Preface

When it comes to the strength of domestic automobile manufacturers, BYD is sure to come to mind first. The development of new energy vehicles in our country has been rapid, causing fear in Western countries such as the United States. In order to suppress the development of electric vehicles, several economists have loudly propagated the "China threat theory", and even imposed sanctions on exports, falsely claiming that our side has "overcapacity" and imposing tariffs without reason.

However, it is clear that the actions of Western countries have not affected the development of our electric vehicles at all. And all along, people have focused on automobile brands such as BYD, Xiaomi, and Li Auto.

Unexpectedly, a "dark horse" has emerged in the car circle, making a huge profit of 300 billion and exporting 940,000 cars!

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Which brand is this? It has been so low-key in "making a fortune quietly"!

It has become a "dark horse" in one leap.

Recently, the top 500 companies in the world this year have been announced.Upon seeing the rankings, everyone was surprised to find that the Chery brand from the automotive circle had actually made it onto the list. According to the data, Chery entered the list for the first time with a value of $39.0917 billion. Nowadays, the cars with high purchase rates on the market are basically the "BBA" brands, or the emerging new energy vehicles from BYD and Changan in our country. In the automotive circle, Chery is not a brand that comes to mind easily, nor does it have a high level of popularity; it's rare to see advertising for Chery vehicles. Perhaps friends who are not familiar with cars might not have even heard of Chery automobiles.

However, it was unexpected that such a low-profile brand would steadily enter the Fortune Global 500 list, standing among the world's top companies. After Chery made it onto the list, Yin Tongyao, the chairman of Chery Holding Group, remained particularly modest, stating that in his view, Chery could only be considered among the Fortune Global 500, but not yet one of the Fortune Global 500. It's truly as humble as an "old ox"!

Some might wonder, with Chery being so excellent and profitable, why doesn't it spend even a little on advertising? If you look closely at the history of Chery's growth, you will understand where its "humility" comes from.The Twists and Turns of Entrepreneurship

In 1993, the automotive industry was just beginning to emerge in China, with FAW Group being the most famous. Anhui's economic development was lagging, and the Wuhu municipal government set its sights on the automotive industry, hoping to turn the economy around. However, without technology and capital, how could they expect to cooperate with FAW Group?

Therefore, in 1995, Wuhu sent inspectors to Ford Motor Company, where a set of engine production lines happened to be for sale. The inspectors believed this was an opportunity, so they returned to China and reported to their superiors.

With the support of the Wuhu municipal government, the plan was smoothly carried out, and the project was named "Project 951".

However, although the project was determined, the leading technical personnel had not been decided for a long time. The selection of leading technical personnel was very cautious, after all, it was related to whether a project could be successful.

So, the personnel of "Project 951" went to FAW factory to learn, and it was here that they found the "leader" - Yin Tongyue.

At that time, Yin Tongyue was working in the FAW factory as an excellent process engineer.

Moreover, Yin Tongyue graduated from a top university, was willing to work hard and capable, and in just a few years, he had worked his way up to the position of workshop director.

At the same time, he was also once rated as one of the "Top Ten Outstanding Youths" of FAW.Such exceptional abilities immediately caught the attention of the representatives from Wuhu who had come to inspect. However, to persuade Yin Tongyue to give up such a good job position and start from scratch in Wuhu, a remote and impoverished area, was no easy task.

In ancient times, there was the story of "Liu Bei's Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage". The Wuhu representatives, like "Liu Bei", tried to persuade Yin Tongyue repeatedly.

Finally, with the dream of building his hometown in Wuhu, Yin Tongyue agreed to the representatives' request.

Unfortunately, while ideals are rich, reality is very thin.

The funds were very limited, with only 300,000 yuan for startup capital, and there was not even a regular factory, which was as embarrassing as going to war without "weapons".

But since he had come, there was no word "give up" in Yin Tongyue's life. He found a dilapidated factory as the office location.

So this thatched cottage in the countryside became the beginning of the "dream".

It is absolutely impossible to express with words how difficult the preliminary preparation work and the start of work were. The simple commute required riding a bicycle back and forth for tens of kilometers.

But opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. In 1997, Yin Tongyue finally ushered in a turning point in his career.

The official joint venture of Anhui Province and Wuhu City, together with several enterprises, established Anhui Auto Parts Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 1.75 billion yuan.With the funds secured and the well-examined Ford production line purchased, it was time to "roll up our sleeves and get to work."

The authorities placed great importance on this project and specifically invited Ford's production line technicians. However, the foreigners who came here were not teaching us the technology diligently, and the assembly of the production line was exceptionally slow, completely taking advantage of the chaos.

Yin Tongyao was very anxious seeing this state. The higher the position, the greater the pressure, not to mention that at that time, there were also seven technical talents from FAW who joined him in changing jobs.

Naturally, Yin Tongyao did not want to "coast along and wait for death," waiting for foreigners to impart technology to him.

After much hesitation, Yin Tongyao decided to take matters into his own hands.

This decision was very risky because the authorities had invested so much money in the early stage. If it wasn't done well, all the preparations would go to waste.

But Yin Tongyao was not afraid. Since he had already chosen to resign from the FAW factory, this time it was a "do-or-die battle."

Yin Tongyao, along with seven key personnel, painstakingly studied how to assemble the production line and consulted other technicians.

Finally, after several months of hard work, the long-awaited production line was born.

In 1999, the first Chery car "Fengyun" was born, marking Chery's official entry into the automobile market.Chery's Philosophy

Those familiar with Chery Automobiles know that the company seems to have always been engaged in a price war. Many models of Chery cars are priced at no more than 100,000 yuan each, and the most outstanding model, the Chery QQ, is even more affordable, with a price tag of just over 30,000 yuan. This makes the "car dream" accessible to ordinary families.

However, Yin Tongyao is a visionary and outstanding entrepreneur. In his view, the development of technology should be divided into "research" and "development."

Develop competitive products and exercise imagination in research.

Therefore, Chery now has two factories, one for creating products and the other for creating new technologies. These two factories complement each other, allowing the Chery brand to continue moving forward.

As early as 2010, Chery established its first artificial intelligence company in Shanghai—Lion Technology. At that time, artificial intelligence technology was not as widespread as it is today, which also demonstrates Yin Tongyao's long-term vision.

However, Chery's application of artificial intelligence technology to automobiles was quite late.

This is a personal characteristic and insight of Yin Tongyao.

Yin Tongyao stated that automobiles are moving products, so they must be treated with extreme caution to ensure absolute safety.

The substantial investment in early-stage research and development is to ensure that technology can continue to advance steadily. Before applying it to automobiles, it is necessary to conduct hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of experiments to ensure its application.This concept, I believe many people will feel incredibly reassured upon hearing it. When purchasing a car, one of the most important aspects is naturally safety performance, which concerns our life safety.

Yin Tongyao further emphasized that Chery must adhere to positive development in the future, master the basic skills, and not be impatient.

And this is also the confidence that Chery can enter the Fortune Global 500.

Chery's Confidence

From 1997 to 2007, Chery used 10 years to achieve the first 1 million units.

In the first half of this year, Chery sold 1.1 million units in just 6 months, and this progress is obvious to all in the automotive industry.

What's even more impressive is that Chery is the only car company in the first half of this year that has achieved continuous growth in both new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles, as well as in both domestic and overseas markets.

Such a low-key company, which has basically not made large-scale propaganda and advertising investments, relies on technology to stand firm.

This is Chery's confidence!In both interviews and the founding history of Chery, we can witness that it stands firm on technology, with long-term technological accumulation, continuously improving standards, and sustained innovation capabilities, which allow it to move forward boldly and steadily.

Regarding profit and sales volume, Chery's performance has always been patient and composed, focusing on solid production and stable innovation.

Of course, this is also inseparable from the twists and difficulties in Yin Tongyao's entrepreneurial journey mentioned earlier, and the technological barriers brought by that production line, which made him deeply realize:

"R&D personnel must have a 'standard-bearer consciousness'; every technology must not be inferior to others, nor be subject to others!"

Conclusion

Chery's development and philosophy are exemplary for many enterprises to learn from. In dealing with scientific research, we must be pioneers!

Today's Chery also makes us proud, and we hope that more domestic brands can go global and showcase China's prowess!

As long as we have technology in hand, no country can attempt to "sanction" our development.