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

Chapter 205 Multiple Thighs, Multiple Paths

“We can pay a hefty licensing fee.”

Lei Jun then said very sincerely.

Xiaomi still has strong principles.

They do keep the profit margin on the supply chain low, but they never delay payment terms. Using other companies' technology for promotion will definitely cost extra.

And it's the kind of addition that satisfies the other party.

Xiaomi controls costs, but it is not short of money.

As a cash tycoon, Lei Jun naturally has the confidence to do so.

The main reason is that Xingchen Technology neither seeks financing nor goes public; otherwise, he would have really wanted to get involved.

Xu Yi was immediately taken into custody.

"Uh... Mr. Lei, this isn't about money, it's about principles."

"Mr. Xu, Xiaomi can cover the costs of your principles."

"No, this is truly a matter of principle."

……

Xu Yi broke out in a light sweat.

To be honest, I'm a little tempted.

However, they also value the Polestar brand as a technological brand.

Whether it's automotive power battery cells or mobile phone battery cells, they will all share the brand name Polestar.

It also represents Xingchen Technology's self-developed technology from scratch, symbolizing its status as a top brand in the industry.

The battery is powered by a patent from Polestar.

"Ok."

Lei Jun sighed with regret.

"As for battery discounts, what's the maximum we can offer? We have at least 400,000 units in stock for the initial launch, and we expect to ship several million units this year."

"10% then," Xu Yi said.

"Is it really impossible to go any lower? Given Xiaomi's ecosystem, we probably can't accept this price."

With the Xiaomi MIX 2 set to launch in September, their internally agreed-upon pricing is between 3299 and 3999 yuan, with the top-of-the-line special edition reaching 4699 yuan.

Of course, the top-of-the-line version isn't meant for mass production.

This is an incredibly shocking price.

The idea of ​​sleeping with a high-ranking executive overnight is a joke.

Besides cost control, the biggest factor influencing product pricing is competitors.

If competitors are very competitive, then it will be inevitable to lower the price.

Without a doubt.

With Samsung's market share declining significantly this year, all manufacturers are pushing their product offerings to the limit in order to grab market share, practically squeezing out every last drop of premium product.

At the same time, cost control is also extremely rigorous.

In order to capitalize on the "touching hearts" hype, the Xiaomi MIX 2 will absolutely not break through the predetermined price line.

It must appear to be a superior product compared to its competitors, and more generous in its offerings.

He can't really gamble with the pricing.

"Mr. Lei, have some tea."

Both parties returned to the CEO's meeting room.

Xu Yi smiled slightly and raised his hand in acknowledgment, neither directly refusing nor rejecting the offer.

"This is Lushan Yunwu tea that my colleague brought me. It's made from the first-harvest tender buds picked at an altitude of over 1500 meters. It has a fresh, mellow, and rich flavor."

He could certainly understand the ideas of Lei's team, including Lei himself, who was also very outstanding and had top-notch investment acumen.

However, when it comes to product cooperation, from the company's perspective, both parties inevitably have to do a lot of calculations and considerations.

To ensure the maximization of the benefits of cooperation.

Lei Jun took a small sip, and a refreshing fragrance wafted up, but his mind was not on the food at all.

The mobile phone designs to be released this year have mostly been finalized.

They have many selling points, including the processor, the curved screen with ceramic on all four sides, and the brand-new camera solution. They even prepared the presentation scripts internally.

Judging from past sales figures, large batteries and fast charging, as marketing gimmicks, have not brought about a significant increase in sales.

People are most concerned about the processor and screen, followed by photography, thinness, and feel.

Battery life does indeed affect the overall battery experience.

But frankly speaking, this hasn't had such a dramatic impact on sales.

After all, everyone claims in their battery life advertisements that it can "last all day".

So many years have passed, and mobile phone battery life has continued to increase, yet the product launch still boasts about "a day's worth of battery life."

Not a single word needs to be changed.

There are many ways to achieve long battery life.

Whether it's increasing energy density, controlling power consumption, or allowing more space for battery volume, these are all approaches.

Although Polestar's approach to batteries is undoubtedly the most difficult and valuable.

But if you can achieve the same result using other methods, users might even praise you for your good control over energy consumption!
Conversely, you might build a large battery, but the battery life is still similar to other flagship phones.

What are users thinking?
Look at Apple, they have the lowest battery capacity every year, and consumers still buy them like crazy every year!
Their favorite benchmark for Xiaomi is Apple.

-

"Mr. Xu, I think we should reconsider, or perhaps we can cooperate again with the new model next March?"

Lei Jun thought it over and over again before speaking.

"it is good."

Xu Yi smiled faintly and gave an even simpler answer.

They knew the other party didn't want to pay for the first batch of production capacity.

"The initial production capacity of Polestar batteries is somewhat expensive, but the cost will come down as mass production is increased later."

The pricing of their battery supply is certainly not fixed.

This year's first batch of production capacity will include a portion of the R&D and equipment costs.

Besides.

It also implies the concept of "starting point".

Just like the first release of Qualcomm chips, there are separate agreement terms every year.

You have to pay extra to get on.

Consumers naturally care about the phones that debut with the flagship chip each year.

Polestar batteries achieve the highest energy density, and with their nail penetration test results, they can be marketed as the industry's best battery.

However, in Lei's view, this title is not that valuable yet.

Unless it adds the title of joint self-developed technology, which would greatly boost Xiaomi's reputation.

But this involves the principles of the stars.

……

The two exchanged a smile, as if they had reached some kind of consensus.

It's not about not cooperating, but about cooperating slowly, gradually, and in a planned and orderly manner.

"Mr. Xu, what are your thoughts on our mobile phone industry?" Lei Jun finally couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

He had been looking for an opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with Xu Yi, as his ability to learn was one of his personal strengths.

Xu Yi replied, "I think the mobile phone industry is more like the domestic car industry of the past?"

Lei Jun pondered for a moment: "Previous domestically produced cars?"

"Yes, the most important things in the mobile phone industry are chips, screens, cameras, and the operating system they develop themselves."

Needless to say, at the system level, each company has its own understanding.

......"

At this point, Xu Yi glanced at the Xiaomi team next to him.

Ok.

I didn't see Jin Fan.

"In the past, domestically produced cars did not have the ability to develop their own engines, nor could they produce good transmissions, and their chassis tuning was also very poor, so they could not be sold at a high price."

Later domestically produced cars borrowed heavily from the achievements of the international supply chain and also incorporated high-end features, but in essence, they still relied on others.

It's the same as a mobile phone.

Xu Yi smiled.

After listening, Lin Bin couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Xu, are you saying that Xiaomi phones don't have their own proprietary features?"

"No, I'm talking about domestically produced mobile phones."

Xu Yi couldn't help but "emphasize" it as well.

As soon as these words came out.

The atmosphere at the scene became awkward at a visible speed.

"Mr. Xu, I agree with what you said."

Lei Jun, however, said...

In 15, Xiaomi sold 6490 million smartphones, taking the top spot in the domestic market.

However, this period of good fortune was short-lived. Due to supply chain negotiations, Samsung made a crucial decision—to stop supplying AMOLED screens to Xiaomi.

This almost caused Xiaomi's sales to collapse.

Lei Jun sighed inexplicably, “Globalization seems wonderful, but it carries considerable inherent risks. We have made many investments and established subsidiaries for research and development, but we feel that there are many difficulties.”

In terms of screens, Xiaomi has invested heavily in the domestic supply chain. In terms of chips, it has also established Pinecone Electronics, which has completed tape-out after three years of research and development. The first generation of self-developed SoC, Surge S1, is expected to be launched next year.

His description of the "difficulties" this time was somewhat genuine.

To be honest, they underestimated the difficulty of chip design before this. They used the ARM reference design and spent several years developing a chip with low to mid-range performance.

But since we'd already started, we had no choice but to bite the bullet and finish the first generation of chips.

Thinking about this, Lei Jun became interested in Xu Yi's opinion, "Mr. Xu, do you think our self-developed Surge S1 chip can be successful?"

Xu Yi smiled enigmatically: "Mr. Lei, you already have the answer to this question in your heart."

Lei Jun paused slightly.

He couldn't help but wonder to himself, had he just given himself away?
How did it come to the conclusion that he wasn't very confident about the chip industry?

"What does Mr. Xu find like building cars?"

He simply dropped the subject and didn't discuss it further.

"tired."

Xu Yi summed it up in one word.

“When I chatted with Mr. Wang and Mr. He Xiaopeng from BYD, they often complained to me that building new energy vehicles was too tiring.”

Lei Jun seemed thoughtful. “However, according to your opinion, Mr. Xu, the prospects for manufacturing new energy vehicles in China are greater than those for gasoline vehicles. After all, there is policy guidance, and engines don’t even need to be developed anymore. The development of batteries and motors is less difficult than that of engines and chips. Starting a business by following the trend is the easiest way.”

He suddenly felt that this was a very good deal.

If the new energy vehicle market continues to grow, it will be the core of the energy transition and the next economic pillar.

Of course, Shunwei Capital has already made quite a few investments so far, and it's unlikely to miss out on future opportunities.

result.

Xu Yi's next words were also unexpected.

"No, we also developed our own engines."

"Self-developed engine?"

"Yes, mainly because we're used to having multiple options, which reduces the risks in the future."

……

Xu Yi spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

Lei Jun looked on in astonishment.

To be honest, it was quite frightening.

The R&D patent layout of Xingchen Technology can't even be described as having an extra leg.

They insist on doing their own research and development for everything.

How many more legs do they need?
Dude, even an octopus doesn't have as many legs as you!
-

"Is Lei Jun planning to enter the car manufacturing industry?"

Xu Yi asked.

Lei Jun: "We don't have that idea yet."

Will there be more in the future?

"It's hard to say what will happen in the future."

……

There was a moment of silence between the two sides.

The subtle exchange of glances seemed to possess a certain charm.

Xu Yi changed the subject again, chuckling lightly:

"Mr. Lei, to be honest, Xingchen is also planning to get into semiconductors. If you decide to stop making chips and have any spare resources, please help me get some introductions."

"Uh, Mr. Xu, you guys are planning to get into chip design?"

"Hey—having more options means having more choices! The manufacturing process for automotive chips isn't very advanced, so I'd like to build up some reserves."

"Okay, I'll ask about it later."

...

The voice just fell.

Lei Jun snapped out of his shock at the previous sentence and realized what it meant.

—No, wait! I didn't say I was going to give up on developing my own chips!

How did he know?

……

(End of this chapter)