On October 21st, more than 60 senior executives from multinational corporations in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea visited Chongqing to attend the "Roundtable between the National Development and Reform Commission and the United States in China - Chongqing Station" enterprise docking and exchange meeting.
Tesla's Global Vice President Tao Lin visited Chongqing again. What are her expectations for this trip to Chongqing? What kind of spark will Tesla and Chongqing spark? Tao Lin responded to these questions one by one.
Talking about Chongqing people: daring to think, daring to do, daring to fight
In recent years, there have been more and more green license plate cars on the streets of Chongqing, and new energy vehicles have become increasingly popular, "said Tao Lin. This is one of her windows for observing Chongqing. From this perspective, she glimpsed that Chongqing people have a fast acceptance of new things and a strong ability to understand them.
Chongqing is an industrial hub that has played an important role in multiple industrial waves in the past. In Tao Lin's eyes, Chongqing is a vibrant and increasingly open city, where people are imbued with the spirit of daring to think, do, and fight.
The qualities of daring to think, daring to do, and daring to fight are highly similar to the Tesla I work for, "said Tao Lin. The Chongqing people she interacts with have a strong thirst for knowledge about new technologies, and many of them also have in-depth thinking about cutting-edge technologies and concepts. They are equally daring and willing to explore
Talking about Chongqing's environment: full of vitality
The increasing openness and vitality of the new Chongqing construction have left a deep impression on Tao Lin.
Chongqing has done a good job in opening up to the outside world, as can be seen from Tesla's rapid development in Chongqing, "Tao Lin told Upstream News reporters. As a foreign-funded enterprise, they are more concerned about the new measures of Chongqing, an inland market, in opening up to the outside world.
Specifically, she has two expectations: firstly, Chongqing's opening up to the outside world will expand into more areas, and relevant policies will be further detailed at the operational level; Secondly, it can create more opportunities for ordinary citizens to understand emerging technologies, especially those brought by multinational corporations.
The business environment here gives companies a strong sense of gain, and we truly feel that Chongqing is implementing a larger scale, wider scope, and deeper level of opening up to the outside world. "Tao Lin gave an example, saying that she saw the" old for new "policy introduced by Chongqing in August to attract people from all over the country to come and buy new cars in Chongqing, and saw the" joint efforts "of the local government and the" vitality "of consumption. This also shows Chongqing's determination and courage to cultivate an international consumption center city.
Discussing the Development of Chongqing: Three Dimensions of Opportunities
When it comes to the new opportunities nurtured in Chongqing, Tao Lin carefully counted three dimensions.
Firstly, it is a 'mega city' that is expected to accommodate a population of 36 million by 2035, indicating enormous potential for the consumption of new energy vehicles.
Secondly, it is a 'Qimei City', where the unique charm of the mountain city provides Tesla with a rich and diverse display platform. The terrain and topography of the mountain city complement the intelligence, safety, and handling of Tesla vehicles.
In addition, Chongqing is also a "city of land and sea". As a comprehensive hub for inland opening up, it means opportunities in many aspects such as open policies, channels, economy and trade, logistics, and international exchanges.
The relationship between multinational corporations and the Chinese market should be value co creation and win-win cooperation, "Tao Lin said. She believes that more and more multinational corporations will enhance their confidence in deepening their cultivation in China. Against the backdrop of high-level opening-up, multinational corporations will also usher in new development patterns and opportunities in China.
Discussing Chongqing Cooperation: Participating in the Construction of the 'Supercharging City'
Tesla laid out its presence in Chongqing in 2018 and has now established nearly 20 sales and after-sales service outlets, building over 50 supercharging stations, making it one of the top 100 service enterprises in Chongqing in 2023. Meanwhile, the world's first Tesla Magic Factory themed store is also located in Chongqing.
Next, Tesla will expand the "depth" of its sales and service network in Chongqing, further radiating from the central urban area to the main urban area, and continuously expanding its market reach in northeastern and southeastern Chongqing. With the country's efforts to launch a package of incremental policies, promote high-level opening up to the outside world, and strengthen support for the exchange of old for new consumer goods, further efforts will be made to boost automobile consumption.
At the same time, actively participate in the construction of Chongqing's "Supercharging City". Currently, Tesla's supercharging stations can charge up to 150 kilometers in about 5 minutes. Tao Lin said that Tesla will continue to increase investment in building a charging network, covering more districts and counties outside the main urban areas on the basis of the existing more than 50 charging stations. In the later stage, it will also encrypt charging piles or add charging stations in high-frequency travel scenarios for users.
Talking about competition among car companies: This is not a zero sum game
Chongqing has returned to the "number one automobile city" in China after an 8-year hiatus, and it is worth mentioning that the growth rate of new energy vehicle production ranks first among the top ten provinces and cities in China's automobile production. Tao Lin said that this change indicates that Chongqing has a good market and soil for new energy vehicles.
How does Tesla view the competition between Chinese new energy vehicle companies, which are rapidly rising? Taolin said, "Tesla will not see it as a competition
In Tao Lin's view, the sales market of new energy vehicles is not necessarily a zero sum game, and one party's market share will not decrease as the other sells more, because with the advancement of technology, consumer habits and business models will change.
She used the example of "phone" to explain her understanding.
The phones we see now are completely different from 20 years ago. When we were young, we used landline phones and purchased them as a household unit, without many usage scenarios; Nowadays, mobile phones are so popular that almost everyone has one, and some even have two, with more functions.
With the advancement of science, these inherent ideas or patterns may be broken, and cars may be products that are updated and replaced faster. Tao Lin said that cars driven by technological progress are no longer just a means of transportation, but will also carry many new functions and values. Even with the popularization of autonomous driving, cars will run continuously 24 hours a day, no longer needing a place to park, which may change the entire urban form.
I really don't think it's a competitive relationship, because we are facing a huge space that needs to be explored. In this process, we should actually work together to take this path faster, "Tao Lin said, so as to make human transportation more efficient and energy-saving faster, saving energy and energy to do more valuable innovations.
Upstream News Reporters Guo Faxiang and Chen Yu