Chapter 1164: Six Models and a Million Production Capacity

'What about the other models?'

The first model, the Fengshen Generation One, had already satisfied Xia Yu, and this was not even the trump card that Tiangong Motors used to attack the global automotive market. Xia Yu couldn't help but look forward to the models that followed.

I wonder to what extent Tiangong Motors has implemented his opinions.

'Chairman, please follow me!'

Xia Yu's satisfaction made Chen Caijun feel at ease, and he burst into a stronger passion for work, leading Xia Yu to the other production workshop.

This second model is not a sports car, but a sedan.

However, the appearance of the model is obviously different from that of the current sedan models. The body no longer has the angularity of a box, but instead has the curved lines of a high-end sports car, with a very elegant and atmospheric beauty.

If this car were to be placed among the models of many car companies today, it would definitely stand out and quickly attract people's attention.

Xia Yu doesn't know much about the specific car technology, but he is very clear about the changes in trendy models in the next few decades.

Technologically, with the support of the technical foundation of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, currently Europe's largest car company, Tiangong Motors is not inferior to car companies such as Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota.

However, Tiangong Motors suffers from the fact that it is a new brand.

If the technical level is the same, why would consumers buy a car that is not well-known and has not been tested in the market?

So in order to make Tiangong Motors' cars stand out, the best way is to catch the attention of consumers, so that they fall in love with the model at first glance.

In later generations, the economic effect of eyeballs has long been well known, and Xia Yu knows its explosive effect.

'Chairman, this car is our model in the luxury sedan segment, called the Shenyu Generation One. It is equipped with a navigation system, automatic body height adjustment, four-wheel independent suspension, power steering, cruise control... world-class features.'

'We have also put a lot of thought into the interior of the car...'

'In order to quickly gain a foothold in the market, we have priced the Shenyu Generation One slightly lower than similar cars, at a base price of 22,900 USD.'

'As for the car next to it, it is our mid-range sedan, with all the specifications one rank lower, and is named the Glory Generation, with a starting price of $15,800.'

As Chen Caijun was talking, Xia Yu's gaze kept moving back and forth between the black and white cars.

The black car is the Shenyu Generation One, and the white car is the Glory Generation One.

Of course, the body colours can be changed, and when it is officially launched, there will definitely be more colours for consumers to choose from, but there is no need to display so many here.

Both cars have a streamlined shape, and they look similar from the outside. However, the Shenyu Generation One is longer and larger, and the interior space is definitely more comfortable, but it is also more difficult and costly to manufacture.

The Glory Generation targets the mid-range car market, while the Shenyu Generation attacks the high-end luxury car market. Together, they cover the mid-to-high-end car sector.

For a novice car manufacturer like Tiangong Motors, this is enough for the time being. After all, you have to eat one bite at a time; it's obviously unrealistic to try to become fat all at once.

There's a popular saying in the car industry: 'Whoever gets the mid-to-high-end car market will win the world.' With profits far exceeding those of small cars and sales volumes of luxury cars, the mid-to-high-end car market has always been a battleground for car companies.

As long as the Shenyu and Glory generations are popular in the mid-to-high-end car market, Tiangong Motors will be able to gain a foothold and even surpass most car companies.

Of course, this does not mean that Xia Yu has given up the market in the affordable car sector.

It just means that affordable cars will not be launched in the sedan sector for the time being.

But it does not mean that Tiangong Motors has given up this market.

Tiangong Motors still has a trump card up its sleeve.

No, to be precise, it is a pair of king bombs!

After fully understanding the Shenyue generation and the Glory generation, Xia Yu immediately commanded Chen Caijun, 'Caijun, take me to see the urban SUV developed.'

'Okay.'

Yes, the king bombs of Tiangong Motors are the urban running multi-purpose vehicles that have not yet appeared in the global market, referred to as urban SUVs!

It is this type of vehicle that has achieved annual global sales of 30 million in later generations, accounting for 35% of the global automotive market!

Today, the concept of an SUV was proposed by Jeep in 1976, and the Cherokee was created.

Now the Cherokee is also a leader in the world SUV field, a classic among classics, with annual sales that are not low.

However, today's Jeep Cherokee is only an SUV, not an urban SUV, and only occupies a small share of the automotive market.

The current development of the Cherokee is still focused on the field in which Jeep relies for survival—off-road.

Tiangong Motors wants to compete with Jeep in the SUV sector and make a bigger slice of the pie, so it has to be unique.

The urban SUV, which is a further development of the SUV, is the direction Tiangong Motors is taking, and it is enough to leave a deep mark in the history of automobiles.

According to the original historical trajectory, the first urban SUV would have been developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1989 and named RAV4, and it would not have started mass production until 1994.

Now, Toyota has not even thought of developing, let alone the concept of an urban SUV...

Soon, the group once again arrived at another factory building and saw three SUVs quietly displayed in a corner.

The three colours – red, black and blue – were clearly differentiated.

Without Xia Yu's prompting, Chen Caijun introduced them to Xia Yu very consciously.

He pointed to the one closest to Xia Yu and began to introduce it: 'Chairman, this is our urban SUV series, which is set as the Tiangong X series, with three models: X1, X2, and X3, corresponding to three grades.'

'The X1 is an economical SUV, with a bare vehicle price of 11,800 US dollars...'

'The X2 is a mid-to-high-end SUV, with a bare vehicle price of 18,800 US dollars...'

'The X3 is a luxury SUV, with a bare vehicle price of 25,800 US dollars...'

'These are the specific details of the three cars.'

'As for the ultra-luxury SUVs in the higher market and the limited top SUVs, there is currently no project, but the R&D department is already accumulating the technology. If our X series sells well, then we will start research and development and production in these two areas at the right opportunity...'

Xia Yu has sufficient discernment when it comes to cars.

Especially when Chen Caijun gave the introduction, he would introduce each parameter and also compare it with cars in the same class, which gave Xia Yu a clear impression of the three cars.

Overall, these three cars are not bad enough in terms of performance, after all, they have the technical support of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Group and its subsidiary Land Rover.

After Chen Caijun's introduction, Xia Yu, feeling like it, got in the car to experience it for himself, and drove each of the three cars separately to compare the driving feel.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and it goes without saying that the Tiangong X3 had the best experience.

After playing around for a while, Xia Yu got back to business again.

Throughout the whole process, Tiangong Motors has prepared six cars to conquer the global car market.

The cheap sports car Fengshen Generation One.

The luxury sedan Shenyu Generation One and the mid-size sedan Rongyu Generation One in the sedan market.

The X series X1-X3 urban SUVs.

Each of the six cars has enough unique features and selling points.

This result far exceeded his expectations, and Chen Caijun did not disappoint him.

However, in this way, the production capacity originally set by Tiangong Motors was not enough.

'Caijun, has the company set a strategy for sales?'

Xia Yu asked Chen Caijun as he sat in the soft reclining chair.

Chen Caijun respectfully replied, 'Chairman, the company management has already met and passed a sales plan. Before sales, we will participate in the International Motor Show opening in Geneva, Switzerland on January 22nd this year to first build our reputation, and then decide on the quantity of mass production and sales direction based on the response to the motor show.'

It just so happened to coincide with the Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland!

As far as he knows, the timing of the Geneva International Motor Show is not fixed. Sometimes it is in January or February, sometimes in June or July, and sometimes in September or October.

I didn't expect it to be in January this year.

It's now the 4th of January, and there's only half a month left until the Geneva International Motor Show.

Xia Yu is more confident in these six cars than Chen Caijun and the others. He believes that once these six cars are exhibited, Tiangong Motors will definitely become a new star at the International Motor Show, causing a huge sensation.

When that happens, with the global media resources at his disposal, the effect...

Under this model, the first phase of production capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year is far from enough!

"Caijun, what is the current situation regarding the company's production capacity?'

Xia Yu asked lightly as he looked at the busy assembly line in the distance.

Chen Caijun replied without hesitation: 'Chairman, the first phase of the factory building has been fully commissioned, and the production lines have also been fully activated, with an annual production capacity of up to 100,000 vehicles.'

'The second phase of construction is also complete. Last year, based on your advice, the second phase of construction was doubled in size, which is enough to increase the company's production capacity by 200,000 vehicles. The production line has been brought back, but there is no assembly line yet, and a decision will be made based on market conditions.'

'Construction of the third phase of construction has already begun. It will be the same size as the second phase of construction. If it is completed and the assembly line is installed, it will increase the company's production capacity by 200,000 vehicles. However, the production line has not been ordered yet, and the construction speed has slowed down a bit.'

'No!'

Xia Yu directly vetoed, causing Chen Caijun's face to turn pale and his heart to rise to his throat.

Xia Yu glanced at him and slightly comforted, 'I'm not blaming you, so don't be nervous.'

'Chairman, I'm not nervous,'

Chen Caijun hurriedly shook his head and said.

Xia Yu also did not dwell on this.

'Take me to see the second and third phase factories,'

he instructed Chen Caijun to take him to the completed second phase factory and the third phase factory under construction.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

In the end, Xia Yu and the others stood in the open space of the third phase of construction.

The land had already been levelled and was being constructed by Jiuding Infrastructure Co., Ltd. Looking around, one could see many large machinery and workers busy at work.

Xia Yu instructed Chen Caijun, 'Caijun, I have a hunch that at this Geneva International Motor Show, we will ignite the market. The current production capacity is far from enough. The second phase of the factory will be put into use immediately, and the production line will be assembled and debugged for mass production.'

'With the second phase of the plant in use, the production capacity is only 300,000 vehicles per year, and my expectation is to reach a production capacity of one million vehicles.'

'Therefore, the construction of the third phase of the plant must be accelerated, and the fourth phase of the plant will be built directly according to a scale that can accommodate a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles. I will have Jiuding Infrastructure work around the clock.'

Chen Caijun was stunned by the annual production capacity of one million vehicles.

This is the kind of production capacity that only the world's major car companies have. Now the industry has tacitly agreed that a company with sales of less than one million vehicles cannot be considered a world-class company, and only companies with sales of over one million vehicles can be considered world-class.

The chairman's generosity is truly as big as ever.

He immediately came back to his senses and, without questioning the chairman's opinion, quickly said his problem: 'Chairman, because of the experience of assembling the first phase of the production line, the second phase of the production line can be fully commissioned and put into use in April.'

'However, if we want to increase production capacity to one million vehicles per year, the funds currently in the company's accounts are seriously insufficient.'

Xia Yu directly asked, 'How much money is still in the company's accounts, and how much do you need?'

Chen Caijun immediately replied, 'Chairman, you originally injected 500 million Hong Kong dollars into the company, and more than 418 million has already been used, leaving only 80 million Hong Kong dollars.'

'However, the company originally had a joint production plant with Honda in Indonesia for cars and motorcycles, and it also owns Zung Fu Motors Trading Co., Ltd., which has also made a profit of more than 230 million Hong Kong dollars in the past two years.'

'Therefore, in addition to the temporarily backlogged unsettled payments, the company's current account only has a working capital of more than 310 million Hong Kong dollars.'

'The investment in the production line and factory that we built before, with an annual output of 100,000 vehicles, was around 150 million Hong Kong dollars.'

'If we want to increase production capacity to one million vehicles per year, then there is a shortfall of around 770 million Hong Kong dollars.'

Xia Yu quickly calculated in his mind and found that the figure reported by Chen Caijun was very conservative. Together with the current funds and those used previously, it would just be 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollars to build a factory with an annual production capacity of one million.

He reckoned that as for the company's operations, it must take some time to build the new factory and order and assemble the production line. During this period, Tiangong Automobile Company would still be able to generate income from its original business and maintain the company's operations.

This is tightening the belt and preparing to live frugally.

This is someone who will take charge!

However, at this time, Chen Caijun did not need to do this.

Xia Yu now happens to have money to spend, not to mention the fact that the eight teams of Milky Way Capital are still reaping the benefits of liquidation. Just the recent listing of the eight companies has brought in HK$5.2 billion for him, and there is nowhere to spend it.

Investing the money earned in the capital market in industry is of infinite benefit to Hong Kong.

Without batting an eyelid, Xia Yu waved his hand magnanimously and said, 'I will inject another HK$1.2 billion into the company. You must achieve an annual production capacity of one million vehicles as quickly as possible.'

'As for how the production capacity is to be allocated, you can adjust it according to the orders received at the Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland. At most, it will only take you half a month or so.'

'In this half a month or so, first plan the factory clearly.'

'In addition, you need to immediately establish Tiangong Motors' 4S system, which requires a large sum of capital. For specific experience, you can learn from the Rolls-Royce Motor Group.'

'Before the 4S system is established, you can temporarily borrow the system from the Rolls-Royce Motor Group. I will say hello to them.'

'At the same time, the company must also make contingency plans. If the situation at the auto show is very good and our production capacity of one million vehicles is not enough, then we need to choose a location in Europe or the United States to build a factory, and we need to make the best possible use of resources and save on production costs.'

Although Chen Caijun did not think that Tiangong Motors could immediately achieve annual sales of one million vehicles, the chairman's words still fired his enthusiasm.

The chairman had once again invested 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars, far exceeding the number he had reported. This was both motivation and pressure. He would definitely work his hardest and not let the chairman down!

'Chairman, I assure you that I will do my best to complete the task!'

Chen Caijun said with his head held high and a resolute tone.

Xia Yu smiled, patted him on the shoulder and encouraged, 'I'll be waiting for you to return from Geneva with victory!'

'Yes!'

'I'll go first, you continue with your work.'

After saying this, Xia Yu refused Chen Caijun's offer to see him off and left Tiangong Motors in his car.

Next, we'll see the results of the battle in a month and a half...