Chapter 375: Shared Cars

Far away in Yanjing, Cheng Wei, upon learning of ofo's expansion moves, did not hesitate for a moment; he immediately deployed another 50,000 shared bicycles in the North China region and drew a batch of personnel from headquarters to rush to East China to establish a branch company.

The battle with ofo bicycles can no longer be avoided!

If they continue northward, whether to Northeast or Northwest China, apart from a few cities, most areas are unsuitable for launching shared bicycle operations.

If Didi Bicycles wants to increase its market share and profitability, there is only one path: heading south.

Meanwhile, Chang Wei of the Little Yellow Bicycles, after fighting with Cheng Wei for several months and finding it completely ineffective, also began to consider moving south.

Both sides, with tacit understanding, chose Shanghai City as their beachhead.

On February 20, TuGe shared cars went online, with 100 Mercedes-Benz smart fortwo vehicles appearing on the streets of Yanjing.

First came shared bicycles, now shared cars.

This truly opened the eyes of Yanjing locals; it was absolutely the top!

New users registering receive a '999 yuan discount package'; the deposit is 1500 yuan, supporting Chengzi Pay, Zhifubao, or online bank payment.

The starting price is 15 yuan (including 30 minutes of time fee); mileage fee is 1.88 yuan per kilometer; time fee is calculated per minute: daytime (7:00-21:00) is 0.28 yuan per minute, nighttime (21:00-7:00) is 0.02 yuan per minute.

The charging model is 'starting fee + mileage + time'!

Simply put, if someone rents a Mercedes-Benz smart during the day, drives for a total of 40 minutes and 30 kilometers, the cost is 15 + 1.88*30 + 0.28*(40-30) = 74.2 yuan.

Calculated out, it's less than 2.5 yuan per kilometer; with the new customer discount, it's almost half price—you can drive a Mercedes-Benz for just thirty yuan.

Although the deposit is not low, users willing to try still came in an unbroken stream.

Internet media competed to report on it!

"Shared cars have arrived; you can drive a Mercedes-Benz without buying one!"

"The new darling of capital: time-sharing rental service provider Togo shared cars secured 30 million yuan in Series A financing!"

"100 Mercedes-Benz smart vehicles appeared on Yanjing streets; are you willing to try?"

After seeing the news, Chen Yansen couldn't help but smile; messing with shared cars in 2013 was absolutely like lighting a lamp in a toilet—purely looking for death.

Difficulties such as deposits, parking, and car maintenance alone would be enough to crush a shared car enterprise.

Leading by half a step makes you a genius; leading by a full step makes you a madman.

In his view, the business model of shared cars was not problematic, but perhaps waiting thirty or fifty years would be the most suitable timing.

He had no interest in shared cars, but he was exceptionally optimistic about the market for shared e-bikes.

Compared to the high costs of cars and the complex parking problems, e-bikes better fit short-distance travel needs and hold huge potential.

Once shared bicycles first become widespread and user habits are cultivated, shared e-bikes can follow into the market; with only optimizations in battery life and safety regulations, they can seize the initiative first in this blue ocean.

Especially in cities like Shancheng, constrained by terrain and topography (road slopes), shared bicycle operations simply cannot be run, so shared e-bikes can fill the market gap.

Before the New Year, Pei Yi had communicated with him, wanting to acquire an electric vehicle manufacturing factory in Xicheng.

First, to meet the usage needs of Kuipao riders;

Second, to become the supplier for ofo e-bikes, increasing profit methods.

For this, Chen Yansen had notified Ma Liyun, Ma Wenteng, Zhu Xiaohu, and Zhang Lei; after all, it was a major investment decision for the project; if he just did it without saying a word, wouldn't he become Ma Liyun?

Chen Yansen considered himself, barely, half a decent person.

Secret little moves are acceptable, but they cannot be too excessive.

Little Ma and Zhang Lei readily agreed after hearing; Zhu Xiaohu, although dissatisfied, did not oppose in the end; only Ma Liyun had the strongest objections, but since the other investors agreed, Old Ma had no choice.

"Ding-ling-ling—!"

Chen Yansen picked up his phone; it was a call from Zhou Shouzhi.

"Boss, Mr. Xu is downstairs," Zhou Shouzhi said.

What is he here for?

Chen Yansen wondered.

But Xu Zhenhui was ultimately the head of the Central Office; over these years, under his care, Pinbai Shangcheng and Chengzi Technology had developed smoothly in Xucheng.

Since the other party had come, he naturally could not be disrespectful.

Thinking of this, he pushed open the door and walked out, took the elevator to the first floor, where Zhou Shouzhi was accompanying Xu Zhenhui in the lounge area, chatting while drinking tea. Two secretaries in disguise sat nearby.

A black old-model Audi was parked outside the door.

Xu Zhenhui looked up and saw Chen Yansen; just as he was about to stand up, Chen Yansen quickly stepped forward and pressed him back into his seat.

Chen Yansen smiled and said, "Mr. Xu, sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Please sit, Mr. Chen!" Xu Zhenhui gestured with his hand.

Chen Yansen did not stand on ceremony; he pulled over a chair and sat on the other party's left side.

"Is Mr. Xu here to attend the anniversary celebration at Xuyuan?" Chen Yansen asked proactively.

"That's right; I heard from Tang Qingshan that you plan to build a large-scale data center in Luzhou?"

Xu Zhenhui asked straight to the point.

"There is indeed a relevant plan; currently, we are in the site selection phase," Chen Yansen said truthfully, without hiding anything.

"Mr. Chen, could you leave this industry to Xucheng?" Xu Zhenhui requested directly.

He knew Chengzi Technology had bought a 460,000 square meter industrial plot in Luzhou to build the group headquarters; by then, Pinbai, Jinri Technology, and Chengzi Pay would all relocate to Luzhou, and Xucheng's internet development level would return to what it was before 2010.

But he was powerless; compared to Meng Yuanzhi, the resources and policies in his hands were far inferior.

Senlian Capital would eventually move away one day.

"The core requirements for a data center are stable power supply and abundant bandwidth resources; Xucheng is not the optimal choice," Chen Yansen shook his head.

Friendship is friendship; business is business.

He would not arbitrarily change the company's strategic planning just because of Xu Zhenhui's previous care.

This data center was of great significance to Chengzi Technology; it could not tolerate even the slightest mistake.

"I will help you secure the power supply and bandwidth resources; additionally, Luzhou is on an earthquake zone; while we cannot fear the ten thousand chances, we must guard against the one in ten thousand; placing the data center in Luzhou is not safe."

Xu Zhenhui had already worked out a plan in his mind, one that went straight for the vital point.

In fact, he wasn't wrong either.

The reason Chen Yansen had been slow to finalize this matter was mainly that he was waiting for the survey report from the Geological Society of Hui'an Province—he was also afraid of natural disasters like earthquakes and floods.

"Renovation, fire safety, and low-interest loans—I can help you sort all of that out too. You're a young entrepreneur trained by the Virtual Academy, so you're half a citizen of Virtual City. Surely you can't leave behind nothing at all, right?"

Xu Zhenhui said pitifully, like a beggar.

That old fellow Tang Qingshan—his mouth is really loose, always making trouble for him.

The trouble was, he'd already promised Meng Yuanzhi, so it wouldn't be right to go back on it at the last minute.

Chen Yansen thought it over and immediately understood—Tang Qingshan had most likely done it on purpose.

He frowned slightly, thought for a few seconds, then smiled faintly and made a rather excessive request: "Mr. Xu, to be honest, I've already given my word to Mr. Meng in advance."

The moment Xu Zhenhui heard that, his face darkened. Since the other side had even dragged Meng Yuanzhi into it, it wouldn't do to keep pressing.

"So, on the matter of funding—if Virtual City can provide an interest-free loan of one billion Hua Yuan, I can consider building a data center of the same scale in Virtual City." Chen Yansen continued.

What a turn of events!

Before Xu Zhenhui had time to be glad, he caught the words "one billion" and "interest-free loan," and instantly felt troubled again.

It didn't comply with regulations!

But he understood that if he refused, Chen Yansen would have his reason to turn him down.

(End of this chapter)