Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

The first quarter of 2014 was very busy.

The Malaysia Airlines incident is still a hot topic from time to time, but there is no final conclusion.

The conflict between polar bears and ermao has also become a topic of conversation among ordinary people after dinner. Everyone seems to want to criticize Fang Qiu and comment on their own opinions.

However, how to live daily life is still how to live.

In this quarter, in addition to Venus Technology and Nanshan Engine, companies in the Nanshan Group have brought a lot of surprises to everyone. Nanshan Automobile Group has also made outstanding achievements.

In particular, Future Auto has newly launched the Future S9, a disruptive electric sedan, this quarter, which has now been launched simultaneously around the world.

"Mr. Cao, our Future S9 set a new record in the past March, with domestic sales exceeding 3,000 units and foreign sales exceeding 10,000 units. It is still improving."

"This result is already much better than the monthly sales of 10,000 vehicles envisaged in our planning stage."

Zeng Tingting came over with a beaming face and reported to Cao Yang the results of Future Auto.

Xingchen Motors and Jaguar Land Rover have performed well over the years, and their performance last month was not bad either.

However, because the past has been very good, it did not bring any surprises to everyone.

Future Car's S9 is different.

As the first electric car under Nanshan Automobile Group, it still takes a high-end route and is equipped with the group's most advanced electrified equipment.

Under this circumstance, whether S9 can gain market recognition is a matter of great concern to everyone.

Now the results for March are out, and they can be said to be very representative.

Because this car was only sold domestically at the earliest stage, it cannot represent everything for Nanshan Automobile Group, which takes an international route.

Now that it has been launched simultaneously around the world and has experienced a complete global sales month, this sales data is more convincing.

Cao Yang was also quite surprised by this result and said: "Has the monthly sales reached over 10,000 in foreign countries so quickly?"

“The main thing is which place sells the best?”

There is currently no way for Future Auto's products to be sold in the United States, the world's second largest market. It can be said that the impact is still relatively large.

But to achieve such good results under such circumstances is beyond the expectations of many people.

After all, it is a high-end electric car.

Even the sales price abroad is not much different from the domestic sales price. In some markets, the selling price is even lower than that in China due to relatively low export tax rebates and import tariffs.

But the price of the S9 is still about the same as the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class in many places.

A proper luxury car.

At least the price is that of a luxury car.

"I have confirmed it again and again. It is indeed over 10,000 per month."

Zeng Tingting's face was full of confidence.

When she just saw this data, she was full of doubts about it like Cao Yang.

But after checking it carefully and knowing that it was true, my mood was completely different.

She is the general manager of Future Auto. Although the S9 was designed by Cao Yang, a large part of the credit for its good sales will definitely be attributed to Zeng Tingting.

Even with the hot sales of S9, Future Auto's position in the global electric vehicle market will become even stronger.

"Currently, the Nordic market is the largest market for the S9 in the future. Sales there in March exceeded 6,000 units, which is equivalent to 60% of our overseas market contributed by several small Nordic countries."

"On the contrary, in places like Germany and France, the performance of the S9 is so-so."

When Zeng Tingting said this, Cao Yang felt even weirder.

Northern Europe is a land of ice and snow.

You know, here in China, electric vehicles definitely prefer warmer places.

If you encounter severe cold, not only will the cruising range be greatly reduced, but the charging efficiency will also be reduced a lot, which will greatly affect the use experience.

No matter which electric vehicle is produced by an automobile company, it is inevitable that there will be problems in this regard.

There are even some countries in Northern Europe that are world-famous oil-producing countries. According to ordinary people's understanding, they should oppose the promotion of electric vehicles and fully support fuel vehicles.

After all, as the share of electric vehicles increases, it means that the sales of fuel vehicles will decrease, and ultimately the demand for oil will also decrease.

This shouldn't be what those countries want to see, right?

But the result turned out to be completely different from what everyone imagined.

At this time, Cao Yang was really interested and said: "Have you analyzed the specific reasons? Why is S9 so popular in Northern Europe?"

Cao Yang's question was naturally one that Zeng Tingting expected, so she gave the answer without any hesitation, saying: "Although it is cold and rich in oil resources in Northern Europe, clean power resources are also extremely rich. "

"Norway, for example, has abundant rainfall and abundant hydropower resources, which generates sufficient power supply."

"Data shows that their power resources are about 80% hydropower and 20% wind power, both of which are clean energy."

"At the same time, relevant departments have vigorously launched various preferential programs for electric vehicles. There are no tax fees for purchasing electric vehicles, and you can enjoy many discounts on parking and charging."

"Furthermore, although Norway is a major oil-producing country, the seventh largest in the world and the largest oil producer in Western Europe, Norway has the highest oil price in the world. The price of gasoline is generally around 16 yuan/liter. Compared with trams, the cost of use is Too high.”

"Under this background, our S9 sales in Northern Europe have completely exploded."

After hearing Pain's explanation, Cao Yang probably understood.

However, there are still many questions in his mind, and he said: "Other models of Future Car have been sold in Europe before, but I haven't heard of any particularly outstanding performance in Northern Europe, right?"

Although the S9 is currently Future Auto's best-performing sedan in all aspects, Future Auto has already had several SUV models sold around the world.

Therefore, it is normal for Cao Yang to have such questions.

"Previous Future Auto models performed well in Northern Europe, but they were just good."

"We focused our main efforts on conquering the French, German and English markets."

"In addition, the demand for large SUVs in Europe is not particularly strong, and consumers there still care about performance such as handling."

“The advantages of S9 are particularly obvious in this regard, so this time it completely exploded.”

These questions from Cao Yang were also the ones Zeng Tingting had doubts about before.

Now I am just re-explaining the doubts I have learned through my own investigation. Naturally, there is no problem.

After figuring out all this, Cao Yang immediately said: "Since the Nordic market favors electric vehicles, it can be expanded as a key market in the future."

"Now we are selling five to six thousand vehicles a month, and maybe we can sell two to thirty thousand vehicles a month in the future."

"By then, Northern Europe will become the most important overseas market for future automobiles."

The world is so big, there are always some places that will surprise everyone.

Cao Yang felt that this surprise was worth keeping.

The markets in developed countries in Northern Europe are often picky about products.

If Future Auto's various electric vehicles can become popular local models, it will also be a very good promotional material when expanding into other markets.

After all, there are still many markets in this world waiting for NIO to explore.

However, cars will be happy in the future, but some companies will not be.

Especially Tesla, which also focuses on electric vehicles. After seeing the data of future cars and comparing the performance of its own Model S, Masco immediately called Max over.

"Global sales of Future Auto's S9 reached 13,000 units last month, of which the Nordic market contributed almost half of the sales."

"Why are our Model S sales less than 100 units in the Nordic region?"

Obviously the Model S was launched earlier than the future S9 and entered the international market earlier, but its sales volume is far less than that of the S9.

Musko was definitely not satisfied with this result.

It's okay if it's just a little bit close. After all, he knows the shape and performance of the future S9 quite well.

But there is one sky and one earth, which is unacceptable.

The Model S is obviously better than the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and it has embarrassed both BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the American market.

Why, when we get to Europe, the situation is completely different.

If no one believes it, forget it.

After all, the climate in Europe is generally colder, so it seems normal that there is no market for electric vehicles.

But future car sales will be different.

"The overall performance of the future S9 is too good. After using the NS8155 chip, the performance of the smart cockpit is very eye-catching."

"The performance of intelligent driving chips produced using the same process is much higher than ours."

"Their computing power is not several times higher than ours, but dozens of times higher."

"The performance of the battery at low temperatures is also very good."

"Coupled with the appearance that is very in line with European aesthetics, it is not surprising that it is popular there."

Although Max was also very depressed, he still had to explain himself at this time.

Otherwise it will become evidence that he is not doing his job well.

As a rising star in the American automobile industry, Tesla’s current appeal is also rising rapidly.

Many senior executives from traditional car companies are now interested in joining Tesla.

Therefore, the position under Max's butt is not necessarily very stable.

"I admit that after the S9 was launched in the evening, some performance did have advantages, but the gap between everyone is not as high as the sky and the earth."

"Why do others achieve higher sales volume in such a small market in Northern Europe than our global sales volume?"

Maxco's rhetorical question came from his soul, and Max didn't know how to answer it.

Tesla's sales in March have exceeded 3,000 vehicles, which is considered a record high.

Normally this is a very impressive result.

But I am afraid of comparison in everything.

In the future, the S9 will be released later than you, but the current sales volume is several times that of yours.

The key is that many of these sales are contributed by overseas markets.

This is hard to accept.

Masco is questioning Max now, and he may also be questioned by shareholders later.

After all, Tesla's current performance is indeed a bit unsatisfactory compared with future cars.

When we consider that Space Exploration Technology, another company owned by Musk, is now also being suppressed by China's Daystar Technology, things become even more sensitive.

In particular, Future Auto and Daystar Technology have a common boss, which is consistent with the relationship between Tesla and SpaceX.

Naturally, the media prefer to report these two things together to give netizens some news they like to hear.

"We didn't pay attention to it in Northern Europe before. We thought that because the temperature was so cold, no one there would like electric vehicles."

"Now it seems that the situation is completely different. I plan to focus on the Nordic market in the next step and compete well with Future Auto."

"They are temporarily ahead, but I think sooner or later we can surpass them."

Regardless of whether you can do it in the end, at least express your thoughts to your boss about what you want to do.

Otherwise, how can your boss continue to use you with confidence?

"Then act as soon as possible."

"We should have an advantage in the Nordic market, and we should not let future cars dominate there!"

Following the conversation between Musk and Max, Tesla immediately took action.

Compared with Tesla, Volkswagen's mood may be more complicated.

Especially Volkswagen China, which has been struggling with the new electric vehicle platform during this period.

Now it seems that Future Auto is developing so well in their hometown, and they immediately feel a little restless.

"Vondel, I think the headquarters should make up its mind as soon as possible and hand over all models of the electric vehicle platform to the Huaxia Branch."

"We recruit R\u0026D teams from the local area to speed up the development of electric vehicles. The headquarters only needs to support some traditional R\u0026D engineers."

"Looking at the current development momentum of electric vehicles, if we don't speed up the process, we will be very passive by then."

What Strauss cares about most every month is the news at Nanshan Automobile Group.

As China's largest automobile company, Nanshan Automobile Group's every move can raise many questions.

In this regard, Strauss is considered experienced.

"The sales volume of one S9 in Northern Europe exceeded 6,000 units, which is indeed a bit beyond everyone's expectations."

"Our entire group's electric vehicle sales are currently less than 6,000 units a month."

It can be said that Vondel watched the development and growth of Nanshan Automobile Group step by step.

Now it has reached the point where it can compete with Volkswagen.

If you add the scale and influence of its brother companies, Volkswagen is no longer a rival.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Vondel would never have been able to believe such a thing.

"Yes, the current electric vehicle layout of the world's major automobile groups is just in its infancy."

"If we speed up our progress now, we should still have a chance to lead the industry."

"We have communicated with Nanshan Battery and Nanshan Auto Parts before, and the electric vehicles produced in China will use their batteries and motors."

"I think we can be a little bolder, and electric vehicles around the world can consider using their parts."

"We can even produce electric vehicles in China and export them to all over the world."

"When the situation opens up, we will produce some electric vehicles domestically."

The greater the influence of the Chinese branch, the greater the say Strauss and Vondel will have within Volkswagen.

Both of them knew this very well.

We have previously convinced the headquarters to put some of its electric vehicles into research and development in China. Taking advantage of the opportunity of Future Auto's electric vehicles to kill everyone, it is obviously a good opportunity to further approach the headquarters for more rights.

Strauss has been working for so many years and must be very good at seizing such opportunities.

"I think it usually only takes two years for China's independent brands to develop an electric vehicle."

"But we need at least four years. This way we will definitely not be able to keep up with the pace of market development."

"We will use this entry point to report to the headquarters and apply to have most of the electric vehicles developed and produced in China."

Naturally, Vondel could understand what Strauss was thinking.

At this point, both of their interests are aligned.

Therefore, it is very important to communicate with the headquarters as soon as possible.

And Vondel has obviously found an entry point that he recognizes.

Strauss naturally had no objection to this, and immediately cooperated with Vondel's work and began to prepare relevant information.

…

Unlike Tesla and Volkswagen's active response, Ford's situation is much slower.

Their best-selling models are generally large-displacement models, such as pickup trucks such as the F150, which are Ford's most important source of profit.

After transitioning to electric vehicles, these advantages will disappear.

The most critical thing is that their technical accumulation in electric vehicles is relatively weak.

Whether it is battery technology or motor technology, they all depend on suppliers.

But if these two technologies are not available, the people at Ford Motor Company will not know how to promote their company's selling points.

So Ford's electric vehicle project is a bit difficult to get off the ground.

"Mulally, I have communicated with many dealers during this period, and they are not very willing to sell electric vehicles."

“I think the company’s electrification strategy doesn’t need to be so radical?”

As the vice president in charge of sales, Melgen is also quite anxious now.

As an automobile brand with a long history, Ford has always been committed to technological innovation and product optimization.

But the electric vehicle market is developing too fast and is full of challenges for traditional automakers.

Until now, Ford has not had a viable electric model.

What's even more troublesome is that dealers are unwilling to sell electric vehicles.

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Electric vehicles represent the future. There shouldn't be many people who doubt this, right?"

Mulally frowned, not quite understanding.

In the past few years, under his leadership, Ford Motor has achieved profitability and has the strength to increase investment in research and development.

The transformation to electrification is the latest decision Mulally has made in the past two years.

However, large-scale mass production of electric vehicles has not yet arrived, and the situation does not seem to be very favorable.

"Since dealers sell electric vehicles, they need to first establish corresponding charging equipment and maintenance facilities, and at the same time invest in training sales and maintenance personnel, and even build charging stations. The overall cost is estimated to be US$1 million."

"This is a big burden for dealers. Coupled with the high prices of electric vehicles today, it is a question mark whether the entire market needs so many electric vehicles, so many dealers are even more reluctant. Electric cars are on sale.”

According to Melgen, dealers are in business to make money.

If you can't make money selling electric vehicles, then even if Ford Motors goes all out to promote it, the final effect will not be very good.

However, Mulally has different worries, saying: "Be it Tesla or future cars, the current sales of electric vehicles are very good."

"Especially for our old rivals, the sales of S9 have exceeded everyone's expectations."

"Although sales of more than 10,000 per month may not seem like much, considering the overall situation of electric vehicles, this sales volume is already very remarkable."

"If Tesla and Future Auto launch more affordable electric vehicles in the future, will sales surge further?"

"By then it will be too late for us to consider electrification transformation."

I have to say that Mulally has a good vision in this regard.

He firmly believes that electric vehicles represent the future.

The domestic capital market in the United States is now also favoring Tesla.

Therefore, Ford must take some action on electrification, so that it can better stimulate the stock market.

Otherwise, there is no story to tell, and the stock price is not worth looking forward to.

As a CEO, the first thing you need to consider is the interests of shareholders.

The interests of shareholders mainly include two points, one is profit, and the other is stock price.

Although the development of electric vehicles will reduce profits, if the stock price can rise significantly, there will obviously be no problem.

After all, shareholders can obtain more benefits by cashing out their stocks at any time as long as they are willing.

"That's what we say, but if we can't produce electric vehicles that are very competitive and allow dealers to make money, I'm afraid the road to electrification transformation will become very bumpy."

Melgen didn't want to pour cold water on his boss.

But let’s not say anything upfront. If Ford’s electric vehicles cannot be sold, he, the vice president in charge of sales, will probably become a scapegoat.

It took a lifetime of hard work to reach this position, and Melgen naturally did not want to lose this position.

So now it is necessary to speak clearly in advance.

Mulally is also a human spirit, so he can naturally guess some of Melgen's thoughts.

But he had no choice. As an airborne soldier, he didn't have much foundation in the middle class of Ford Motor Company.

You can still go down step by step until there is no way to reverse the situation before you consider turning around.