Chapter 188: Pre-order
I'd wrapped up the final adjustments in Korea related to the Earth Car.
We'd settled on the models and detailed funding.
―Seon Jae-yong, Vice Chairman: Yes, Isung Group fully agrees with your intentions, sir.
―DK Group's Choi Jong-won, Chairman: The Earth Car will succeed without a doubt. DK Group will support you in every way possible.
―LK's Gu Jin-mo, Chairman: We'll dispatch our top engineering team to San Francisco. The Earth Car's electronic controls and infotainment system will be the best in automotive history.
―Mirae Motors' Jin Myeong-il, Chairman: We'll steadily prepare for Earth Car production.
This group chat included the chairmen of Korea's four major conglomerates.
Just being in this chat made me feel like a success—it swelled my chest with pride.
―Kim Shin: Thank you all. Then let's finalize the official contracts in three days.
From the start, we'd decided to develop three models for the Earth Car: sedans, SUVs, and pickup trucks.
It was entirely due to my SNS influence.
Over 100 million people had participated in the survey, and media around the world had taken notice.
'Even sedans come in compact, midsize, and full-size segments. Europeans might prefer hatchbacks, while Americans go for big vehicles.'
For sedans, we'd go with midsize.
SUVs would be midsize as well—they sold well at Mirae Motors and had strong competitiveness.
Pickup trucks would be full-size.
We hadn't decided on exact production numbers yet, planning to proceed with pre-orders as scheduled.
'I hope it gets the same buzz as Tesla...'
We set the reservation fee at $3,000, with recruitment now the only step left.
―Seon Jae-yong, Vice Chairman: Once Earth Car orders open, Isung Group will purchase 500 units for our executives to drive.
Suddenly, Isung Group's execs were set to drive nothing but Earth Cars.
Isung Group was raking in massive profits from our vaccines and data centers anyway, so this was no big deal for them.
―LK's Gu Jin-mo, Chairman: We'll have to switch all LK Group corporate vehicles to Earth Cars.
―DK Group's Choi Jong-won, Chairman: Same here at DK Group. We'll encourage our executives, sales teams, and rental car affiliates to use Earth Cars.
A subtle rivalry was forming among the groups.
Mirae Motors, though, was in a tricky spot for switching over.
―Mirae Motors' Jin Myeong-il, Chairman: Our U.S. division will order a few pickup trucks.
It was the bare minimum show of support, but it must have stung Jin Myeong-il plenty.
* * *
Earth Resource's homepage bustled daily with shopping and coin trading.
[Earth Car Pre-order Applications]
A banner ad for Earth Car reservations popped up on the site.
Clicking it let you choose from sedan, SUV, or pickup truck.
"What the heck... Is the Earth Car coming out already?"
Davidson, living in Miami, quickly scanned the details.
Reservation fee: $3,000.
Delivery as early as 2.5 years from now, potentially later depending on production.
Midsize sedan starting at $45,000 with base options.
SUV at $65,000.
Pickup truck at $100,000.
When deciding on Earth Car pre-orders, Mirae Motors execs had thought:
'2.5 years—maybe even three. How many will sign up?'
Harsh conditions for car buying.
Davidson, browsing the site, figured:
'Order now and it still takes 2.5 years to arrive? Gotta hurry or it'll be even longer.'
He rushed to pay the fee with his card.
Mirae Motors had deemed the $45,000 sedan price too high.
'EV6 starts at $42,000 in the U.S. We've poured so much into quality and branding.'
The U.S. was a battleground for global automakers.
Mirae Motors had invested heavily to capture it.
Charging $3,000 more than a comparable EV6 meant claiming higher brand value than Mirae Motors.
'People are smart consumers. It'll get some hype, but cars aren't fads.'
'Does it even compete on history and reliability?'
Davidson from Miami thought:
"Earth Car at $45,000? That's a steal. Earth Resource really puts customers first, just like with their cheap Earth Channel subs."
Mirae Motors' $42,000 felt pricey, but Earth Car's $45,000 seemed like a bargain.
Earth Resource's popularity and brand power in the U.S. were that strong.
* * *
The next day, Chairman Jin Myeong-il arrived at the office early.
"How's the Earth Car doing?"
Success meant juicy capital gains, but he secretly hoped it'd flop.
In the worst case, he'd considered having Mirae Motors acquire and revive the Earth Car division.
Build it as a state-of-the-art factory, get involved in operations—Mirae could snag it cheap.
President Park Myeong-hoon replied briskly.
"Pre-contracts are flooding the homepage."
"Yeah?"
"Over 250,000 in a single day."
"In the U.S. alone?"
"Yes, just the U.S. figure."
"......"
Asia, Europe, and South America wanted to order but couldn't yet.
With factories planned for the U.S. and AS considerations, other countries were premature.
"250,000 is a huge number."
Jin Myeong-il felt deflated.
Boosting Mirae Motors' U.S. sales by 100,000 required full-company mobilization.
Massive marketing spends, extended warranties, fat margins for mid-tier dealers.
Yet they'd locked in 250,000 at full price via the homepage?
At prices higher than Mirae Motors?
[Earth Car Surpasses 250,000 Pre-Orders in One Day, Ride of Hype]
[Earth Car Unveiled: Over $700 Million in Reservation Fees Collected]
Media headlines exploded.
"Just a flash in the pan."
President Park Myeong-hoon, quick to read Jin Myeong-il's mood, ventured cautiously.
"Yes, it should die down soon."
* * *
The next day, pre-orders topped 540,000.
SUVs and pickups—high-margin for automakers—were especially hot.
Kim Shin posted sporadically on SNS.
[The Earth Car's top priority: reliable cars, safe cars.]
Full safety options came standard, even with customizable features.
―Buy with confidence.
―Worth ordering the Earth Car.
―Mirae Motors builds it, so quality's guaranteed.
―Then why not buy Mirae Motors?
―Their quality sucks.
―????
His posts turned into news articles, spiking orders the next day.
[Earth Channel runs a subscription model. But we won't do that for cars.]
―That's right.
―Can't fathom subscribing for autopilot on a car you buy.
―German brands are planning subs even for heated seats.
―Subscribing heat? Crossing the line.
―Finally, some sanity.
Customers couldn't stomach paying extra for hardware features.
They saw it as automakers' greedy cash grabs—and cheered Earth Car.
Orders hit 900,000 in four days.
[We'll massively invest in AS. Still, early shortages are inevitable. If repairs take over a day, we'll provide a Mirae Motors loaner.]
Loaners for long repairs.
Standard for traditional automakers, but rare for EVs with long downtimes.
―Basics done right.
―Not like those EV startups scamming suckers.
―Loaner from Mirae Motors is meh, but okay.
Even Mirae Motors caught flak in the U.S.
Yet its brand image soared internally.
[Mirae Motors' Earth Car Builds Massive Market Hype]
[Earth Car Pre-Orders Break 1 Million]
[Earth Cars Ordered Today Face 3 Years 8 Months+ Wait]
[Texas Governor Gives Direct Presentation to Earth Car Team from Korea]
Mirae Motors gained a cutting-edge producer image.
New customers flooded U.S. dealerships.
"Got any cars good for driving 3 years till Earth Car launches?"
Sales surged, with bonus effects.
* * *
The day Jo Soo-ah's little sister came up from Busan.
It reminded me of Han Chae-won's brother—my brother-in-law—making me tense.
'His punches packed a wallop.'
No hard feelings since it stemmed from Han Chae-won's lie.
We'd never cross paths anyway.
"How's your sister?"
"Pretty and sweet, but she never listens."
"Really?"
"Yeah, no common sense. Worried how she'll handle society."
Sisters trash-talk freely, huh.
Still, Jo Soo-ah had gathered stacks of job-hunting materials to help her sister.
"Won't she hate me?"
"Nah. She was hunting your YouTube vids last year."
"...Got it."
I had not expected my girlfriend's younger sister to be a fan of mine.
"Sis!"
"Over here."
At a coffee shop near Seoul Station.
Jo Soo-yeon entered the crowded spot.
"Hi. My sister's boyfriend?"
"Yep. Hi."
"Nice to meet you."
Jo Soo-yeon beamed, but her eyes scanned sharply.
Like she was guarding her sister.
"How old are you, oppa?"
"Early thirties."
"How'd you meet my sister?"
"Coworkers."
"You worked at Arcor."
"Yeah, different company now."
It felt like an interrogation, but it was enjoyable.
Masks stayed on amid other customers.
Honestly, facing Jo Soo-ah's sister, I wasn't fully confident.
Rich divorcee with baggage.
Families could feel uneasy.
Dig too deep, and answers got tricky.
"Soo-yeon, hungry? Wanna grab food?"
"Yeah."
Since she liked meat, I'd booked omakase at over 350,000 won a head.
I could not take her to a kimchi fried-rice or pork rice-bowl restaurant for our first meeting.
Jo Soo-ah and Jo Soo-yeon.
Walking with the two women, Mercedes limos pulled up in a line.
"Whoa... cool."
Jo Soo-yeon stepped back, thinking someone was exiting.
"Get in."
"Huh?"
I hopped in the rear seat with Jo Soo-ah, guards holding doors.
Jo Soo-yeon followed, dazed.
Minutes later, at the Cheongdam-dong restaurant, masks came off.
"Whoa..."
Jo Soo-yeon stared at me blankly.