"As of today, we have sold a total of 9,365 new cars, and the number of reservations on the official website has reached 50,000+, and the orders are still growing every week.
According to this sales trend, we will be able to achieve at least 150,000 sales by the end of the year!
In addition, the first batch of 1,000 new cars destined for Europa should arrive in Italy in the next two days.
Although it is difficult to judge the market there now, even if it is a conservative estimate, it can still achieve at least another 30,000 sales.
Our original plan was to sell 80,000 units in 2018, so that the revenue could cover our initial investment costs and achieve break-even.
And now the conservative sales volume is more than double our planned sales volume..."
Mr. Bao reported to Gao Yuan the current business situation of Idol, and his words were full of excitement.
We must know that the current monthly sales volume of BYD, a new energy model, is just over 30,000, and that is the sales volume of the entire series of cars.
Good guy, with a mini car, my sales volume has almost reached the second place in the country...
No matter which car company it is, the greater the sales volume, the lower the dilution cost of making cars, and the higher the profit margin will be.
This is why start-up car companies are basically losing money and making money in the early stage.
80,000 units is basically the break-even line of Idol Auto.
After the original subsidy was withdrawn, Mr. Bao almost had no choice but to slash prices and clear inventory, and there was a high probability that he would still be unable to escape bankruptcy.
As a result, because it was equipped with a "Bajie", it was not only sold at the original price, but also sold out!
Even Mr. Bao, who has been in the market for a long time, feels that this bottoming out rebound is really a bit magical.
Of course, there are also some happy troubles that come with it...
"The problem now is that our production capacity cannot keep up with sales, and the time for customers to pick up cars has been delayed to three months, which greatly affects the customer's car buying experience.
We are discussing internally whether to continue to expand production capacity and add a production line.
In addition...Director Gao, do you think we should raise the price slightly..."
Mr. Bao rubbed his hands, feeling quite regretful.
If he had known that it would sell so well, he would never have sold it at the conservative original price. How about each speaker... Oh no, he would have added three thousand to each car!
Gao Yuan looked at Mr. Bao with amusement, who was obviously dazzled by the victory.
Selling at a higher price? Do you really think you are selling BBA?
"The market and profit audience for mini-cars are already quite limited, and this time we just used the sensational effect caused by the debut of new technology in the market to create hot spots for marketing.
Once the hot spots are over and the mini-car has its own shortcomings, it may not be as easy to sell.
If we suddenly increase prices at this time, it will only cause the market to cool down faster, and the gains outweigh the losses."
Hu Yifei also nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! I think what Director Gao said is right. Recently, many car owners have begun to complain about the accessories, interiors and battery life of new cars, but they have been temporarily suppressed by the popularity of 'Bajie'.
Being able to recoup the initial investment is considered a success.
And as our cloud computing center infrastructure gradually expands, it is impossible for ‘Bajie’ to continue to be installed only on new idol cars. It will definitely be introduced to the market in the future to expand the user base.
Once ‘Bajie’ becomes popular in the market on a large scale, the monopoly attribute of scarcity and value will no longer exist, and Idol’s new cars will not be so easy to sell.”
Compared to Gao Yuan, Hu Yifei is much more direct, and it’s almost as if this car is industrial garbage.
It's great if you can sell garbage. If you really want to sell it as gold, you are treating users as fools.
Seeing that the two bosses were in agreement, Mr. Bao could only nod awkwardly.
"It's because I didn't think well and was a little impatient."
Gao Yuan glanced at the other person and smiled, seeing through it without saying anything.
It’s certainly not that Mr. Bao, an experienced veteran, doesn’t understand these simple truths.
However, Hu Yifei is the CEO of Bai Yeji. From Bai Yeji's perspective, he naturally does not want the star product "Bajie" to be limited to the new car Idou.
As the person in charge of Idol, Mr. Bao naturally stands on the side of Idol’s new energy vehicles and secretly hopes that “Bajie” will be widely popularized as late as possible...
The butt determines the head, and some decisions may seem stupid.
Even a melon-eater seems to be able to point out the situation and come up with a remarkable three strategies: upper, middle and lower.
In fact, others are not in their place and do not understand that this "stupid" decision is basically for "maximizing one's own interests"...
How to balance the interests and competition within the team, so as to maximize the interests of the team without making people feel that one is favoring one over the other...
This will test the superior's ability to coordinate the overall situation.
“The group has high hopes for the future development of Idou New Energy.
In the future, we will not only continue to increase capital investment, but also spare no effort to invest!
In the future, Baiyeji will have two core business divisions, one is the IT division, responsible for the software part, and the other is the manufacturing division, responsible for industrial manufacturing and related hardware..."
With just this sentence, Mr. Bao's eyes lit up and his heart became determined!
As the new owner, he naturally understood the internal structure of Baiyeji in advance. So far, there is no hardware-related manufacturing department at all.
As for the core composition of this "manufacturing division", who else can be included other than my "idol"?
The key is the phrase "increase capital investment", which makes Mr. Bao even more elated.
No matter how high-end the strategic positioning is, it is not as practical as real money!
"Don't worry, Director Gao, our factory can come back to life, thanks to the support of Director Gao and Mr. Hu. Now the whole company is united and ready to follow you two to do a good job!" Mr. Bao said excitedly!
.
Gao Yuan nodded and smiled, "Yeah! Very good! Then, let's discuss the next development plan of Idol New Energy...
Hmm...how much money can the company still have on its books now?"
"Uh..." Mr. Bao was stunned.
At first, he thought Gao Yuan was asking Hu Yifei, but he found that both of them were looking at him, and then he realized that the person asking the question was actually him.
But...don’t they want to invest more in us?
If you don't ask Mr. Hu, what is the operation of asking me how much money I have in my pocket?
However, he still answered truthfully.
"This... it will take some time to repay the early sales revenue, and most of it has been arranged for repayment to suppliers and banks.
However, thanks to the huge advertising effect of "Bajie", most of the company's advertising plans were cancelled, but it saved about 50 million in advertising fees.
Coupled with the rebound in sales and improvement in operating conditions, banks have resumed lending and capital flow has returned to health.
After deducting back wages and daily operating needs...
At present, the company has approximately 30 million available on its account..."
Idol Auto is a typical "trade, industry and technology" enterprise. Advertising investment accounts for more than 10% of total revenue, and it needs to invest tens of millions in advertising fees every year.
Of course, Mr. Bao also had lofty ambitions and wanted to transform and increase investment in technology research and development.
The result is that high investment is maintained in R&D and sales expenses, and rigid expenses squeeze profits. This is one of the reasons why Idol will no longer be able to continue playing as soon as the subsidies are withdrawn.
In fact, excessive investment in advertising squeezes corporate profit margins, which is a common problem among domestic auto companies that are heavily involved in internal affairs.
Why Tesla can achieve ultra-high gross profits is not only because of its ultra-high brand premium, but also because its annual traditional advertising business expenses are almost zero!
Yes, you read that right, it’s just so worthless!
However, their confidence in spending nothing comes from the fact that bicycle research and development expenses are as high as US$2,900, which is nearly three times the industry average bicycle research and development expenditure of US$1,000!
This is the huge advantage of technology-driven enterprises that "first make things difficult and then make things easier".
This wave of "new innovations" of "Bajie" has allowed Mr. Bao, a traditional automobile manufacturer, to reap the special dividends of a monopoly technology enterprise.
"30 million..."
Gao Yuan nodded, the data was almost the same as her estimate.
If it was the time when she first started her business, 30 million working capital would definitely be a huge amount of money for her.
But I don't know when it started. Meng Lang's appetite is getting bigger and bigger, and the financing acquisition amount can easily reach dozens of small targets...
He looks like he wants to pry off the "financial leverage" thing...
As of now, 30 million is not even a fraction of the next step of the "Idol Upgrade Plan"...
“As far as I know, Idol New Energy still has the foundation, not to mention the existing brands, factories, production lines and other fixed assets, as well as Idol’s pure electric passenger vehicle production qualifications.
Even Europa's E-Mark certification has considerable market value..." Gao Yuan analyzed.
Speaking of which, Idol, a new car-making force, can be regarded as a breath of fresh air among the niche brands in 2017.
It can stand out from the crowd of small brands not only because of its high sales volume and reputation, but also because it has done something that many domestic new energy vehicle companies have not yet done...
That is to sell overseas and gain recognition from the international market!
Due to license restrictions, Idol New Energy did not even obtain domestic production qualifications for new energy passenger cars before 2017, and the cars it produced could only be sold to European countries such as Italy.
It must be said that as the oldest "new energy pioneer", Mr. Bao really has two skills in market development.
After working hard in Europa for more than a year, I unexpectedly obtained Europa's E-Mark standard certification, which opened up Idol's reputation overseas.
Although the annual sales volume is only a few thousand, the export to Europa alone is quite eye-catching.
Thinking of this, Gao Yuan had to admire Meng Lang's precise vision.
Although this idol looks like a mess, once it is cleaned up, its development potential is definitely quite good.
"Uh... Director Gao, what do you mean..."
After listening for a long time, Mr. Bao didn't understand it. Instead, he became more and more confused as he listened.
Didn't you say that we need to increase investment? The more I hear it, the more it sounds like we are liquidating assets...
Isn’t my idol company going to be sold from second-hand to third-hand or sold again?
"What I mean is that the current production and sales of Idou are booming and the market prospects are broad. It is definitely a 'high-quality asset' in the eyes of banks and fully meets the conditions for mortgage financing."
"Financing...financing?" Mr. Bao's eyes widened.
Only then did we understand why Gao Yuan wanted to "liquidate her assets."
Hu Yifei on the side looked unsurprised and glanced at Mr. Bao with some sympathy.
Haha! Sure enough, he is still a newcomer and does not understand our senior director’s consistent investment style of “increasing investment”...
It can definitely be a loan of two yuan, not just one yuan...
"Well! I have asked the team to do a careful calculation. Based on the current sales and asset status of Idou New Energy, if it is mortgaged, it should be able to raise about 3 billion in funds in a short period of time.
I plan to invest all of this funds in the construction of new production lines of Aidou New Energy!"
"3...3 billion?!"
Mr. Bao’s voice was trembling a little.
According to what you mean by "increasing investment", if you don't spend a penny, the wool will still be on the sheep?
Although it is said that this is "taken from the people and used for the people", at least the funds are not used for other purposes.
But if you do this, as long as there is a slight problem with funds, the previous scene where banks and suppliers will come to collect debts will probably happen again soon!
Mr. Bao, who has already ridden a "roller coaster", said that I am an absolute conservative now and don't want to play such an exciting capital game again...
"Isn't it too risky to invest all this money?" he asked cautiously.
"As you just said, the development potential of our mini car is actually not great.
There is nothing to say about the software, but the hardware is flawed. Whether it is motor power or battery life, I am afraid it will soon be eliminated by the ever-changing market.
If all this money is used to add new production lines to expand production capacity, if sales decline later, we are afraid that we will lose everything..."
"Who told you that what we are going to expand is the old production line?" Gao Yuan laughed.
"Ah? Isn't it?"
Mr. Bao was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized, "Dr. Gao, do you mean to make the next new car?"
"Yes! That's right!" Gao Yuan nodded.
Whether it is "Dou Niushi" or "Saint Dou Shi", the inherent defects of the hardware greatly limit its "intelligence level".
If the number of cameras is not enough to provide a 360° panoramic view, how can you still use assisted driving?
After all, this car is not a smart car designed for intelligence at all!
A clever woman can't make a meal without rice, and no matter how powerful Zero's algorithm is, it can't give full play to its own advantages.
No matter from the perspective of cost, efficiency, or future development potential, this car can only be classified as industrial waste.
The best business strategy is to start over and directly design a new model to bring to the market.
Only then did Mr. Bao realize that he had misunderstood, but building a new production line...
He couldn't help but said with some embarrassment, "But Director Gao...some time ago, due to funding problems, I temporarily disbanded the design department...
Now I want to get the people back and design a new model...I'm afraid it will take a while..."
At that time, the company was about to close down, and "useless departments" like the design department that could not be used in a short period of time were naturally on the first batch of layoffs.
What's more, the "Shengdou Shi" model has just rolled off the production line, and Idou has no such advanced new car manufacturing plan.
Even the design drawings of new cars are not provided, let alone the production line design drawings of new cars...
Building a car production line is not that simple.
You must first have a car design drawing, and then design the assembly line based on the design drawing. Even now that the automobile industry is relatively mature, it takes a lot of energy to formulate piecemeal plans and select equipment.
Even with the current production line, it took Mr. Bao more than two years to finally implement it.
In his opinion, the design drawings of new cars have not even been written yet, and the new car production line is far away.
Is the loan free of interest?
This matter has to be discussed at least after the New Year...
However, Gao Yuan didn't take it seriously.
She picked up a thick piece of information from the table, picked up a USB flash drive, pushed it directly in front of Mr. Bao, and then clicked on the information.
"Here! The design drawings of the new car and the production line design drawings...are all here."
"Wha...what?" Mr. Bao was stunned.
You said that the new car design drawings and production line design drawings...are available?
How can this be?
Byakuya Ji obviously has no experience in building cars, okay?
Could it be that before they acquired our idol, they had already hired a professional team to start planning in advance? Otherwise, how could it be possible to achieve such an advance amount?
But...even if you want to make the design drawings in advance, you have to do it at least several months in advance, right?
Is it possible that a few months ago, they were not only sure that they could eat our idol, but they were so exaggerated that they even planned the follow-up development strategy in advance, and boldly invested tens of millions directly in design outsourcing?
Is this Director Gao... so terrifying?
He took the information with a shocked look on his face, turned to the first page and saw a concept drawing of a two-seater mini car...
Suddenly his eyes lit up.
The somewhat flat front end of the car is fully in line with the unique "high wind resistance" characteristics of low-speed cars.
But the details are very rounded, with extensive use of soft arc lines, somewhat similar to the beetle design, giving people a small, cute and exquisite feel.
The styling is remarkable, and the details are high-end. Compared with our own "Shengdou Shi", it is not even the slightest bit better.
However, such a beautiful design will inevitably increase the cost.
When designing a car model, many times it’s not because you can’t draw a good-looking model, but because the manufacturing level and cost conditions don’t allow it…
Mr. Bao then scrolled down and saw assembly diagrams of spare parts.
He finally confirmed that Gao Yuan was not joking with him and that she was really prepared.
And the further he looked down, the more shock he couldn't hide on his face...
Because...the design drawing is actually not a copy...
Looking at Mr. Bao who seemed to be frozen in place, Gao Yuan's lips curved slightly.
Although Zero's full strength cannot yet be made public, it does not mean that our side cannot enjoy technological dividends in advance.
Compared with the car audio "Bajie" which is more inclined to "chat" service, the power of artificial intelligence in the field of industrial design can be called nuclear bomb level...
From appearance design to parts selection, from component assembly to processing technology...
Can you believe that an entire automobile assembly line can be run from product to production line in just one day?
If this can provide enough parameter information, it doesn't seem to be difficult to directly give you the design drawing of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier...