Chapter 217 Branding?

Mu Xin took the towel off his shoulder and draped it over the armrest of the lounge chair; he knew about the Faraday Future situation.

Boss Jia had been tossing and turning in the United States for many years, delivered fewer than twenty FF91s, burned through billions of dollars, and was treated as a joke by the entire American automotive media.

Of course, Boss Jia's main business wasn't actually building cars, and as for what he was really doing, that's a story for another time.

But even this joke found an unexpected exit last year when he signed a rebadging agreement with Great Wall Motor.

Great Wall shipped the entire SKD kit for the Wey Gaoshan 9, with the body pre-welded and painted in China, shipped separately from the powertrain and interior components, from the Port of Shanghai to the Port of Long Beach, where final assembly was completed at Faraday Future's factory in Hanford, California.

The new car wore a Faraday Future badge on the front, added a massive AI digital grille screen, and transformed into the US-assembled 'FX Super One'.

And Great Wall never appeared in the American media from beginning to end; it was just a name in the supply chain, and not even one that was mentioned very often.

Normally, the tariff on complete vehicles exceeds 100%, but SKD kits fall under the import tax rate for parts, which is less than 10%.

Faraday Future didn't produce any core components; it only provided a US legal entity, a California factory address, and a trademark that allowed it to sell cars in the United States.

"Regarding this model you mentioned, was Great Wall a willing participant, or were they persuaded by Faraday Future?" Mu Xin asked.

"Great Wall wants to enter the US more than you imagine. Every Chinese automaker wants to enter the US market; the electric vehicles in the US market are all trash."

"But every Chinese automaker knows that a direct breakthrough only leads to one outcome: being dragged into a congressional hearing and turned into a living target as a national security threat."

"Great Wall used the rebadging method to ship cars into the US. Great Wall never appeared in the US media, and everyone only saw that press conference Faraday Future held in Los Angeles."

"Did the US Congress and lobbying groups see the name Great Wall hidden in the supply chain? They saw it."

"But they haven't taken action yet because Faraday Future has only delivered fewer than a hundred cars in total, which doesn't pose any market threat," Ramaswamy said.

"But if you replace them with BYD, if BYD's SKD kits were shipped from China to Texas and slapped with any trademark registered in the US, the day the first assembled electric truck drove out of the Texas factory, tariffs and congressional investigations would come knocking sooner or later."

"BYD's scale is too large..." Mu Xin reminded him.

"My model isn't necessarily 100% safe, but I want to get up and running before the window closes," Ramaswamy said.

"BYD will enter the US sooner or later. If it doesn't, the gray market in Mexico will only get bigger, because the market demand objectively exists."

"Instead of letting Mexican dealers and border scalpers make this money, it would be better to let a legal CKD factory in Ohio earn it."

"Someone will solve the tariff issue sooner or later, but I want to have the supply chain set up before the problem is solved."

"When the day comes that the policy winds shift, our factory will already be the most prominent link in the BYD commercial vehicle supply chain in the US, and BYD will prioritize working with us then."

"So, can you help me find someone from BYD in China?" Ramaswamy asked again.

Mu Xin stood up and walked to the edge of the pool. The accounts in Mexico and the accounts in Ohio overlapped in his mind, with an image of an electric pickup truck driving across the White House lawn sandwiched in between...

Trump stood in front of the car door, and he and Ramaswamy held up a thumb to the camera—if this thing didn't sell like crazy, he'd be damned!

"I'll discuss it with Jack tomorrow. It's not that it can't be done, but it might be more difficult than you imagine," Mu Xin said.

"Are you going back to China?" Ramaswamy asked.

"Finding the right people isn't something you can do over the phone. The decision-makers for BYD's overseas KD projects won't discuss a US rebadging plan over the phone with a Chinese person they've never met. If we decide to do this, I have to sit across from them to talk."

"Returning to China is a matter of time, but I need to prepare," Mu Xin replied.

"And there is one more critical issue that needs to be resolved: the rebadging trademark."

"I need a legal brand that can cover the US market. The ownership of this trademark must be mine, or a third party that I actually control."

"The matter is too complicated; I need some time, or rather, a long time," Mu Xin said, organizing his thoughts.

Ramaswamy was silent for a moment, then spoke: "Do you think the chances are high?"

"How should I put it? Personally, I don't think it's impossible, but there are too many uncertain factors in the middle, so I can't draw a conclusion," Mu Xin gave an ambiguous answer.

"Don't you Chinese people especially love watching us Americans get thwarted? If BYD cooperates with us, the looks on the faces of Musk and those Detroit automotive giants will surely be worth seeing," Ramaswamy's voice was filled with temptation at this moment.

"You're right, but BYD are businesspeople. They have the state watching them within China, so they are obedient and dutiful car manufacturers, but once they leave China, they aren't."

"Have you ever seen a car manufacturer that holds nearly ten roll-on/roll-off ships? That stuff looks even more exaggerated than an aircraft carrier!" Mu Xin said.

"Alright... you'd better hurry. This thing will absolutely make a fortune!"

"The most critical thing is that this aligns perfectly with what President Trump calls manufacturing reshoring. After all, an assembly plant is still a factory; he only wants the results, not the process," Ramaswamy said.

After hanging up, Mu Xin carefully pondered the business Ramaswamy had just mentioned.

Especially Ramaswamy's last sentence: an assembly plant is still a factory. This could serve as the perfect stepping stone to enter Trump's circle.

This was a project that could be called 'perfect'!

A new energy vehicle assembly plant that imports parts from China sounds like it has absolutely no technical content.

Boss Jia's Faraday Future had already become a joke, so even if this business was actually made to work, it would still be viewed as a joke by others.

This wouldn't make Trump's allies unhappy; after all, an assembly plant couldn't shake the US automotive industry, nor would it affect Tesla's position in the United States.

Once this path was cleared, then relying on BYD's monstrous supply chain, the profit per vehicle would still be considerable.

Those roll-on/roll-off ships in BYD's hands were no joke; they could directly slash costs from beginning to end.

The more Mu Xin thought about it, the more reliable he felt this matter was. He had to admit that Ramaswamy's brain was damn good.

"Is this kid a damn descendant of Fujianese people? How is he so good at doing business?" Mu Xin cursed and got up to take a shower.

Next, he needed to figure out all the legal and political risks of this project...