Chapter 282 BMW’s Light, a first-generation sacred car project officially launched
“The most common ones in the port city are various Japanese cars, and taxis have very high quality requirements for cars, Toyota Crown and Nissan Duke's quality and stability are very good, and its reputation has been established."
"Shanghai brand cars in China are considered to be the best, but if they are used in the taxi market, there will still be some problems every now and then. It greatly affects people’s business.”
“As a result, no taxi company on the market is willing to use domestic cars.”
Fang Huihui explained quickly. .
You can make things like cars by hand, but to produce them on a large scale to ensure quality will test a country's industrial system.
Not to mention other things, just basic parts such as simple bearings, gears and bolts, there are not many countries in the world that can make them very well.
A car has tens of thousands of parts. If any part is not done well, it may break down while driving.
“Crown and Duke are good, but imported cars require foreign exchange, and the sales price is very high. If there are other options, I guess many people will consider other options.”
Jiang Hui feels that when the time comes, BMW's first product will ideally be able to capture a share of the transportation market.
Of course, the risk is still slightly higher if you directly launch a sedan.
Furthermore, sedans are a product that pays great attention to ride comfort and the luxury of the interior, so it is not suitable to be BMW's first product.
“It is true, but there is no other way. Even if the relevant departments are not willing to waste so much foreign exchange on imported cars, various units will still find various ways to purchase imported cars.”
< br>"There are even cases of smuggling of imported cars in some places."
Fang Huihui and Jiang Hui naturally had nothing to hide and told them all the information they learned.
"Smuggling cars?"
Jiang Hui was stunned for a moment, and a lot of relevant information came to his mind.
In the early days of reform and opening up, the class restrictions on official cars were loosened. Economic development and foreign exchanges made domestic cars unable to meet demand. Toyota Crown and other Japanese cars poured into China through legal import and smuggling.
The biggest action here is in some places in Lingnan Province.
“Yes, the relevant departments’ restrictions on the use of foreign exchange, coupled with high import tariffs, have made smuggling cars very profitable.”
"So all kinds of smuggled cars have begun to appear, and it is estimated that this situation will continue to get worse in the next few years."
"But this also means that China's car market is exploding rapidly. If our products can be launched as soon as possible, we won’t have to worry about no one buying them.”
Fang Huihui is still looking forward to the future of BMW cars.
If I could become the general manager of a car company, my influence would be completely different.
Even if he returns to Hong Kong City by then, he will still be a high-end person in the business district.
“During this time, I have been thinking about what kind of product BMW should choose for its first model.”
“Sedans must be produced, but I don’t want to produce low-end sedans. I hope they are Mid- to high-end products should be at least on par with cars such as Toyota Crown and Nissan Duke in terms of appearance, size and comfort.”
“Developing such a car should be quite difficult and expensive. It takes a lot of time, so it is not suitable for BMW’s first mass-produced model.”
The factory has already begun construction, but BMW’s products have not officially started designing, and the schedule is definitely not available. No more delay.
Even if Jiang Hui can significantly shorten the development time of the model by subverting the ideas, the time is still very tight.
"The prospects for domestically produced sedans are indeed still full of variables. It is a relatively stable plan to produce other hot-selling models first, and then produce sedans."
"But what kind of car are you planning to develop, director?" As our company’s first model?”
Fang Huihui has also had a careful understanding of the development of China’s automobile industry during this period, and is relatively clear about the domestic situation.
So I know what Jiang Hui said makes sense.
The more this happened, the more curious she became about what kind of product Jiang Hui would choose as BMW's first model.
“I have almost thought about this car, and I will finalize its big plan with the design team in the next few days.”
“It is an economical and practical van with spacious interior space. . ”
“According to my design, this car uses a 1.5L engine and is equipped with a 4MT manual transmission from Capital Gear Factory. It is available in 2-seat, 5-seat and 7-seat versions.”< br>
“Whether it is pulling people or goods, it can exert its maximum function.”
“In addition to the driver’s and passenger seat belts and a radio, the entire vehicle has various other functions. Basically, these configurations can be omitted to minimize the cost of this car, making it the cheapest model on the market. ”
Jiang Hui plans to design BMW's first product based on Wuling's Light, and the name will be directly called BMW's Light. Of course, the first-generation Wuling Zhiguang used a 0.8L engine. Jiang Hui thought it was too small, so he directly changed it to 1.5L.
Anyway, considering the engine structure and component costs, in fact, the price difference between a 0.8L displacement engine and a 1.5L displacement engine is not particularly large, but the power performance But there is a very huge difference.
With such an engine, future cars and entry-level SUVs can all use it.
Coupled with the development of a 2.5L and 3.5L engine, BMW will basically have enough power within the next ten years.
Of course, if it develops quickly, other engine configurations can also be enriched, and that will be something that needs to be considered in the future.
At this stage, Jiang Hui plans to let BMW develop three engines, and first use the 1.5L engine as the first product, allowing the R&D team to formally practice their skills.
As for the gearbox, I will definitely have to do it myself later, but considering the limited energy, it is acceptable to use the 4MT produced by Capital Gear Factory for the time being.
Anyway, this product was designed by Jiang Hui himself, but it was produced at the Capital Gear Factory.
If the other party doesn't give face, then I can produce it myself in Shencheng.
Other factories may not have this capability, but for Jiang Hui, there is definitely no problem.
The people at the Capital Gear Factory should be aware of this.
“The last time I went to Japan to consider Suzuki Motor’s production line, their previous products were actually somewhat similar to the van you mentioned.”
“In terms of production line running-in, it should be It will be simpler.”
In terms of specific car selection, Fang Huihui was prepared to listen to Jiang Hui completely, so she did not raise any objections.
Besides, the plan for the van that Jiang Hui mentioned sounded pretty good, so there was no reason to object.
After Jiang Hui and Fang Huihui exchanged information about BMW's first product, they quickly summoned Hou Guoming, Chen Chenxing, Liao Chengwen and others to discuss the specific design content.
“The front suspension uses MacPherson independent suspension, and the rear suspension uses leaf spring non-independent suspension. This way, a balance between ride comfort and production cost can be fully chosen.”
“I think there is no problem with this chassis design at all.”
After Hou Guoming and others listened to Jiang Hui’s introduction on the overall design of BMW Light, they immediately began to develop the specific layout. discuss.
Time waits for no one. During this time, the overall layout and design plan can be finalized so that other technicians can start working.
“This appearance is relatively simple, with four doors and two covers without too many lines. The mold processing should be relatively simple, but the steel plates will have to be transported from the capital, which will be somewhat troublesome.”
Chen Chenxing has been studying with Jiang Hui for several years, and his professional knowledge in automobiles has improved very quickly.
Of course, this has a lot to do with his own efforts.
At first, he liked to repair cars. After realizing that to repair a car well, he needed to have a very in-depth understanding of the structure and principles of the car, he worked hard in the past few years.
Today's professional level is higher than that of ordinary engineers.
“The interior is also very simple, and there is no difficulty in production and processing. There are no special new technologies used in electronics and appliances. At most, there are some difficulties with the radio function.”
< br>"The most troublesome thing may be the production of engines. The Capital Internal Combustion Plant does not have a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine. We need to design and produce it ourselves."
Liao Chengwen also expressed his opinions next to him. .
The BMW Light project is now officially approved, so how to implement various design plans in the next step is something that will always trouble everyone.
"This time, part of the production line we plan to purchase from Suzuki is the die-casting machine and other equipment in the engine production workshop. It should be helpful to the development of our 1.5L engine."
Fang Huihui was not prepared to speak. After all, what was just discussed was professional.
But she knows more about Suzuki's production line than everyone else, so she can naturally give a timely reminder based on the situation.
“The structure of the engine is actually not as difficult as everyone thinks. It’s more about some design details and the processing accuracy of the parts.”
“I will personally take care of this issue Technicians go to work on the problem to ensure that the engine will not break down.”
Jiang Hui knew that everyone definitely lacked confidence in developing and designing a new engine.
There is no domestic automobile manufacturer that can independently develop a new engine and achieve very successful results.
In fact, according to Liao Chengwen's idea, BMW can buy the engine used in the BJ212 from the Capital Internal Combustion Engine Factory and just put it in a van shell. The sales volume will definitely not be bad by then.
However, Jiang Hui already had an idea and he did not dare to object.
(End of this chapter)