January 4th, the first workday after the New Year's Day holiday.
Zhejiang Province's first verdict for causing a traffic accident while driving an electric vehicle exceeding standards was announced.
Riding an "electric scooter" and hitting someone to death resulted in a sentence of one and a half years in prison, and compensation of 180,000 yuan for medical expenses and other economic losses.
"It's going to be harder and harder for small factories to survive in the future,"
Tan Jincheng murmured, holding the newspaper.
These days, electric vehicles exceeding standards are a serious issue; many electric vehicles can actually be called "electric motorcycles," with incredibly fast speeds.
These non-standard electric vehicles are mainly produced by small factories, sold very cheaply, and are very popular in the market.
Especially unconventional "ghost fire youths" in third-tier cities and small counties are particularly fond of this type of electric vehicle, spending two to three thousand yuan, or even less, to buy an electric vehicle with functions similar to a motorcycle, which is very stylish to drive.
However, these types of vehicles have severe quality issues, the probability of traffic accidents is much higher, and manufacturers offer no after-sales service whatsoever.
Currently, traffic departments nationwide heavily criticize these non-standard electric vehicles.
The ruling in this case in Zhejiang Province is a blow to these non-standard electric vehicles and also a wake-up call for buyers.
Currently, the national electric vehicle industry has three major bases: Tianjin, Southern Jiangsu, and Zhejiang Province.
Zhejiang Province also has the most regulated electric vehicle market in the country.
It can be said that changes in Zhejiang Province, whether in policy or legal regulations, will, to a certain extent, influence the electric vehicle industry.
As expected, this year the rapidly developing electric vehicle industry should undergo its first major industry reshuffle, and a batch of small workshop enterprises with insufficient strength and qualifications will be eliminated.
With a regulated market, it is naturally good news for legitimate players like Shanchi Technology, especially for the Shanchi affordable model.
Some "ghost fire youths" might choose to purchase the Shanchi affordable model.
Although its speed cannot compare to non-standard vehicles, both its price and battery range are far superior to non-standard vehicles.
This can also be glimpsed from the sales figures of Shanchi brand flagship store's three-day New Year's Day promotion activity submitted by Zhou Ao.
During the three-day New Year's Day holiday, a total of 107 Shanchi affordable models were sold, 85 luxury models were sold, and Fengchi, due to significant discounts, was the store's main product, with a total of 135 units sold, among which the best-selling was still the pink model.
In terms of a single model, the Shanchi affordable model naturally had the highest sales, with sales reaching 760,200 yuan over the three-day New Year's Day period.
After deducting normal costs, a profit of 250,000 yuan was made, and the profit margin was as high as 32.91%.
"Well done, this New Year's Day promotion was quite successful. I'll have the finance department arrange your bonuses,"
Tan Jincheng nodded to Zhou Ao, satisfied.
The word "bonus" made Zhou Ao's eyes light up, and he couldn't help but say with a grin,
"Thank you, Boss, this is what we should do."
"Alright, hand over the brand store to the store manager for normal operation now. You have more important things to do next,"
Tan Jincheng nodded.
The Shanchi brand store was just a small test run.
Electric scooters cannot do without R&D, but in fierce market competition, marketing strategies are even more indispensable.
Especially during the early stages of brand establishment, marketing strategies are even more important than technical R&D.
In fierce market competition, marketing strategies cannot be solely accomplished by Tan Jincheng; a very excellent team is essential.
"So, should we open a few more direct stores in Beicang later?"
After pondering for a moment, Tan Jincheng said,
"Let's wait for now, we'll talk about it in a few months."
Earning over 200,000 yuan in three days, this was only a short New Year's Day holiday.
Holidays like National Day and Chinese New Year are longer.
With just a few promotions during a few long holidays, a single store's annual profit could reach millions.
It is now 2006.
No matter which city he opens a direct store in, Tan Jincheng neither wants nor is willing to rent a store; buying directly is more cost-effective.
While it's indeed profitable, the investment is also very substantial.
It's better to let the Beicang direct store operate for a few months to half a year before reassessing.
If suitable, then a layout can begin in Beicang, around Yongcheng, and even in other cities.
Buying a store has another advantage: it's cheaper to buy now.
Buying a 500 square meter store, with the direct store operating on a self-sustaining basis, after the store appreciates in value in the future, it can be exchanged for a larger area in a relatively more remote urban zone.
At that time, with minimal cost, a seamless transition from electric scooter direct stores to new energy vehicle direct stores can be achieved.
In his previous life, Tesla used the direct sales model, and if he makes cars, Tan Jincheng also plans to use this method.
Buying a store to open a direct store—selling the appreciated store to exchange for a larger area in the same city—establishing his own new energy electric vehicle direct store.
This can be considered a perfect closed loop.
"In three months, direct stores in first- and second-tier cities can go online. You can go back and write up the plan now, and site selection in other areas of Yongcheng can also proceed."
"Alright, I'll go arrange it now."
"Okay, if there's nothing else, you can go ahead and get busy."
Whether it's the current electric scooters or the dream of manufacturing cars, Yongcheng is Shanchi Technology's home base.
The home base must be managed well.
Tan Jincheng did not arrange a ground promotion team in Yongcheng precisely to set up direct stores in major areas.
Direct stores, due to their large profit margins, can hold bigger events, to some extent infringing upon the profits of agents.
However, Shanchi Technology will not open direct stores in every city.
Apart from the Yongcheng home base, Tan Jincheng will only open them in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and future new first-tier cities.
In these large cities, the market is big enough, so one or two direct stores will not have a significant impact; this has already been communicated with the agents.
Although self-production and self-sales earn more, it also requires sufficient energy to manage.
The greater purpose of opening direct stores is still to purchase properties, wait for them to appreciate in value, and make some preliminary arrangements for the future automobile business.
In summary, no matter how much Shanchi and Fengchi series earn or how they are laid out, they are all preparations for the future automobile business.
---
The Capital.
Tan Jincheng, who had just stepped out of the airplane cabin, couldn't help but wrap his down jacket tighter around himself and said to Zhao Jinsheng behind him,
"It's so cold, Brother Zhao."
Zhao Jinsheng looked at Tan Jincheng and responded with a smile,
"Let's go quickly, don't block the way here."
"Okay."
It was Tan Jincheng's first time setting foot in the Capital City, and it was winter.
The dry cold of the north made Tan Jincheng, who had never suffered much in his life, very uncomfortable.
This trip to the Capital was primarily to solve technical problems for the battery factory.
That's right, Tan Jincheng was ready to launch a lithium battery R&D project.
Lithium batteries were first proposed and researched in 1912 and have a history of over 90 years to date.
After over 90 years of research and development, the fifth generation of rechargeable batteries was officially born in 1996.
Technically speaking, the application of lithium batteries in current electric scooters is already largely mature.
It's just that most people are not yet familiar with them, the main reason being that lead-acid batteries have lower costs and lower technical requirements than lithium batteries.
The research and development of lithium battery production is naturally not just for electric scooters, but in the early stage, pilot production can be carried out on electric scooters to discover shortcomings and improve them, accumulate technology, and prepare for future automobiles.
Lithium batteries can generally be divided into two categories: lithium metal batteries and lithium-ion batteries, with even more detailed classifications.
These details would be incomprehensible to Tan Jincheng, which is why specialized technical talents are needed.
For such cutting-edge technology, the most advanced in China are always in major research institutes, and the Capital City is one of the regions with the most research institutes, so looking for them is definitely the right choice.
This time, Tan Jincheng was to visit the Chemical Physics Power Institute of CASIC (China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation), which holds lithium-ion battery technology and is relatively advanced in China.
Many military industrial enterprises in China, regardless of the era, have impressive technological accumulation.
For example, many electric fans, televisions, and even ice creams in the last century were produced by some local military industrial enterprises.
During the process of military-to-civilian conversion, many local brands emerged nationwide.
Their products were high-quality and affordable, becoming childhood memories for many born in the 70s, 80s, and even 90s.
After a period of contact and leveraging various connections, Tan Jincheng finally established contact with the Chemical Physics Power Institute of CASIC, and they agreed to meet him before the New Year.
As for whether a collaboration can be reached, it remains to be seen.
Tan Jincheng's idea was to collaborate with the Chemical Physics Institute to establish a battery company, by hiring technical talents from the institute and technical backbones from various large lithium-ion battery manufacturers, to build a lithium-ion battery R&D team for Shanchi Technology.
To ask if the Chemical Physics Power Institute's technology can undertake this task? It's a joke; they are a research institute that participated in the development of Shenzhou V and Shenzhou VI; their technology is beyond doubt.
The experts at the institute also need to make a living.
In recent years, collaborations with private enterprises have been frequent, and forming companies through technology equity contributions is very common.
So as long as there is enough sincerity, Shanchi Technology still has a chance.
Although Tan Jincheng was ultimately the decision-maker for this cooperation, this visit was led by Zhao Jinsheng.
The district government also attached great importance to whether this cooperation could be achieved, fearing that Tan Jincheng, being a young man, might not be able to handle the situation, so they specifically dispatched Zhao Jinsheng.
The assembly plant is under construction, the battery R&D project is also underway, and the district government is quite satisfied with Shanchi Technology's progress.
In addition, the Fengchi advertisements frequently appearing on CCTV-1, CCTV-2, and CCTV-3 recently have, to a certain extent, boosted Beicang's reputation.
Yongcheng is a very low-key city, and even in 2023, many people don't know about Beicang District, but even the most low-key places need some recognition.
In 2005, the Beicang District government invested a total of 230 million yuan, and a 70,000-square-meter sports and arts center was put into use, becoming the home court for the women's volleyball team, which also had this consideration in mind.
In addition to Zhao Jinsheng and Shanchi Technology staff, the district government also assigned two relevant technicians to provide technical support for this visit.
Right after leaving the airport, a car came to pick them up, and it wasn't arranged by Shanchi Technology.
"Let's go, we'll head to our accommodation first, and then strategize,"
Zhao Jinsheng said to Tan Jincheng behind him.
"Alright, I'll listen to Brother Zhao."
(End of Chapter)