154: Chapter 154 Transsion Vehicle Road Test Approval

Expressions of surprise appeared on the faces of the few people present.

This was Transsion's first prototype vehicle, or more accurately, a chassis and High-density battery pack test vehicle. It was equipped with a 175Wh/kg High-density battery pack.

Today's test goal was to drive at a constant speed of 60km/h to see how far it could go.

The vehicle had been running for 14 hours, and the range performance was excellent...

Half an hour later, the test ended.

The data was out.

The actual measured range was 860km.

Chen Jianping and Li Hai both displayed looks of admiration. This High-density battery was truly magical; such a small car body had actually managed to fit an 80kWh super-large battery, and there were even larger battery packs available.

Only Wang Mengyang stood apart. He recalled when Shen Fei first told him about building cars last year; at that time, he had thought Shen Fei was joking.

After all, a mobile phone manufacturer trying to build cars, even if battery technology had just made a breakthrough...

But now, 860km—the longest range in the world.

The chassis was developed in less than half a year. Such rapid progress was thanks to the "money power."

As a shareholder, for some technologies that weren't particularly cutting-edge but were considered advanced domestically, they just paid some royalties and used them directly.

Facing Huang Tianya's actions, Mercedes-Benz and BMW had considered finding other capital to kick them out, but due to the economic crisis... they had no choice but to keep selling off their assets.

This chassis was a semi-finished product from Mercedes-Benz.

Huang Tianya had acquired it for just a small amount of money.

...

That evening, the test team celebrated at a nearby hotel.

Li Hai, Wang Mengyang, and the others didn't drink, as they were waiting for a call.

At 9 o'clock, the phone rang.

"Li Hai, Professor Wang, it's been approved."

It was Shen Fei calling.

Wang Mengyang and Li Hai stood up excitedly, their faces full of surprise.

"The road test approval has come down?"

"Yes, it's officially approved. You can conduct tests on the XX road section."

...

Early the next morning, at the provincial government compound.

As soon as Zhang Shiqing arrived at work, the Governor came to his office.

"The progress of Transsion Auto is faster than I imagined. It's only April, and the chassis is already out, and the prototype is mostly finished."

Zhang Shiqing nodded: "They have money, and they've poached all the world's top engineers."

"As for the chassis, the progress is indeed too fast; it seems they bought a semi-finished product from Mercedes-Benz."

The Governor thought for a moment, and finally asked the question he had been worrying about.

"Old Zhang, do you think they can build a car within three years?"

Zhang Shiqing smiled: "Governor, you are underestimating Shen Fei."

The Governor looked at him: "Oh?"

"Three years?" Zhang Shiqing shook his head. "At most a year and a half. By this time next year, initial sales might already exceed ten thousand. And that's just my estimate; actual sales might exceed our expectations. We should hurry up and prepare the relevant subsidy funds."

The Governor was stunned: "So fast? You have that much faith in him?"

Zhang Shiqing said: "Governor, do you know how many people Transsion has poached from outside?"

The Governor counted on his fingers and said: "From Geely Research Institute, BYD, and others..."

"What you mentioned is just small potatoes. The real bulk of it is from abroad. Foreign car companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW have suffered, and I heard another batch arrived two days ago. They've poached at least 3,000 people, all of whom are core R&D personnel."

He also shook his head; this kid has money... but that's not how you spend it, really.

"These thousands of people are all at the base now, working overtime every day. Shen Fei pays them triple wages, and they're practically living at the company."

The Governor was speechless; he had never seen a company that complied with labor laws like this. However, he had heard of their poaching tactics, which had almost infuriated other companies in neighboring provinces at the time, to the point where they even wanted to file a joint lawsuit.

But employees are living people, and where they go is their own choice... who told them not to sign non-compete agreements?

After a moment of silence, he said: "Then when do you think they can mass-produce?"

Zhang Shiqing thought for a moment: "Road testing has already started. If there are no issues with the chassis, next year should be possible."

The Governor nodded and didn't say anything more. After a long while, he said: "Good, then I'll wait and see this time next year."

Zhang Shiqing picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The Governor suddenly asked: "By the way, you approved that base for Transsion."

Zhang Shiqing put down his teacup: "This matter was indeed an unauthorized approval by me. Mainly because they poached another large group of engineers from over there, all of whom are high-end, cutting-edge talents that we are in short supply of. Xiao Fei really didn't have enough office space. Since he finally came to me for help, I couldn't just... Leader, just say it, I will take responsibility for whatever happens."

The Governor listened with a smile and didn't mention the procedural violation.

"Leader, are they angry over there?"

"Only thinking of me now? Why didn't you come to me when approving the land?"

Zhang Shiqing hurriedly poured the Governor a cup of tea.

It wasn't that Zhang Shiqing felt guilty; after all, the company he poached from wasn't an ordinary one—the other party was also a deputy-ministerial level enterprise. Theoretically, they were at the same rank, but in reality, their ceiling was far lower than his. However, he had indeed violated procedures by not submitting the report to the board first and handing it directly to Shen Fei.

"Of course they're angry. They are so aggressive; they went directly to the Secretary to complain and even wanted to make a scene with the higher-ups."

"Is it really necessary? Their office space isn't unusable." Zhang Shiqing pouted and said with a hint of disdain: "By the way, what did the Secretary say?"

"Don't worry. The Secretary rejected it directly. He said Transsion wants to build an R&D center for high-end, cutting-edge enterprises, while what are they doing?"

"They said they are building airplanes, building large domestic airplanes." The Governor said, his eyes also filled with disdain.

Why set any other goal instead of this one? Does their Southern Aviation even have the strength?

Zhang Shiqing also smiled and didn't comment... The demand for domestic civil aviation aircraft is on the rise, but this volume is still very difficult to support R&D tasks. At least not for another 5 years.

Moreover, aircraft manufacturing is not as simple as those good-for-nothings imagine. Applying for a project, buying some parts to assemble, and creating a "United Nations" build—it would be better to just buy airplanes directly.

"Later, the Secretary also said that if Transsion doesn't have enough land there, more can be approved. The land at the so-and-so base is also quite good; should we save it for your son-in-law?" The Governor joked.

"We'll see..."

The two laughed for a while, and then the Governor became serious again.

"Old Zhang, the province must fully support Transsion's project."

Zhang Shiqing nodded.

"I know. Every business they undertake has a significant impact on technological transformation."

"The land must be approved, loans must be approved, and policies must be tilted in their favor." The Governor looked at him. "Since it's your son-in-law's company, it's more convenient for you to communicate with him. You are in charge of this matter."

Zhang Shiqing looked at the Governor with gratitude. The other party was only in his early 50s and still had the opportunity to move up a step, but he had now handed this matter over to him. That meant handing the greatest credit into his hands.

"Governor, that is not my son-in-law's company; it is our province's enterprise."

"Good, our province's enterprise. However, I have to say your old man has a good eye for having set it up in advance. Sigh, I really regret it! Just thinking about my own brat makes me angry."