Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 579 Conditions

Xiao Wei said, "We are a group company with subsidiaries in noodle food, restaurants, feed, and real estate. We will immediately register an industrial and trading company specifically for selling cars. Within six months, we will have sales outlets in the capital cities of three provinces. Next year, we will strive to expand the sales outlets to the cities below. Buying and setting up houses takes time. Moreover, during the agency period, all vehicles used by our noodle store branches will be provided by our factory. This can be written into the contract."

Factory Manager Li slowly nodded and asked, "I don't know which department your company belongs to?"

Xiao Wei said, "We are a private enterprise, it's mine, and it's a joint venture between my two brothers and me. You can check the specific information with the Administration for Industry and Commerce."

Factory Director Li said, "Oh, he is indeed young and promising. Our car is actually doing quite well. Our target market is taxis in various regions. We don't even dare to think about retail sales in China yet, after all, it costs tens of thousands of yuan, right? This matter needs to be studied, studied."

Xiali had its sights set on the domestic taxi market from the very beginning, but in reality, it didn't achieve much success outside of Tianjing in 91. This was mainly because the domestic taxi market was just starting out, and at that time, cities like Tianjing and Shanghai only had a few thousand taxis.

However, thanks to the endorsement of relevant national leaders and the lack of suitable small cars in China at that time, Xiali still achieved some success. By 95, Xiali basically occupied half of the national taxi market.

After 95, private car ownership increased, and joint venture car companies continued to exert their efforts. In the taxi market, Volkswagen and Hyundai gradually replaced Xiali and left it far behind. Xiali, lacking ambition, had no choice but to turn to developing the civilian market. Unfortunately, due to ineffective leadership, it suffered repeated setbacks in this area and barely survived.

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "If we're here to sell cars, we'll definitely be going through all sorts of channels. I'm not just an agent for you; I'm not just taking your cars home to look at. I only make money if I sell them, right? The more I sell, the more I earn, right? We have some connections in Northeast China, so we should be able to do better than you guys trying to find them yourselves, since we're locals, right?"

Section Chief Han nudged Factory Director Li. Factory Director Li glanced at Section Chief Han, thought for a moment, and said, "Well, you're not in a hurry to leave, are you? Can we discuss this further? After all, this isn't just my business; the entire factory needs to consider it."

Xiao Wei said, "I can only stay in Tianjing for three days at most. I still have to go to Shanghai and Guangzhou. I've already made appointments with Volkswagen and Peugeot, so I can't postpone it."

Factory Director Li nodded and said, "Okay, we'll try to get a result by tomorrow, and at the latest, give you a definite answer, Xiao Zhang, okay?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll stay at the Tianjing Hotel. Just call me when it's time. We'll head back now."

The four people stood up. Director Li and Section Chief Han also stood up. Director Li said, "Why don't we have a simple meal here? We don't have anything fancy, but let's try some of Tianjing's specialties."

Xiao Wei said, "No need to trouble yourself. We've come all this way to Tianjing, so we might as well take a look around. You guys go ahead with your work."

Factory Director Li shook hands with Xiao Wei and said, "That's fine too. The scenery in Tianjing is quite nice; we can go for a stroll by the sea. Hey, could you arrange a car to take us there? Transportation here isn't very convenient."

The four men said their goodbyes and got into Director Li's car to return to the city.

The factory manager of Xiali uses a Lingzhi as his official car, which is quite unique in China – focusing on class and maximum luxury without any substance. If it were acceptable for the FAW factory manager to drive an Audi 100, how would one describe the situation when other factories all drive Japanese cars?

After Xiaowei and his group left, Deputy Factory Manager Li from the Xiali factory approached the factory manager and explained the situation. The factory manager replied, "If he wants to sell, let him sell. What's the big deal? Wouldn't it be better to have another car dealership? How's the taxi situation going?"

Deputy Factory Director Li said, "They want an exclusive agency. If the contract is signed, we can only supply them and not anyone else."

The factory manager lit a cigarette and said, "What a joke! We're the factory, how can he possibly tell us what to do? If there are buyers, are we not allowed to sell? These private businessmen are so unreliable. They think they're above the law just because they've made a little money. Ignore him. You should focus on getting the taxi business sorted out properly. Is the budget enough? Spend what you need to spend, don't be stingy."

In 91, Xiali was one of the few small car manufacturers in China, and it was favored by many national leaders. With limited options, it made great strides in the emerging taxi market and was quite successful.

Logically speaking, with such a start, Xiali should have occupied a large share of the domestic small car market later on. Unfortunately, the family had no vision and no sense of development. They were even reluctant to introduce a new engine. Until 2000, when the domestic car market was booming and many joint venture brands were making efforts, Xiali was still steadily using the 1.0 engine from the 80s.

Deputy Factory Director Li said, "I think their proposed agency is a good thing. We can't even cover the taxi market on our own. How many people are in the sales department? If we agree to this agency, at least we won't have to worry about manpower in Northeast China. Anyway, it will make us a lot of money."

The factory manager said, "How many individuals can afford to buy a car these days? It mainly depends on the taxi market. How much of a difference does it make if an individual sells one more or one less car? How much financial strength do they have? Collecting payments will be a problem later."

Deputy Factory Director Li said, "They're using dozens of these vehicles themselves. They said they'd pay in full cash upon delivery, not holding a penny of our money. All they want is the agency title. I think it'll work. I want to give it a try. If it works, we can release them to other regions in the same way. That would be a good thing for us."

The factory manager scratched his balding head, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and said, "Try it if you want. I can give you an agency, but forget about exclusive rights. If someone else wants to buy, we won't sell to them, right? Besides, we still have supplies to deal with. It'll be troublesome if we argue about it later."

Deputy Factory Director Li said, "Here's what I'm thinking: if he wants to become an agent, we should limit his production volume. His initial order must be at least fifty vehicles, and his annual sales cannot be less than five hundred. If he doesn't meet these requirements, we should cancel his agency agreement. Then he won't have anything to say. What do you think, Factory Director?"

The factory manager thought for a moment and said, "Okay, if we can really sell 500 cars exclusively, then it's exclusive, cash payment, right?"

Deputy Factory Director Li nodded, and the factory director said, "Okay, then you can talk. I need to go to a meeting at the ministry. I'll be leaving in a bit."

The next day, in a conference room at the Tianjing Hotel, Deputy Factory Director Li, Section Chief Han, and Xiao Wei sat together again.

"This is our proposed solution after research. Comrade Zhang, please take a look." Director Li waved his hand, and Section Chief Han handed a document to Xiao Wei.

(End of this chapter)