As of January 2021, the market value of Weilai broke through the $90 billion mark. However, in the past few years, Weilai has experienced a series of setbacks and difficulties, such as a number of financing plans falling through, massive layoffs, the resignation of senior executives and the bottoming out of the company’s stock price. Today, Weilai has crossed the line of life and death and regained the favor of capital.
In Li Bin’s own words, it is: "We were actually beaten on the ground with a left fist and a right fist, and then we got up, and then we were beaten on the ground and got up again. But we stopped. "
At the beginning of 2020, Weilai Automobile, which just walked out of ICU, encountered greater challenges: Tesla cut prices and capital rushed to the new energy automobile market … … What is the magic weapon for Weilai Automobile? What is Li Bin’s "happiness trouble"? From "controversy" to "disappointing", how did Wei Lai do it?
Let’s go on to find the answer at 10: 20 on Saturday night, February 6, in the second program of CCTV Finance’s "Meeting Big Coffee" in the fifth season.
Porsche factory can’t compare with Jianghuai factory?
Weilai Automobile uses its strength to explain that China manufacturing does not lose to Europe and America!
In the fourth season "Meet Big Coffee" program, Li Bin was questioned by many people because of the phrase "Porsche factory is not as good as Jianghuai automobile factory".
In this episode, Li Bin specially took the host Shi Xiaonuo to visit the factory of Weilai Automobile in Hefei. The factory was originally a swamp, and it took only 20 months to complete from completion to production. Walking into the factory, you can see that the internal equipment is advanced and orderly.
Inside the factory, a series of honors won by Weilai Automobile are displayed: Weilai ES8 ranked first in the quality list of new energy vehicles in China released by J.D. Power in 2019, which has surpassed well-known automobile brands such as BMW and Tesla (this list comes from one of the most professional and authoritative market research companies in the world, and it is also one of the most authoritative lists in the automobile industry), and Weilai ES8 won the European Body Award, becoming the first high-end brand in China at the European Body Selection Conference & HELL. …
In Li Bin’s view, all these honors show that the manufacturing in China has reached a high level, and the spring of domestic electric vehicle brands has arrived.
Li Bin, the "commentator", specially explained the "Porsche": "I visited the Porsche factory more than 20 years ago, and I felt that there was a big gap between us and Europe … … Now, China manufacturing has really reached a very high level in many aspects. "
Tesla cut prices, Weilai sales rose,
Why does Li Bin have the confidence to say that "Weilai Automobile will not reduce its price"?
In 2020, new energy vehicles will have a rapid development, and new forces such as Tucki, Ideality and Weimar will make great efforts in succession, while Tesla, the leader in new energy vehicles, will reduce the price from more than 400,000 yuan to more than 200,000 yuan. Faced with all these challenges, Li Bin has a "happy worry": the production capacity of Weilai Automobile is not enough. Users have to wait for two months or more to buy a Weilai car.
Li Bin said that in 2020, the sales volume of Weilai Automobile will double that of 2019, but the automobile supply chain is complex and involves many parts, so it will take some time to expand the production capacity. Li Bin, who has experienced many storms, said that he should be "steady".
The most interesting thing is Tesla’s price reduction. The first price reduction has an impact on Weilai’s sales. Later, the price reduction will increase the sales of Weilai Automobile.
Facing the "price attack" from rivals, Li Bin said that Weilai Automobile would not reduce its price, because he believed that the price reduction was an emotional injury to old users. "We should be grateful to the users who have chosen us and be kind to them. This is the bottom line of an enterprise, and the bottom line of each enterprise is not the same. "
Li Bin also said that a penny is worth a penny. "The price of eating tuna is definitely different from that of eating crucian carp." Li Bin prefers to spend more money on building and changing power stations and improving services for users, because "there will always be users in this world who will recognize your value, as long as you don’t make black-hearted money."
Weilai is praised by users as "Haidilao" in the automobile industry.
Li Bin only scored 50 points for Weilai’s user service … …
Owners who have bought Weilai cars are full of praise for the service of Weilai cars. There is feedback from the owner, which is the most difficult time for Weilai, and the service is not discounted. The industry once said that Weilai Automobile was the "sea fishing" of the automobile industry.
However, Li Bin himself only scored 50 points (out of 100) for the service level of Weilai Automobile. Because he feels that "satisfying users is Weilai’s purpose, not a means". On the road that is good for users and car owners, Weilai has no end.
At an internal staff meeting, he asked the staff confidentially, when Weilai Automobile was the most difficult in 2019, who was more determined to buy a car than the company employees? "We paid all the employees, but the owner bought our car, and once the company went wrong, he would suffer actual property losses."
Li Bin said that what made him "very unhappy" was that so far, no salesman of a company had ever fought for greater benefits for customers in front of him. Li Bin, on the other hand, has long set an example and got along with the owners of Weilai as relatives.
Every day, he will log on to Weilai APP, give big red envelopes to car owners, and regularly attend meetings with riders to "listen to the most primitive and authentic voice in business logic".
What kind of experience is it to grow up with a brand?
Many car owners have gone through the process of fighting wits with their families before buying the Weilai car, but once they drive it, there are few regrets. There are also car owners who have bought two Weilai cars in a row and asked Li Bin: "Why is Weilai so attractive?"
Li Bin’s answer is warm and sincere: "Technological progress will bring emotional experience … … (Buy Weilai car), car owners are willing to watch it grow up. Now it is impossible to have a mature car brand, which will give car owners a chance to grow together with it, but Weilai can. You watch how it overcomes difficulties a little bit, watch it grow up, and even become a part of its growth. "
It is probably this sense of accomplishment and value that makes Weilai car owners make a lot of warm moves: on Weilai Auto Show Day, hundreds of car owners will be present as volunteers to help Weilai sell cars; When Weilai was in the most difficult time, the user did not abandon it, but actively helped Weilai sell the car and pulled it back from the cliff.
Why does Li Bin think Weilai’s listing was "unsuccessful"?
In 2018, Weilai Automobile boarded the NYSE. When everyone cheered for Weilai’s listing, only Li Bin felt that the listing was not successful. He revealed in "Meeting Big Coffee": Weilai Automobile plans to raise 2 billion US dollars, only 1.1 billion in the end. The funds originally raised should be enough for Weilai to "burn" for two years, but now it is only enough for one year.
What makes Li Bin feel even worse is that on a public occasion, an American fund investor openly said that you are all liars. Compared with Li Bin’s successful listing in the United States with Easy Car Network last time, Li Bin felt that "an era is over". But even if the rhythm is disrupted, Li Bin’s confidence in starting a business remains as firm as ever.
Li Ning is the platform of Weilai bus.
Li Bin revealed his small goal: one third of the world has one.
This left-behind child who walked out of Dabie Mountain has started a tossing entrepreneurial life since he was admitted to Peking University by counterattack. He has experienced four ventures, making three companies listed.
In Li Bin’s view, every time he starts a business, he has his own difficulties, but he is basically not swayed by considerations of gain and loss, and always takes "how big something is" as his mantra. He said that he didn’t care much about the share price of Weilai Automobile, because his mood always followed that and he couldn’t continue to start a business.
At a NIO DAY of Weilai Automobile, Li Ning gladly "stood on the platform" for Weilai Automobile. As the founder of the national sports brand, Li Ning has a certain meaning of "appreciate each other" to Li Bin. Li Bin revealed the development direction of Weilai to Li Ning: "The market we are aiming at is the market of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi … … See if there is any chance to achieve one third of the world in five years. " Li Ning gave Wei Lai encouragement and shared his secret of starting a business: "Starting a business and living is a great victory."
Indeed, the road to entrepreneurship is not easy, with flowers and applause on the one hand and cliffs and failures on the other. For this venture, Li Bin has great dreams. For example, Weilai Automobile can compete with first-tier foreign brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and at the same time, he has a calm mind: "Many people have asked me if I want to start a business. In fact, it is very simple. You have to think about it. What should you do if you fail? If you fail, you are still willing to do it, then do it. "
On the track of new energy vehicles, the road ahead is still full of unknowns and dangers. At the end of the program, Li Bin said that the only thing he could do was to "look forward and move forward" … … For more stories about Weilai Automobile, at 10: 20 on Saturday night, February 6, the second phase of "Meeting Big Coffee" broadcast by CCTV Financial Channel continued wonderfully.
