Chapter 1805
Technical Industry and Trade and Trade-Industry Technical Industry
When Wang An looked at Sun Nian, Sun Nian glared at him with her charming eyes and asked in return:
"Why are you looking at me like that? You just want me to stand here guarding this place every day, but I still don't understand what's going on."
Wang An blinked, feeling speechless. The main problem was that Sun Nian, as one of the shareholders, knew absolutely nothing and yet spoke so confidently. It was truly unbelievable.
Wang An nodded helplessly and said, based on the data he had summarized:
"The motorcycle business is doing really well. As of last month, our motorcycles have earned more than 750 million yuan in net profit. The profit in Harbin is about 300 million yuan, and the profit here is 120 million yuan. With all the dealers combined, the total is 330 million yuan."
"That's right. Of the 7 million+ in profit, over 3 million was reinvested in research and development for imitation, and another 3 million was used to purchase production lines. So, we only made a total of 4.5 million."
At this point, Wang An couldn't help but feel a little proud, because the motorcycle business had only been going on for less than half a year, but the profit margin was already incredibly high.
Aside from the fact that it still requires imported parts and foreign exchange, which is its biggest drawback, motorcycles have become one of the most profitable businesses for many people.
It has to be said that motorcycles, being large items, are the fastest way to make money, especially after Wang An decided to use imitation parts, the profits increased several times over.
Most importantly, once the Longjiang 001 engine goes into production and is installed in vehicles, the profit margin for motorcycles will increase significantly.
Seeing the expressions of surprise and delight on everyone's faces, Wang An said something that made them anything but happy:
"It's over. More than 400 million yuan has been withdrawn to open a gold shop. There's only 50 yuan left in the account. That means the seven of us probably won't get a single penny in dividends this year."
Sure enough, as soon as Wang An finished speaking, everyone's smiles instantly froze on their faces.
Wang Shuai blinked, frowned, and said:
"No, it's only the beginning of October. There are still four months until next year. How come we don't have a single penny of dividends? Are you not going to sell any motorcycles? Besides, there's still 50 in the account."
It's incredibly frustrating to make money but not be able to actually cash it in. I doubt anyone would be happy in that situation.
After Wang Shuai finished speaking, Wu Dong echoed:
"That's right. There are still four months left. Before, I earned about 1.5 million a month. Now that there are still four months left this year, can't I even earn 500,000 a month on average?"
Wang An nodded, expressing his strong agreement:
"Yeah, it's true that you can't even earn 50 a month. It's already pretty good if you can break even and maintain the status quo."
Before anyone could ask why, Wang An spoke again:
"We should be able to make some money this month, but by November, and all the way to the end of March next year, we still won't make a penny. Just breaking even will be a real achievement."
Sun Nian frowned slightly, her face full of cuteness, and asked:
Why is that?
After Sun Nian finished asking the question, everyone else turned their gazes toward Wang An.
Wang An looked at everyone in turn, then sighed and said with great helplessness:
"Because it's winter! Don't you have any idea how cold it will be here in winter? Why would any good person buy a motorcycle? Just to freeze to death?"
To be fair, what Wang An said isn't entirely accurate, because even in the dead of winter, there are still many people traveling by motorcycle, although everyone is bundled up tightly and only travels short distances.
There's no way around it; in the winter of the Lesser Khingan Mountains, riding a motorcycle outdoors for a long time can really freeze you to death. Even if you don't freeze to death, you'll suffer severe frostbite.
Even with the kind of bearskin thermal protective gear made by Wang An, it still didn't work; the cold persisted.
After Wang An finished speaking, everyone immediately showed expressions of sudden understanding. Wang Shuai, however, pursed his lips and said with a worried look:
"I was thinking of waiting two months to save up some money and then opening a gold shop in 8J. Damn it, what's the point of opening one if you don't have the money?"
After Wang Shuai finished speaking, He Liang frowned and said:
"Yeah, I'm thinking of going to 8J too, maybe have a match with China Gold or something."
After the two finished speaking, the room fell silent, and everyone looked preoccupied.
Wang An coughed and broke the silence with a chuckle:
"Well, I haven't finished yet. I have some good news to tell you."
Wu Dong glanced at Wang An:
"What good news is it that makes you so happy?"
The others also turned their gazes toward Wang An.
Wang An didn't keep them in suspense and continued with a smile:
"Our Longjiang 001 engine has been successfully copied, and it's estimated that it will be ready for production and installation in vehicles in a few months. Isn't that good news? Hahahaha."
After Wang An finished speaking, Wu Dong, Zhang Shuya, and Sun Nian, who didn't know much about motorcycles, didn't react much. However, Wang Shuai, He Liang, and Ma Guoqiang, who had handled the import of motorcycle parts, immediately stood up from their chairs.
These three people knew all too well how expensive it was to import an engine.
He Liang said excitedly:
"Really, Xiao An? You really managed to replicate it?"
Wang An leaned back, a smug look on his face, and said:
"Of course it's necessary. Would I lie to you about something this important?"
Ma Guoqiang cut to the chase and asked:
"How much would it cost to produce an engine ourselves?"
At this moment, Ma Guoqiang's eyes were filled with hope and trepidation as he looked at Wang An.
As soon as Ma Guoqiang finished speaking, He Liang asked anxiously:
"Yes, Xiao An, how much does it cost for our factory to produce an engine? If the price difference isn't significant, then it will involve engine warranty and after-sales issues later on."
Wang Shuai added:
"Xiao An, have you factored in the costs for warranty and after-sales service? We can't rush into production and installation!"
Even if the engine is copied, if the cost of producing one engine is higher than the cost of importing one, or if the costs are similar, or if the cost of producing one engine is only slightly lower than the cost of importing one, then there is not much point in producing one engine.
Of course, the significance mentioned here refers to its economic significance, not its practical significance.
To put it bluntly, it's really just a matter of technology-industry-trade versus trade-industry-technology.
From an economic perspective, if an engine that has been copied at great expense of time, money, manpower, and resources cannot significantly reduce costs, then there's no point in producing it yourself; it would be easier to simply import it. (End of Chapter)