The 50-year-old Pang Young, like Li Shufu, is also from Taizhou, Zhejiang. He started his journey by driving cattle, planting tea, and later opening tractor businesses. Today, he leads the China Youth Automotive Group, the only private Chinese company that has the qualifications to produce passenger cars, trucks, and sedans. His ambition is similar to Li Shufu’s Geely—entering the car market with affordable pricing—but he has cleverly introduced a "Lotus" brand, giving him a head start right from the beginning.
From Tractors to Buses
Driving a tractor may seem simple, but understanding its components, production processes, and costs is not. In 1976, at just 18, Pang Young was a small tractor driver in a production team. While learning to drive, he also began repairing tractors, taking them apart, reassembling them, and constantly questioning how they worked. Later, he modified the tractors himself, swapping gears to increase speed from 25 km/h to 50 km/h.
By 1979, at 21, Pang Young started his own business. With some initial capital, he opened a small factory in Tiantai County, Zhejiang, producing plastic bags. These were sold through local supply and marketing companies, with a 1% management fee taken on each sale. The following year, he used the profits to set up a garment factory while continuing the plastic bag business. Within a few years, the plastic bag factory's annual sales reached over 600,000 yuan, marking his first major success.
In 1986, responding to national poverty alleviation efforts, Pang Young invested 260,000 yuan in Pan'an County, a poor mountainous area, to establish a rubber factory. This factory supplied well-known domestic bicycle manufacturers such as Phoenix, Permanent, and Sea Lion. Over four years, the factory became the largest in the country, producing 15 million sets annually—1.4 million more than Shenzhen's diamond factory. In 1993, he renamed it "Hangtong Group," with a registered capital of 380 million yuan, and became its chairman. During this time, he first entered the automotive industry, initially targeting tires before shifting to luxury cars due to better investment returns.
In 1995, Pang Young partnered with Beijing North Vehicle Manufacturing Plant to form Jinhua North Fuli Automobile Co., Ltd., aiming to produce high-end luxury buses. However, the joint venture struggled, with only 8 vehicles sold in four years, 5 of which had issues. By 1998, Pang decided to take control, investing 9 million yuan to acquire the remaining shares.
Two years later, he founded Jinhua Neoplan Vehicle Co., Ltd., and quickly expanded into trucks, then transformed into passenger cars. He acquired the "shell" of the Guizhou Skylark, obtained the license, and signed contracts with Iran. Through this, Lotus made a dramatic shift from an outsider to a car industry leader. Last year, he established the China Youth Automotive Group and became its chairman.
From Commercial Vehicles to Passenger Vehicles
As a large integrated automotive group, the Youth Automotive Group produces NEOPLAN luxury buses, MAN heavy trucks, and passenger cars. It has three main divisions: commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, and auto parts, with 21 subsidiaries. While less known in passenger cars, it dominates the commercial vehicle market, holding over 70% of the luxury bus segment priced above RMB 1.3 million, and most of the market for vehicles over RMB 2 million.
On January 9, Pang Young announced the launch of the Youth Lotus RCR Racing, the first new car in the passenger vehicle market. This imported coupe, developed in partnership with Guihang Group and British Lotus Auto Technology Engineering Corporation, is priced between RMB 129,800 and 149,800. Thirty thousand units are expected to be pre-sold this year, with domestic production anticipated soon.
The racing technology partner, Malaysian Proton, told the First Financial Daily that the Youth Automotive Group is confident in selling 10,000 cars during their 20-month contract. Target customers include young entrepreneurs, middle-income workers, and government officials aged 25-35. The group also plans to expand production capacity at the Jinan plant, aiming for 150,000 passenger cars annually.
Due to import duties and the car being packaged as a "coupe," the price is about 15% higher than the Malaysian Gen2 prototype. The new car plant in Jinan, with a capacity of 150,000 units, is set to open this year, supported by Shandong Province, which has no car industry for decades. By early 2009, the Lotus RACER will feature a newly developed 1.8T engine, followed by a 1.6L version mid-year and a 1.2L model expected to become the second domestically produced car in China.
However, some industry experts warn that the Youth Automotive Group's broad product line poses significant risks. Even in commercial vehicles, where it excels, the group faced challenges. After partnering with German MAN in 2006, it gained the license to produce trucks, but the CKD assembly model lacked competitiveness. Sales in the first three quarters of 2007 were under 200 units, a weak showing in a market that had been booming.
In the passenger car sector, the group's actions have been even more ambitious. Starting with Guizhou Youth Lark, which sold only 8 units in the first three quarters of last year, it has since engaged with Fuji Heavy Industries, Peugeot, Iran's Hudlow, and British Lotus. Eventually, it launched the Lotus RCR from imports to domestic production.
Industry insiders caution that spreading limited resources across multiple sectors—cars, trucks, and passenger vehicles—could be risky. They suggest focusing on one area to maximize impact rather than diluting efforts.
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