Chapter 600 Trial
After the car had been running in the square for a while, Ernst’s family tried to drive this new type of transportation.
The person in charge of vehicle operation was in a suit and leather shoes, trotted to the door, opened the door smoothly, and then asked Constantine to enter the car behind.
"Your Majesty the King, please sit tight!"
Constantine looked at it carefully and found that the space in the carriage was quite narrow, far less than that of a carriage, so the seat occupied it. There is a lot of space, and the car seat is a hard leather sofa, which is quite comfortable to lean on.
However, the temperature in the car is not very friendly, so the sunroof is opened for ventilation.
Hechingen Energy Power Company has been researching this kind of car for almost ten years, so it has been very perfect once it was launched, including the power system.
The first car invented by Karl in the previous life only had a speed of 12 kilometers per hour, while the speed of horse-drawn carriages was generally 16 kilometers per hour. The product of Hechingen Energy Power Company has been honed for ten years, especially The royal family's special edition can reach a top speed of 30 kilometers per hour, more than double that.
The technical barriers built in it can also ensure that Hechingen Energy Power Company maintains its No. 1 position in the world for a long time.
As the car started, Constantine felt how extraordinary this vehicle was. The maximum speed of thirty kilometers per hour was more than twice as fast as a horse-drawn carriage, and it could keep running until the fuel ran out. Of course, For safety reasons, the general speed is maintained at 20 kilometers per hour, but it is already quite fast.
The cool breeze from the windows and sunroof also makes the interior of the car cooler. The hollow tires and smooth road surface make the car run very steadily.
After Constantine, others also began to try this new type of transportation. Among them, Archduke Ferdinand was especially excited, as was Princess Charlotte. The couple asked the driver to increase the accelerator to The biggest, try the thrill of drag racing.
In the end, Karina was with Ernst. Now Karina was pregnant, so in order to prevent accidents, Ernst asked the driver to reduce the speed to ten kilometers per hour.
"Will this kind of vehicle replace horse-drawn carriages in the future?" Karina asked.
"Of course, it just takes a long time to develop. Now the production cost is too high. Except for the big aristocrats and big capitalists, ordinary people can't afford it." Ernst replied.
In fact, the cars promoted by the three German countries were not the earliest prototypes. The real "cars" were indeed driven by steam engines. In 1804, French army engineer Cournot built the first car driven by a steam engine, so from then on Between 1804 and 1880, the steam automobile lived up to its name, but no one would buy this kind of transportation to use as a platoon.
Before the appearance of fuel vehicles, there was the golden age of steam vehicles. However, due to the defects of steam engines, such as the difficulty of boiling water and stalling in harsh cold weather, and the difficulty of braking the car itself, steam vehicles were gradually eliminated. In other words, this kind of steam car cannot be promoted at all.
As for the cars in East Africa, the more accurate name is fuel-powered cars, but this is not a problem, just like the power bank is essentially a battery, but there is nothing wrong with calling it a mobile power supply.
Ernst continued: "Karina, don't look at this car, which is very comfortable to sit in and looks good. In fact, only the royal families of the Three Kingdoms each own one. Really The finished cars to be launched on the market are actually quite crude. Of course, as long as the price is right, you can also enjoy fully equipped services.”
As a descendant, the finished royal cars promoted by Ernst are basically the same as the cars of previous generations. Much the same, at least in appearance.
But if you want to develop cars as an industry, you must consider market affordability. Just like the cars specially provided by the Three Kingdoms, using the development level of this era, they are similar to rockets in the 21st century. People who can afford rockets in the 21st century are not No, but there are very few.
The same is true for current cars, even steam cars that have fallen behind. Therefore, if East Africa wants to develop the automobile industry, it must drive down car prices and be backward compatible with the market. The simplest way is to reduce the configuration. Currently, Hechingen Energy Power Company plans to launch a car with a top speed of 15 kilometers per hour. This is the limit that many top engines currently on the market can reach.
Just like squeezing toothpaste, Hechingen Energy Power Company, as a pioneer and giant in the field of internal combustion engines, has even more powerful technology in its hands, which is the engine of the special edition car for the royal family. Not even the most advanced.
Because the first factor that needs to be considered for royal vehicles is safety, the stability of the engine is also the highest standard, which is similar to the requirements for military products.
In addition to reducing the configuration in terms of speed, the commercial vehicles launched by Hechingen Energy Power Company also need to reduce the configuration in parts, decoration, comfort and other aspects.
The final commercial model for the mass market is probably just one level better than the first car invented by Kaci in his previous life.
In this way, the lowest model is still an open-top three-wheeled car. Even so, only the wealthy class can afford it, and they can also customize vehicles with higher configurations according to their own economic strength.
The East African or Hechingen consortium can rely on its technological advantages to occupy an important position in low, medium and high industries, and can even be said to be a monopoly.
As for changing lanes and bypassing the technical barriers of the Hechingen Consortium, it is basically impossible, or it is impossible to threaten East Africa with the market, because Ernst laid out the automobile industry in the three countries of Germany, Austria and East at the same time. carried out.
In this way, the embarrassment of Japan's hydrogen energy vehicles in the previous life will not appear in East Africa. Germany and Austria are the world's top powers, and East Africa is also a low-ranking power, so it can protect the German automobile industry. This is also Enstra The reason why Germany and Austria launched the water.
Piracy is also possible in other countries in the automobile industry. Although the profit is not as high as that of the Hechingen Consortium, it is not impossible. However, the high-end market will definitely be monopolized by the Hechingen Consortium for a long time.
As an emerging industry with broad prospects, the automobile industry first appeared as high-end products, and the Hechingen Foundation is equivalent to mastering the best of the best.
This situation can be referred to as follows: In the past life, Africans were not ordinary people who could own a car, but Americans were thinking about what kind of car brand to choose.
Karina understood the meaning of Ernst's words, and she said: "In other words, this car is just like the transoceanic international phone you made before, and there is no way to promote it on a large scale?"
In order to command Africa from Europe, Ernst spent huge sums of money on the transoceanic telephone call, but it has not yet recovered the cost, let alone promoted it.
But cars are different after all, so Ernst said: "No matter how expensive a car is, it will still be limited unless real money and silver are used to build the body and parts. The automotive industry has broad prospects. I believe it will not be easy to be replaced in the future, so your worries are somewhat justified, but not to that extent."
Fuel vehicles will remain popular until the 21st century, and it is only the 19th century now. Therefore, the automobile industry has been prosperous for at least a century and a half. Even before Ernst's time travel, the development of so-called new energy vehicles was like that. For example, in many countries rich in oil resources, it is difficult for new energy vehicles to replace fuel vehicles. Like Canada, Russia, Middle East, etc.
New energy vehicles require abundant electricity to support them, and charging is not as convenient as refueling. For example, in many African countries, electricity is not widely available, let alone trams.
(End of this chapter)