Chapter 371 A wonderful misunderstanding
Different people may have different opinions on whether a car is good-looking or not.
Just like the various models of later French car companies, they are all relatively rounded, and most of them are hatchbacks, which are quite popular in France and South America.
But when it comes to China, few people can accept it.
But for those classic models, almost everyone has the same opinion on whether it looks good or not.
For example, there are very few people who would say that Porsche Panamera and Land Rover Range Rover are not good-looking.
The Mercedes-Benz sedan designed by Jiang Hui adopts the appearance of the BMW 5 Series. Although it cannot be said to be comparable to classics such as the Panamera, it can be regarded as a leader among cars.
In 1985, he was definitely the most handsome boy on the street.
"President, this car has been sold by FAW. Is it a new model launched by FAW?"
Saito Shoei looked at the familiar door in front of him in disbelief.
During this time, we have been discussing cooperation with FAW. If the other party can design such an amazing model, why would we need to cooperate with Toyota?
"Let's go to the door to register, and then have a good chat with Director Geng."
Shoichiro Toyoda, who had originally planned to return to China in two days, was ready to continue meeting his old friend Geng Weidong.
He felt unwilling to understand the situation of the car he just saw.
Toyota's inspection group is the most important inspection group for FAW in recent days.
Shoichiro Toyoda wants to see Geng Weidong, even if it is a temporary request, it is easy to achieve.
Ten minutes later, they saw Geng Weidong in the conference room.
The shadow of the car he just saw was still in his mind. Saito Shoei, the head of the sales department, directly asked the question that his president wanted to ask.
"Director Geng, has FAW launched a new car recently?"
In Saito Shouhei's subconscious mind, there should be no company in the entire China that could come up with such a stunning-looking car, but the car actually appeared in front of him.
So even if he didn't believe it, he could only admit it.
"Our new generation of Hongqi sedan will be launched soon, and prototypes have already been produced."
I'm not quite sure why the people from Toyota came to look for me so suddenly today.
However, the new Hongqi sedan is not a particularly confidential project. Geng Weidong answered Saito Shoying's question after thinking for a while.
"A new generation of Hongqi sedan?"
Saito Shoei feels that he may have found the answer to the question.
As the most important automobile factory in China, Shoei Saito had some knowledge about the Hongqi sedan before coming to China.
Although the previous products were passable in terms of appearance, they were just passable.
I didn't expect that there would be such a big breakthrough this time, it's really surprising.
"Who is the designer of your new generation Hongqi sedan? Can you please come over and talk to us?"
Although he really wanted to see a prototype right away, Saito Shohide also knew that this kind of model has not yet been officially launched, and it would be a bit excessive to make such a request.
However, he was a little confused. There was no officially launched car, so why was it driven back to the FAW factory from the street outside?
Is it a real car test?
This should be it!
"No problem. This car is the latest masterpiece of our design department and will be the main force in China's official car market in the future."
"It uses the same powertrain as the Audi 100 owned by Deutsche Volkswagen, and fully draws on the excellent elements of the Audi 100 in terms of appearance. It is expected to completely reverse the pattern of FAW in the sedan market."
Geng Weidong was negotiating with Toyota Motor during this period. In order to make Toyota people fully aware that FAW did not have no brands, he took this opportunity to prepare to introduce the new Hongqi sedan to Shoichiro Toyoda and Shoei Saito. situation.
However, with his introduction, the expressions of Saito Shohide and Toyoda Shoichiro began to change.
The information Geng Weidong said seemed a bit inconsistent with what they saw.
The new generation of Hongqi sedan fully draws on the exterior design elements of the Audi 100?
Shohide Saito is fully aware of what the Audi 100 is like.
But does that car have anything to do with the white car they saw just now?
You can't find any shadow of that sleek and novel shape on the Audi 100.
With doubts in their minds, the two of them waited for Wang Le from the FAW Design Department.
"Wang Chu, please explain to the distinguished guests the design highlights of our new generation of Hongqi sedans, so that everyone can also take a look at the changes in FAW's design ideas in recent years."
In Geng Weidong's view, telling Toyota people more about this project will help them start negotiations.
"It's like this..."
The leader has spoken, and Wang Le must perform well.
It's rare that they design the director's face.
However, with his explanation, Saito Shoei finally determined that something was wrong.
Seeing that Wang Le wanted to continue talking, he immediately interrupted: "We just saw a white car driving into the FAW factory outside. From a distance, it looked very round and special."
"It is completely different from the models of this era. Is this car the new generation of Hongqi sedan you mentioned?"
Hearing Saito Shoying's question, Wang Le quickly showed an embarrassed smile and said: "That white car is a model we bought from outside for comparison and analysis, not our new generation of Hongqi sedan. ”
As the director of the design department, benchmarking competitor information is one of their main daily tasks.
Mercedes-Benz sedan is a popular model recently launched on the market, and Wang Le was even more impressed.
So after Saito Shoei mentioned it a little bit, he knew what kind of car the other party was talking about.
"Bought from outside?"
"Which car manufacturer makes it?"
"Is it imported from abroad?"
Saito Shoei asked three questions in one breath.
One can imagine how curious he was about the white car he just saw.
"This car is..."
Wang Le looked at Geng Weidong in confusion, then at Saito Shangying and Toyoda Shoichiro, feeling very depressed.
The reason why the emotional people came so actively to communicate was not for the new generation of Hongqi cars or other cooperation matters.
"Tell it truthfully."
Geng Weidong's face didn't look good either.
But he knew that any concealment at this time was actually meaningless.
I can't get the answer from FAW. I just need to arrange for people to investigate and understand everything, and everything will be clear.
"This is a Mercedes-Benz sedan owned by the BMW Group. It was officially rolled off the production line some time ago."
"The one you just saw is a prototype that our technical department applied for and disassembled and benchmarked."
Since the boss has spoken, there is no need for Wang Le to hide it, and he also knows that he cannot hide it. "BMW car?"
Saito Shoei naturally knows this company. After all, the BMW Light is now the single highest-selling model in China.
Although the price is relatively cheap, the sales volume is real.
"Yes, it is the BMW Group that produces the BMW Light. Their second product is the sedan you see, equipped with a 2.5LL4 engine and a 5MT manual transmission."
“The exterior design is very special, completely different from mainstream cars.”
"After this car was launched, it was very popular with everyone. Many agencies and units in Lingnan Province have already ordered it as an official vehicle."
"Some self-employed people who have made a fortune are also rushing to buy this car."
"Given time, it may become the best-selling car in China's auto market."
When Wang Le said this, Saito Shoying became even more curious.
"Director Wang, can you bring that car over and let us have a look and experience?"
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This request is not too excessive. After knowing that it is a Mercedes-Benz sedan, Toyota will definitely get a sample car soon for analysis.
Even Saito Shouhei is planning to import a few of them so that Toyota's exterior designers can study them and let them design stunning car appearances in the future.
Soon, a group of people arrived downstairs. Someone had already gone to the design office to bring the Mercedes-Benz car over.
A group of people gathered around the Mercedes-Benz car and watched.
"President, I think this design style is very suitable for our Lexus to learn from and adopt."
"I even think this style of styling will be the mainstream trend in the next ten years."
“The boxy appearance of traditional cars is slowly being eliminated by the market.”
As the head of Toyota Motor Sales Headquarters, Saito Shoei is considered an expert in the sales field.
He still has a say in whether the shape of a car is good or not.
"Are you sure that no other car manufacturer has designed a product similar to this car?"
Shoichiro Toyoda couldn't accept that such an amazing car was actually produced by a Chinese company and was first designed by Chinese people.
This is not common sense.
If a car company in Europe designed a product like this, and China copied it and came up with these two cars, it would be more reasonable.
"General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, PSA and other car companies have never designed a vehicle with this style."
"Even the car design companies in Europe have never displayed similar products to the outside world."
"So this Mercedes-Benz sedan must have been produced first in China."
"I heard that Jiang Hui, the head of BMW Group, is a well-known automotive technology expert in China. General Motors has always wanted to invite him to serve as deputy director of design."
"But this idea has never been successful. The BJ212 at the Capital Automobile Factory was designed by Jiang Hui."
"The Mercedes-Benz sedan in front of me was most likely designed by Jiang Hui himself."
Saito Shoei's mood is very complicated.
It's not a good thing that China actually has such another car designer.
"I know Xiaojiang a little bit. He has a very high level of expertise in auto parts and auto design."
"BMW has developed very fast in his hands, and there may be new products coming out in the future."
Geng Weidong is quite happy to be able to defeat the Japanese people.
Although the Mercedes-Benz car is not owned by FAW, it can somewhat suppress Toyota's arrogance during the negotiation process and make them look high on the Chinese automobile industry.
"The exterior design of this car is indeed very good. To evaluate whether a car is good or not, you cannot just look at the appearance. What is more important is the performance of the engine, the parameters of the gearbox and the quality of each component."
"What if it looks good?"
Shoichiro Toyoda defended a bit arrogantly.
It's just that even Saito Shoei didn't believe this.
After all, no matter what era it is in, no matter which country's car market it is in, when some consumers buy a car, the first thing they look at is the appearance.
The appearance of the Mercedes-Benz sedan can definitely be liked by some people.
As long as their powertrain is not too bad, sales will definitely not be bad.
At least BMW will certainly not lose money on this project.
Of course, he would not say these words, otherwise they would conflict with what Shoichiro Toyoda said.
"President, how about I arrange for someone to purchase a few Mercedes-Benz cars later and let everyone analyze and study the performance of this car?"
Following the leader's words and combining it with his own demands, Saito Shoei put forward the suggestion of buying a sample car.
Over the past few years, Toyota has purchased many models from the market as prototypes for research.
But purchasing a prototype car from China is definitely an unprecedented first time.
However, the Mercedes-Benz sedan is so amazing that even though Toyoda Shoichiro was a bit tough, he did not object to Saito Shohide's request
After figuring out the situation, the Toyota team did not stay at FAW for much longer. Instead, they found an excuse and left quickly.
But the misunderstanding they caused had a big impact on the people of FAW.
No matter what Shoichiro Toyoda said, after seeing the Mercedes-Benz car on the street, he immediately chased him to FAW. For this matter, everyone knew how successful the exterior design of the Mercedes-Benz car was.
"Director, should we consider adjusting the appearance of our new generation Hongqi sedan before launching it on the market?"
When Zhao Guangming said this, Wang Le immediately became anxious.
It was supposed to be launched this year, but if it is re-adjusted, it may not be until next year.
The most important thing is that unless he directly copies the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz sedan, he has no confidence in leading his team to design an equally stunning sedan.
"Director Geng and Deputy Director Zhao, the new generation of Hongqi sedan is on the line and has to be launched."
"If we redesign the appearance, it is basically equivalent to redesigning the entire car, which is too time-consuming."
"Should we consider waiting for the next generation update before changing the appearance plan?"
Wang Le didn't want to go against Zhao Guangming, but if he didn't stand up at this time, he would be the unlucky one behind.
Car design looks very simple, but actually designing it well is not simple at all.
Basically, it will be after 2010 for the later Chinese independent brand companies to fully master the ability to independently design the appearance of their cars.
Before this, most of the time, they relied on "borrowing" the appearance of other car companies' cars, and the models they designed themselves generally did not look good.
"What you both said makes sense. Preparations for the mass production of the new generation of Hongqi sedans have been basically completed. Directly changing the appearance will lead to the scrapping of some past tooling investments. This is difficult to explain clearly to higher-level departments."
“So designing a new appearance can only be discussed later.”
Geng Weidong weighed the pros and cons and made what he thought was the most appropriate choice.
(End of chapter)