Chapter 369 Mercedes-Benz is coming
The joint research and development project of hot stamping steel plates was finally handed over to Shougang.
Although the distance is a bit far and the equipment is not as good as that of Baosteel, the company's attitude towards cooperation with BMW is still relatively positive.
After all, the key reason why they can become the largest automobile plate manufacturer in China is that they cooperated with Jiang Hui and Capital University of Science and Technology to develop high-strength automobile steel plates.
However, this incident also made Jiang Hui more determined that the BMW Group will have its own steel plant in the future.
Even if you do not engage in full-process steel technology, it is acceptable to purchase crude steel from other manufacturers and process it into various steel plates and steel coils yourself.
For this reason, Jiang Hui had a special conversation with Wu Ming.
"Brother-in-law, I plan to build our own steel plant within the next five years, purchase crude steel from Shaogang or other steel plants in the south, and process it into various automotive plates and special steel needed by the group."
"You can contact your former colleagues and classmates to see who is willing to come to Shenzhen for development. The conditions are easy to negotiate."
Telling Wu Ming his thoughts early can also make him more motivated and fighting spirit.
As an expert in steel technology, Wu Ming must also hope that he can be in charge of a steel plant.
Let the factory research various new technologies according to its own ideas and become a leader in the industry.
"Jiang Hui, a steel plant is not that easy to build. Even if you don't engage in crude steel smelting, the various hot rolling, hot rolling, refining and other processes in the post-process are still very complicated."
"And if we want to make good steel products, we need to invest a lot of manpower and material resources in research and development, and purchase advanced instruments and equipment and production equipment."
"It is very likely that by then the investment in the steel plant will be greater than that of BMW."
Although Wu Ming hopes that BMW Group can establish a subsidiary steel company, he must make it clear to Jiang Hui about the difficulty involved.
Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to be a good person if the project turned out to be half-cooked rice.
"We are now accumulating some technical personnel. It just so happens that the BMW R&D Center also needs experts who are proficient in steel technology."
"Whether you are designing body parts or chassis parts, many things are closely related to the performance of steel."
"At the same time, during the research process, we can also figure out which steel products are in short supply in the market and we need to find ways to break through."
"We will officially set up a steel factory after all conditions are mature."
Jiang Hui doesn't want to start building a steel plant right away, but just build it within the next five years.
Accumulate strength in the past two years. After the Land Rover off-road vehicle is successfully launched, the operating conditions of the BMW Group will definitely change greatly.
At that time, there was no shortage of money to purchase equipment related to steel plants, so it was necessary to purchase a batch of advanced instruments and equipment before China's relations with the United States and other countries deteriorated.
The gap between China's equipment industry and the international advanced level is too big. Even if Jiang Hui wants to catch up, it will not be possible in a year or two.
And at the beginning, only some equipment can be selected for research, and most other equipment still needs to be imported.
Even if he was unwilling to eat the fat man in one bite, Jiang Hui could accept this situation.
"Okay, then I will contact some classmates and colleagues to see who is interested."
He had already reminded him when it was time to remind him, and Wu Ming didn't want to say too much, otherwise he would be depressed if Jiang Hui really canceled the steel plant project.
……
Time waits for no one, and the entire BMW Group looks like they are working hard, which is something that many factories in the mainland do not have.
Even during the Spring Festival, which is the two days off between New Year's Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year, people from many departments began to come back to work overtime from the second day of the new year.
Jiang Hui, the person in charge, also took the lead. During this period, he was busy with everyone at the R&D center, guiding relevant personnel to design parts, and even drew drawings directly with others.
In the production workshop, preparations for mass production of Mercedes-Benz cars have also entered the final stage.
This sedan, which focuses on the domestic official car market and wealthy businessmen, will be officially launched soon.
"Director, I think the price of 299,900 yuan is more appropriate."
"Now Volkswagen's Santana in Shanghai sells for 200,000 yuan. Our Mercedes-Benz sedan is positioned higher than it, and the price must be higher."
"Besides, whether it's the engine, gearbox, or appearance, Mercedes-Benz sedans have all-round advantages over Santana, so even if the cost is not very high, it is normal for the price to be higher."
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As the head of sales, Chen Chenxing naturally had to propose the sales price of the Mercedes-Benz sedan to Jiang Hui.
Jiang Hui, who is used to the profit margins of later generations of cars being basically less than ten points, is obviously not used to selling cars that double the money.
The production cost of a Mercedes-Benz sedan, even if all taxes are taken into account, is less than 150,000 yuan.
This is based on the calculation of various equipment investments and development costs for the 2.5L engine and 5MT manual transmission based on rapid depreciation within three years.
Otherwise, the production cost would be only about 100,000 yuan.
After all, these two products normally take more than ten years to produce. It is completely unreasonable to depreciate investment in various equipment and factories based on three years.
Generally speaking, equipment is depreciated over 10 years and factories are depreciated over 20 years, which is a common practice in the industry.
However, taking advantage of the fact that the products are sufficiently competitive, Jiang Hui has set the general direction for everyone to quickly relieve the burden of the large initial investment in factory equipment in the new company's factory.
This kind of investment has been depreciated, and it will have enough strength to fight price wars in the future.
According to Jiang Hui's idea, the Mercedes-Benz brand must not only have one sedan, but will also launch higher-end products in the future.
So now the price of cars is set at 200,000 to 300,000, and the price of more high-end products is set at around 400,000 to 500,000, which means there is much more room for movement.
Mercedes-Benz sedans currently use a 2.5L engine. After the 3.5L engine is developed in the future, a high-end version will definitely be launched.
The combination of high and low configurations can cover the range of 200,000 to 300,000.
Now Chen Chenxing is Jianyi, the price of the 2.5L version of the Mercedes-Benz sedan is set at 300,000, so in the future the 3.5L version will definitely cost 400,000.
Of course, you can also choose to reduce the price when the time comes.
"If it costs 300,000 units, it is estimated that the sales volume will be less, and it will not be able to achieve our goal of rapidly increasing the production of 2.5L and 5MT manual transmissions, right?"
Jiang Hui knew that he was not omnipotent, so if he had any questions in his mind, he could just ask them.
"I don't think they all have much toughness. Organizations and individuals who can afford a car worth 200,000 yuan basically have the strength to purchase a product worth 300,000 yuan."
"The most important thing is the competitiveness of our Mercedes-Benz cars. Whether we sell one for 200,000 or 300,000, the sales gap should not be huge."
"From a profit perspective, when the sales volume gap is not large, selling a car for 300,000 yuan is more appropriate."
Chen Chenxing rarely insisted on his point of view.
He still insists on doing things that are good for the company. "Okay, then follow your plan."
“My requirement is that the sales volume of Mercedes-Benz cars must be at least 1,000 units per month.”
Jiang Hui knows that there may still be some deviations in his cognition, so he will not do anything that makes money but does not make money.
At this time, let yourself earn more money and use this money to better develop other related companies. The positive impact on the entire Chinese automobile industry will definitely be much greater.
……
The mass production roll-off ceremony of Mercedes-Benz cars was attended by people from many departments here in Lingnan Province, not to mention those in Shencheng.
As a product of the province's most prolific automobile factory, the local government must support it.
The orders for official vehicles from relevant units were given to the BMW Group the day after the mass production of Mercedes-Benz cars rolled off the assembly line.
Information about Mercedes-Benz cars was quickly placed in front of the heads of various automobile factories.
"Wow, the price of the Mercedes-Benz sedan is 100,000 yuan higher than our Santana. It seems to be more expensive, but considering the huge difference in powertrains, I think this price is actually more competitive than our Santana. ”
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"Should we consider lowering the price of Santana?"
As a representative of Deutsche Volkswagen, Lucas has always had opinions on Santana's pricing.
Initially, Volkswagen suggested a price of 80,000 yuan.
Converted according to the official exchange rate at the time, this price was already sky-high.
Even if calculated based on the black market exchange rate, this price is much higher than Santana's overseas price.
But in the end, the Shanghai Automobile Manufacturing Factory disagreed, which is why the current high price was reached.
Of course, since it was produced by CKD assembly in the early days, the number that can be produced each year is limited due to restrictions on foreign exchange quotas.
Even if the price is set at a high price, Santana doesn't have to worry about selling.
Now the Santana localization community has been working hard for two years to maximize the localization ratio of Santana.
Although there is still a long way to go before achieving a localization rate of more than 90%, some achievements have indeed been achieved.
For example, 80% of the various parts on the car body have been domestically produced.
Some injection molded parts have also begun to be produced domestically.
Correspondingly, Santana's costs are also declining, and it has the ability to sell at reduced prices.
At least that's what Lucas thinks.
"As you said, the difference between the Santana sedan and the Mercedes-Benz sedan is very obvious. Whether it is power performance or fashionable appearance, they are not on the same level at all."
"In this case, even if we adjust the price, we may not be able to sell better."
"It's better to sell a few more Santanas before Mercedes-Benz sedans are fully launched on the market, so as to maximize the use of this year's import quota."
Wang Huiliang's priority now is maximizing the profits of the Shanghai automobile manufacturing plant.
The entire automobile industry in Shanghai now mainly relies on Shanghai Volkswagen to make money.
The sales volume of Shanghai brand cars has dropped to less than 2,000 units per month. Looking at this trend, it is estimated that monthly sales of more than 1,000 units will be a problem by the end of the year.
As a result, the production cost of Shanghai-branded cars will inevitably increase and profits will fall significantly.
Therefore, the profits provided by the Shanghai Volkswagen joint venture are even more important.
"We at Volkswagen enter the Chinese market not to make money in a year or two, but to develop here for a long time."
"According to what you said, we will increase the sales of Santana in the short term, but after this year's import quota is used up, there will be no cars to produce."
"This is very detrimental to our development."
Lucas obviously has a slightly different point of view from Wang Huiliang.
Playing steadily and moving forward step by step is what he wants to see most.
Santana's current development situation is a little different from what he thought.
"Lucas, the Chinese automobile market is very special. You can't look at it based on the market rules in Germany."
"Of course, I am not completely opposed to the price reduction you mentioned, but at least we have to wait until Santana's localization rate exceeds 50% before we can meet the conditions for this."
"Otherwise, there will be no practical significance or gain in giving away this part of the profits."
Wang Huiliang will not directly tell Lucas that even if the foreign exchange quota is used up, he will find a way to apply.
If you are not 100% sure about something like this, don’t talk so much until it is done successfully.
"But if the current situation is maintained, everyone will think that the Volkswagen brand is inferior to the Mercedes-Benz brand, which is very detrimental to long-term development."
Lucas wanted to struggle again, but Wang Huiliang showed no intention of letting go.
When he can make money lying down, it is impossible for him to spit out part of the money.
Compared with the reaction from Shanghai Volkswagen, the reaction from the Capital Automobile Factory is also very interesting.
"Also using a 2.5L engine, the power performance of the Mercedes-Benz sedan is much better than ours. Such a comparison shows that our BJ310 is very poor."
Chen Qi called Lu Jianqiang to his office, but the latter was obviously unwilling to take the blame for the poor engine performance.
"Chang Chen, our engines are all provided by the Capital Internal Combustion Engine Factory. Their level is relatively high in the country."
“But compared with Nanshan engine, there is still a gap.”
"We have purchased the prototype of the 1.5L engine produced by the other party. The design of many parts is quite exquisite. No wonder the various parameters are close to the 2.5L engine used in our BJ310."
"Considering that the 1.5L engine produced by Nanshan Engine is cheaper than the 2.5L engine produced by the Capital Internal Combustion Engine Factory, the performance is not much worse."
"I think it is possible to launch a 1.5L version of BJ310. Then the price will be adjusted down by 20,000 yuan. The sales volume should be worth looking forward to."
Lu Jianqiang came up with an interesting plan.
(End of chapter)