Chapter 1225 – Imitation Electric bikes
Feng Yu and Li Na returned to Bing City during the Labor Day holidays to visit their relatives and Bing City Machinery Manufacturing Group.
The group had grown rapidly in recent years, especially electric vehicles, like electric bicycles and electric motorcycles. However, they still have not started on electric cars.
Electric cars had already appeared in the last century. The earliest recorded electric cars dated back to 1834, but after petroleum was extracted in great volume and breakthrough in combustion engines, electric cars’ development stopped.
Until around 1990, when oil prices started rising, and pollution increased, people started to look into electric cars again.
The earliest electric bicycle is developed by Shanghai Forever. But due to their technological limitations, their electric bicycles did not sell well.
Their sales for electric motorcycles were worse.
Bing City Machinery Manufacturing Group can start producing electric bicycles in 1997. Still, the battery and other related technologies are not advanced. Furthermore, that was the time when motorcycles become popular. That’s why they did not produce.
Now, motorcycle restrictions were implemented in certain areas as trial. Although it was not implemented nationwide, people know the government will start the restrictions soon.
In Feng Yu’s previous life, 2007 was the peak of motorcycles. But because the Olympic games will be held in China, the government restricted the use of motorcycles to curb pollution. All the major cities in China implemented restrictions on motorcycles, and motorcycle sales dropped, resulting in electric bicycles.
China’s application to host the Olympic games is approved. The motorcycle restrictions trial had started in the first-tier cities.
Three years ago, there are around 50,000 electric bicycles, including imported brands, in China. But last year, the number of electric bicycles in China had exceeded 500,000, and it is rising faster this year.
Early last year, Songjiang’s electric vehicles were launched into the market. With aggressive advertising, celebrities’ endors.e.m.e.nts, brand effects, etc., they quickly become China’s No. 1 electric vehicle brand. Their electric motorcycles become the industry leader easily.
The factories that produced electric bicycles much earlier can only accept their fate. Their brand, technologies, marketing, and distribution channels are no match for the Songjiang brand.
These factories thought they had been manufacturing electric bicycles longer and should benefit from the sudden bloom. To meet the sudden demand, they expanded their factories, hoping to maintain their market leader status.
However, Songjiang Electric bicycles were launched and quickly replaced those factories as the market leader. They knew Songjiang is stronger in its branding, marketing, distribution channels, etc. Still, they never expect Songjiang’s technologies are more advanced than them.
Suddenly, no one is buying imported electric bicycles. This is because Songjiang electric bicycle was put to a comparison test with an imported electric bicycle on TV. Songjiang electric bicycles won in all aspects.
This is not because there are no better electric bicycles overseas. All the imported electric bicycles that are sold in China are older and obsolete models. When these overseas brands saw Songjiang gaining market share quickly, they started to bring better models into the Chinese market.
But after the comparison on TV, the Chinese consumers no longer think these overseas brands’ electric bicycles are better.
Songjiang, trusted brand, trusted quality.
This advertising slogan was easily remembered by everyone.
Shanghai Forever was speechless. Since when is Songjiang an old brand? We have been around much longer than Songjiang!
Your product quality can be trusted?! Are you implying our quality cannot be trusted?
Shanghai Forever’s technology was still fine, and their cost control is also good. But after Songjiang electric bicycles are launched in the market, Shanghai Forever’s bicycles’ retail prices were forced to increase. This is the main reason why they lost the market share.
What happened? It is because Shanghai Forever is using Tai Hua Batteries. Their three-year battery supply contract had ended last year, and they had to sign a new contract.
This time, Tai Hua Battery suddenly increase its prices!
Thus, Shanghai Forever was forced to pa.s.s on the price increase to its customers. This resulted in losing their price compet.i.tiveness. They have lesser factories than Songjiang and has to incur higher transportation cost. Now, their electric bicycles are priced 200 RMB higher than Songjiang’s.
200 RMB more is not a lot compared to the price of an electric bicycle. But the ones that buy electric bicycles are not wealthy people. 200 RMB means a lot to them.
This year’s electric bicycle production is forecasted to be over a million, and electric motorcycles will be over 500,000. Songjiang will own more than 70% of the electric bicycle market share and over 80% of the electric motorcycle market share.
As electric bicycles become more popular, many local small factories start to manufacture them. They used Songjiang’s patented technologies and still felt they are only copying.
It’s fine if they want to copy. Li Mingde felt there’s no need to go after them, as they are not a threat to Songjiang electric bicycles. These small factories cannot produce electric motorcycle engines, which is more profitable.
But those small factories went too far. They even printed the Songjiang logo on their electric bicycles. Everything becomes different now.
Copying and imitations are two different concepts. I can let you copy, but I will not allow any imitations.
Those small factories’ electric bicycles are of poorer quality, and some are unsafe.
A few days ago, a consumer bought a Songjiang electric bicycle. After riding for less than a week, the battery was burned. He brought it to Songjiang electric bicycle after-sales center for repairs.
That was when the company discovers there are imitation products in the market!
Li Mingde takes this seriously. If these imitations flooded the market, it would affect Songjiang electric bicycles’ and even Bing City Machinery Manufacturing group’s branding and reputation.
Bing City Machinery Manufacturing group had worked hard for its reputation. They must not let these people destroy it.
Li Mingde reported this to Feng Yu and hope he can ask the higher-ups to crack down on these imitations. These evil businessmen must be punished severely.