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

Chapter 50: One leans towards sports, the other towards business.
That's right.

In Jiang Ze's eyes, this kind of "old man's car" is at best just an electric scooter.

Previously, they hadn't even investigated the relevant market size, because Wuling is a legitimate car company, how could they possibly manufacture electric vehicles that can't even be registered?
But recently, after reading the news, he was truly shocked by a company called Xingchen!

Not only did they pull off a series of outrageous maneuvers, but they also achieved a spectacular comeback in a very short time.

Of course, what attracted his attention the most was the sales volume in this lower-tier market.

recent.

On a whim after reading the news, he specifically investigated the profits and various data of leading brands of unlicensed electric vehicles for the elderly, and the results surprised him!

It has healthy cash flow, a small R&D expenditure ratio, and high sales volume.

It's outrageous!
This "impossible triangle" that traditional OEMs have always dreamed of has actually been achieved by these seemingly ordinary old-age vehicle companies!
After thinking about it carefully, he understood the reason: building this kind of car exploited loopholes in the regulations, and there was practically no research and development involved.

They were already living a very comfortable life, but after the emergence of Xingchen, an extremely magical manufacturer, they took their ability to exploit loopholes in regulations to the extreme.

This left even established car manufacturers like them somewhat astonished!

Simultaneously.

I'm getting a little envious of the profits in this market...

It's worth noting that Wuling Group started out with affordable cars. Last year alone, the Wuling Hongguang, priced at 45,000 yuan, sold over 500,000 units nationwide.

According to current data, there is still a market share of several hundred thousand people that can be tapped in the lower-tier market with prices below 40,000.

Do Wuling not have any cars priced under 40,000 yuan?

Of course!
The Wuling Sunshine, starting at 30,000 yuan, is equipped with a 1.0L naturally aspirated engine and is also a representative of affordability and durability.

But why would someone rather spend 30,000 yuan to buy this unlicensed "old man's car" than buy their Wuling Sunshine?

Jiang Ze analyzed it carefully.

It's probably because their Wuling Sunshine has too low specifications.

For example, this 30,000 yuan "old man's car" even comes with air conditioning, while their Wuling Sunshine doesn't.

If you want a car with air conditioning, you need to buy a Wuling Hongguang starting at 43,000 yuan.

Moreover, the seats in these senior citizen electric vehicles are larger, the overall design is geared towards home use, and they even have an entertainment screen!

Undeniably, these "old people's cars" put far more effort into their appearance than their actual vehicles.

The interior space of the Wuling Sunshine is quite basic in comparison, and it also has some characteristics of a minivan.

The starting power of the electric motor in the "old man's car" is slightly greater than that of the 1.0L Wuling Sunshine. This is determined by the characteristics of the motor, but the experience given to consumers is that it is more powerful!

Overall, it seems to be a product of two different tracks.

"One is more sports-oriented, and the other is more business-oriented."

Finally, there's the cost of use. Oil prices aren't high now, and Wuling's fuel consumption isn't high either, but it still can't compare to the cost of electricity.

"Thinking about it this way, there's actually a blank space in Wuling's territory in the lower-tier markets!!" Jiang Ze was suddenly surprised.

The low-priced new energy vehicle sector seems to have an even larger niche market that they haven't yet captured.

They actually completed most of the internal research and development of the EV platform this year.

For example, there are plans for the next generation of "Hongguang EV" and "Rongguang EV".

However, there are no plans to mass-produce or sell them at present.

The main reason is that the sales of gasoline-powered Wuling Hongguang and Wuling Rongguang are already quite good, and secondly, the charging pile network in China is not yet that developed.

A hasty shift in the main sales model towards new energy vehicles would undoubtedly undermine the company's core business. If a car cannot even guarantee the most basic range and charging capabilities, its sales will definitely plummet by half!

However, this lower-tier market suddenly opened up a different perspective for Jiang Ze.

That means a smaller share of the microcar market, enough to build a microcar with a range of around 100 kilometers for the CLTC.

The goal is to reduce costs and focus on new energy vehicles for personal travel and light family use.

Similar compact family cars, also known as "mini cars," have long existed abroad.

"In this way, we can completely fill the gap in our market in lower-tier cities."

Jiang Ze couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

He hadn't considered launching a higher-spec gasoline-powered version of the Mini.

On the one hand, it is the general trend nowadays. It is obvious to everyone that the future development path will be mainly based on new energy vehicles. As a result, mainstream car companies like them naturally need to make technological reserves and prepare to seize the market in advance.

Secondly, although the research and development costs of new energy vehicles are high, the government also provides substantial subsidies. After calculating the subsidies, there is still a considerable profit per vehicle!
At that time, won't Wuling be able to take over the hundreds of thousands of shares in these lower-tier markets?

"Since there are already precedents overseas, why not just call this new model 'Wuling Mini,' or even 'Wuling EV Mini' from now on..."

Jiang Ze typed rapidly on the keyboard, organizing his thoughts.

As for those manufacturers of electric vehicles for the elderly, he didn't take them seriously at all.

Even if it's selling very well and thriving now, it doesn't have the necessary qualifications to be driven on the road. Trying to compete with major OEMs like them is like being a roadside stall!
The old man's entertainment company called Xingchen used some rather clever methods.

But in the end... it was just an underhanded tactic!

That's utterly disgraceful!

"Contact the boss, I have a very important proposal to report..."

……

the next day.

Xu Yi led his group to the headquarters of Shan Dong Weineng.

The company's factory headquarters is located in Dongcheng Industrial Park, covering an area of ​​more than 300 acres. According to previous investigations, it has cooperated with local commercial vehicle companies such as Zhongtong Bus and King Long Bus.

Therefore, it can be considered one of the earlier suppliers to start working on battery cell technology, and its battery pack technology is generally up to standard.

It is said that the annual production capacity is 1GWh, which is about 10 sets of power batteries.

This production capacity level currently places it in the second tier nationwide.

in fact.

In terms of production capacity and technological reserves, at this point in time, it absolutely possesses a huge first-mover advantage.

But in the following years...

Who would have thought that it would be overtaken by other domestic battery manufacturers and squeezed out of the market?

The reason for this is that in the following two years, new energy subsidies were phased out, and the CEO of Weineng Company turned to the energy storage market instead of expanding production and developing power batteries, thus completely deviating from the general direction.

In contrast, other major battery manufacturers have been heavily investing in power batteries, developing BMS battery management and high-density cells, and have all benefited from the surge in orders and industry dividends from new energy vehicle companies.

This ultimately led to its complete relegation to the third tier of marginalized companies.

……

(End of this chapter)