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

Chapter 243: An In-Depth Review Exclusively for Starry Sky L7

A brief interview.

Caused an uproar.

This is the first time sales figures have been released, and it's a show of force!
A car in the 300,000-level price range, with individual sales exceeding 10,000?!

What a display of extravagance!
It seems that no domestic Chinese automaker has yet achieved this!

Upon learning this news, Li Bin felt a mix of bitterness and jealousy.

Or both.

At the same time, I received greetings from friends in the industry. After all, the ES8, which focuses on high-end new energy vehicles, had already been revealed as a six-seater new energy SUV, and its publicity was much earlier than that of the Xingchen L7. Now that the Xingchen L7 has achieved such outstanding results, it is suspected that its luck has been stolen.

But he couldn't afford to dwell on these thoughts and rushed to Luzhou to inspect the production situation.

The first-generation ES8 was manufactured by JAC Motors.

The ES8 will have its global debut next month, and both production and the first NIODay launch event must be carried out perfectly.

When he brought his team to the headquarters of JAC Group, NIO's manufacturing base in Luzhou was right next to JAC's contract factory. In order to enjoy the convenience of the other party's complete production chain and car manufacturing qualifications, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were integrated.

However, he saw a Starry Night L7 parked quietly outside, and also saw an unexpected person.

"President Xu?!"

Xu Yi was chatting and laughing with Jianghuai's senior executives in the lobby when he bumped into Li Bin's arrival. He immediately greeted him with a smile, "President Li, it's been a long time."

"Mr. Xu, congratulations on achieving such great sales." Li Bin looked at the other party and said helplessly. Right now, the last thing he wanted to be involved with was information about Xingchen Automotive.

The sales figures for the Starry Night L7 were already putting pressure on him, but now the pressure is even more immediate.

"It's all thanks to the support of consumers. We put our heart into making cars, and consumers give us their sincere support in return. It's a case of sincerity for sincerity," Xu Yi said with a faint smile.

“We at NIO also put a lot of effort into making cars…” Li Bin felt increasingly melancholy, but then realized he shouldn’t appear so dejected, so he changed the subject and asked, “By the way, Mr. Xu, what’s your itinerary for this trip?”

Xu Yi pointed to his colleague next to him: "I've come to check on the construction progress of the Luzhou F2 production base, and also to chat with President An about the plans for the next generation of new energy vehicles."

As soon as these words came out.

Li Bin was shocked.

From the attitudes and details of the negotiations between the two parties, he keenly sensed that something was amiss, and was somewhat dumbfounded: "President An, President Xu...you two?"

An Jinhui nodded and confessed: "Yes, we intend to cooperate deeply with Xingchen to jointly develop a new energy family car."

Li Bin was even more dumbfounded: "President An, didn't Jianghuai just sign a contract with Volkswagen this year...?"

“Hey—when it comes to technology in the new energy field alone, Xingchen Automotive has more to offer that traditional automakers like us can learn.” An Jinhui’s attitude has become increasingly smooth ever since he learned about the delivery figures for the Xingchen L7.

From initial resistance to now being all smiles and welcoming, it only took a few days to persuade all senior executives to unconditionally cooperate with the joint venture plan.

As for Volkswagen?

They're unwilling to license even their brand and core technologies.

No matter how hard Jianghuai tries, it's like throwing a flirtatious glance at a blind person.

It would be better to find someone who is truly willing to lend a hand in the passenger vehicle industry.

Upon hearing this statement, Li Bin vaguely sensed an NTR (Netorare) vibe. He felt both amused and exasperated, but also deeply threatened.

Wait until the afternoon.

City leaders also brought their teams to inspect the area. Mayor Zhang Zhanyun met with three domestic car companies to exchange ideas and provide guidance on promoting the development of the local new energy vehicle industry.

During the last exchange, the city paid considerable attention to NIO's car manufacturing project. This time, they also took the opportunity to inspect the contract manufacturing base that NIO is cooperating with JAC.

but.

Just for a short while.

Li Bin soon noticed that his superiors' attention was completely focused on Xingchen Motors.

The local government has been extremely attentive and caring towards the establishment of Xingchen Automotive's factory.

Although Xingchen Motors' Luzhou production base has just started construction and is still in the foundation-laying stage of land and infrastructure construction, a one-stop dedicated service team has been established to follow up on Xingchen Motors' operations throughout the process. This service team is larger and more efficient than the one that NIO established initially.

Li Bin was even more on the verge of tears.

The release of ES8 is imminent.

But it seems—

Gradually, no one cares anymore?

Like yesterday's withered flowers...

wrong!

It hasn't even been released yet, so why do I already feel a sense of decay?
"Oh right... Mr. Li, are you going to hold a launch event for your ES8?" Mayor Zhang Zhanyun seemed to finally remember something.

"Yes, sir, it's set for the 16th of next month." Li Bin quickly replied.

"What was the price you mentioned for this car before? Was it over 400,000?" Zhang Zhanyun asked.

"Yes, but after receiving the subsidy, the entry-level version will be slightly lower than 400,000."

Li Bin gave a vague figure: the initial price of the NIO ES8 has not yet been announced, but it has been decided internally. Now that it's in front of the leaders, there's no need to hide it too much.

"Going up to the high-end market is a good thing, but we should still try to be more cautious. If there are any difficulties in manufacturing cars, we can communicate more with President Xu." Zhang Zhanyun's expectations for NIO are not that he is completely pessimistic, but he feels that the difficulty is too great and too idealistic.

"Yes, you don't know until you build cars. It's like facing countless dangers and challenges, completely different from the internet industry." Li Bin said with a slightly bitter smile, his thoughts becoming chaotic.

"Mr. Li, what problem have you encountered?" Xu Yi asked, noticing the other party's expression. "Our internal R&D is nearing completion, production is underway, and pre-sales are being made. We were actually planning to release it in October, but due to global supply chain issues, the supply chain has been delayed, and we've only barely caught up by mid-December," Li Bin sighed.

Delays in research and development and production are quite normal.

But it was only after the Xingchen Motors incident that he truly learned what it meant to be slow at one step and slow at every step.

He still holds a grudge about this.

I often think, what if NIO could have launched the Starship earlier?

So today, the NIO ES8 should be the first domestically produced new energy vehicle to officially step into the high-end market.

It is also the first domestically produced car to be equipped with air suspension.

In short, these first-place honors are quite representative and will help NIO give investors confidence to continue raising funds.

pity……

“Several of our first batch of test vehicles experienced air leakage during air suspension. The feedback indicated that it was a problem with the process and batch, and the subsequent improvements took up a lot of time…” Li Bin had previously placed great faith in the global high-end supply chain.

But after going through it several times, I felt a little numb.

The problem isn't that something went wrong, but rather the lengthy communication cycle for imported components.

Solving even a minor problem often takes several times longer, which is difficult for a newly established car company to accept.

“There are such issues with the global supply chain, after all, there are time differences. If you’re willing, Mr. Li, you can also take a look at Kong Hui’s air suspension. Although it’s a domestically produced first-generation air suspension, we have market feedback on it in various aspects.” Xu Yi smiled and handed over a business card.

Supporting the domestic supply chain is something every established automaker should do.

Besides, it's the supply chain of one of their own subsidiaries!

Once Kong Hui's air suspension production gets through this period, the supply will soon pick up. After all, the actual production of the air suspension device does not have too many technical bottlenecks. The difficulty often lies in matching development and data calibration. Now they have overcome the most difficult early accumulation phase.

Li Bin took the business card and nodded with a slight hesitation in his eyes.

"Well, we've basically sorted out the issues before mass production. Let's try it out first, since we've invested quite a bit in the early stages." He still had his heart set on the Continental Group, and now that things were on the verge of taking off, he had no choice but to accept the business card as a backup option.

……

In the first month after its release, the Starry Night L7 gained nearly 7,000 new owners.

As a result, more and more review videos have appeared.

To know.

Prior to this, only a handful of car reviewers were invited to the Starry Night L7, and strict vetting and control were implemented.

Many car reviewers wanted to test drive this car, but unfortunately, they couldn't borrow one at all.

This car has been trending online recently.

Some public car reviewers often borrow cars to gain popularity for their reviews, which can be considered a new form of internet influencer marketing.

After all, today's video platforms and emerging short videos are often categorized based on trending keywords and interests.

As long as you talk about this car, it will be seen by the corresponding audience.

If you were to ask who the blogger who has made the most money in the Starry Sky category is, it would be obvious.

Without a doubt, it's Yang Li.

Upon opening the homepage, it becomes clear that, aside from occasional promotional deals, he has produced at least two or three videos for every model of Xingchen's vehicles.

Stars—Loyalty!!

The second episode of "Fat Brother's Travelogue" is officially here.

"The Starry Night L7 is the most versatile SUV I've ever driven, chew chew chew..."

"Behind me is a premium version of the Starry Night L7. Do you know just how versatile it is?"

"This is the Western Sichuan Loop, and behind me is the Tagong Grassland. We can enjoy hot pot, sing songs, camp and boat along the streams at the foot of snow-capped mountains and enjoy life."

"Over 1,000 kilometers of range on a full tank, 3.3kW external power supply, an in-car refrigerator where you can put anything, and the Starry Sky even has a karaoke mode for the in-car entertainment screen, plus an officially compatible microphone and in-car karaoke software. Can you handle it? Chew, chew, chew..."

Yang Li showed off his hot pot while facing the camera.

There are still quite a few car reviewers online who are trying to ride the coattails of the new energy vehicle trend.

But in his view, all of that was superficial.

So superficial!

When talking about a car, you can't just talk about the car itself.

Talking about power and features is all old news.

We're talking about romance, food, and fun!
The target audience for high-priced cars values ​​the unique experience that the car brings to their lives.

"And this camping tent is also from the official Xingchen car store. I bought it on the first day it was available. It's so comfortable for camping."

"When you're tired from sightseeing, you can recline the two rows of seats in the back and it becomes a five-meter-long king-size bed. Can you handle that?"

"So some friends have been urging me to do an in-depth review of the Starry Night L7. It's not that I'm unwilling to do it, but I feel it's unnecessary. The overall quality of the car is very strong, and there's no need to talk about it anymore. But these added values ​​are a kind of enjoyment that no other car can provide!"

"The car features 19 surround sound speakers and a 21-inch large TV, which is a 2.5K resolution AMOLED screen that Xingchen purchased from Samsung at a high price. The display quality is even more delicate than that of ordinary large screens!!"

"so."

"By buying the Starry Sky L7, you essentially own a super portable king-size bed room, a private karaoke room, an entertainment center complete with a refrigerator, color TV, and a large sofa. If you like, it can even be turned into a private cinema..."

(End of this chapter)