My American magical life
Chapter 575 - 575 95 Cheng Daqi looks clueless might be a fat sheep _4

575: Chapter 95 “Cheng Daqi looks clueless, might be a fat sheep” _4 575: Chapter 95 “Cheng Daqi looks clueless, might be a fat sheep” _4 Only the general manager’s approval was needed; as long as someone decided to pay the bills, even partially, that would’ve been fine.

After all, we’ve already invested in the cost of production.

But this EV10 isn’t selling well, hence the stockpile here.

Of course, our Southeast Automobile’s own products still have good sales.

Look, all these are Dianka’s EV10s.

They design, we manufacture.

There’s no issue with the manufacturing quality.

It’s not our fault they’re not selling well!”

Manager Zhan grumbled and explained emphatically.

He didn’t want Cheng Daqi and his party to misunderstand the strength of Southeast Automobile—even though it wasn’t much to begin with.

CEO Cheng wasn’t familiar with the Dianka brand, after all, he wasn’t someone who was well-versed in the automotive industry.

But judging by the state of Dianka, it seems likely that its future would be deathly quiet.

CEO Cheng smiled and nodded, casually continuing the conversation along what Manager Zhan had said.

“You mentioned that Dianka’s boss has run off.

Who is their big boss?”

“Who else but LeEco’s Accountant Jia!”

Huh?

Accountant Jia?!?

CEO Cheng was stunned.

Elder Jia, oh Elder Jia, how many people have you swindled!

“Aren’t LeEco’s cars the Faraday Future?”

After getting a grip on Elder Jia, the only thing Cheng Daqi did was take his dark money.

He hadn’t started on anything extra, so he wasn’t very familiar with the history of LeEco’s car manufacturing.

“Ha, that’s where you’re wrong.

Accountant Jia initially cooperated with BAIC Group and created Dianka.

Of course, LeEco set up Faraday Future in America later on.

He was walking on two paths—Dianka was aimed at the domestic small family car market, while Faraday Future targeted those high-end ‘tower-top’ clients.

As it turned out, he ran off before either path took off—Dianka went silent without a peep, and those ‘tower-top’ clients never materialized.

It’s all about how he made a quick cut from the most willing investors in car manufacturing.”

“These new brands, none of them are reliable.

When it comes to manufacturing cars, it’s the experienced old manufacturers that count, like our Southeast Automobile.”

Manager Zhan’s message, in a nutshell, was clear: LeEco’s car-making was worthless, and Southeast Automobile—with its long history—is the real deal when it comes to car manufacturing!

Dianka, Faraday Future, Accountant Jia, Southeast Automobile, Ningde in southern Fujian, Dongxin Group, Tesla…

As CEO Cheng thought more and more, he quickly realized that pondering these matters now was pointless.

After returning to America, he would need to have a good talk with Accountant Jia.

It seemed that Elder Jia had genuinely invested a lot of resources into car manufacturing at the time.

“Mr.

Zhan, let’s wrap it up here for today.

Thank you for your hospitality.”

Cheng Daqi thus left with Temir and his party.

Manager Zhan shook his head regretfully, pained by the loss of a potential cash cow.

There wasn’t much left of Southeast, and as an old-timer there, the pressures of performance and the company’s future were suffocating, but he had given his all.

—————–

On the car ride back to Egret Island, Mi’er—who had slept through the trip there—was now full of energy, brimming with questions.

“Cheng, are you thinking of getting into car manufacturing?”

“No, I just passed by and wanted to take a look.”

“I get it.

You’re still hesitating because you always want to win, and you’re not sure about this, so you hesitate!”

“Starting a car company would mean investing at least a few billion dollars.

Anyone would hesitate over such a decision—considering the source of funds, the competitive pressure, the unknowable market reception…

there’s a lot to think about.”

“So, the more you hesitate, the more it means you’re actually interested, right?”

“Faraday Future has a certain reputation in Hua Country, and in the coming years, domestic cars from Hua Country will gradually develop to the point of a thorough shake-up in the world automotive industry.

That’s inevitable.

Mi’er, you might not be able to imagine this, but this land has an entire automotive parts supply chain, from screws to rubber rings to gear transmissions, and it’s developing rapidly.

If I want to manufacture cars here, Southeast Automobile’s qualifications would be a significant asset.

I have a reliable partner in Fujian province, Hua Country, Sun Dongxin—you know him.

He’s still in Europe attending meetings with delegations.

If I join forces with him and add some American capital…

Tesla is certainly a good benchmark right now.”

Cheng Daqi fell into thought.

His foundation was in MCN, making money by daily grinding of short videos for his subordinates.

But he had three big opportunities that he could seize.

One was cryptocurrency, which was almost ready to take off at any moment—low cost, high risk, high return.

The second was e-commerce.

With enough traffic resources on his hands, he could take a gamble when the time was slightly more ripe—average cost, average risk, a one-year window.

The third was to use the shell of Faraday Future to manufacture cars.

While the conditions were much harder, the prospects were boundless.

The automotive industry is one of the most complex and profitable sectors of modern industry—high cost, high risk, a six-month window, and returns ranging from negative billions to virtually unlimited.

For Hua Country’s automotive manufacturing industry, which had reached an advanced level, there were no latecomers who could surpass them.

As long as he caught this wave of expansion in Hua Country’s automotive industry, the rewards could last for centuries.

(That’s the current state, although the profits aren’t high due to intense competition…)

The times had changed.

The precision, complexity, and cost-control of modern factories are enough to block any latecomers from finding a path forward.

“Tesla’s stock is soaring.

I made over sixty million dollars—hahaha, Cheng, I trust your judgment in the automotive industry.”

Temir’s words jolted CEO Cheng back to attention.

Tesla was going to drop in the second half of ’19 due to the climax of the trade war, and after that drop, it would soar to unprecedented heights.

Mi’er’s sixty million was probably leveraged…