Discoveries

After arranging how the factory would operate during the New Year holiday, they officially began their time off.

Those who needed to go home went home, and those who needed to work went to work. Xu Yifan was also preparing to go home and visit the parents of this life.

Meanwhile, from north to south, the entire country had entered the busy Spring Festival travel season.

Countless people who had left the interior for jobs in the developed coastal regions were gradually making their way back to their hometowns.

The train pulled into the station of this small fifth-tier city. With his suitcase in hand, he stepped out into the crowded station.

After a year away, Wang Yuhui had finally returned to his hometown, Jiangzhou City.

Like most migrant workers, he had worked hard all year and now had about half a month off.

He had come home to visit his parents and relatives and catch up with friends he had not seen in a long time.

The only difference was that everyone had different jobs.

Some worked factory assembly lines, while others had risen to senior positions in companies.

Wang Yuhui was neither an assembly-line worker nor a company executive. He was just a minor employee in the product department of a small domestic automaker.

Standing on a street in his hometown, he found the small city both familiar and strange after a year away.

A year had passed, and several high-rises had gone up outside the train station. The city was still far behind the big cities, but it no longer looked as run-down as it had a few years earlier.

The shops along the streets had changed a little, but everything still felt familiar.

After taking a quick look at how the city had developed, Wang Yuhui's attention was drawn to the little cars parked outside the train station.

"What's going on with all these cars parked by the road?"

One Jiuzhou Mini after another was parked along the road outside the station. Nearby, a group of old men chatted among themselves while enthusiastically greeting travelers returning home.

"Hey, young man, need a ride?"

"Anyone going to Fazi Bridge? Only five yuan!"

"Where are you headed, young man? I'll take you cheap!"

"Miss, let me take your suitcase. We can put it in the back!"

The first large-scale appearance of unlicensed electric taxis!

Taking advantage of the New Year crowds, a few enterprising old men had taken their beloved cars out to earn some money.

Of course, they only did this around the New Year, when the crowds were larger.

Smartphones were still in their infancy, so there were no ride-hailing services yet. Taxis had plenty of business, and these cars were also a convenient option for travelers heading home.

And because of their limited range and slow charging, they couldn't make many trips a day. At most, the drivers earned a few dozen yuan to supplement their household income.

In no hurry to head home, Wang Yuhui stood by the road, carefully examining these unfamiliar models.

As an employee in an automaker's product department, Wang Yuhui naturally paid closer attention to all kinds of cars.

The product department's main responsibilities included drawing up the company's annual development plans for new products and carrying them out.

It also coordinated with the sales department on existing products, tracked sales, and updated and maintained products in response to market feedback, so they could meet demand and keep the company ahead of its competitors.

Put simply, the job was to find and design a product that suited the market, sold like hotcakes, and made the company money.

"These are a bit like Japan's kei cars. The exterior design is really good. At first glance, they're surprisingly easy on the eyes—even better-looking than most domestic cars!"

"Is this the design language of some foreign brand? It doesn't quite look like it.

"It resembles some models, but it's even smaller than most of them. I don't remember seeing anything like this."

"How come none of them have license plates?"

"What brand is this? I don't think I've seen it among the car brands."

"Some small automaker without a production license?"

"Why are there so many of the same model here? There are more than ten just at the train station, and more keep leaving with passengers or arriving to wait for fares."

Questions filled Wang Yuhui's mind, and he wanted to find answers.

If he could figure it out, next year's work might be a lot easier!

The product department was responsible for drawing up vehicle production plans, so it had to find a model that met market demand and could bring in sales.

The simplest approach was to see which cars sold well on the road, then figure out why they were so popular and what made them stand out.

Was it because they were joint-venture brands, with their own technology and a reputation built over time?

Or did their designs have some distinctive feature that appealed to a particular type of consumer?

Finding popular models and figuring out exactly why they sold well, then copying and producing them, was one way many automakers' product departments found breakthroughs.

Take the future household name BYD, for example!

Its later success owed a great deal to the F3 model it launched in 2005.

BYD had built the car by copying the Toyota Corolla almost exactly, down to a one-to-one reproduction.

For less than half the price of a Toyota Corolla, buyers could get a car that looked identical. It was an irresistible deal, and some 4S dealerships even threw in Toyota badges!

From its launch in 2005 until production ended in October 2020, the BYD F3 sold a total of three million units.

This enduring model brought BYD a steady stream of income and laid the groundwork for the future leading brand in new energy vehicles.

Without this model, it was questionable whether BYD would have survived until the government stepped in to subsidize new energy development—let alone had the money to develop hybrids and electric vehicle technology.

BYD's success owed a great deal to the F3.

After watching for quite a while, Wang Yuhui began to see a few clues.

"First, almost all the drivers are elderly. Hmm, out of the thirty or so people I've observed, two are middle-aged. So it's not just old people who make up the market."

"The design is good, too. It's boxy and should age well."

"I'm standing too far away to hear clearly, but I've passed by several times and haven't heard an engine. I've only heard the electric motor."

"These aren't ordinary cars!"

"I can't tell anything else for now. But even if I can't figure it out by watching, I can ask!"

Pulling his suitcase, Wang Yuhui walked over to a Jiuzhou Mini whose driver was calling for passengers.

From what he had seen, the driver seemed like a very talkative sort. Hopefully, he could give him some useful answers!

"Sir, will you take me to Sunjiawan?"

The old man, who had been chatting with a companion, turned around and replied cheerfully, "Sure, sure! How about thirty yuan?"

"Sounds good. That's a fair price!"

Based on his experience taking cars home in previous years, a taxi ride usually cost more than fifty yuan.

And since the trip meant leaving the city, few taxi drivers were willing to take passengers during the New Year unless they were paid extra!

The rear hatch of the Jiuzhou Mini opened. The back seats had already been folded flat, leaving plenty of room for several suitcases.

"So it can carry people and cargo!" Wang Yuhui mused.

After putting his suitcase inside, he quickly climbed into the front passenger seat of the Jiuzhou Mini.