Chapter 454: There are many rich people in Nanyang (fourth update, please subscribe)
“...Currently, the biggest problem we face in the European market is not market development, but competition from East German BMW. ”
In BMW, company manager Herbert was full of helplessness when introducing overseas market development to the president who came to inspect.
"Your Excellency, you know that before the war, BMW's car factory was in Eisenach, which was located in East Germany. As early as four years ago, the factory had begun production, producing cars and motorcycles as a response to Russia. Although Eisenach is completely independent and still has "BMW" in its name, the cars they currently produce are not only supplied to Russia and East Germany, but also exported abroad."
He. The East German BMW that Albert mentioned originated from the Allied occupation of the German partitions. West Germany took the BMW brand and the factories stayed in East Germany. Just after the war, the East German factories began to produce BMW 340, but the quality was terrible. Lead to frequent failures.
After Nanyang BWM entered the European market at the beginning of the year, unsuspecting car owners sent their 340s with BMW and Blue Sky and White Clouds logos to BMW's local dealers for repairs. This move has low attack power, but is extremely insulting.
The poor quality of East Germany's 340 cars not only affected the sales of Nanyang BMW 338, but also affected the product's reputation.
Of course Li Yian knew all this very well and asked.
"How is the prosecution going in the court now?"
Hulbert replied quickly.
"It is currently ongoing. Although we are the first holder of the BMW Blue Sky and White Clouds brand, and Eisenach is only a car factory that BMW later acquired, but because the Russians refused to appear in court, coupled with the previous Berlin crisis, so, There is not much progress at the moment."
Li Yian nodded and said.
"Well, if I urge you again, I will visit Europe in the second half of the year. At that time, I will negotiate with West Germany in person. Well, you can also negotiate through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now the Russians are advancing in the East De Jianguo, they definitely need external recognition, take this opportunity to talk to them, those Russians don’t know the meaning of the brand at all.”
Shaking his head, Li Yixin sighed, not knowing the meaning of the brand. And it's not just the Russians.
“The quality of BMWs manufactured in East Germany is not good, and the yield rate is not good. This also reminds us that it is not enough for us to just have the BMW brand. We must improve the quality of our products.”< br>
Li Yian asked while emphasizing quality again.
“How is the development of our new car going?”
The new car Li Yian mentioned is not the BMW338. In fact, the BMW338, like Eisenach’s BMW340, is based on the BMW 326. Later, the BMW M782.0L straight-6 engine and four-speed manual transmission were used.
Unlike the frequent engine failures of BMWs in Eisenach, Nanyang BMW itself is an engine factory - the BMW factory that the search team dismantled from Munich was the engine factory.
The search team not only dismantled all the equipment, but also transported thousands of tons of technical data. Relying on this technical basis, the current BMW company has completely inherited BMW's engine manufacturing technology and produced Gasoline engines are not only exported, but also used in various industries.
Thanks to the strong engine technology, the quality of Nanyang's BMW338 is far better than that of East German products. However, in Li Yian's view, the BMW 338 is just a transitional product. If you want to re-enter the luxury car market, you must have your own flagship product.
Without brand new products, the BMW brand will eventually disappear into history. Therefore, a few months ago, Li Nian suggested that after developing new cars, according to his plan, BMW and Porsche will form Nanyang's luxury car brands in the future, and the "national car" being designed will become a popular car in the future. The simplest reason why we should start planning for the automobile industry now is the market. The rules of the market are very simple. If you don’t occupy it, outsiders will. Take Japan in another world as an example. As early as 1949, it promulgated the earliest "light automobile" standard. In the ruins of the post-war period, the automobile industry was planned. When its economy recovered slightly, the cars were as cheap as toys. The K-car began to enter thousands of households in Japan. It was those toy-like mini cars that nurtured automobile manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota, and Suzuki, and made Japanese cars that later swept the world.
Successful experience must be learned, which is why Li Nian formulated the "National Car", which is to seize the market opportunity and provide some citizens with cars when they can afford them. A low-priced national car, thus laying a solid market foundation. This will not allow foreign cars to seize the market.
The same goes for the development of luxury cars, which are essentially all about seizing the market. It is to build a brand, and Japan in the other world also has a lesson - focusing on civilian brands. As a result, Japanese cars have always been a symbol of cheap civilians.
At this point, Germany's experience is very good. If you want luxury cars, there are luxury cars, and if you want ordinary cars, there are ordinary cars.
“Now our new car has completed the preliminary design. It draws on the technology of pre-war Mercedes-Benz luxury cars and American Cadillac as a whole, and adopts a three-box structure body...”
In Hulbert When explaining, Li Yian saw the drawings of the new car in the research room. Looking at the car's classic yet elegant shape, he simply made a few comments, and then said it specifically.
"In addition to the regular model, this car should also have a Pullman model. There are still many rich people in Nanyang. With the prosperity of industry and commerce, some rich people will inevitably be born among them. When the time comes, Only the Pullman model is suitable for them.”
What is the Pullman model?
The so-called "Pullman" comes from the American Pullman carriage. The magnificent Pullman carriage has always been famous for its comfort and luxury. The "Pullman" model on the car comes from the fact that people use it to describe the spaciousness, comfort and luxury of Mercedes-Benz.
In fact, to put it bluntly, it is an extended luxury car with a long wheelbase and large space.
"What you said is true. There are indeed many rich people in Nanyang, especially now. This month we have received orders for more than 3,000 BMW338s, 60% of which are in the three eastern districts. I really didn't expect that, It’s just been developed over there, but there are so many rich people there! And in the past few months, domestic sales have been increasing day by day.”
Herbert’s exclamation immediately stunned Li Yian. , he didn’t even know how to describe the mixed feelings in his heart. So many rich people suddenly appeared, not because Nanyang was developing well, but because a large number of rich people came to Nanyang from Tangshan. Let alone rich people, just Even corrupt officials came in large numbers.
For example, the last mayor of Shanghai, Chen Liang, who confiscated more than 2,000 pieces of cotton yarn and 160,000 pieces of woolen cloth within a few decades of taking office, first fled to Hong Kong, where he disposed of the stolen property and then liquidated it. , I took the flight directly to Chang'an with my money.
With all these corrupt officials... how can we transfer to Taiwan without success?
Hey... thinking that Nanyang has become a hiding place for corrupt officials, Li Yi felt a little uncomfortable. In desperation, I even have no interest in new cars.
Despite this, Li Yian still inspected Nanyang BMW Company. During the inspection at the New Technology Research Center, after witnessing the dummy flying directly out of the windshield during the crash test, Li Yian immediately walked to the car and observed it carefully. After a while, when I noticed that the car seat belt is a seat belt fastened around the waist, I immediately thought of the "three-point seat belt" that is common in later generations, and said.
“This two-point buckle seat belt that runs through the waist has serious safety risks. When the car brakes suddenly or collides, it is unavoidable that the driver’s head hits the driver’s head due to the contraction of the waist. The driver's waist is tied to the seat, making it very uncomfortable to operate. See if you can research a three-point seat belt. Its structure is like this..."
Li Yian then drew a simple structural sketch. After proposing the invention of the three-point seat belt, he asked the company to research new transistor car radios and automatic transmission of car air conditioners. He also asked the company to introduce automatic transmission from the United States. A series of new technologies such as gearboxes to enhance the company's technical level.
The reason why automatic transmission technology is introduced from the United States is that currently only the United States has this technology, and it was put into use before World War II. It was even used in tanks during the war. The American imperialists in this era were absolutely technologically advanced. It can be said that Blue Star is number one, especially in the field of automotive technology. There is no doubt that the automatic transmission in Germany is still in the 1960s. If some technologies are not available, decisive introduction will also improve the technical level. Choose one.
(End of this chapter)