139: Chapter 139 Our Cars Aren't Cars

When Zhao Yang asked about the cost, Gao Qisheng sucked his teeth forcefully.

Seeing his constipation-like expression, Zhao Yang frowned. "What, could the cost actually reach seven figures?"

Gao Qisheng shook his head vigorously. "No, not that. Looking strictly at the cost, the base model is around 160,000 to 170,000."

"Then isn't that pretty good? Why the face just now?"

Gao Qisheng put on an exaggerated look. "My Brother Yang, do you know how much Hongdou Technology and Qilan Investment spent to upgrade the production lines for the suppliers?"

"Five hundred million USD? Is it that much?"

"What?" Gao Qisheng's exaggerated expression vanished instantly, and he swallowed hard. "Well, not that much. Converted to USD... it's less than three hundred million."

Zhao Yang was actually a bit surprised. "Only that much? Did you cut corners? I'm telling you, not a single metric on the blueprints can be compromised! Don't you dare try to make do with the architecture and materials used for fuel-powered cars!"

"No! Absolutely not!" Gao Qisheng shook his head hurriedly. "Those metrics—I wouldn't dare change them even if it killed me. Not a single one was changed."

Zhao Yang rubbed his chin. "That doesn't seem right. I estimated that with the technical upgrades and modifications, no matter how much we saved, it should have been at least four hundred million plus. Where did the savings come from?"

Gao Qisheng gave a cheeky grin. "I have to thank my brother for that. He managed to connect with two factories that specifically supply the military—one for steel and one for aluminum. The goods from these two companies perfectly meet our requirements. Those two areas alone saved us nearly twenty million dollars."

Zhao Yang realized and gave a thumbs up. "Old Gao has skills. Impressive."

He understood in his heart—this was clearly a dividend brought by 'Operation Sunset Glow.' Gao Qiqiang and Hongdou had made a name for themselves with the higher-ups, so this kind of thing naturally received covert support. Moreover, Zhao Yang remembered clearly that he had tucked information regarding high-strength steel and new types of aluminum into the 'discarded materials' given to General Feng; he hadn't expected the country to reach mass production so quickly.

“But...” Gao Qisheng gave a bitter smile, “Brother Yang, this investment converts to two billion RMB. For this car of ours, if the price is too high, it won't sell; if the price is too low, when on earth will we break even?”

Zhao Yang couldn't help but laugh. "Even your wife could answer that kind of question, yet you can't figure it out?"

Gao Qisheng scratched his hair. "I know that as long as every car has a profit, it can keep the whole industry running and we'll break even sooner or later—that's an objective law. But looking at that statistical table really gives me a headache."

"What's there to fear? There's plenty of money. In a few years, your only worry will be not knowing where to spend it. A Sheng, your vision is currently far behind Xiao Lan's."

Zhao Yang laughed inwardly. In June 2005, the A-shares bottomed out at 998 points—the same price as the entry-level hongdou phone.

Then it rose all the way to over six thousand points. The bubbles blown in between were all money. Following that was the global subprime mortgage crisis; shorting US stocks and bonds would yield even higher returns than shorting the Nasdaq last time. Moreover, unlike last time, Qilan Investment now had an agent in the US, making profit-making even more unrestricted.

That agent was named Hudson Trump. He actually shared the same surname as 'The Donald.' Zhao Yang had asked Gao Qilan to check the Family tree, and they were indeed from the same Family but different branches.

Following Gao Qilan's instructions, Hudson had bought the bottom on several high-growth stocks like gene technology, Yahoo, and Intel, and was living a very comfortable life. Once the harvest from the subprime crisis was complete, the money could not only come back in through investment into the Dragon Country but also give the Dragon Country's development a push—using the funds of the American people to contribute to the modernization of the Dragon Country.

Gao Qisheng patted the steering wheel and sighed. "The cash flow in Xiao Lan's accounts makes me dizzy just looking at it. I'll just honestly stick to Hongdou Technology; I really can't handle her Domain."

"Let's go. If we don't start driving, people will surround us." Zhao Yang gestured outside with his chin. "When does the road testing end?"

Gao Qisheng honked the horn. He waited for the car owner in front, who was staring at the car, to snap out of it and make way before slowly moving the car out of the parking space. Zhao Yang listened carefully; the sound of the range extender was very light, with almost no felt vibration, similar to the range-extended vehicles of later generations.

Once the speed picked up, Zhao Yang smiled. "The soundproofing is good. How's the fuel consumption?"

"About four liters per hundred kilometers. It's most efficient under eighty kilometers per hour, less than four liters; once it passes one hundred and twenty, it's about four point five." Gao Qisheng grew more excited as he spoke. "You know, Brother Yang, I didn't even believe these numbers during testing! The guys at the Automotive Research Institute were all stunned too; I still want to laugh when I think of their expressions."

Zhao Yang laughed too. This car had a curb weight of 1.8 tons. This fuel consumption, let alone in 2003, would be top-tier energy efficiency even twenty years later.

The most crucial reason was that Zhao Yang had obtained the full set of technology for variable flux motors from the System: it automatically reduces magnetic flux to decrease torque during high-speed driving, avoiding the extra losses conventional permanent magnet motors suffer in the high-speed weak magnetic zone. Furthermore, it was all achieved through purely mechanical means, with no need to rely on high-performance chips for calculations.

Zhao Yang closed his eyes, feeling the car's posture as it took a turn, and suddenly spoke: "A Sheng, I've decided on the pricing. The base version starts at 188,800, and the fully loaded version tops out at 258,800."

"I wanted to set it that way too, I'm just afraid it won't sell. You know the situation in our country—no matter how good domestic products are, it's hard to turn things around. And those dealers, I've dealt with them and nearly died of anger; not one of them looks at us with respect. They say things like, 'You're phone makers, what the hell do you know about making cars!' I invited them for test rides and drives, and they didn't even acknowledge me."

Zhao Yang smiled. "Then let them go to hell. This car won't go through dealers; we'll do direct sales and sell them in Hongdou's direct-sale stores."

Gao Qisheng was stunned. "Not going through 4S stores? Then what about after-sales?"

"Direct-sale stores will be responsible for display and sales, while car pickup and repairs will be at dedicated user centers. At the same time, the Hongdou official website will launch an automotive section simultaneously. Users can place orders and pay directly online, then go to a user center to pick up the car—they won't even need to go to a store to see the physical car."

Gao Qisheng couldn't wrap his head around it for a moment. He processed it for a long while before suddenly exclaiming, "Brother Yang! If we do this, Hongdou will become public enemy number one!"

Zhao Yang laughed loudly. "What's there to fear? Let me ask you, how are the sales of hongdou phones?"

"Number one in the country."

"Was that achieved by stacking volume with low prices?"

"No. Although the 998 model has high sales, the high-end models are also number one in their respective price brackets."

Zhao Yang shrugged. "Then what are we afraid of them for? Besides, they won't even spare us a second glance at first. We can develop quietly for at least two years. Two years later, even if they find us eyesores, they definitely won't be able to take us down."

"Why? Just hearing about this model makes me feel it's terrifying. Can't they see that?"

"As long as they study it seriously, of course they can see it." Zhao Yang smiled with confidence. "But pride and prejudice will blind their eyes, making them too lazy to even think about it. Moreover, we can mislead them. Let me ask you, is the Hongdou Auto a car?"

Gao Qisheng said without thinking, "Yes. The power form is different, but it's still a car."

Zhao Yang shook his head. "You're wrong. The positioning of the Hongdou Auto after it hits the market—is not a car."

Gao Qisheng was dazed. "Not a car? Then what is it?"