Meeting

Under Chen Qianjun's deliberate instructions, the officials ate a simple communal meal alongside the ordinary workers.

While the food couldn't compare to that of high-end hotels, it was still palatable, and the Jiangzhou officials ate heartily.

After the meal, the afternoon's second important inspection process began.

This primarily involved Chen Qianjun and other officials discussing policy support for Jiuzhou Automobile Factory with Xu Yifan and the factory's managers.

Before the meeting commenced, Chen Qianjun and the other officials held a brief internal meeting.

It lasted for about half an hour.

Next, in the meeting room of Jiuzhou Automobile Factory.

The managers from various departments of Jiuzhou Automobile Factory, led by Xu Yifan, were seated on one side of the rectangular conference table.

The officials, led by Chen Qianjun, were seated on the other side.

The meeting officially began, and Chen Qianjun was the first to speak.

After a moment's thought, the Mayor, who was primarily in charge of economic affairs, smiled and said.

"We saw Jiuzhou Automobile Factory together this morning. The changes are truly immense, so much so that I almost can't believe it.

The current Jiuzhou Automobile Factory is excellent, from employee benefits to product production and sales, all the way to the consumers.

It's evident that everyone currently really likes Jiuzhou Automobile Factory.

And a company like this is undoubtedly better for our Jiangzhou City the more there are, and the stronger and better it develops.

It's a quality company that the public, the government, and the factory itself, along with its workers, all wish to see."

Pausing slightly, Chen Qianjun continued.

"For a factory that is so popular and provides employment for so many people, the government naturally must offer support.

However, the specific areas of support will depend on your vision, President Xu, for the future of Jiuzhou Automobile Factory.

Could you share your plans? What does Jiuzhou Automobile Factory intend to do next?

Will you continue operating as you have been for a long time, or do you wish to explore more markets and develop more rapidly?"

As Chen Qianjun spoke, the gazes of the officials, including their own managers, turned towards the actual controller of Jiuzhou Automobile Factory.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Yifan organized his thoughts and spoke calmly.

"Esteemed leaders, Jiuzhou Automobile Factory is poor and desperately needs significant support from the government!"

Following the usual script, when in doubt, first plead poverty!

Then, Xu Yifan added.

"Furthermore, the current situation is not one where we can maintain long-term operations simply by staying in our corner.

Those present may not fully understand. Although Jiuzhou Automobile Factory appears to be doing well currently, a crisis is already brewing. I can guarantee that within three months, the market will be flooded with a large number of cars similar to the Jiuzhou Mini.

At that point, if Jiuzhou Automobile Factory remains complacent, the best outcome will be to remain confined to our city or perhaps two or three surrounding cities.

It's even possible that in the future, our market share will be encroached upon by similar models manufactured by larger automobile companies.

The ability of automobile manufacturers to imitate and produce is terrifying!

This is not an exaggeration. Almost all automobile companies begin their journey in the imitation phase.

Once there is profit and a market gap is discovered, joint venture brands might not pay attention, but domestic brands will swarm like sharks smelling blood. That will be the true ordeal for Jiuzhou Automobile Factory."

Xu Yifan's expression turned melancholic as he spoke.

"Perhaps in two or three years, Jiuzhou Automobile Factory will revert to the state it was in when I first took over – the factory closed, retaining only a core technical team, and perhaps not even producing any products."

Upon hearing Xu Yifan's words, everyone present frowned.

Chen Qianjun recalled the numerous automobile manufacturing companies he had studied and nodded in slight agreement. "Automobile production and manufacturing are indeed very difficult!"

However, he shifted the topic and asked, "Since you've identified the problem, what are your views or ideas for the future of Jiuzhou Automobile Factory?"

Xu Yifan nodded. "Staying put is absolutely not an option; it's slow suicide. Jiuzhou Automobile Factory needs to expand now!

While our competitors are still developing and not yet strong, we must seize as much market share as possible and sell our products in more places.

We need to leverage the first-mover advantage to create a time gap. This gap might be three or five months, but with this time, the future outcome will be vastly different.

Entering the market earlier means consumers will recognize us sooner and trust us more."

"In addition, according to my plans for the factory, we cannot put all our eggs in one basket. Jiuzhou Automobile Factory must have another profitable product."

Chen Qianjun praised, "The idea of reducing risk is good, but what will be the second product?"

Xu Yifan then revealed the factory's second product, which he had already considered.

"Two-wheeled electric vehicles. These are vehicles similar to low-speed electric vehicles, but with only two wheels and no canopy. Everyone is likely familiar with them.

Compared to low-speed electric vehicles, the manufacturing technology for two-wheeled electric vehicles is simpler, requiring less investment, but allowing for higher production volume. It will also make it easier for the Jiuzhou brand to enter the public's view."

Chen Qianjun pondered. "Two-wheeled electric vehicles, huh? It's not impossible. However, there are already many brands on the market, and the quality is mixed. Do you have a plan to ensure that the two-wheeled electric vehicles we produce can be sold more effectively?"

Xu Yifan smiled. "This brings us to the technological achievements of our company's R&D team. The core of both electric cars and electric two-wheeled vehicles is the battery, and our new lithium iron phosphate battery..."

The quality of a battery determines the range of electric vehicles and electric two-wheelers, and it's one of the data points consumers care about most.

Our factory's technical R&D team has pushed the development of new lithium iron phosphate batteries to the final stage, and is currently testing data such as product stability and safety.

Technical results are expected within a few days. At that time, I will build another battery production plant, mainly to supply batteries for our Jiuzhou Mini and the Jiuzhou Electric Vehicles we will build next.

The products we produce then will have advantages that other products don't: longer range, longer battery life, and better low-temperature performance.

Other car manufacturers completely lack this technology, except for BYD, which started out making batteries.

BYD has battery technology comparable to ours, but most other car brands do not.

We will have a huge advantage in the upcoming low-speed electric vehicle market.

Better product quality and longer battery range are our core competitive capabilities.

This will allow us to expand our territory and also solidify the market share we've captured so it won't be snatched away by other vehicle manufacturing companies.

This is my idea for how Jiuzhou Automobile Factory will develop moving forward. However, there is still one problem: the factory's funds are not particularly abundant right now.

We need to open two new factories, expand our car production scale, and find other factories to OEM our products. The pressure is immense!"

After a long speech, the true intention was revealed.

"If possible, we hope the government can provide some support!"