February 12th, Lantern Festival, Sunday.
A week had passed since the Spring Festival officially ended and work resumed, and this was also the first full weekend of 2006.
After adjusting their work schedules, office workers finally had a chance to relax.
In the beautiful coastal city of BH, Guangxi Province, the weather was mild and pleasant, and the sun felt warm on the skin.
February, with an average temperature of 13 to 19 degrees Celsius, was Beihai's most comfortable season.
9 AM, city center.
Car enthusiasts (staged participants), media, and onlookers crowded around Mr. Li Qiangzhong, a renowned domestic rider, and his assistant, as well as a young man, as they stepped onto the center of the stage.
The backdrop of the stage prominently displayed 'FlashRide V WindRide Electric Vehicles 2006 Environmental Quality Sea Border Long March', along with photos of the two major brand ambassadors and Mr. Li Qiangzhong, the executive of this event.
Although 2005 had ended, the popularity of both Brother Chun and Liu Yifei remained high.
Even in this city located in the northeast of Beibu Gulf, many people still recognized these two.
Ever since the stage was set up, passersby would occasionally stop and watch, wondering what the event was about.
"To all car enthusiasts, media friends, and audience members present, first, I wish you all a happy Lantern Festival!"
The host, dressed in a cheongsam, took the stage and began her lively commentary.
"The 2006 Sea Border Environmental Long March event, organized by FlashRide Technology, officially kicks off today in Beihai. As the host and a citizen of BH, I feel incredibly honored."
At this moment, some onlookers recognized the host.
"Oh, isn't that the beautiful female host from the city TV station? What is this event she's talking about?"
"I don't know, judging by the promotional poster, it should be an event related to electric bikes. I know FlashRide is endorsed by Brother Chun, but I didn't expect WindRide, endorsed by Liu Yifei, to be from the same company."
"The one endorsed by Brother Chun is quite stylish and affordable. A shop like this opened downtown recently, the basic version only costs 1999, and it even comes with a helmet, rain poncho, and so on."
"Not great, I tried it. It's not as good as those generic brands; generic brands have more horsepower. The high-end version is a bit more expensive, and WindRide's is even more so."
"But theirs comes with quality assurance and more freebies. Generic brands don't offer anything; after three months, the battery is useless, and replacing it costs several hundred yuan."
"That's true, generic brands are bad in this respect. Damn, they're quite a scam, and it doesn't end up being cheap."
"Stop talking for now, let's hear what the host has to say."
"FlashRide Technology is a high-tech electric vehicle company located in Beicang District, Yongcheng, established in May 2005. It owns two major brands, FlashRide and WindRide, both of which have hired famous domestic actresses as ambassadors."
"Since their products launched in August 2005, they have been well-received by consumers. Currently, sales have exceeded 50,000 units, with over 5,000 stores nationwide, and products are showing a trend of supply falling short of demand."
The sales figures were real; it wasn't good to exaggerate too much about that.
As for the stores, one could just make it up; no idiot would actually go investigate how many stores you had.
Xinfeng had only produced 10,000 electric vehicles but claimed to have 100 stores, so what was there to fear?
"To better showcase its products to consumers and to allow consumers to understand electric vehicles more comprehensively, FlashRide Technology is specially holding this Long March event. Mr. Li Qiangzhong and his assistant will depart from Beihai, passing through 11 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, riding 6300 kilometers to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles to everyone."
"This event starts today and will last for two months. It will challenge the performance of FlashRide and WindRide series electric vehicles in various road conditions, traveling from west to south, and then from south to north."
"This event will have no support vehicles or support teams throughout. Multiple media outlets will simultaneously track and report on it, with real-time updates on online platforms such as blogs, QQ Zone, and Tianya Forum. Everyone is welcome to follow and supervise."
After the host's explanation, the audience finally understood what the Long March event was about.
"Isn't this just cycling tourism? Touring on an electric bike? What if it runs out of power halfway?"
"They should have spare batteries, I suppose. I've heard of this rider, he's quite famous. Riding 6300 kilometers is indeed ten thousand li, tsk tsk, truly impressive."
"This company must have paid him to do it. That's great, getting paid for cycling tourism, I want to participate too."
"No support team throughout? That's bragging, how could there be no support team? What if this guy rides into a ditch? Or falls, and the electric bike breaks, it'll need repairs, right?"
"Didn't they say reporters would track it throughout? And real-time tracking online?"
"Just listen to that, reporters are definitely paid too. The online reports are probably by their own people. But traveling by electric bike is pretty impressive, this must be a first in the country, right?"
"Probably. Before, I only heard of cycling, motorcycling, or driving, but never touring on an electric bike."
"Who's that young man next to him? I didn't quite catch the host's introduction, what does he do?"
"Didn't pay much attention, but I think they said he's the chairman of FlashRide Technology? Damn, the chairman is so young?"
"Hey, did you notice that young man is quite handsome? He looks a bit like a celebrity, but I can't recall the name."
This was a young female onlooker asking her companion.
"Just listen, you'll find out. The reporter is interviewing that young man, and he really is handsome, just like you said."
Reporter: "Hello, Mr. Tan. To my knowledge, this is the first time such a cycling event has been organized by an electric vehicle manufacturer in China. Could you please tell us the original intention behind your company spending so much time and effort on this event?"
Tan Jincheng took the microphone from the host, tapped it twice, and replied with a smile:
"Every industry has its firsts, and the electric vehicle industry is no exception. As you know, this is the first large-scale cycling event organized by a manufacturer in the electric vehicle industry. But do you also know that FlashRide Technology is also the first electric vehicle company in China to hire celebrity endorsements?"
"FlashRide Technology is a new enterprise, and I myself am a post-80s, or rather, post-85s. Youth means all sorts of possibilities, so from a business management perspective, I hope to bring something different to the industry, hence this event."
"As for the original intention of the event, it is of course to promote our company and products. Additionally, we want to use this opportunity to meet more friends from other industries, such as Mr. Li, our beautiful host, various reporters, and all the audience members present."
"We hope that through such an opportunity, we can present the advantages and disadvantages of our products to everyone. For the advantages, we hope everyone can help us promote them. As for the disadvantages, you can provide feedback to our team so we can make timely corrections."
"Of course, it would be even better if you could secretly provide us with private feedback. It's quite reasonable for young people to care about their reputation, isn't it?"
A burst of laughter erupted from below, everyone found this young chairman quite interesting, his way of speaking was very direct, feeling different from many entrepreneurs.
"This handsome young man is interesting. He told the reporter we've had firsts before, so this first time isn't anything strange."
"Haha, if it's good, help me promote it; if it's not good, tell me secretly."
"Post-85s? Then he's at most 21 years old, isn't he? Is he that impressive at 21? Selling fifty thousand units in just over half a year, how much money did he make?"
"Amazing. Even if an electric bike earns 200 yuan, that's already ten million yuan, right? Earning ten million in half a year, that's incredible. So rich at 21."
Immediately after, the reporter asked Tan Jincheng a few more private questions.
Reporters of that era still had some professional ethics; although they had received benefits and wouldn't make things too difficult for Tan Jincheng, they still dared to ask some questions they genuinely wanted to know.
This was Tan Jincheng's first public appearance and his first close-up interaction with industry media.
The media was extremely interested in this overly young and very handsome founder.
Sales of 50,000 units in just over half a year, for future giants like Yadea, Xinri, and Aima, with annual sales of millions of units, this number would be nothing.
But if the timeline was 2005, it was different.
In 2005, the industry leader only sold over 200,000 units, so 50,000 units in half a year was definitely a very impressive sales figure.
As an industry media reporter, the significance of this number was very clear.
50,000 units, with 5,000 stores nationwide selling its brand of electric vehicles.
If these two sets of figures were true, it indicated that both consumers and retailers had accepted the FlashRide brand.
Coupled with FlashRide Technology's consistently impressive marketing strategies, it meant that the FlashRide and WindRide brands had already established themselves in the market.
Establishing a brand is not as simple as registering a trademark with the trademark office.
The hardest part is getting dealers and consumers to accept the brand, and FlashRide Technology achieved this in just half a year, which is truly remarkable.
As the helmsman of an enterprise, Tan Jincheng received significant attention from the attending industry media.
However, Tan Jincheng wasn't very eager to hog the spotlight.
After simply answering a few questions, he handed the microphone over to Li Qiangzhong.
He was still the main character of this event, just as Ferrari and others used F1 for vehicle performance testing, a professional rider's input on vehicle performance is very helpful.
Li Qiangzhong was originally a professional motorcycle rider.
The electric vehicles used for this ride had not undergone any major modifications by FlashRide Technology, so after this event, he would be able to provide a lot of feedback on the vehicle's characteristics.
In this kind of situation, there was no need to steal his thunder.
Letting him feel the goodwill of the event organizers was the most important thing.
After nearly an hour of activity, the launch ceremony officially concluded.
FlashRide Technology staff were responsible for arranging the reporters, while Tan Jincheng took Li Qiangzhong to the hotel.
After lunch, Li Qiangzhong officially set off.
Departing with Li Qiangzhong were some media reporters and a filming team assembled by FlashRide Technology.
Following the style of Bilibili UP streamers in later years, the filming team would record the cycling scenery along the way and upload it online, promoting the brand while also adding some entertainment, otherwise the entire promotional process would be too boring.
(End of chapter)