Not being able to obtain relative control was a bit regrettable for Ying Jianren, but it was just a regret.
In a company without a dual-class share structure, the shareholding ratio for absolute control over a company is 67%, for relative control it's 51%, and for safety control it's 34%.
Ying Jianren didn't get the relative control ratio, but for the branch company, he had management rights and a safety control line.
He wasn't worried that the 41% stake held by Beicang District would directly seize control of his company.
No local government would do that during investment promotion, as it would ruin their reputation.
Places with poor business environments inland might do this, but coastal areas wouldn't, unless your company had operational issues, in which case the other party might arrange a successor for stability.
Obviously, Xinchizhineng, with its 10% stake, was the fallback plan arranged by Beicang District.
However, for now, it doesn't threaten Zhongtai's control.
Firstly, Xinchizhineng doesn't have the capability to build cars.
If it did, with car manufacturing qualifications, it could completely start its own business and wouldn't need to approach them.
Beicang District knew this, Tan Jincheng knew this, and Ying Jianren naturally knew this too.
Therefore, Ying Jianren temporarily didn't need to worry about losing control of the Beicang branch.
For him, having secured the production permit, the most important thing was to market the Zhongtai 001 well and make consumers accept this model.
At this time, he and Wu Jianzhong truly had no energy to dispute the equity of a branch company.
Even if there were future hidden dangers, they could only accept it.
Moreover, the current situation was very favorable for them.
Although the production qualification was valued at 40 million yuan, they didn't need to pay a single cent, and they also received 300 million yuan in investment from the Beicang District government, including land resources and cash.
A total investment of 300 million yuan was quite substantial.
In addition, there were a series of policy benefits, such as tax breaks, bank loans, etc.
Utilizing these leverage components, it was enough to build a new car factory and establish a brand new production line.
For car manufacturers, having several hundred million yuan plus local government support, and all policies given the green light, it truly means they can start.
The investment for car companies is huge, but the initial capital doesn't need to be exceptionally large.
Chery started with just a few hundred thousand yuan back then.
Money is certainly important for car manufacturers, but this investment is continuous, not a one-time thing.
Conversely, technical talent is what car manufacturers should focus on more.
The reason Zhongtai was able to quickly reverse-engineer a small SUV was because they had an experienced R&D team.
These engineers, all from Baodao, had rich experience in car manufacturing.
Without these people, even if you had money, you wouldn't be able to reverse-engineer it.
Tan Jincheng dared not start building cars at this time, not only due to insufficient funds but also because he had no connections in the automotive industry and couldn't find a reliable and trustworthy R&D team.
It's a pity.
If he had been reborn earlier and risen to prominence before Ander's bankruptcy liquidation in 2003, Tan Jincheng might have truly dared to take over the Yicheng Automobile Factory.
Even if their technical foundation was weak, it would be better than nothing.
But that's nonsense.
Before 2003, Tan Jincheng was still in high school, still a minor, so being reborn wouldn't have been much use.
A minor high school student telling his parents, "I'm not going to study anymore, I'm going to do business, I'm going to build cars"?
He'd get two slaps first.
"Ah, the rebirth wasn't thorough enough. If only it came with a system like in web novels, providing blueprints and such, then let alone building cars, I'd even dare to think about lithography machines!"
"President Tan, President Tan, wake up, what are you thinking about?"
Tan Jincheng, who had zoned out again, was pulled back to reality by Ying Jianren's voice.
Ying Jianren was seen waving his arm in front of Tan Jincheng's eyes, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Tan Jincheng, having come back to his senses, smiled and said to Ying Jianren:
"Ah, nothing, I was just spacing out a bit. I suppose this counts as entering the car manufacturing industry and fulfilling another dream of a man, doesn't it, President Ying?"
"Of course it counts. Compared to your peers, President Tan, you're almost an era ahead, whether in wealth or achievement,"
Ying Jianren said with a sigh of emotion.
If there was a biggest winner in this tripartite cooperation, it was certainly the young man in front of him, who had just been spacing out.
He only provided a production permit and gained a 10% stake in a car manufacturer with a registered capital of 400 million yuan.
Ying Jianren was no longer interested in investigating how or for how much this production permit was obtained.
The cooperation had been reached, and he wouldn't do such meaningless things.
"Then I must thank President Ying for your guidance. Please don't hesitate to enlighten me if I have any questions in the future,"
Tan Jincheng replied humbly.
"No problem, President Tan, you can visit Yongkang often in the future. I'll also go to Beicang when I have time, and we can exchange ideas then,"
Ying Jianren responded readily.
Today was the fourth day since Tan Jincheng and his group arrived in Yongkang.
Ying Jianren also appreciated this humble young man.
Over the past few days, Tan Jincheng had left Ying Jianren with the impression that he was very shrewd in business, yet very clean in his private life.
Yes, clean.
No other word seemed to describe this young man.
You couldn't see any bad habits in him, and he was very sincere.
He wasn't ashamed to ask questions about things he didn't understand, whether it was their team or his own.
The so-called thin-skinned, pretending-to-know-what-you-don't in young people was completely absent in him.
Good-looking, polite, intelligent, and eager to learn.
From an elder's perspective, he genuinely liked this young man.
What a pity he didn't have a daughter; otherwise, even if he had a girlfriend, he'd try to poach him.
It's just his alcohol tolerance is too poor.
"Don't think so much about it. Today is a happy occasion. Let's go, the signing ceremony and press conference are about to begin,"
Ying Jianren said, patting Tan Jincheng's shoulder.
Collaborating with the local government to build a branch factory, with registered capital alone reaching 400 million yuan, not to mention the investment, such an important event naturally required a press conference.
It could also be used to leverage media power to promote the upcoming Zhongtai 2008.
Oh, this name was suggested by Tan Jincheng, because he made Zhongtai's first launched model be called 2008.
Although it's unclear why a car launched in 2006 was named 2008, Tan Jincheng still proposed it with a slight mischievous sense of humor.
The explanation given was that 2008 was precisely an Olympic year, walking with the Olympics.
It was unclear whether Tan Jincheng's fabrication worked, or if Ying Jianren and Wu Jianzhong truly thought this way when naming it in their previous lives.
After hearing Tan Jincheng's explanation, the two immediately agreed.
And they decided to use this slogan for advertising, which truly left Tan Jincheng at a loss.
Furthermore, Ying Jianren knew Tan Jincheng was good at marketing and wanted him to help brainstorm promotional plans for the 2008's launch, even asking if they should invite a spokesperson.
A small displacement SUV with 1.3L, 1.5L engines, priced only from 40,000 to over 60,000 yuan, why would they need a spokesperson?
Car endorsements are different from electric bike endorsements.
In Tan Jincheng's opinion, the role of car spokespersons isn't as significant as imagined.
For an electric bike, costing a few thousand yuan, fans might choose a brand endorsed by their favorite celebrity out of actual need, and the difference wouldn't be significant.
However, most consumers buying cars are relatively rational.
With expenses easily exceeding tens of thousands of yuan, buying a car is taken as seriously as buying a house.
They will compare various options and even require input from the whole family.
Celebrity endorsements truly don't have much effect.
Tan Jincheng didn't recommend celebrity endorsements, suggesting that saving the endorsement fee and investing it in advertising quality and promotion would be more cost-effective.
As for advertising and promotion, Tan Jincheng's advice was to focus on economy, practicality, fashionable leisure, and high cost-effectiveness.
In addition, the 2008 model came in various colors.
Tan Jincheng also suggested promoting it from a youth perspective, emphasizing youthful and fashionable personalization and diversification to attract young consumers.
"The first SUV for young people, you can try this slogan. I think it should have some effect,"
Tan Jincheng finally offered this promotional phrase.
Several years later, a marketing genius in the mobile phone industry would use "The first smartphone for young people" to promote his brand.
Tan Jincheng borrowed it a few years in advance to promote the highly cost-effective Zhongtai 2008 small SUV. Isn't that reasonable?
He didn't refuse Ying Jianren's request.
In terms of marketing, Tan Jincheng came with experience from later generations, and with the success of Shanchi's promotion, he was indeed quite confident.
With a mindset of cooperation and mutual benefit, Tan Jincheng indeed hoped that under his influence, Zhongtai would sell better and have a smoother path, so Ying Jianren wouldn't simply give up and cash out.
Tan Jincheng wasn't planning to make traditional gasoline cars.
The better Zhongtai developed, the more beneficial it would be for him, making it smoother to start a new business in new energy vehicles in the future.
Tan Jincheng, from the future, did not fear competition.
Instead, he preferred to see the domestic car market flourish.
Affordable and reasonably priced models like Zhongtai, as long as quality issues were resolved and they proceeded steadily, would be welcomed by the market.
Chery, focusing on independent research, brought down the high prices of joint venture brands.
Geely and BYD's follow-up in R&D and investment finally secured a place for domestic cars in the fuel vehicle market.
If Zhongtai followed in the footsteps of these trailblazers, progressing step by step instead of merely copying, its fate might truly change.
"The first SUV for young people? This is great, this is great,"
Ying Jianren's eyes lit up as he exclaimed.
Others, including Wu Jianzhong and those from Beicang, also applauded after carefully pondering it.
Truly worthy of someone who started with marketing, a simple advertising slogan captured the consumer group.
Cultivating young consumers, making them remember and recognize the brand, has always been what Tan Jincheng did for Shanchi Technology.
Now it's just being applied to Zhongtai 2008.
(End of chapter)