Chapter 61: Seizing the Electric Bicycle Opportunity

At the 2006 turning point, several domestic firms had already spotted the trend and started laying out plans for electric bikes.

But as Xu Chen pointed out, no manufacturer had yet achieved a nationwide scale effect.

That made it an ideal time to jump in.

Compared to cars, electric bikes relied on mature technology and low barriers to entry.

The three core components—motor, battery, and controller—could all be sourced off the shelf.

Overseas, high-end suppliers like Panasonic and Bosch dominated. Domestically, in Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, a few large battery and motor manufacturers were already thriving.

And when Xu Chen talked about “preparing to build cars,” he wasn’t speaking lightly.

Reborn with memories of the future, Xu Chen knew that about ten years later, Tesla would start prying open the electric car market.

Soon after, China’s electric vehicle industry would explode with disruptive growth—a pivotal shift in a century-old sector.

If Xu Zhiquan could really get an electric bike business off the ground and accumulate funds and tech in advance…

By the time electric car technology matured and domestic policies kicked in, they just might ride the tailwind to success.

Beyond BYD, Xiaomi, Li Auto, and NIO… maybe one day a company led by someone named Xu would rise.

Of course, that was looking ahead.

First, Xu Zhiquan had to nail the electric bike venture, then leverage the next decade’s industry boom to build capital, tech, and strategic groundwork.

…

Xu Zhiquan smoked in silence, flipping through the newspapers as his eyes lit up.

“Dad, if you want to build cars, start with electric bikes!”

Xu Chen couldn’t yet explain the full future of electric cars to his father.

After all, in 2006 few would believe that a decade or two later, electric vehicles would seize a large share of the fuel-car market.

Xu Zhiquan took a long drag, suppressing his excitement as he spoke:

“Son… this really is a huge opportunity.

I’ll need to study it carefully.

But it will definitely require a lot of money!

So no car for now. We’ll have to take on more projects and save up…”

Xu Chen smiled.

Clearly, his father was already convinced.

Xu Zhiquan frowned again:

“Aside from funding, where do we even begin? I’ve only made farm equipment parts—I’ve never built a bicycle before.

I’ve run a factory, sure…

But starting a factory to build two-wheel vehicles? I have no idea where to start.”

Xu Chen grinned, as if foreseeing this, and pulled out two more newspapers.

Xu Zhiquan lit another cigarette and scanned the headlines:

【Laicheng Machinery Factory Faces Bankruptcy After Years of Poor Performance…】

【State-Run Factory’s Restructuring Leads to Town Enterprise Buyout—New Lifeline or More Problems?】

He looked up at Xu Chen:

“What’s this?”

Xu Chen said,

“Dad, what about Bright Machinery Factory… how are they doing now?”

Xu Zhiquan paused, realization dawning.

He drew deeply on his cigarette and said,

“Son… your vision and boldness are impressive!”

Xu Zhiquan was astonished.

He hadn’t expected his son to set his sights on Bright Machinery Factory.

After all, that was a decades-old state-run enterprise…

At its peak it employed thousands!

Xu Zhiquan was stunned.

No matter how imaginative he was, he’d never considered targeting Bright before.

Before, the Xu family’s small workshop had been a supplier to Bright.

Bright was the powerful client—you supplicated, you schmoozed…

Now he was talking about taking them over?!

It was like a poor kid from a township, who used to fawn over some rich heiress, now deciding to make her his concubine…

Xu Zhiquan drew a few more drags, falling silent for a long moment.

At first, he thought it was pure fantasy…

But after turning it over in his mind, he murmured,

“You know… it might just work!”

Xu Chen laughed and poured his father a full glass of coconut water.

Xu Zhiquan flicked ash from his cigarette, deep in thought:

“Actually, there’s been movement at that factory.

Boss Huang met me for dinner recently and said the bidding went badly and they’re in big trouble internally.”

“Boss Huang” was Huang Furen, the man Xu Chen had once arranged to imprison for over ten days to stop his father signing with the factory.

Xu Zhiquan continued,

“Huang has connections. If he says the factory’s in trouble, it’s serious.”

He flipped through the papers again and said,

“Soon, Bright Machinery Factory might really collapse…”

Xu Chen said,

“If we can acquire that factory, launching electric bikes wouldn’t be a problem.

Bright already makes three-wheelers. They have the tech, resources, and workforce to transition to two-wheel electric bikes.

I also recall they’ve started on electric trikes, but they’ve been too slow to produce anything decent.

They may already have some accumulated EV tech and resources.”

Xu Zhiquan slapped his thigh:

“That makes sense!

With a factory as a foundation, we’d have a solid start!

I’ll research electric bikes…

If we need to source motors and batteries, a former state-run factory backing us will make supplier talks easier.

And we might leverage that to secure larger bank loans…”

He thumbed through another article:

“There could be ready production lines we can import directly.

The city government is pushing for real industry; we might get municipal support.

I’ve also made key connections through my seedling nursery business—now they could come in handy.”

…

Xu Chen watched his father with a smile.

Clearly, Xu Zhiquan not only found it viable but was already mapping out execution.

With a reliable product, Xu Chen would confidently drive the go-to-market plan.

After all, he already had a powerful promotional asset.

The future Asian Games champion “Bing Ge” wielded influence rivaling many stars.

In Xu Chen’s strategy, he’d ride Xie Bingran’s rise to boost the electric bike business…

Then in about ten years, the Xu family would have a stable, strong financial foundation.

With a company doing tens of billions in annual revenue as a base, branching out would be easy.

Xu Zhiquan finished his cigarette, smiling as he said,

“Xu Chen, from now on I’m your father, but you’re my teacher!”