Read Chapter 6967 of the novel Charismatic Charlie Wade free online.
Chapter 6967
Charlie asked curiously, “Professor Watt, do you have a plan?”
Pollard said, “Master Wade, my plan is that Changying Automobile might as well be like Pang Donglai.”
“We directly list all the costs of a car.”
“First of all, the intuitive cost, how much is the raw material cost of each car, how much is the production cost, taxes, logistics, warehousing, and management and sales costs, all listed clearly.”
“And then the hidden costs, such as the design cost, mold cost, and production line cost of this car.”
“For each model, we allocate costs based on sales of 500,000 units.”
“If we invest 5 billion in R&D and production lines for this model, then the hidden cost per vehicle is 10,000 yuan.”
“Once our cumulative sales of this model exceed 500,000 units, we’ll have recouped our initial investment.”
“So, starting with the 500,000th unit, we’ll deduct this portion of the allocation from the price of the car.”
“After listing these costs, we’ll disclose our pre-tax profit to consumers to ensure our profit margin is within a reasonable range.
“I’ve never heard of anyone selling cars this way.”
“Even the incredibly popular Remi Auto doesn’t disclose its R&D and hardware investment costs.”
“Yes!”
Pollard said, “Now the automobile industry has reached its peak.”
“Everyone is constantly introducing new products and offering discounts and price cuts,”
“But in fact, the prices of many cars are inflated!”
“Just like those imported brands, the cost is 300,000, and they sell it to consumers for 1 million first.”
“If the 1 million sells well, then the terminal price increase mechanism will be activated.”
“Although the price is 1 million, you will never get the car without adding 100,000 or 200,000 yuan.”
“If you gradually find that no one is willing to pay more,”
“Then sell it according to the suggested price of 1 million.”
“When 1 million doesn’t sell well, then sell it for 800,000, 700,000, 600,000, or even 500,000…”
“I think this practice is equivalent to writing the word ‘swindler’ directly on your face.”
“Consumers will definitely have a very bad impression,”
“And it will have a great impact on the brand image.”
“Since we are latecomers and want to catch up,”
“Then we must do what our predecessors dared not do,”
“Or are unwilling to do.”
“We should simply remove the fig leaf and face consumers honestly.”
“If they can’t keep up, they deserve to be eliminated!”
Charlie strongly agreed with Pollard’s philosophy.
He didn’t want to be a profit-driven businessman,
Nor did he want to be a benefactor who violated business logic.
He hoped to achieve a win-win situation with consumers,
Producing high-quality products while ensuring that they offer the best value for money on the market.
Based on this principle, Changying Auto’s profit margins on all products must be kept relatively low.
Pollard advocated for controlling profit margins, and on this point, the two of them coincided.
So, Charlie said to him: “Professor Watt, do it according to your idea.”
“You must make Changying Automobile a national brand that the Chinese people are proud of!”
Pollard nodded heavily and said sincerely:
“For a car named after your father, I will go all out and live up to his lifelong reputation!”
After that, he said to Charlie:
“Master Wade, please give our new car a model name.”
“Our competitors have models starting with M, S, L, and E, and each has its own set of logic.”
“We also have to have different models to distinguish different types and models.”
Charlie smiled and said, “I’m not an expert in this either.”
“Let you guys do it.”
Pollard said, “Master Wade, actually, this is not about expertise or not.”
“It’s just a name, anything goes.”
“Many competitors use just one letter and a number, or two letters and a number.
Charlie thought for a moment and said,
“Since it’s named after my father, let’s use the initials of Changying, C.”
“We’re going to make sedans and SUVs, and very likely commercial vehicles and minivans in the future,”
“So the last digit can’t be just one, it needs to be at least two.”
He paused for a moment and said,
“How about this: sedans use odd numbers, SUVs use even numbers.”
“If the first model is a mid-to-large car, we’ll name it C07.”
“If we release a larger model in the future, it’ll be C09.”
“A smaller model will be C05, an A-segment car will be C03, and a minivan will be C01.”
“As for off-road vehicles, the same principle applies.”
“If the next car is also a medium-to-large SUV,”
“It will be called C06.”
“The higher one will be C08, and the lower ones will be C04 and C02.”
“If we also launch a commercial vehicle, it can be named C10.”
Pollard nodded: “Okay! Simple and clear, with clear logic, then do as you said,”
“The first car will be called C07.”
After that, he made a gesture of invitation and said with a smile:
“Master Wade, let me introduce you to some key technologies of the body-in-white of our first car.”
Charlie asked him: “What does body-in-white mean?”
Pollard said, “It can be understood as the skeleton of this car.”
“We first build the skeleton frame of the body-in-white, and then fill it with flesh and blood based on the skeleton.”
“The size of the body-in-white, like the human skeleton, determines the longitudinal size of the person.”
“In the future, we will install the doors, front and rear hoods, and anti-collision beams.”
“This is the finished size of the car.”
“The technology, materials, and sturdiness it uses determine its crashworthiness and safety factor.”
“The one-piece die-cast battery compartment at the bottom determines how large a battery it can accommodate.”
“Once the body-in-white is finalized,”
“The main frame will remain unchanged, with only minor adjustments made later.”