After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future

Lu Liang talked a lot with Old Wang and gained much knowledge about automobiles.

In terms of performance and intelligent driving systems, those could be added gradually later, but for now, the focus should be on crafting the shell and the frame.

Creating a car is like painting a picture; first, you splash the ink to sketch a basic outline, then you add landscapes and unique rock formations.

Old Wang also talked about his decisive errors, mentioning his somewhat outdated views, which led to the rejection of many novel designs.

It's like how the older generation thinks that square and grand is beautiful, but young people today don't think that way; they pursue dynamism and fashion.

Whether it's Apple or Tesla, they are both following this trend.

BYD is also feeling their way forward, only they got up early and ended up late to the marketplace.

If Lu Liang had an idea and was willing to invest money, he shouldn't just wait for the intelligent driving systems to emerge.

Preparations should be made now.

Although this market is small, it has great potential for growth, enough to accommodate three to five leading companies.

Lu Liang was so dedicated to promoting this market, Old Wang hoped he wouldn't waste his precious time in vain.

Lu Liang, pensive, then asked about the pros and cons of hybrid plug-in and range-extended models.

"Hard to say," Old Wang thought for a long time and slowly shook his head.

Which is better or worse would have to be decided by the market; even the best technology is useless if not accepted by the market.

BYD chose plug-in hybrids from the beginning, so before the market made a choice, they would keep focusing deeply in this direction.

Of course, they also developed range-extended models but didn't invest much money in them, mainly serving as a safety net.

Research and development are costly mainly because there is no specific direction—you dab a bit here, a bit there, casting a wide net.

It's like BYD; initially, they hadn't even planned on making cars, and even if they did, it was merely symbolic.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have only released five car models before 2012, the year the state promoted new energy.

Their focus was mainly on batteries and rail transit, but it just so happened to coincide with the national initiative to promote the new energy industry.

So, they shifted their focus to car manufacturing.

Old Wang paused and asked, "Not going pure electric?"

"Do both, but not just pure electric," said Lu Liang.

Old Wang imparted everything he knew, which made Lu Liang feel a bit embarrassed about troubling him. He decided firmly to only contact Lin Dongyao and Wu Lei moving forward and to return to Modu to plan further.

Because next spring, the first phase of the Tesla Gigafactory would be completed, possibly bringing many engineers to oversee the project.

As the fourth-largest shareholder of Tianxing Assets, visiting and touring would likely not be refused by Musk.

As they walked around, they arrived at an automobile showroom, and BYD's "Spicy Fish Head" was about to hit the market.

The sales of the Hongguang Mini were terrifyingly high, surpassing 200,000 units last week alone.

Just one company, one model, accounted for 31.3% of the total sales in the entire new energy vehicle market.

Although they only made a profit of 69 yuan per car, with 0.82 new energy credits and government subsidies, the guaranteed profit per car was 4500 yuan.

A microcar with a standard price of 23,900 yuan, having a net profit margin of 19%, was simply unbelievable.

Every major carmaker was jealous, but none could reduce their costs below 24,000 yuan.

Even BYD, manufacturing and selling on its own, could only reduce the price to 56,900 yuan, but they managed to increase the range to 300 kilometers.

Power batteries were a weakness for Wuling, despite the involvement of Ningde Era; but Ningde was ultimately out to make a profit.

Fortunately, power batteries were BYD's strength, with a range over 180 kilometers, which should level the price difference.

Old Wang, smiling cheerily, joked, "Mr. Lu, interested in taking it out for a few spins?"

The high sales of the Hongguang Mini were indeed closely linked to Lu Liang.

"The same models as major influencers, followed by minor ones, gradually endear fans."

Thus, sales exploded.

Lu Liang shook his head repeatedly, "I was just about to go ask Wuling for some advertising fees."

"Are you going to Liuzhou?" Old Wang asked, surprised.

Lu Liang smiled and said, "Since I'm out, I might as well visit different places."

Last week, the sales of the Hongguang Mini had broken through 200,000 units, and Wuling had sent him a letter of thanks.

Lu Liang disliked these empty honors, so he took the opportunity to promote his own Tianxing OS system.

Coincidentally, Wuling had seen the growth potential in the new energy market and was preparing to launch a colorful version of the mini next year.

Originally, there were only two versions, one with a range of 120 and another with 180, with barely any interior or auxiliary features.

Therefore, they planned to add a new version that, while increasing the range, would also include features like an LCD display and other electronic controls.

Adding more flashy features would be more profitable, and with the free car machine delivered to their doorstep, they could hardly find a reason to refuse.

After all, Wuling had never entertained the idea of developing car machines. Earth Light, with total sales of over five million units, had car machine functionalities limited to playing media and receiving radio only.

After spending a day at the Hexagonal Building,

walking around and observing, Lu Liang became increasingly convinced of the idea he had in mind, that he could no longer just sit back and wait.

By nightfall, Lu Liang returned to the hotel in the downtown area.

He called Hu Weiwei, asking her to go to Modu tomorrow to set up a research and development center.

Lu Liang had seen the local support and planned to build the factory in Modu in the future, competing for attention with Tesla.

After all, Tesla is purely foreign-funded and the only car manufacturer in the country fully invested by foreign capital.

This was also one of the conditions when Modu City and the national government had invited Tesla to set up there.

NIO, although also based in Modu, had Li Bing choosing to collaborate with Jianghuai, with the contract manufacturers located in Luzhou, and the company merely registered in Modu.

If Modu had another competitive local enterprise in new energy vehicles, Modu's municipal government might show slight partiality.

Originally, introducing a powerful competitor was meant to drive out the smaller ones, but if the small fish turned into big fish, then the powerful one would lose its purpose.

The next morning, Lu Liang made a trip to Liuzhou, had a chat with Wuling's Lv Botao, and confirmed the cooperation principles.

He returned to Shenzhen the same night.

The trips were very rushed because, before the 8th, Lu Liang needed to settle the affairs here and then get back to Modu.

Not only because of NIO's new car launch but also because the 9th was election day.

He had prepared for over a month, almost reallocating all the funds he could, waiting for that day to short the Old Mexican peso and long International Gold.

On Saturday, through an introduction by Old Wang, Lu Liang met with the president of the New Energy Automobile Association, who was also the local deputy leader.

They warmly welcomed Lu Liang's involvement.

They also informed that the New Energy Automobile Association would soon be renamed the World New Energy Automobile Association, planning to hold its first conference next year on Hai Island.

"First-rate companies set standards, second-rate companies build brands, third-rate companies make products," this saying applies to countries as well.

The nation had put so much effort into promoting the new energy industry, even granting Tesla the privilege of full foreign ownership, all to lead the sector and establish standards that benefited itself.

Facing the Western world's introduction of carbon neutrality and eco-friendliness, they were merely using the situation to their advantage.

Zhong was best at joining the rules, understanding the rules, and eventually using the rules to defeat their creators.

The West claims developing nations pollute severely, thus introducing concepts like environmentalism and carbon neutrality to curb their progress.

They then embraced these concepts, promoting the development of the new energy industry, upgrading industries, and ultimately reversing the situation.

If the West rejects new energy, it's seen as non-ecological and against carbon neutrality, contradicting the natural order.

"Magic is the only way to defeat magic."