Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

Drive a BMW, ride a Mercedes-Benz.

These two luxury car brands from Germany have a relatively consistent pace of development in China.

The sales gap between the two parties is not very big.

Neither of them agrees with ABB's current statement.

So more often than not, people at BMW are staring at Mercedes-Benz, and people at Mercedes-Benz are watching what BMW is doing.

This time, the cooperation between BMW and Nanshan Batteries suddenly spread.

This naturally allowed August and others from Mercedes-Benz to know some of BMW's next moves.

"Yang Ming, BMW is planning to produce electric vehicles in China. Do you think this is reliable?"

August, who has always disapproved of electric vehicles, will not change his mind easily.

Even if BMW had made some actual moves, he was just very puzzled and did not feel that Mercedes-Benz needed to follow up immediately.

Of course, you must pay attention.

Mercedes-Benz pays close attention to any big move made by BMW.

"BMW is not just developing electric vehicles now. Their MINI E has already started road testing in Europe."

"Now China has policies to encourage the development of electric vehicles. I guess BMW thinks this is a good opportunity."

"But I think even with policy support, there is no market hope for electric vehicles in a short period of time."

“The inconvenience of charging alone can dissuade everyone from buying electric vehicles.”

"On the contrary, there are reports from Yangcheng that Nanyangcheng Commercial Vehicles is planning to develop electric buses. This may be more reliable."

At this point in time at the end of 2008, most people in the automotive industry felt that although electric vehicles represented the future, this future was not coming so soon.

Yang Ming is naturally no exception.

"Everyone knows this truth, why don't BMW and Nanshan Battery understand it?"

"Do they really think that by deploying electric vehicle technology in advance, they will be able to gain an advantage in the competition in the future?"

Phillips still found the BMW's movements difficult to understand.

Go ahead to dangers.

This approach is somewhat unusual in business terms.

"The relationship between Nanshan Group and BMW was not very good before. Now BMW will cooperate with Nanshan Battery. I estimate that Nanshan Battery does have some unique technologies of its own in the field of electric vehicle batteries."

"But before the market is mature, no matter how good the technology is, it is of little use."

"If the market opportunity for electric vehicles really comes in the future, it won't be too late for us to start producing electric vehicles."

"Of course, it would be a great thing if the headquarters is willing to invest some energy in pre-research on related technologies."

Yang Ming's words represent his true inner thoughts.

However, Phillips doesn’t think the big guys at the headquarters will be interested in pre-research on electric vehicle technology.

So I stopped talking to Yang Ming about this topic and moved the topic to other places.

…

"Xiao Lin, there seems to be a lot of news related to electric vehicles in China. Even BMW is preparing to build electric vehicles."

"The company's new energy vehicle strategy focuses on hydrogen energy. Should we consider the simultaneous development of the two routes?"

As the president of Toyota Motor Corporation, Katsaki Watanabe is now in high spirits.

Toyota Motor's global development in the past two years is generally very good.

Especially in the American market, it is expected to hit the number one spot in the market next year.

However, in terms of future development strategy, Watanabe Yoshiaki is also a bit entangled.

It stands to reason that Toyota has been working on electric vehicles for a long time.

As early as 1997, Toyota had begun manufacturing RAV4 EV and Prius pure electric vehicles. A total of 1,484 of the first-generation RAV4 EV models were produced, all of which were sold or leased.

The RAV4 EV has a cruising range of approximately 150km and is powered by 24 12-volt nickel-metal hydride batteries with a battery capacity of 27kWh and can be fully charged in 5 hours.

It can be said that Toyota's technical accumulation in nickel-metal hydride batteries is very profound.

Their FHEV models also use nickel-metal hydride batteries.

But when it comes to lithium batteries, they are relatively weak.

The most important thing is that many people within Toyota are more optimistic about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles than electric vehicles.

"no need!"

"Electric vehicles are not suitable for Japan at all, and they are not truly clean energy vehicles."

“The end point of new energy vehicles must be hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.”

"Hydrogen is the cleanest energy source. Only water is produced after combustion, which can achieve true zero emissions."

"Over the years, the company has invested a lot of manpower and material resources in researching technologies related to hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen storage tanks and fuel cell system software control."

"Now we have formed an absolute patent advantage in this field. No car company will be able to surpass us in this field in the future."

“At this time, I think it makes no sense to slow down investment in hydrogen fuel cell technology research and development and turn our attention to electric vehicles.”

"Whether it's the United States, Europe, or our own country in Japan, electric vehicles will not be mainstream for a long time to come."

"I even think hybrid vehicles have a stronger prospect than electric vehicles in these places."

Kobayashi Zheming's attitude is very determined.

As the R\u0026D director, he cannot accept changes in technical direction every now and then, which will make the people below confused.

The most important thing is that Toyota began research on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as early as 1992, and it has been more than ten years now.

A relatively complete chain of interests has been formed along this route.

If we give up or change this path, there will definitely be many internal objections.

After all, no one will deny that the future of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is worth looking forward to.

"We have so many patented technologies in our hands. Will it cause other manufacturers to give up research on hydrogen fuel cells?"

Katsaki Watanabe put forward a rather special point of view.

This actually stunned Xin Lin Zheming.

Do too many patents scare other car companies?

Is it possible?

Not to mention, this possibility is definitely possible.

Wasn't there a similar situation in hybrid technology before?

In the past, not many car companies were researching hybrid vehicles, but after Toyota gave up most of its patents, many more companies are researching hybrid vehicles.

If you build a wall too well and want to eat alone, you may not be able to eat anything in the end.

After all, for the development of an industrial chain, it is absolutely not enough to rely on one car company alone.

You are going against the trend and your chances of success are very low.

"In fact, other car companies such as BMW and Honda, and even General Motors, are also researching hydrogen fuel cells. This shows that we have too many patents and it is not a limitation."

Kobayashi Zheming felt that a large number of his brain cells had been burned before he came up with a reply that seemed logical.

However, there is obviously no way to completely clarify this issue now.

We can only take one step at a time.

The two of them discussed it for a long time but came to no conclusion.

Similar discussions are relatively common among Japanese companies.

Otherwise, how can we say that Japanese companies don’t have many other things, but they have many and report a lot.

Because the efficiency of their meetings is often frighteningly low.

There is also a relatively slow response, that is Spring City Automobile Group.

"Mr. Zhu, I think we can also discuss with Mr. Cao to let Nanshan Hongqi also develop an electric car?"

"When the time comes, let alone other markets, at least we are sure to win the taxi market in Spring City."

Tao Wen has also been paying attention to the news in Yangcheng these days.

Naturally, she also noticed the commotion caused by Nanshan Battery, Yangcheng Trumpchi and BMW.

At first, she wasn't sure what her opinion should be.

After all, she knows little about electric vehicles.

She had done a lot of homework in the past few days and had some understanding of the relevant situation.

The key point is that she communicated with people she knew in the ministry and knew that there would be some specific policies in the next step.

The future development direction of China Automobile will most likely choose electric vehicles.

As a result, Spring City Automobile Group naturally needs to make arrangements in advance.

"Although electric vehicles are promising, they won't make money in a short time."

"What Nanshan Hongqi needs most now is to launch H5 and HS5 to increase sales."

"It's not a good idea to distract yourself at this time."

Zhu Zhengfeng rejected Tao Wen's proposal directly.

In his opinion, grasping a key point and working on it well is the easiest way to achieve results.

Otherwise, if you do it here and there, you will end up spending a lot of money, but the technology will not be really developed.

"That's true. Nanshan Hongqi now has a development focus, and it's really not suitable for distractions."

Tao Wen was not so stubborn. Seeing that she already knew Zhu Zhengfeng's opinion, her tone of voice immediately began to change.

“However, in terms of passenger cars and buses, can other companies do it?”

Spring City Automobile Group has a number of subsidiaries covering the production of various vehicle models.

Nanshan Red Flag is just one of them.

So after this plan was rejected, Tao Wen quickly tried to see if other paths could be taken.

However, Zhu Zhengfeng's ideas were different from hers. He said: "The market prospects are unclear now, so don't worry about it yet. When everything clears up, we will start developing electric vehicles."

"Anyway, Nanshan Group has a complete set of parts such as batteries, motors, electronic controls, etc. You can just buy them directly from them when the time comes."

"We have arranged our own personnel to conduct research in advance and invested a lot of manpower and material resources. However, what we will produce by then will not be as good as the Nanshan Group. It is a complete waste of resources."

"It would be better to do less technical research and development and just buy the parts and assemble them."

"General Motors and Ford Motor are now constantly reorganizing their supply chains and handing over more component technology research and development to their suppliers. We can definitely follow suit."

Although Tao Wen did not agree with Zhu Zhengfeng's point of view, she certainly did not dare to stand up and refute it.

So in the end she had to find another topic and cover it up.

…

Nanshan Battery has done so many things during this period, and naturally there are many manufacturers interested in it.

Various bus companies have taken the initiative to contact us and want to come over for visits and exchanges.

Lin Cheng naturally welcomes everyone who comes.

After all, in the short term, the future of electric buses and electric buses should be worth looking forward to.

Lin Cheng, who was extremely busy every day, had a rare meal with Cao Yang in the cafeteria today.

During the chat, the various customers who came to visit during this period will naturally be mentioned.

"Mr. Cao, our lithium iron phosphate technology and ternary lithium battery technology are now known to many people."

"Autohome also conducted an exclusive interview and introduced our battery parameters in detail."

“As a result, we attracted all kinds of clients from all walks of life.”

"Not to mention those in the automotive industry, even mobile phone and computer companies such as Motorola, Nokia and HP have actively contacted us and want to exchange battery technology with us."

"This is not the most exaggerated thing. This morning, a small company in Shenzhen that produces drones actually called directly and expressed that it wanted to visit our site and communicate."

"I am very busy right now. How can I have so much time to receive them one by one?"

Lin Cheng is really busy during this time.

The electric bus and electric taxi projects of Nanshan Battery and Yangcheng Automobile Group have been officially launched, and many things require his participation.

Then customers from all walks of life came to visit one after another. There were some relatively large companies, and he couldn't refuse them casually.

It made him wish he could have twelve clones.

"Drone company?"

Cao Yang paused for a moment while holding the chopsticks in his hand. Could it be the drone company in Shencheng?

"Yes, if a drone wants to stay in the air long enough, battery technology is very critical."

“So far, the energy density of our ternary lithium batteries is the highest among all battery manufacturers.”

"The key is that our probability of success is much lower than other manufacturers in the industry."

“That’s why so many customers are interested in our Nanshan batteries.”

"But drones are too niche. They are just some children's toys. I don't think there is much meaning in cooperation."

Although Lin Cheng is a battery expert, it's hard to say what his business vision is.

Of course, in 2008, no one knew that the future of drones would be so broad.

"What's the name of this drone company? Does it have any products out now?"

Cao Yang continued to ask, which made Lin Cheng feel a little surprised.

Instead of asking about the news of potential major customers such as Yutong Bus and King Long Bus, I asked about the situation of a drone company.

I don't understand.

"It seems to be called a DJI drone?"

"Yes, that should be the name!"

"Mr. Cao, have you heard of this name?"

If you don’t understand, just ask.

Lin Cheng and Cao Yang also became familiar with each other.

He also has some understanding of Cao Yang's character.

Obviously, there should be some story behind this drone.

"do not know!"

"But I think the future of drones is still worth looking forward to."

"You contact him, I want to meet him."

“Isn’t DJI interested in Nanshan batteries?”

"As long as we can reach an agreement, we can use the latest lithium battery technology in their drones and supply them at cost price in the beginning."

The unicorns have already been sent to the door on their own initiative. If Cao Yang didn't show any expression at all, it would definitely be inappropriate.

Cao Yang doesn't have that much energy to build drones by himself.

Nanshan Group already has enough business, and Cao Yang has no idea of ​​further expanding its business on a large scale.

But DJI is a special company, and it is still at its lowest point.

As long as you invest a little appropriately, you will be able to win when the time comes.

The most important thing is that DJI drones will become famous by then, and the advertising effect they will bring to Nanshan Battery will also be very good.

After all, in terms of energy density of lithium batteries, no product has higher requirements than drones.

In the future, we can even work with DJI to develop flying cars and play out some new concepts.

After several twists and turns, everyone should have a deeper impression that Nanshan Group is a high-tech enterprise.

"Mr. Cao, when do you want to see them?"

"The sooner the better!"

"Then I'll call the other party now to see if they are available this afternoon."

Lin Cheng did what he said and immediately put down his chopsticks and called someone from DJI.

Not only compared with Nanshan Group, but also compared with Nanshan Battery, the current DJI is not on the same level.

Lin Cheng took the initiative to express that Cao Yang wanted to see them, and DJI immediately said that he could do so this afternoon.

Anyway, it only takes an hour to drive there from Shencheng.

So that afternoon, Cao Yang met Wang Tao, the founder of DJI.

Cao Yang was born in 1979 and Wang Tao was born in 1980.

Everyone is considered the same age.

They are both so young, but their current achievements are very different.

Therefore, Wang Tao at this time was not as confident as later generations.

Of course, while being polite, there was no groveling.

Everyone is very confident and proud.

You respect me and I respect you.

The atmosphere was much better than Wang Tao expected from the beginning.

"Mr. Cao, I heard that Mr. Lin said that you personally participated in the research of Nanshan Battery's ternary lithium battery technology?"

After chatting briefly for a while, Wang Tao asked a question out of curiosity.

He himself comes from a technical background, and he has a strong sense of identification with people who are also highly technical.

"Indeed, Nanshan Battery has not started very early in terms of ternary lithium battery technology. If we want to achieve results as soon as possible, it is naturally the most effective for me to personally lead the team to tackle technical problems."

"I heard that Mr. Wang, when you graduated from college, your graduation project was a drone. Now you are fully committed to this field. It seems that you are very optimistic about the drone market?"

Cao Yang's time is very precious. Today's meeting was originally interrupted temporarily, so the time is relatively limited.

There is no need to be too polite at this time, just get to the point directly.

Given Cao Yang's current status, Wang Tao would not think this would be rude.

"Yes, I am very bullish on the drone market."

"Before we at DJI, drones felt like either military products or children's toys. Few people felt that there was room for drones in the middle market."

"But for professional-grade imaging drones, I believe many film crews are in demand."

“Public safety, land surveying and mapping, power inspection, forestry survey and other fields also require some special drones.”

"Even in agricultural development, there is room for drones to play."

"Although there are some drone companies now making related products, they are very expensive and complicated to operate, making it difficult to popularize them on a large scale."

"Our idea at DJI is to research drones with reasonable costs and advanced performance to open up a unique market."

"When it comes to the performance of a drone, in addition to the most critical flight control system, the performance of the battery is more important."

"The properties of the drone determine that the battery it carries cannot be very heavy, otherwise it will affect a series of parameters such as the flight time."

"This requires our batteries to have very high energy density and not be very expensive."

"Nanshan Battery can now enable electric taxis to achieve a driving range of 400 kilometers, which fully demonstrates the technological advancement of Nanshan Battery. I believe that the cooperation between Nanshan Battery and DJI will be very meaningful."

When it comes to his areas of expertise, Wang Tao immediately has a lot to say.

He is really very confident in this field and is also interested in Nanshan Batteries.

"Mr. Wang, DJI doesn't have a product that's available yet, but various research and development costs a lot of money."

“Have you ever thought about looking for institutional financing?”

Historically, DJI only started financing in 2010, and then began to develop rapidly in just a few years.

It's only the end of 2008. Normally DJI's need for financing shouldn't be that urgent yet.

However, there are few start-up companies that are not interested in financing.

After all, burning investors' money is definitely different from burning your own money, and the pressure is also different.

There is no way Wang Tao will be an exception.

"Mr. Cao, are you interested in investing in DJI?"

Everyone is smart and there is no need to beat around the bush, so Wang Tao directly asked what was in his heart.

"Yes, Nanshan Battery is willing to provide a sum of money to occupy 20% of DJI's shares."

"If DJI has further financing needs in the future, Nanshan Battery must have the right to follow in the investment to keep its shares unchanged."

There is no lion in Cao Yang with its mouth wide open.

If too many shares are transferred, Wang Tao will definitely be unwilling to do so.

Whether DJI can succeed, Wang Tao is the most critical figure.

So rather than investing in DJI, it is better to say that we are investing in Wang Tao.

“What valuation is Nanshan Battery willing to give?”

Wang Tao's question basically means that he will not refuse investment.

However, he definitely doesn't want his beloved to be sold cheaply.

"With a valuation of RMB 100 million, Nanshan Battery invested RMB 20 million in cash and will be able to provide DJI with the most advanced lithium batteries in the future."

Cao Yang did not desperately lower the price.

Historically, DJI’s first financing was US$10 million, but that was in 2010.

Now that the difference is more than a year, and it is still at the height of the financial crisis, the price is not considered low.