Chapter 135 - 131 Overseas Order_1

Not only COMAC but also a host of international manufacturers expected to participate in the C919 project were paying close attention to the C822 and C832 plans and the newly established Commercial Aviation.

They all knew the resolution’s passage was highly significant to the public and the government.

"Complete domestic production" is absolutely politically correct in China; whoever aims for this goal is destined to hold a high position, making the C919 less important on a national level.

Additionally, there are orders, as airlines would definitely prefer to purchase their own country’s domestically produced aircraft, which are commonly understood to be cheaper, not to mention China’s strong industrial capability to reduce costs.

There would no longer be awkward situations where even a napkin box for a Boeing aircraft must be purchased as specified, nor incidents of paying exorbitant fees for foreign engineers’ maintenance.

Driven by mutual interests, COMAC pitifully sought information while trying to arouse sympathy.

When they found out that it was the 611 Institute & Factory 132 in collaboration with China’s National Space Administration and Xinyuan Company behind the manufacturing, it signified that the project was set in stone, and the local area of Sichuan would fully protect it.

Moreover, both the C822 and C832 had committed to making their first flight within two years, something COMAC could not achieve.

Manufacturing the airframe was possible, but it was uncertain regarding other internationally supplied components.

However, to their fortune, companies like General Electric and Honeywell suddenly relaxed their delaying tactics on supplying crucial components for the C919 and started to negotiate for fast cooperation.

COMAC was fully aware of this but smoothly accepted it anyway, and the C919 project unexpectedly accelerated.

Meanwhile, the 611 Institute and Xinyuan were once again announced for sanctions even though they were already on the sanction list.

However, following this, China Airlines announced their intention to purchase two C832 aircraft from Southwest Commercial Aviation Company as special planes!

It is known that China does not have dedicated "special planes"; planes for official use are transferred from China Airline’s regular 747 operations and returned to commercial flights afterward.

Of course, there were other factors involved, but they disappeared with the emergence of the C832. To show support, China Airlines did not hesitate to make a move and ceremoniously signed a letter of intent.

A special aircraft, just like in the past the Yun-10 advanced with the help of this concept, under which many resources could be directed.

It should be noted that at this time, the Commercial Aviation company didn’t even have a shadow!

With official endorsement, many people realized that the C822 and C832 projects had gained high-level approval and surpassed the C919 in status.

The difference between a biological son and an adopted son is clear to superiors; no matter how good the latter is, it can’t be fully trusted.

However, these intricate subtleties had little impact on the general public as the year’s end approached, and Xin’an Automotive surged onto the trending searches.

Because on that day, the first batch of 1000 XC4s was delivered to customers.

Xin’an Automotive’s sales network was divided into two channels: one, the traditional 4S dealership, where Southern Automobile already had a direct squeeze, and two, online ordering, where the factory directly shipped cars to the delivery location. The advantage of the former was immediate availability of cars; the latter, while devoid of the hassle and overpriced fees for instant pickup, allowed customers to freely choose their preferred color and style but required waiting.

After all, to save on shipping costs, the cars being sent either accumulated in sufficient quantities for batch shipping or were hoisted onto available trucks to hitch a ride, both of which required substantial time.

Xin’an had over 80,000 undelivered XC4s, and after CEO Chen Jun announced that the first 50,000 car owners could enter a raffle to go to space, and that the XC4 would soon be fitted with parts made from spacecraft debris or offcuts, nearly 20,000 more orders poured in overnight.

If all these cars were delivered, Xin’an Automotive’s sales revenue from just the XC4 would break through 40 billion!

Even after deducting the various initial investments and additional expenditures, the profit from the XC4 alone would ensure Xin’an Automotive’s first fiscal year ended in the black.

No wonder so many new forces later entered the car manufacturing scene; just like mobile phones, they’re a money-maker!

On January 28, Xin’an Automotive announced the 10 lucky car owners, 9 males and 1 female, absolutely random with no behind-the-scenes manipulation.

The eldest selected individual was 48 years old, the youngest 23, all meeting the physical criteria.

They would all receive one month of training and were expected by around August 2016 to set out for space in two groups on space shuttles that had vacant seats.

After all, they were people who could spend 500,000 on luxury cars, so squeezing out a month’s time was definitely within the realm of possibility.

Moreover, not a single one of them had the financial capacity to afford commercial space travel, which also became a focal point for media attention.

And there were ten of them, a whole ten people!

Before the Progress’s YO-2 mission, it took China’s National Space Administration ten years to send ten people into space. Then, Xinyuan Company said, "Come on, buy my 500,000 car, and I’ll give you a trip to space worth 50 million."

To the average person, it suddenly felt like the distance to space was rapidly closing in. Now it’s the owners of 500,000 cars, but what about 50,000 in the future?

It’s really not impossible, as Lin Ju had calculated that sending people to space in a lucky draw could potentially be more cost-effective for Xinyuan than spending hundreds of millions on advertising.

Even if a car’s factory net profit margin was only 8%, the XC4 brought in a gross profit of 3.2 billion yuan. And the profit margin of the XC4 wasn’t that low; an 8% profit margin might be more typical for an economy family car. The more expensive the car, the higher the profit margin, and the added value far exceeded the increase in features.

If a family car in the 100,000 range had sales of 1 million units, totalling a net profit of 10 billion yuan, wouldn’t it be easy to take out 500 million to finance 10 flights on a space shuttle, sending 50 people into space?

But for these car owners, 50 spots for space tourism was an enormous number; even without reselling them, they could make astronomical profits.

Think about it, the odds are already much higher than winning the tens of millions in the lottery, which calculates probability by the hundred millions.

So buying cars from Xin’an Company is not just a regular purchase—it’s an excellent financial opportunity.

Moreover, the performance of the XC4 had excellent advantages.

Although it would take some time for mobile Internet to rise, various tryout posts and videos of the XC4 had already started circulating online.

The most outstanding among these was the epoch-making XW151 Artificial Intelligence driving system.

Many buyers, upon receiveing their cars find that the vehicle system is in transport mode; the owners must first authenticate their identities using fingerprint recognition.

Afterward, the system would explain the operation method of the XC4’s intelligent driving system to the user. The AI Xiaoxin supports dual languages, both Chinese and English, and also includes a few entertainment features.

In addition, special emphasis was placed on introducing the assisted driving feature to users. Although the promotions and the name always revolved around the word "assist," anyone who listened to the introduction would feel that the demonstrated capabilities were almost equivalent to autonomous driving.

In 2016, those who had yet to see the ways of the world posted videos of themselves interacting with the car’s system, which quickly became popular not only domestically but also overseas.

The exceedingly positive results achieved by the XC4 also brought benefits for Xin’an Company. This year’s year-end bonuses included three special awards: two spots for a 24-hour space tour and one for a seven-day space station tour.

The seven-day space station tour, of course, went to CEO Chen Jun. Not to mention anything else, just the sales volume of 40 billion was enough for his pride. The immense wealth drawing power of luxury cars made Southern Automakers green with envy, prompting them to quickly develop their own luxury car models.

The two 24-hour space tours were awarded to two engineers who made significant contributions to the BMS and smart driving systems.

They too were to complete their space trips by the middle of this year, which meant that the H1 launches would be quite frequent in H1 this year. Rumor had it that the third H1 passenger model, the Firm Belief, was being manufactured and would be dedicated to high-frequency space tourism.

Modu City, port.

An XC4 sports car was secured in a container and then lifted by a crane onto the upper deck of a container ship.

The XC4 also had a small number of export orders, one of which was this one. The owner had ordered the top configuration and requested that English support be set up right out of the factory. Since the order was placed early, the car was prepared today to be shipped to America.

At the same time, American customs printed out a 200% tax bill for this international purchase and sent it to the buyer’s mailbox.

The name written in the recipient’s section of the bill sent out was: Elon Musk.