Gree enters the automobile industry, and Dong Mingzhu wants to build a second car？

Since China began to vigorously develop the new energy automobile industry, it seems that bosses from all walks of life want to "get involved" in the automobile field. On October 11th, Gree Electric established "Shanghai Gree Automobile Technology Co., Ltd.", with a registered capital of 20 million yuan, and its legal representative is Zhong Chengbao, assistant to the president of Gree Electric. After the news was exposed, many people speculated that Dong Mingzhu was going to "build a second car". Could it be that after being "scrapped" as a large-sized Gree titanium, it is now necessary to revitalize the trumpet?

However, according to public information, the main business scope of this new company in Gree Electric does not involve automobile manufacturing, and its main business scope is only automobile parts research and development, automobile parts and accessories manufacturing, industrial robot manufacturing, industrial robot sales, industrial Internet data services and so on.

It can be seen that the statement that Dong Mingzhu wants to build a second car is obviously untrue. According to the analysis of relevant people, the establishment of Shanghai Gree Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. is mainly to deepen the layout of Gree in the automobile industry chain. After the relevant industries and supporting facilities are mature, all resources may be applied to the field of vehicle manufacturing, so this series of operations is more like paving the way for the future development of Gree Titanium.

As early as 2016, Dong Mingzhu made up his mind to enter the automobile industry. When the proposal to buy Zhuhai Yinlong was collectively opposed by Gree shareholders, Dong Mingzhu, who was unwilling, took out 1 billion yuan from his own pocket, and then recruited Wang Jianlin, Liu Qiangdong and other big bosses to scrape together 3 billion yuan to obtain a 22.39% stake in Zhuhai Yinlong. Subsequently, Dong Mingzhu increased its capital to Yinlong twice, and its individual shareholding ratio increased from 7.84% to 17.46%.

In 2021, Gree Electric acquired 30.47% equity of Yinlong New Energy Co., Ltd. by judicial auction. Since then, Dong Mingzhu has really included Yinlong, and the company has officially changed its name to Gree Titanium New Energy Co., Ltd. However, after many years, Gree Titanium’s progress in vehicle manufacturing is not smooth. Although it already has new energy buses, hydrogen fuel cell buses, new energy MPV, vans, pure electric box logistics vehicles and other products, its sales volume and popularity are all terrible.

Dong Mingzhu has publicly stated that Yinlong is a "big hole". Even in 2023, there will still be a big hole in front of Gree Titanium. If you want to "support yourself", you need to fill the hole first. It can be seen that there are still many problems to be solved in building a car in Dong Mingzhu, and the estimated funds to be smashed in the later period will be beyond imagination.

Many people regard Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, as Dong Mingzhu’s opponent. Although it took Xiaomi three years to build explosive products, Lei Jun has repeatedly complained in public that it is difficult and hard to build a car. Before that, Evergrande and Li Yinan all failed to build a car. It can be seen that cross-bank car building is not as simple as everyone imagined, and the doorway is probably only known to those who have really participated in car building. Whether Gree, who has mastered the core technology in the field of electrical appliances, can also make achievements in the field of automobiles, the answer may not be revealed until a few years later.