Liu Qiangdong wants to build yachts for ordinary people! Has he asked ordinary people?

Brother Dong is at it again.

Not sure if everyone has noticed, but since starting his third child, Liu Qiangdong has been getting more and more ambitious.

Last year, JD.com began heavily pushing food delivery, entered the hotel and tourism industry, acquired supermarkets, expanded into short dramas, and even started selling cars for automakers.

At the start of the Year of the Dragon, Brother Dong announced a new business—building yachts.

He plans to invest 5 billion yuan to create new energy yachts, aiming to produce yachts in the 100,000 yuan price range.

He also said:

“Make yachts as common as cars, so ordinary workers and citizens can afford them.”

Did he ask for the opinions of ordinary people?

You should know, former China’s richest man Wang Jianlin also once did yacht business.

Over a decade ago, Wang Jianlin spent 3 billion yuan to acquire the British luxury yacht brand Sunseeker, known as the “Rolls-Royce of the sea.”

But two years ago, Wanda sold off its yacht assets at half price due to financial difficulties, failing to keep the business.

Now, Brother Dong not only wants to build yachts but also plans to lower their prices!

Why suddenly decide to get into the yacht business?

Netizens couldn’t help but joke:

Netizens are really sharp-tongued.

As for this new venture into yachts, Liu Qiangdong said:

“This is purely personal investment, I won’t be involved in operations or management. I have a full management team, and I’ll just be a product manager at most.”

He also said he wants to redefine the yacht industry!

Gotta admit, Brother Dong has some “cash power.” The 5 billion yuan investment is 2 billion more than Wang Jianlin’s 3 billion.

Netizens are now buzzing—

Some excited folks living by the river are already dreaming of buying a small yacht to play with.

But some netizens from Hubei questioned deeply:

“What’s the point of yachts?”

Moreover, where would normal people dock their yachts?

Even if there’s a place to dock, yachts aren’t like cars; maintenance and docking cost a lot.

There’s a saying among the wealthy: there are only two days when buying a yacht is fun—the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

What is Brother Dong really up to with this yacht business? Can 5 billion yuan really make a splash?

Let’s take a closer look today.

Brother Dong’s determination to build yachts is serious.

In fact, before the Spring Festival, Liu Qiangdong’s Tanhai Yacht was established, with a registered capital of $10.88 million, fully owned by Liu Qiangdong through a Hong Kong company, making him the actual controller.

Soon after, Liu announced that the manufacturing base would be located in Zhuhai, Guangdong.

Just after its founding, it’s said that Tanhai Yacht already received orders for five large yachts.

JD.com acted quickly; Tanhai Yacht’s official website is also up.

Their goal is ambitious: “Strive to become the world’s largest yacht industry group.”

Core businesses include yacht design and manufacturing, global sales, yacht club services, and marine scientific research.

They focus on new energy intelligent yachts, integrating AI and robotics technology to develop yacht products.

Huh? They’re even talking about robots now?!

Based on the limited information available, it seems Liu Qiangdong plans to start the yacht business from scratch.

But collaboration with domestic yacht companies isn’t ruled out; it all depends on how it’s implemented later.

The biggest constraints for domestic yacht development, besides purchasing power, are actually docking and maintenance.

There’s a huge gap in public docking berths—about 45,000 yachts in China but only 15,000 public berths, with a demand-supply ratio of roughly 3:1.

Plus, the costs of maintaining a yacht are high.

A random yacht owned by a netizen’s captain friend shows a harsh reality:

Not only can’t the owner afford it, but it seems the owner can’t even afford the yacht!

Small boats under 10 meters cost about 30,000 to 80,000 yuan annually for docking, not to mention how expensive larger yachts and popular city berths are.

If Brother Dong’s claim that a yacht costs 100,000 yuan, then just the “dock fee” alone could consume half a boat each year.

Add in maintenance costs—insurance, engine servicing, hull upkeep, annual inspections, yacht club memberships—and it’s no exaggeration to call it a “money-consuming beast.”

Owning a yacht is extremely costly.

Compared to buying, renting is actually more suitable for ordinary people to experience.

Among China’s past billionaires, two former top figures loved buying yachts.

One was Xu Jiayin, who owned two valuable yachts:

He spent about 500 million yuan on the Event (a 60-meter super yacht) and Evergrande No.1 (a small yacht), registered under Evergrande.

Last year, the Hong Kong High Court issued a worldwide freezing order on Xu Jiayin’s assets, revealing just how wealthy he was.

The other was Wang Jianlin of Wanda.

He not only bought yachts but also acquired a well-established foreign yacht brand.

Back in 2010, Wang Jianlin spent 78 million yuan to buy the yacht Wanda 2.

It’s said to be the only Sunseeker 108-foot luxury yacht of its kind in the world at that time.

Later, Wang Jianlin became quite fond of yachts as a status symbol.

Wanda acquired nearly 92% of Sunseeker’s shares, costing 320 million pounds.

It’s reported that Sunseeker was profitable again by 2016.

Wanda even announced plans to build a factory in Qingdao with a total investment of 20 billion yuan, aiming to produce 300 yachts annually.

Image: Wang Jianlin’s luxury yacht Wanda 2.

But the Qingdao factory never broke ground; it was eventually turned into residential and commercial land.

Plus, the yacht market in China isn’t mature—dock shortages, high costs, and policy restrictions prevented Wanda’s yacht business from taking off domestically.

In 2024, due to debt and cash flow pressures, Wanda had to sell Sunseeker at half the purchase price, completely exiting the yacht business.

Wanda’s yacht story is more about real estate companies crossing into high-end manufacturing and betting on China’s luxury consumption upgrade.

But ultimately, Wang Jianlin’s gamble didn’t pay off.

Now, seeing Liu Qiangdong enter the yacht industry, wonder what Wang Jianlin would say?

In fact, publicly listed yacht-related companies in China had a tough year last year.

Jianglong Marine first reported losses, with an expected net loss exceeding 100 million yuan.

Another is Yaguang Technology, formerly Sunbird Yachts, once China’s largest private yacht manufacturer.

Last year, its losses widened. Yaguang said that asset disposals in the yacht sector didn’t meet expectations, and heavy asset burdens continued to cause losses.

Yaguang started transforming as early as 2018, gradually selling off its yacht business.

Now, the yacht sector remains a mess.

Why are Liu Qiangdong, a newcomer, so aggressively entering the yacht industry, given how bleak the prospects are?

What do you think?