There was no stopping it.
Audi's rise wasn't a marketing fluke but a market shift—a full-on consumer uprising against overpriced, underperforming car brands.
Sure, other companies wanted to respond, sure… but what could they do?
Lower prices?
That would destroy their brand prestige.
Raise them?
They'd be ignored entirely.
Keep prices the same?
Dead stock.
Lowering prices is death. Not lowering prices is also death.
It's just a matter of which death comes first.
In the meantime?
Audi dealerships were swamped.
Customer demand skyrocketed.
The A4's launch hit like a tidal wave.
Delivery times stretched into two months almost immediately.
"A month or two is no big deal," said one customer.
"At least I'll get the car. Why would I settle for some overpriced import?"
The sentiment was everywhere.
No one wanted to compromise.
"If it's not Audi, I'm not buying."
By 7:00 p.m., lines were still forming at every Audi dealership nationwide.
"Order now, or you'll wait even longer."
Everyone knew the clock was ticking. And nobody wanted to be the one left behind.
At the Factory
At 8:00 p.m., the Phase One Audi factory still glowed with lights.
The production lines hadn't stopped.
Workers were still on the clock. No complaints.
Why?
Because China Star paid good overtime.
And better company results = better year-end bonuses.
Everyone knew that the harder they worked now, the better their future looked.
The lights were also still on in a nearby temporary office building.
Inside, Haifeng sat quietly in his chair, waiting.
Waiting for the official number.
He wasn't nervous.
But he was… eager.
Even though he knew sales would be good—maybe 20,000 to 30,000 units—he couldn't help but hope for something bigger.
"Please surprise me," he muttered to himself.
Then, a knock at the door.
Zhao Jianhua entered, eyes gleaming.
"President Lu, the numbers are in!"
"How many?" Haifeng asked, sitting up.
"Guess," Zhao grinned.
"I'll say this—it's a miracle. A real one."
He handed over the report.
"You're not ready for this number."
Haifeng scanned the page.
And froze.
He reread it.
Then again.
And again.
Eyes widening. Hands still.
"This can't be right…" he muttered.
"Sixty… thousand?"
60,000 cars sold in one day.
"This… this isn't a launch. It's a market-wide declaration of war."
Even Haifeng had only expected 20k to 30k units at most.
Sixty thousand was beyond belief.
That number wasn't just good.
It was record-breaking.
Some major car brands didn't sell that many in a year.
And this?
It was just one model, sold by:
Just 60 dealerships
Fewer than 100 self-operated stores
No exports yet
The average distributor had received 400 units per location.
"Other brands barely pull that in a month," Haifeng whispered.
And it didn't stop there.
Distributors would start shipping right away.
Company stores would begin a month later, once the Phase Two factory came online.
"Even if we push 700 units per day," Haifeng said,
"It'll take us at least three months to fulfill today's orders alone."
That didn't include future orders, or that every factory line required regular inspections and maintenance.
He scanned deeper.
Among the 60 distributors:
Highest: 700 units
Lowest: Over 450 units
Self-operated stores: Around 200 units each
And Liu Zihao's 20 stores?
12,000 units total
~600 units per store
That punk hit the jackpot, Haifeng thought.
He's walking away with hundreds of millions in net profit even after costs.
And at this pace?
Most dealers could break even in a month.