Text/JING Audit/Zi Yang Correction/Zhi Qiu
Build mobile phones, build satellites, Geely "copy" Musk, Li Shufu to be "China's Iron Man"
After carbon neutrality has become the long-term development strategy of the mainland, the replacement of traditional fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles has been an irreversible result. Under the new trend, consumers are paying more and more attention to the new car-making forces such as Xiaopeng, Weilai and Ideal, and traditional car manufacturers are gradually being snubbed.
As the independent king of the fuel vehicle era, Geely has also been hit hard, and the market value has not only been left behind by BYD, but also surpassed by the three manufacturers of Wei Xiaoli.
A low-key car giant
Although Geely is relatively low-key in the industry, its strength should not be underestimated. Through the acquisition, Geely has built a very large automobile territory. Volvo, Lynk & Co, Lotus and Proton are all under Geely's umbrella, and geely has also acquired 9.69% of Daimler's voting shares and become a shareholder of Mercedes-Benz.
In stark contrast to the low-key style of the Geely brand, it is the "high profile" of Geely boss Li Shufu. Li Shufu once said, "What is a car?" Isn't it four wheels, a few sofas, plus an iron shell? "A sentence full of cursive nature. In addition, in terms of market layout, Li Shufu is also very bold.
Make mobile phones, build satellites
Li Shufu not only frantically acquired peers, but also extended his tentacles to the mobile phone market and the satellite market.
In Li Shufu's view, it has become a major trend to build a user ecological chain and build a corporate moat across borders. If automakers want to provide users with a more convenient and intelligent multi-screen interactive life experience, mobile phones and satellites are necessary links.
From this point of view, Geely's car and satellite construction is not to compete with mobile phone manufacturers or operators for business, but to establish a faster and better integration of smart travel space and earth.
Crazy copy Musk
It is worth mentioning that Li Shufu is not the first entrepreneur to come up with this idea and put it into action. Before Li Shufu, Musk had already taken action.
Many of Li Shufu's business and strategies in the era of new energy vehicles coincide with Musk. Tesla is the first "star-making + car-making" company, and Geely is the second. Although the Geely brand is still mainly based on the sale of fuel vehicles, the official launch of geometric, polar star and other brands, positioning is directly facing Tesla.
Not only that, the strategy of acquiring Meizu and creating a high-end machine also has the shadow of Musk's Starlink plan. Investing in Space-Time Daoyu is highly similar to Musk's purpose in establishing SpaceX.
Of course, when two people face a problem, they also give different solutions. For example, in terms of new travel, Musk is planning to build a maglev and low-vacuum flying high-speed rail, and Li Shufu is betting heavily on flying cars.
Do the Chinese version of Iron Man
In fact, if according to the outside world's evaluation of Musk, Li Shufu has every reason to be elected as the "Chinese version of Iron Man". He has an abnormal business dream of Hongda, the market layout and strategic layout are clear, and the investment is also high-tech enterprises.
However, Li Shufu's business map is not stable. Overall, whether it is making mobile phones, satellites, or flying cars, it is all serving Geely's new energy vehicle business. However, at present, Geely's new energy vehicle business performance is not satisfactory.
Write at the end
In the long run, if Geely has maintained the current momentum of development, it is obviously not enough, Li Shufu wants to be a "Chinese Iron Man", must come up with something new.