After the New Year

February 18, 2009.

The holiday season had passed, and all departments had resumed work.

Jiangzhou City, official government offices.

Inside an office, a middle-aged man in his fifties was handling his work.

Deputy Secretary Chen, who had just returned to work, frowned slightly as he looked at a document in his hand.

It was a report about a batch of unlicensed, low-speed electric vehicles recently operating in the city, carrying passengers for hire.

Such reports were common during holidays and usually didn't warrant much attention.

What made Deputy Secretary Chen frown was the repeated mention of one vehicle: Jiuzhou Mini!

"What is this Jiuzhou Mini car they keep mentioning? It sounds familiar."

After thinking for a moment, Deputy Secretary Chen suddenly recalled.

"Jiuzhou Automobile, isn't that the company in our city that went bankrupt twice? They've actually built cars?!" He was somewhat surprised himself!

Deputy Secretary Chen and other city officials had initially held high hopes for this local car manufacturer.

If the automobile industry could develop, it could drive significant employment and tax revenue.

However, after several years, neither the factory nor the government had found many solutions.

Unfortunately, it wasn't something a small place could manage. They lacked technology and design. Even if they managed to build cars, they likely wouldn't have much market impact.

Local brands like Night Pearl Automobile, Qinchuan Automobile, Tianma Automobile, Yunque Automobile, Tonggong Automobile, and Shenjian Automobile, among others, were becoming less and less known as time went by.

Even large cities like Chengdu only had a few obscure car manufacturers or joint ventures. Developing their own local car companies had yielded no results.

Deputy Secretary Chen had assumed that within a couple more years, the factory would sell its car manufacturing license and gradually disappear from the local scene, its equipment, factory, and land being sold off.

He only remembered that two years ago, the owner of that factory had sought the government's help, and now, two years later, it seemed to be making a comeback.

Deputy Secretary Chen suddenly felt a flicker of interest in this car company.

"Secretary Wang!"

Hearing Deputy Secretary Chen's call, a man over 1.8 meters tall knocked and entered. "Secretary."

"Do you have detailed information about Jiuzhou Automobile?"

The secretary looked surprised. "The company that produced the Jiuzhou Mini?!"

"Yes, the Jiuzhou Mini," Deputy Secretary Chen confirmed with a nod.

The secretary respectfully replied, "If you hadn't asked, I was going to report on it this afternoon."

"Oh, tell me more," Deputy Secretary Chen raised an eyebrow. It seemed this car company had something going for it, enough to attract official attention!

After a moment's thought, the secretary shared the information he had gathered. "Around October last year, Jiuzhou Automobile sold the entire factory for fifty million yuan to a rich second generation from the provincial capital. Not long after, their first product was manufactured, which is the current Jiuzhou Mini. Unlike cars made by ordinary car factories, the Jiuzhou Mini produced by this factory is a low-speed electric vehicle. It doesn't meet the standards for licensing, and according to policies in the provincial capital and other regions, there aren't many restrictions. It's this vehicle that has gradually brought the factory into the public eye in our city, and sales have been steadily reaching new highs."

Deputy Secretary Chen raised his hand, interrupting the secretary's report, and pressed further, "Sales are good? Roughly how many?"

The secretary calmly replied, "According to the information I have, they've sold about three thousand units so far, and there are many more orders that have been placed but not yet delivered, potentially totaling around five thousand units!"

"Wow, that many?!" Deputy Secretary Chen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Five thousand units might not seem like a lot, but for some smaller car companies, it was a very impressive achievement. Some of the car factories mentioned earlier hadn't manufactured that many vehicles in total since their inception, let alone sold them.

The secretary continued, "There are several reasons for its popularity. First, it leverages the advantage of not requiring a driver's license."

Deputy Secretary Chen frowned slightly. "Not requiring a license could lead to certain dangers. Are these types of cars common nationwide?"

"I checked online. They are sold in the provincial capital, are quite common in various parts of Shandong, and even in Beijing, you can find these cars that can be driven without a license."

Relieved, Deputy Secretary Chen smiled. "Okay, then there's no problem. Please continue."

"One advantage is not needing a license, targeting the elderly and those who cannot obtain a license but still need transportation. The second advantage is not needing gasoline; it can be charged with electricity, which is very suitable for rural use. Almost every household has a yard where they can conveniently charge. Coupled with the qualified product quality of the Jiuzhou Mini and the lack of competitors in the market, this has resulted in the current situation of supply not meeting demand."

"Interesting. A rich second generation managed to revive this small factory and achieve what the owners of several previous car companies couldn't. It seems like a simple idea, but how many car companies can actually pull it off?"

The secretary next to him also sighed, "Hardly any. Car companies focus their energy on traditional gasoline cars. And most manufacturers of these low-speed electric vehicles are small factories with a few dozen employees, and their product quality is also very poor."

Deputy Secretary Chen asked another question that concerned him: "What's the current employment situation at that factory?"

Employment had always been an important indicator of the local government's successful performance.

Secretary: "Currently, there are nearly six hundred workers. At the same time, the news I received is that most employees work in three shifts a day, with eight-hour workdays.

The employee cafeteria provides free meals. For accommodation, they can either live on the factory grounds for free or choose to receive a subsidy and live at home. The vast majority of employees are local, and they basically all choose to live at home.

At the same time, the average wage level at this factory is about twenty percent higher than that of other surrounding factories, and they also provide the five social insurances and one housing fund.

I have a relative working at that factory. He greatly admires the small factory director and is also very satisfied with the working environment."

After carefully listening to the secretary's information, Deputy Secretary Chen couldn't hide the smile on his face: "You try hard to make flowers bloom, but they don't; you casually plant a willow, and it shades you!

Nearly six hundred employees, and in just a few months, you've reached more employees than during its most prosperous period before. Amazing, amazing!"

Secretary: "Finally, according to the annual tax report submitted by Jiuzhou Automobile, the tax paid in the past few months last year was over 2.3 million yuan."

Having said that, the secretary paused and continued: "Well, our tax bureau hasn't finished its verification yet, but it's roughly in line with the estimates. I originally wanted to report to you after the tax investigation was clear and there were no problems."

"Over two million, in just a few months? They took over the factory in October last year, and it's only been a little over four months since then?"

"The products have been on sale for about three months, and for a period at the beginning, the production capacity wasn't sufficient, which led to lower sales."

The secretary frowned slightly and added:

"No, even though the production capacity has been improved once to reach over sixty Jiuzhou Minis produced daily, with an annual output of over twenty thousand units, the current capacity is still insufficient!

It's still impossible to meet market demand in a short period. You have to understand that it's not just people from our city buying cars; consumers from surrounding cities also come specifically to buy them!"

Deputy Secretary Chen looked at the secretary carefully, word by word, and asked in disbelief: "So, based on the current sales situation, the annual tax revenue can also reach over ten million?!"

"Yes, calculated based on the current sales situation of the Jiuzhou Mini, the annual tax revenue can reach about eleven million yuan. And if production can be expanded, the tax revenue will only increase.

This is a very huge blank market; there's no worry about selling the products once they're made!"

Closing his eyes, Deputy Secretary Chen sighed: "I understand. Make arrangements, and I'll go to this factory tomorrow to take a look!"

With nearly six hundred employees and an annual tax revenue reaching the ten-million-level, for the local government of this fifth-tier city, it's a cash cow, a treasure!

And it seems there might be even further potential; they must cherish it well!

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