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

Chapter 3 Is this an idea that a normal person could come up with?

Chapter 3 Is this an idea that a normal person could come up with?
"Although it's a bit outrageous, it might be a feasible solution."

"As far as I know, there are already industrial clusters of these four-wheeled vehicles for the elderly in Shandong and Henan. We have proper vehicle manufacturing plants and equipment to produce these inferior four-wheeled vehicles, which is at least a game-changer..."

Marketing Manager Yu Nian couldn't help but say.

in the country, there is no shortage of smart people.

Since it's something that can be imagined, it already has a considerable industrial scale in the present day.

“These four-wheeled vehicles for the elderly are sold in many places, along with two-wheeled electric vehicles. Many of them are well-established brands. Even if we were to enter and set up shop here, it would probably be difficult for us to make a name for ourselves.”

Marketing Manager Yu Nian then added.

Electric bicycles are familiar to everyone. These "old man's cars" are often sold in stores in rural towns.

Furthermore, it has created a certain "brand effect"!

It sounds exaggerated.

How can a product that can't even get a license still have a "brand effect"?

This brand effect is not the kind of nationally renowned brand fame, but rather the "reputation" accumulated through long-term sales in rural towns and villages, spread by word of mouth, and stable sales.

After all, "old man's fun" products are inherently unregulated and lack any production standards, resulting in inconsistent product quality and internal structure.

With natural market competition and involution, a number of manufacturers have emerged that have long made a living mainly from producing four-wheeled vehicles for the elderly, and have spontaneously formed a set of internal standards.

Moreover, they have vested interests with offline electric bicycle stores.

Without strong offline promotion, it would be difficult for "old man's car" to be widely available.

It can be said that even manufacturing electric vehicles for the elderly now requires a certain level of quality and the ability to open up offline sales channels.

Since Xu Yi was going to enter the field of elderly-friendly vehicles, he had naturally thought about the direction of research and development and production.

In his opinion.

The old-age electric vehicles of this era are still too immature.

Although it's selling outside the rules, it's still not thorough enough.

To put it bluntly, it's because the thinking is too conservative.

Its appearance is still a modified version of an ordinary three-wheeled electric vehicle, and it is extremely rough and has no design whatsoever.

"Yes, if we want to recover the losses from the old man's car, we have to achieve a sales gap."

"So I've prepared a few drafts regarding the direction of the new car's development; please take a look."

Xu Yi uploaded several pictures from his phone to the large screen in the conference room.

He created these images using his phone while riding in a car. There's no AI in this era, so the images he made are a bit abstract.

However, it's still somewhat possible to make out what he's trying to express.

Everyone stared in disbelief.

"Mr. Xu, are you mistaken? This is an exterior image of a Porsche." Wang Jingming stared wide-eyed.

"That's right, and it seems to have been downloaded from a pirated website. The proportions are all wrong. Porsches aren't that short, and the front is flatter."

"..."

to be frank.

They wouldn't be too surprised if Xu Yi pulled out any design.

But here's the exterior design drawing they've pulled out.

They really couldn't hold back!

No.

Everyone was discussing how to develop a car for the elderly, so why did you suddenly pull out a picture of a Porsche?
Xu Yi glanced at them and could only shake his head.

Too shallow...

You lack wisdom!

Years later, when the design of the "old man's car" became a viral sensation online, no one dared to even think of it.

"You've got it wrong. The Porsche photo is genuine. I deliberately photoshopped it like this."

"Just design the new car like this, and putting on a four-wheeled vehicle powertrain shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

Xu Yi said calmly.

The meeting room fell silent as soon as he said that.

Good heavens. Is this the kind of idea a normal person could come up with?

"hiss!!"

"Boss... are you really going to become a lawless outlaw?!"

"It's one thing to produce unlicensed electric vehicles for the elderly, but to copy Porsche one-to-one is another. If they get sued, they'll lose more money than they earn!"

Yu Nian said with a completely bewildered expression.

"I can't afford to compensate you!"

"Why can't you compensate me?"

"You say I'm a Porsche copy, how can you prove it?"

"This is almost a perfect replica, isn't that enough proof? It's commercial infringement!"

"This is an unlicensed car, it doesn't belong to motor vehicles or non-motor vehicles, you can call it a toy if you want, I just made a large toy, what does it have to do with me if other people drive toy cars on the road... As for the appearance, Porsche's classic appearance has not been fully patented in China, and the appearance details can be fine-tuned, so strictly speaking it does not constitute infringement."

Xu Yi's calm and collected words left everyone speechless.

Their eyes were all filled with confusion.

It was as if a new world had been opened.

Xu Yi wasn't joking.

Everything he said was true.

The "knock-off luxury car" route has already been proven successful, and people have made a fortune during certain periods.

Firstly, there is currently a regulatory gap in the domestic market for low-speed electric vehicles. Secondly, it is quite difficult to file a lawsuit if a vehicle merely imitates the design without directly using the Porsche logo. Moreover, the time and cost of filing a lawsuit are not worthwhile for high-end car manufacturers.

In a past life, there really was a company called Shandong that was so arrogant that Porsche sued them. Surprisingly, the lawsuit ended in failure.

The other party's statement was similar, saying "I made a toy," which completely stunned the plaintiff!
That's right.

At this stage, the elderly people's electric vehicles (EVs) have always been operating in a gray area due to lax regulation.

It does not fall under the category of "motor vehicle" or "non-motor vehicle".

It also carries a hint of the charm of "transcending the three realms and not being within the five elements".

It is difficult to manage in accordance with relevant regulations.

In this situation, it would be very troublesome to file a lawsuit.

When a vehicle manufacturer files a lawsuit, it usually has to be filed in the local court.

This involves a very delicate issue.

Manufacturers of electric vehicles for the elderly are often protected by local governments, and as the places of origin, they genuinely contribute taxes to the local area.

You, some nobody from out of town, suddenly came and destroyed a pillar of my local tax revenue, took the compensation, and walked away. What about the tax revenue for the next few years? How will the impact on the unemployed be handled? What will other local businesses think of me?

and so.

When legal liability is ambiguous, winning such a lawsuit is almost impossible.

Without these unspoken rules, Zotye Auto and Levdeo Auto wouldn't be able to copy so blatantly and still sell well in the market.

……

"I've said everything I wanted to say."

"Whether we go ahead with this new car project or not, I'll count to three, and everyone raise their hands to show their opinion."

The group looked at each other, each staring at the other.

After a while.

Everyone in the conference room raised their hands simultaneously.

joke.

A fool wouldn't make money if he could.

Since the company is already in this state, any direction we take will lead to an upward trajectory.