Chapter 378 Future Leading Stocks
If BYD also takes United Taxi's vehicle replacement indicators into account, the total sales of EVO in Hong Kong before October 10 would have exceeded 15 units.

According to Fang Hexuan's request, United Taxi took photos of nearly 6000 taxis, of which two-thirds, or 4000 vehicles, had to be replaced with EVO.

The planned production capacity of BYD's first phase factory in Shenzhen is 10 units per year, but after all, it is the first car that has just been launched on the market, and market recognition needs to be slowly gained.

Therefore, Uchiyama Hisahiko and his team estimate that the total output in the first year should be between 5 and 8 units, which means a monthly output of 4000 to 7000 units.

However, this is the sales estimate after the launch. But before the launch, BYD still prepared nearly 4000 vehicles, of which more than 900 were delivered to United Taxi.

It is precisely because of these 900 new taxis that several key data on United Taxi’s financial statements look bad.

Generally speaking, when most taxi companies need to replace their cars with new ones, they will replace them in batches and on a regular basis, and the whole process may be measured in years.

For a company like United Taxi to change nearly one-sixth of its models within a month, it can only be said that it is very courageous.

If You Bingwen could make all the decisions himself, he wouldn't be so impatient, but who can blame Fang Hexuan for having shares in United Taxi, and the photos are his?

Complaints aside, United Taxi didn’t suffer any loss.

Since they are tailor-made for taxi companies, they certainly do not have some flashy functions. In addition, United Taxi has purchased enough of them, which directly reduces the cost of the batch of vehicles.

In addition, considering that these EVO taxis serve as the business card for BYD's publicity and promotion, BYD company provides United Taxi with an advertising subsidy of HK$1 for each EVO.

In addition, Fang Hexuan gave an internal price, so compared to the normal sales price of 24 Hong Kong dollars for the lowest configuration, each EVO received by United Taxi was less than 17 Hong Kong dollars.

Therefore, when reading the follow-up reports on the launch of BYD's new car in the newspapers, especially the mention that some wealthy car fans would rather pay a higher price and spend nearly 40 to buy the high-specification version of EVO, You Bingwen finally felt a little comforted.

Before the new EVO taxis go on the road, they will all be painted red with the "United Taxi" and "BYD" logos, keeping the same style as the previous red chicken.

The people who are most excited about these taxis are not the passengers, but the drivers.

First of all, these EVO taxis all have a displacement of 1.5L. Although they seem to be not very powerful, in fact, it is quite the opposite.

Not only are they more powerful than the previous Toyota Crown 1.5L taxis, they also consume less fuel.

Don't deify Toyota at this time. In terms of technical strength, Mitsubishi is not inferior to Toyota.

BYD's EVO is equipped with Mitsubishi's latest technology and has been tuned by engineers from Germany and France. The performance of its three major components far exceeds that of the old Crown.

This not only makes the taxi more powerful, more fuel-efficient and easier to drive, but also benefits both the driver and the taxi company.

In addition to the real performance, BYD has also made special optimizations for this batch of EVOs designed specifically for taxis.

The interior space is larger than the general version of EVO, the control panel is also designed with the latest trend, and even the driver's seat takes ergonomics into consideration.

In a word, it is definitely more comfortable for taxi drivers to drive an EVO than a Crown.

There is no harm without comparison. Taxi drivers who are assigned to drive EVO can clearly feel the difference before and after just one day of driving.

When the drivers gathered together for lunch at noon, those who were still driving the old Crown were extremely envious of their colleagues who had already switched to new cars.

After all, day by day, drivers of new cars not only increase their salary commissions due to reduced fuel consumption, but also feel less tired after get off work than before.

The series of benefits brought by the new car has caused a lot of complaints within the United Taxi Company. Drivers who do not drive the EVO often go to the manager to complain, and they ask the company to speed up the process of replacing the car.

You Bingwen has become a capitalist now. He doesn't care about the blind demands of his subordinates. Just kidding, he changed more than 900 units in a month. The company's profits in September and October turned negative. Who dares to eat fat in one go? The large number of EVOs on the streets of Hong Kong also made many citizens shine.

Although BYD has invested a lot of effort in marketing and promotion in Hong Kong, it is ultimately not as strong as the real thing that brings to ordinary citizens.

When you stop an EVO taxi, get in and find that the interior space is large enough, the car interior is very modern, the noise inside the car is smaller than before, and you can even sit there the whole time without feeling too strong vibrations, then as an ordinary passenger, you will naturally think that the riding experience of this car is much better than that of a Crown taxi.

Less than half a month after United Taxi's EVO was launched on the market, it has already created a phenomenon: many passengers would rather pay a higher fare to take the EVO than choose the Crown.

Faced with huge market demand, You Bingwen and Fang Hexuan discussed and decided to increase the starting price of EVO by HK$2. That is to say, ordinary passengers will have to pay HK$2 more for the same distance by EVO than by Crown.

After United Taxi raised its prices, many of its peers expressed their disapproval and believed that doing so would be tantamount to damaging its own reputation.

What surprised them was that even with the price increase, the occupancy rate of EVO remained high.

After all, it’s only 2 Hong Kong dollars more, but it’s more comfortable. Many Hong Kong white-collar workers are willing to pay this extra money.

BYD company noticed this opportunity to promote its own brand, so it approached TVB and the two sides cooperated to organize a program of random interviews on the street.

The format of the program is very simple. A beautiful female reporter, a photographer and a BYD promoter interview passers-by without any limit on the number of people in six crowded places in Hong Kong: Sham Shui Po, Mong Kok, Nathan Road, Taikoo Shing, Causeway Bay and Queen's Road.

Each location will be included in one episode, with a total of 6 episodes. Every passerby interviewed will receive a small gift with the BYD logo printed on it from BYD promoters.

"Hello sir, have you ever taken an EVO taxi?"

"Well, I just experienced it yesterday!"

"How does it feel?"

"To be honest, it is indeed more comfortable than the previous Crown. The car does not shake as much when passing over ground obstacles, and it feels very stable when turning, without having to worry."

“If you plan to buy a car in the future, will you choose EVO?”

"Haha, I'm from the working class. Although my income is pretty good, I still have to pay for housing. When EVO was first launched, I asked about the price. It's a bit expensive for me. I definitely can't afford it now, and I'm not sure about the future."

"What do you want to say to BYD?"

"Uh, let me ask Mr. Fang, when will BYD be listed?"

"Why are you asking this, sir?"

“Haha, you definitely want to invest!”

"Didn't you just say that the money was going to be used to pay off the mortgage?"

"Hey, investing isn't about spending money, it's about making money. I can definitely afford that."

"Aren't you afraid of losing money?"

"Are you kidding me? The company of Hong Kong Caishen is also the only automobile company in Hong Kong that has never existed before and will never be repeated. As long as it goes public, it will definitely be the leading stock in Hong Kong stocks!"

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(End of this chapter)