expert in that. Rather than letting car owners get ripped off by unscrupulous merchants at auto parts markets right after buying their cars, it would be better for them to simply offer a color-changing service. This way, they can also increase their after-sales profits.

Zheng Guozhao thought he was incredibly clever to come up with such an idea.

But he couldn't appear too arbitrary.

Let the car owners vote for themselves.

in the group.

A poll page was posted in a group announcement.

It was noticed by many car owners in no time.

Official modification service?
That's quite novel!
Moreover, as owners of the Starry Sky vehicles, they naturally trust the official personnel more.

During this period, I have had a very good experience with everything from buying a car at Xingchen's direct-sale stores to maintenance and after-sales service.

What's more.

Quite a few young car owners occasionally stop by the Xingchen direct-sale store to eat, take photos, and check in, then upload them online, and they have a good experience.

Among their group of car owners, Xingchen Auto holds a position that traditional 4S stores can never match.

Seeing this option, many people were tempted.

It only took about ten minutes.

The vote count has reached two hundred.

...

"It seems everyone is very enthusiastic!"

Zheng Guozhao couldn't help but smile as he looked at the reactions in the group chat.

He really had to fight for this official modification business; otherwise, it would be a real shame if someone else made the money!
……

the other side.

After the internal meeting.

Xu Yi leaned back in his office chair, turned up the air conditioning, and prepared to take a short nap.

Once the new car project is approved, there are many things to prepare internally.

Currently, their main research and development efforts are focused on their first pure electric sedan.

As for the first extended-range SUV, the refrigerator, color TV, and large sofa set can be considered Xu Yi's next trump card.

It wasn't that Xu Yi didn't want to use this card as the first card to play.

Instead, they want to come up with a range-extending system, a refrigerator, a color TV, a large sofa, and also a smart car system and L2 full intelligent driving, including good overall tuning and NVH.

This is definitely not something that can be resolved in a short time!

Don't underestimate the "refrigerator, color TV, and large sofa".

The reason this thing is simple is because it's based on the premise that the supply chain will be well-developed a few years from now.

Currently, the development of the range extender system needs to be delayed until Polestar batteries have been officially verified and rolled off the production line.

This includes their first intelligent vehicle infotainment system, the procurement and tuning of a complete set of sensing hardware, and features such as automatic parking.

As the saying goes, you have to eat one bite at a time.

……

That's when.

A phone call came through.

Xu Yi looked at the vibrating phone on the table; the screen displayed the incoming call information.

I was slightly taken aback.

When I answered the phone, Zheng Guozhao's voice came from the other end.

...

A few seconds later.

"Mr. Xu, there's something I'd like to report to you privately..."

"What, you want to get an official modification service?"

"Yes, Mr. Xu, I personally feel that there is a lot of profit margin in the modification industry... and our car owners' willingness is also very strong. Do you think we should open an official channel? I, Lao Zheng, used to do this, and I can guarantee that the film and modification parts we purchase are all top quality, and at the lowest price!!"

Zheng Guozhao patted his chest and assured everyone that he knew this industry inside and out.

Hear this.

Xu Yi's expression became subtle.

--hiss.

Official modification services.

This is just a "car mall".

He originally had this idea, but he was too busy and didn't have enough customers in the early stages, so he hadn't announced the relevant plan internally yet.

But unexpectedly, these car owners already have such an urgent need.

The car mall is a great platform for building a brand ecosystem.

Whether it's launching an official color-changing service, or buying small items like umbrellas or air fresheners...

Or—if all else fails, they could release an automotive-grade tissue box.

The profits are very considerable.

Moreover, as the number of car owners increases, this profit margin will continue to expand!
……

(End of this chapter)