Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

Chapter 722 Internet + New Energy

The Xiaomi system has been successful in its first battle and has successfully taken the first step in the operating system market.

Of course, this is just a good start, and there is still a long way to go before we can gain a firm foothold.

Before 2010, Android had not yet become the dominant player. At this time, mobile operating systems were in full bloom. There were dozens of mobile operating systems on the market, including products from top technology giants. No one could tell which operating system was used. will be the ultimate winner.

In addition to the performance of the operating system itself, the choice of mobile phone brand is also a very important factor.

At that time, the three giants of mobile phones were Nokia, BlackBerry and Samsung. Sony Ericsson, LG and the declining Motorola could only be regarded as half of the giants. The choice of giant brands often becomes the benchmark for the industry.

But in fact, these giants are half a beat slow in responding to smartphones.

After entering the era of smartphones, Nokia and Motorola declined rapidly. Needless to say, Samsung, which later ranked first in smartphone sales in the world, did not bet on smartphones in the early days.

When Apple launched the first-generation iPhone in 2007, Samsung also launched a touch-screen phone, the Samsung Instinct, to target Apple, but in fact there was no competition between the two.

Next, Samsung did not launch any more smartphones. It was not until the release of Apple's iPhone 3GS that Samsung launched the first generation and officially entered the smartphone industry.

What really made Samsung mobile phones rise was the second generation.

At that time, Apple still used a 3.5-inch screen. Smartphones from other manufacturers were also imitating Apple, using a 3.5-inch screen. The second generation used a 4.3-inch screen. This was definitely a qualitative leap, and it also attracted Samsung's attention. A big wave of traffic.

When Samsung released its third generation in 2011, it had become the top smartphone manufacturer and has maintained this position to this day.

Samsung's rise is inseparable from South Korea's strong mobile phone component supply chain. For example, Samsung can manufacture the core chips of mobile phones itself. Samsung is also the leader in mobile phone screens. South Korea can basically produce other mobile phone components. .

After the rise of Samsung, it was the turn of Chinese brands to emerge. From the initial "China Cool Alliance" to "Huami OV", while domestic mobile phone brands continued to innovate, they also experienced waves of reshuffles.

This is still the era of HTC. For the new Xiaomi system, the competition has just begun, and the biggest competitor Android has not yet begun to exert its strength.

…

In Xiaomi's conference room, several partners gathered together to discuss the company's next development direction.

"There is still no way to solve the problem of system lag, especially after using it for a long time, the lag will become more and more serious, and even the call will be affected."

"We also found such a problem during testing, but there is no way to avoid it. After all, we are not a closed system like Apple, and Apple's mobile phones are also designed specifically for their system. The overall optimization is naturally better than mine. good."

"In addition, Apple has accumulated more technology in operating systems. Steve Jobs' operating system on 1ac OS X is no worse than Microsoft's WIN system."

"Then let's continue optimizing. Isn't that what we have so many programmers doing!"

"Of course optimization is required, but we also have to consider hardware matching. If the hardware exceeds the system's carrying capacity, it will affect performance."

A group of people were discussing system optimization issues. Li Weidong could understand them at first, but gradually, black question marks appeared above his head.

Except for Li Weidong, everyone here has a technical background and was originally a programmer. When it came time to discuss technical issues, Li Weidong could do nothing but look confused.

After a while, everyone finally reached a consensus, and Rebus asked at the right time: "Director Li, what do you think of this plan?"

Rebus just asked symbolically. After all, Li Weidong was the big boss who invested the money. Regardless of whether Li Weidong understood it or not, he had to ask anyway. It was to give Li Weidong face and to follow a procedure.

But this time, Li Weidong was prepared. He said, "I know nothing about the technology. It's up to you how to optimize the system. But I have an idea that the system will become more and more stuck."

Our computer system should also have this situation, right? At least for a computer novice like me, this happens with the computers I usually use. So I installed a 360 on my computer. "

When mentioning 360, Mr. Lei's expression was a little unnatural. After all, in the past two years, the domestic anti-virus system market has been almost dominated by 360.

Someone next to me said immediately, "I use Jinshan Drug Ba, and the effect is quite good."

This sentence relieved Rebus' embarrassment, and Li Weidong continued: "360 not only has anti-virus functions, but it can also clean the system, speed up booting, etc. For a computer novice like me, It is very convenient to make your computer faster with just one click of the mouse.

So I was thinking, why can't we add this function to our Xiaomi system? We directly add a one-click cleanup function to the system. Users can automatically close those redundant applications with just one click, leaving only basic functions, and the system will naturally become smoother. "

"What a great idea! We can also integrate Jinshan Drug Tyrant into it!" Rebus instantly transformed into a connected person.

In later generations, it was normal for smartphones to have their own cleaning systems, but in 2009, this was definitely an innovation.

Li Weidong really knows nothing about technical optimization, but in terms of humanized design, all Xiaomi's programmers combined are not as good as one Li Weidong.

This is the advantage of reborn people. Li Weidong knows that later generations of mobile phone operating systems have humanized designs, and these designs have been refined and experienced by tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of households. Those anti-human designs have been eliminated through continuous optimization, and only those designs with good user experience will be left behind.

During the several-hour meeting, Li Weidong put forward several suggestions, all of which were operational optimizations.

By the time the meeting ended, it was time for lunch.

Just listen to Rebus say: "Do you have any plans for tonight? If not, let's get together?"

"Mr. Lei, I'm afraid I have to excuse you. An old classmate is coming from the United States. I have to pick him up."

"I have to go to Hong Kong Island in the afternoon and make appointments with a few clients."

"I have to go on a business trip too. My flight is at 1:30 in the afternoon. Let's just grab something to eat at the airport, otherwise it won't be in time."

Everyone really had something to do and declined one after another.

Rebus had no choice but to look at Li Weidong and said to himself, if something happens to you, then we should go back to our respective homes and find our respective mothers.

Li Weidong said, "Lao Lei, if you have time, come with me to the customs warehouse. I bought a car from abroad and have just completed the customs declaration procedures. I will pick up the car later."

"Car? Is it a luxury supercar? Is it worth asking Chairman Li to pick up the car in person?" Rebus asked in confusion.

"It's a sports car, but it's not an ordinary sports car. Sports cars don't burn gasoline, but are charged." Li Weidong said.

"Are you talking about a pure electric sports car? This is a new thing. I have never seen it before. What brand is it? Ferrari or Lamborghini?" Rebus showed an interested expression. He was still interested in new technological products. Very interested.

"No." Li Weidong shook his head: "It's Tesla."

"That bragging company in the United States?" Rebus showed a surprised expression, and then said, "Did they really build a car?"

"It's been built, but it's not a mass-produced car yet." Li Weidong then asked, "Are you interested in following me to have a look?"

"Then I really have to join in the fun. Look at this Tesla, it's so boastful, what the hell is it doing!" Rebus said.

…

When Tesla was founded, it was indeed a company that boasted and did not draft.

The story starts with General Motors. Later generations generally believe that traditional automobile companies in Detroit have been obstructing the development of new energy vehicles. But in fact, it was General Motors that was the first to launch a mass-produced electric vehicle.

As early as 1991, General Motors began mass-producing electric vehicles and produced more than 2,000 vehicles. However, due to technical limitations, electric vehicles at that time were small in space, had low cruising range, and were slow, which was similar to the current Laotou Le. , so General Motors finally gave up its plan for electric vehicles in 2002.

Cocconi, the GM factory engineer responsible for this project, left GM to start his own business and opened a small company to produce single-passenger electric vehicles. Later, Eberhard, another engineer in Silicon Valley, became interested in the project and invested. After that, Eberhard partnered with another partner, Tarpenning, to form Tesla Motors.

Eberhard's idea is to combine sports cars and new energy vehicles to create a new energy sports car, and the customer base of sports cars are those high-income people and celebrities.

These high-income people and celebrities pretend to be interested in environmental protection. In order to maintain their image, they will also spend a lot of money to sell new energy supercars.

In other words, the original intention of Tesla's establishment was to trick a wave of wealthy people who wanted to save face.

At this time, Tesla's company only had 20 employees. A mere twenty people are about to run a supercar early, and it is a new energy supercar that has never been seen before. No matter how it sounds, it sounds like a scam company.

What General Motors has failed to do in more than ten years, why can a new company do it?

It wasn't until 2004 that Elon Musk took over, which completely changed the entire Tesla, and Tesla began to seriously develop new energy vehicles.

Although Tesla has begun to truly develop new energy vehicles, it still needs to brag, not to mention that Musk is a bragging guy.

So before 2009, Musk was bragging about Tesla cars, and many Wall Street investors were too lazy to pay attention to him.

Rebus is also an angel investor and is familiar with popular investment projects around the world. Naturally, he also knows about the Tesla electric car that Musk has been touting for several years.

Rebus followed Li Weidong to the customs warehouse and soon saw the legendary Tesla sports car.

This is a Tesla Roadster sports car and the first car launched by Tesla.

Bragging is bragging, but when Tesla actually built the car, it instantly blinded countless investors.

The planned price of this sports car was 100,000 US dollars, but the cost was as high as 120,000 US dollars. When it was sold, Musk was forced to increase the price to 110,000 US dollars. Although it was still a loss, it still attracted purchases siege by the attackers.

However, it was this car that impressed Dailem, and Tesla, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, received an investment of 70 million US dollars from Dailem, which was considered a life extension.

With this funding, Tesla was able to put into production, invite foreign investors to visit the factory, obtain a US$465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, and successfully list on Nasdaq. Finally, the Mdoel S car was launched in 2012, becoming the leader in new energy vehicles.

At this time, Rebus obviously did not realize how significant changes new energy vehicles would bring. He just looked at it curiously and lost interest in the Roadster in front of him.

"It doesn't look like anything special. It feels just like an ordinary sports car!" Rebus said.

"It still smells like a copycat, right?" Li Weidong asked with a smile.

Rebus did not answer, but just smiled, which was equivalent to acquiescing to Li Weidong's statement.

Li Weidong continued: "Tesla's sports car at least proves the feasibility of electric vehicles. Aren't they all talking about environmental protection now? Maybe in ten or twenty years, electric vehicles will become mainstream. Let's go Go up and try out what this electric sports car feels like!”

Li Weidong said, walked into the sports car, pressed the start button, and a low battery sign appeared on the dashboard.

"It's out of battery! It seems like it can't be turned on today!" Rebus chuckled, and then said, "How should I charge this thing? Can an ordinary power plug work?"

"No, you have to use a special charging pile!" Li Weidong shook his head.

"This is a car produced in the United States. Where can I find a charging station for you in our country?" Rebus said cheerfully.

"Go to BYD! I guess they are the only place where you can find charging piles." Li Weidong changed his voice and asked, "You should know Mr. Wang, right?"

"We met a few times, and we would say hello when we met, but we didn't have a deep friendship," Rebus said.

"I have been friends with Mr. Wang from BYD for more than ten years. When I was making home appliances, I went to him to buy batteries. We will meet in a while so that you can get familiar with each other." Li Weidong said with a smile.

…

When Li Weidong cooperated with BYD, BYD was not large in scale. Now, BYD has not only become a listed company, but has also won the favor of stock investor Warren Buffett.

The name of the company that stock market god Buffett is optimistic about is enough to scare people.

In recent years, Li Weidong has cooperated more and more with BYD, such as Fukang Engineering's development of electric forklifts and Fukang Agricultural Machinery's development of electric agricultural machinery, all of which are inseparable from BYD's technical support. BYD's semiconductor division also provides some components to the Puppy Group.

In addition to batteries, BYD's core business is of course the automotive business. BYD's new energy vehicles are also what Li Weidong values ​​most.

Especially after Li Weidong acquired Jaguar Land Rover, he kept an eye on BYD. In the future, Jaguar Land Rover hopes to cooperate with BYD when making new energy vehicles!

Ten years later, the momentum of new energy vehicles has become unstoppable, and the replacement of traditional fuel vehicles seems to be just around the corner. Internet technology + new energy is obviously the future development trend of the automobile industry.

It was also for this reason that Li Weidong found an opportunity to drag Rebus to BYD's electric fairy to contact him.

BYD's new energy vehicles are unique in the world, and Xiaomi's smart home is also the world's leader. The combination of Xiaomi and BYD can definitely lead the development of the automobile industry, and it is very possible to defeat Tesla.

In later generations, news about Xiaomi and BYD cooperating to build cars also emerged one after another. Many photos of Rebus meeting the Electric Immortal were leaked on the Internet.

…

In front of BYD's office building, a group of engineers were surrounding the Tesla Roadster.

"That Tesla really built a car! I always thought they were just trying to show off."

"Isn't this car just a showpiece? It's just a beautiful empty shell."

"No, when the car first arrived, our boss, Mr. Wang, even drove it in person!"

"I wonder how many kilometers this car has! It would be practical if it could have 300 kilometers."

The engineers discussed each other word by word.

Not far away, Li Weidong stood beside the Electric Immortal and asked, "How does it feel like to test drive?"

"It's great, beyond my imagination." The Electric Immortal took a deep breath and continued; "I just don't know if this car can be mass-produced. If it can be mass-produced, then this Tesla will be the best in pure electric cars. , is indeed ahead of us.”

"Aren't your pure electric buses going to be offline soon?" Li Weidong asked next.

"There are still some technical difficulties that need to be overcome." Electric Immortal replied.

BYD officially entered the field of pure electric buses in 2009. Just a few years later, BYD pure electric buses can be seen on the roads in many domestic cities. More than ten years later, BYD's pure electric buses are imported by dozens of countries around the world, including powerful automobile manufacturing countries like Japan.

But buses are still different from ordinary family cars. The large size of the bus means that there is enough space to install a large battery to ensure battery life. As family cars are small in size, the battery becomes the biggest problem.

Just listen to the Electric Immortal ask: "Chairman Li, do you know what is the biggest difficulty of pure electric vehicles?"

"Battery." Li Weidong answered without hesitation, and then he continued: "I also own a motor factory, so I know that for pure electric vehicles, motors are not a problem. The performance of modern motors can support large construction machinery. It is more than enough to be used in cars. Therefore, the biggest difficulty in developing pure electric cars is the battery."

The Electric Immortal nodded: "Yes, the battery is the biggest difficulty of pure electric vehicles. In addition to power, battery charging is another big issue. Of course, the most important thing is the safety of the battery.

I won’t hide it from you. We used lead-acid batteries to build a prototype car before, with a cruising range of less than 150 kilometers. Charging is slow and the battery is still fading. This means that if you run a long distance for more than an hour, you have to charge for four or five hours. Electricity will definitely not work in actual use.

We also considered using lithium batteries, but the cost was too high. Lithium batteries can be used in mobile phones and laptops, and they can be used in cars. They cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars at a time. Who can afford this! So now I'm really curious about what kind of battery this Tesla uses. "

"If you want to know how Tesla does it, it's easy. Just dismantle the car!" Li Weidong said with a smile.

"The car you just bought was transported thousands of miles from the United States, and you asked me to dismantle it before it was even warm? I'm not that ignorant!" the Electric Immortal said.

"I'm not kidding you. I bought this car just for your research. How do we know how far Tesla has gone without dismantling the car?" Li Weidong replied.

"Then I will really tear it apart!" The Electric Immortal was not polite. After all, the two have been in a cooperative relationship for more than ten years. This friendship must be worth a sports car.

Li Weidong continued: "After a while, I plan to move the Jaguar Land Rover production line to the Yangtze River Delta. The land has been prepared locally. The key is national-level approval."

"Jaguar Land Rover is a luxury brand. No matter which country this fragrant steamed bun is settled in, the local people will welcome it with both hands. How can the country hold you back for approval!" said the Electric Immortal with a smile.

"Although I bought Jaguar Land Rover, Jaguar Land Rover is still a foreign brand after all. According to our country's automobile industry policy, if a foreign brand wants to set up a factory, it needs to find a domestic joint venture partner. I want to see if there is any loosening in this regard. possibility."

Li Weidong sighed softly as he spoke, and continued: "As an employer, of course I hope to maintain Jaguar Land Rover's sole proprietorship of the factory, but I also have to abide by the national policies, so if I really can't get the conditions for the sole proprietorship of the factory, I’ll have to ask you for help then!”

"Are you planning to have Jaguar Land Rover join a joint venture with BYD?" The Electric Immortal was startled. After pondering for half a minute, he said, "You have given me a big gift! As a friend, I thank you, but Also because we are friends, I still advise you to consider those big companies first when it comes to joint ventures.

After all, Jaguar Land Rover is a luxury brand, at the same level as BBA. If you really want to find a joint venture partner in China, everyone will definitely rush to join it. You can choose any joint venture, SAIC, or GAC! If anyone can form a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, it will not only benefit in terms of technology and market, but the brand will also be greatly improved.

As for BYD, we only started making cars a few years ago. Our technology is not as good as those of large companies. We only build small cars that cost tens of thousands of yuan. The key is that the brand value is not high. Jaguar Land Rover approached me for a joint venture, wasn't it because I was lowering my value? When the wealthy people hear that Land Rover is made by BYD, they will probably stay away from it! "

"I chose BYD, of course, not because we have a good relationship." Li Weidong lowered his voice and continued: "I'm actually a little worried that those big corporate stores are bullying customers!

Large domestic companies already have their own joint venture partners. For example, FAW has Audi, Toyota and Volkswagen, SAIC has GM and Volkswagen, and GAC also has Honda and Toyota. These brands are doing well in business and have a high market share. Great, how many resources can they lean towards Jaguar Land Rover! "

"That's right. Even for large companies, resources are limited. They must be allocated to mature markets first. Otherwise, Mercedes-Benz and BMW would not choose to joint venture with BAIC and Brilliance." The Electric Immortal nodded.

Li Weidong raised his voice and continued: "The most important thing is that I am very optimistic about your pure electric vehicle business. I also have detailed plans for the future of Jaguar Land Rover. Land Rover will continue to take the high-end SUV route and make good use of it." Materials, good workmanship, high prices.

As for Jaguar, I plan to develop in the pure electric direction. Jaguar Land Rover has previously used Ford power systems. The performance of American engines in large displacements is indeed very good, but the performance of medium displacements is not satisfactory. In our country, ordinary passenger cars cannot use such a large displacement, so Ford's engine is not suitable for Jaguar.

It is difficult and costly to develop a self-developed engine. Even if it is made, it will be difficult to reach the level of developed countries. If you have the time and investment, it is better to increase the research and development of pure electric vehicles. This will actually be an opportunity to overtake in corners. If Jaguar can take the lead in occupying the high ground of pure electric vehicles, it will have the opportunity to compete with BBA in the future! "

After Jaguar Land Rover was acquired by Ford, it used three major parts provided by Ford. The American power system is relatively reliable, especially in terms of large displacement, and its performance is better than that of Germany and Japan.

It's just that large-displacement engines are suitable for places like North America, Australia, and the Middle East. They are definitely not practical in China. Let's not mention that you will lose a dollar when you step on the accelerator. Let's just talk about the stop-and-go traffic in the city. In this situation, no matter how large the displacement is, it will not be able to run.

Historically, after the Indian Tata Group took over Jaguar Land Rover, it invested heavily in building an Heroic engine, which was then used in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

This engine was developed by the British. The British technology is still good, and the engine also supports a hybrid system. After all, the whole of Europe was clamoring for carbon reduction at that time, and the British raised the standards in this area when they were developing it.

Yingjieli's engine was officially put into the market in 2015, and then caught up with the rapid rise of pure electric vehicles. Major European manufacturers began to move closer to pure electric vehicles. The European Union itself announced a ban on the sale of fuel vehicles, and Jaguar also He had to follow up and said that he would phase out fuel vehicles in the future. The money spent on developing the Heroic engine was basically wasted.

…

In the United States, a group of cadres of the United Auto Workers are holding champagne glasses and looking like they are celebrating a victory.

Not long ago, the bankruptcy case of General Motors was finally settled, and the governments of the United States and Canada finally funded the takeover of General Motors. Among them, the U.S. government acquired 60.9% of General Motors' shares and became General Motors' largest shareholder. General Motors also transformed into a state-owned enterprise in the United States.

The Canadian and Ontario governments account for 11.7% of General Motors' other shares, creditors account for 10%, and the United Auto Workers Union's retiree health trust fund accounts for 17.5%.

For the United Auto Workers, being able to obtain 17.5% of General Motors' shares is definitely a major victory. This not only gains an asset, but also increases the union’s voice.

For example, General Motors' restructuring plan requires the company to downsize and will lay off a number of employees in the future, including management and ordinary auto workers.

And if ordinary workers have a union background, they will most likely not be laid off, because the union owns 17.5% of GM and is the second largest shareholder. A company can't lay off its own shareholders because of layoffs!

Therefore, when the news came out that General Motors would lay off workers, many auto workers begged to join the union in order to gain protection from the union and prevent their names from appearing on the layoff list.

It is also because of this wave of operations that the U.S. economy has not fully recovered, but the momentum of the Auto Workers Union has grown.

Several high-level trade union officials gathered around and praised each other, with joyful expressions on everyone's faces.

"General Motors' reorganization case is a major victory for us, the United Auto Workers. From now on, we will not only be a union organization, but also GM's second largest shareholder. This means we can become the boss!"

"Now it seems that we did the right thing when we organized the strike. Without that general strike, General Motors would not have filed for bankruptcy, and we would not have been able to get General Motors' shares."

"In the future, no one in the American auto industry will dare to deny us the respect of the Auto Workers Union!"

"If anyone dares not to give us face, we will organize a few strikes and let them file for bankruptcy. By then we can still pick up some company shares!"

At this moment, a faint voice sounded from the side: "Don't forget, we experienced a disastrous failure at Jaguar Land Rover's Bemhel factory back then!"

Everyone followed the voice and saw that it was Norwood Jewell who was speaking.

Li Weidong had just acquired Jaguar Land Rover, and Norwood Jewell, a trade union cadre, started to stir up trouble and organized a strike to demand increased benefits. As a result, Li Weidong directly used the stick of layoffs, which not only quelled the strike, but also kicked out all the union forces. Exited Bemher Factory.

Now on this occasion, Norwood-Jewell brought up the old story again, and he obviously wanted to take revenge!

I heard someone say, "The failure of the Bemher plant is not the responsibility of our Auto Workers Union, it is mainly due to the financial crisis!"

"Yes, no one could have imagined that at that juncture, a financial crisis would break out. If it were now, the management of Bemher Factory would definitely give in!"

Norwood-Jewell smiled slightly and continued: "Everyone, now that the financial crisis has passed and the U.S. economy has stabilized, I intend to suggest to the president that we continue to fight for the rights of the workers at the Bemhel factory! I hope You can support me!”

"But since the last strike failed, there are no more of us in the Bemher factory!" someone said.

Norwood-Jewell immediately said: "Without our people, we can continue to develop. The worst we can do is to reduce some membership dues for the workers. And after all, there are two to three thousand workers in the Bemhel factory. They cannot always be separated from our union." outside!

Nowadays, no one in the American automobile companies will give us some face. Only the Jaguar Land Rover Bemher plant has no influence. This is not a good thing for our Auto Workers Union! "

"But if the management directly lays off employees like last time and fights to the death, what should we do?" someone asked.

"There is no financial crisis this time!" Norwood-Jewell snorted, and then said: "And the new local senator has won a lot of votes from auto workers. Now it's time to give us something in return. !”

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