Chapter 599 The "First" in the World
New Year and Christmas in East Africa are quite lively, but in Ernst's impression, these two festivals must be set off by snow to make them appear more atmospheric, and this It is the hottest time in most parts of East Africa, and this feeling of celebrating New Year and Christmas in summer is very strange.
The arrival of the New Year also means that 1880 has passed in East Africa. The entire East Africa is running like a precise machine. In just a blink of an eye, East Africans are busy again and continue to participate in East Africa. Go to the construction of the country.
This is more miserable for East Africans. Other areas have long winters, and they can also rest for a long time. There is not much difference in the four seasons of East Africa throughout the year. This is the climate that capitalists like, which represents the whole world. Years of sustainable pressing.
……
"This is a car?" Constantine exclaimed.
In front of the square of the Royal Palace of Svet, one of the world's first cars was assembled. Thanks to the long-term research and development of the Hechingen Consortium and some wonderful ideas proposed by Ernst, East Africa The first car was already very advanced when it left the factory. The specific manifestation was that it had a front windshield and a carport, rather than an open-top three-wheeled car.
The reason why it is one is because the Hechingen Consortium prepared one each in Germany, Austria and East Africa at the same time, which means there are three units of the world's first car.
The purpose of this is that Germany, Austria and East Africa can simultaneously promote that the first car was born in their own countries, which will help expand sales.
Because the automobile industry cannot develop without the support of the market, and Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are mature markets, with a large number of nobles and wealthy people able to afford cars.
Moreover, the first cars of the Three Kingdoms were presented to the royal families of the Three Kingdoms by subsidiaries of the Hechingen Consortium. Cars are luxury goods, so they have to rely on nobles to promote them, and the royal family is undoubtedly the most noble brand. , especially the royal families of the two world powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary.
"Father, this is definitely a product that transcends the times. The automobile industry will become the greatest industry in the world, replacing today's horse-drawn carriages and becoming a product that will enter thousands of households in the future." Ernst said proudly .
“You said before that cars can run without relying on animal power. Does this car also burn coal?”
“Of course not, the fuel of the car is gasoline, and gasoline is petroleum. After processing, the world’s largest oil producer is the United States, but we also have a presence in Romania.”
There are many people in the United States who have made a fortune from oil, especially in the western region where there are many oil fields. The uneven distribution of oil resources also means that East Africa’s local oil production may not be ideal in the future.
This is helpless, but East Africa also has an advantage, that is, it is very close to the Persian Gulf coast, the most important oil producing area in the world. Therefore, as long as the East African navy does not stretch its hips in the future, it is basically impossible to blackmail East Africa through oil. .
And East Africa is not far from two important oil producing areas in North Africa and West Africa, so Ernst is not too nervous about the future energy issues in East Africa.
And the local oil in East Africa can meet the basic needs of East Africa, at least it can meet the needs of the East African army in the future, and will not be short of oil like Germany during World War II. At the same time, East Africa also has strength in Kalimantan, an oil producing area in South Asia. Although the oil-producing areas are not within Lanfang Overseas Province, the East African royal family also owns the Alaskan royal territory which is also an oil-producing area.
So the world's major oil-producing areas, East Africa, can basically ensure the national energy security of East Africa through force. Unlike the Far Eastern Empire, if there is no Malacca Strait, the energy security of the Far Eastern Empire can be greatly improved. As a two-ocean country, East Africa does not have such hidden dangers.
In fact, according to Ernst's idea, it would be best to drive a nail along the Persian Gulf coast. In this way, East Africa's future energy security will be foolproof. However, East Africa has never found this opportunity. The coast of the Persian Gulf now belongs to four countries: the Ottoman Empire, Persia, Oman and the United Kingdom, so it is quite difficult for East Africa to get involved.
However, no one knows about the existence of oil in the Persian Gulf. Many future oil-rich countries are still living a miserable life of nomads and fishing for pearls. It is not too much to say that they are poor. No one would have thought that 21 This place became extremely prosperous because of oil in the 19th century, so Ernst has always been obsessed with it.
As the fuel replenishment was completed and the driver started the ignition, the world's first car began to run smoothly on the Svet Palace Square.
“He moved, there is no smoke like a steam engine!” Everyone exclaimed.
The black smoke that is continuously emitted from the car exhaust pipe is automatically ignored by everyone, because it is completely worthless compared with the smoke of the steam engine.
As the car accelerated, it finally reached a running speed of thirty kilometers per hour, which attracted applause from the people present in East Africa.
An East African official media reporter recorded this historical moment and wrote on paper: "The carriage without horses really achieved incredible movement..."
In Berlin at the same time , Vienna is also holding related performances, but it is more lively than in East Africa.
The Hechingen Consortium deliberately planned the car launch conferences of the three countries to be held at the same time. It just so happened that Germany, Austria-Hungary, and East Africa were all located near the East Second District, so the time was almost the same.
It is interesting that all three countries can claim that the world's first car was born in their country, but it will take some time to discover this.
"In addition to building some state-owned automobile factories in East Africa, Hechingen Bank will also invest in several private automobile factories. The former will be used to meet domestic demand, while the latter will focus on the international market." Ernst told Constantine.
“What’s the difference?” Constantine asked.
“The difference is huge, because our domestic car market is very narrow, and most of the people cannot afford such luxury goods, so it is foreseeable that car demand can only be met through government official car distribution, or perhaps Those technicians who earn high salaries are always in the minority
The export part is where we make profits. Although many countries in the world are poor, there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and there are many wealthy classes, such as the Far Eastern Empire, so this part must be completed by the Hechingen Consortium, which is very calculating. If it is a state-owned enterprise, they will not consider the cost. and profitability issues, so it is enough to let them eat the domestic market, and the international market requires professionals,” Ernst said.
The development of the automobile industry needs to rely on market regulation. If it is implemented by state-owned enterprises through administrative means, it is not impossible, but the flexibility is definitely not as good as that of private enterprises without a moral bottom line. This sentence may not be entirely correct, but state-owned enterprises If you want to compete with private companies in this field, your management must be top professionals.
"Since you are optimistic about the automobile industry, why don't we just build factories in East Africa and get a share of the pie from Germany and Austria?"
"This is because we do not have the ability to be alone, and our industrial system is not Perfect, many parts need to be imported, and even if it is a domestic The overall quality of the parts and components produced is also far behind that of Germany and Austria. This is why I require some car companies to be state-owned enterprises. Orders from state-owned enterprises can at least ensure the development of other industries in East Africa, otherwise they will not be able to compete with the international market. , the price/performance ratio is too low,” Ernst explained.
(End of this chapter)