Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

Star Motors will try its best to use Nanshan Group's own components.

But certainly not all parts are self-produced.

This is unnecessary and unrealistic.

According to the current plan, the airbag is a part that needs to be purchased from outside.

Automobile airbags first appeared in the United States in 1953, and are mainly composed of three parts: airbag sensors, airbags and electronic control devices.

It is used in conjunction with seat belts to provide effective crash protection for occupants.

However, it will be many years before the car airbag is put on the car.

In 1971, Ford Motor installed the auxiliary airbag on a batch of experimental vehicles, which was the first time that the airbag was on the car.

In 1974, General Motors took the lead in installing auxiliary airbags on the driver's seat on mass-produced models, and then installed auxiliary airbags on the front passenger seat, which can be divided into two inflation modes according to the impact force.

In December 1980, the Mercedes-Benz S series became the first car equipped with air bags to be officially sold in Europe.

In 1988, Chrysler began to install auxiliary airbags on all its models, and made a big TV commercial to demonstrate the effectiveness of auxiliary airbags, which really opened the competition for safety equipment in the automotive industry.

It can be said that compared with the history of automobiles, the history of airbags is still very short.

Up to now, most of the models of self-owned brands currently have no airbags, or only have one or two airbags.

Even the Jetta, the best-selling model of Spring City Volkswagen, has multiple versions without airbags, a main driver airbag and dual front airbags.

It is still very rare to see a model with a bunch of airbags at every turn in later generations.

Even for the high-end configurations of models such as the Accord and Mondeo, there are only dual front airbags and side airbags.

Star Motors’ benchmark is the BMW 730, and its appearance is in the style of a Porsche Panamera. Naturally, the number of airbags is indispensable.

There are 6 airbags in total including dual front airbags plus two side curtain airbags on the left and right ceilings and side airbags on both sides of the front seats.

In this way, the cost of the airbag is considered to be a relatively important item.

"Mr. Cao, the airbags of the major car companies in the world are all made by Autoliv, TRW, Takata and Toyoda Gosei."

"Among them, Autoliv is the world's largest airbag manufacturer, accounting for about 50% of the global airbag production, and no one can shake its dominant position."

"In Dongying, Takata is the main airbag manufacturer, supporting customers include all Japanese cars."

"In addition, through its branch plant in Germany, it is also supplying OEMs such as General Motors, BMW, and Daimler Benz."

"In the United States, the main supplier of airbags is TRW, or TRW, with a market share of more than 30%."

"In addition, Delphi's market share in the United States has reached more than 20%."

"These manufacturers have basically monopolized 80% of the global airbag market, and we can basically only choose from these manufacturers."

The selection of suppliers for important parts definitely requires the consent of Cao Yang.

The value of the six airbags has exceeded 3,000 yuan.

Which parts manufacturer's products to use naturally needs to be decided by Cao Yang.

"How are the prices of these manufacturers?"

Although for luxury cars, the cost pressure of parts is relatively not that great.

But if it's more expensive here, and if it's more expensive there, the business can't go on.

So Cao Yang actually asked the finance department and the research institute to set a cost target together.

"The cost difference between these manufacturers is not that big, and I guess there is a certain tacit understanding among them."

"In general, the price of Takata is the lowest, and then the price of TRW is relatively high, and the prices of Autoliv and Delphi are in the middle."

The location of the parts needs to be reported to Cao Yang, and Su Mingxing, the head of the procurement department, naturally did a lot of work.

"Delphi is too close to GM, we don't use it."

"Takata, although many customers are using it, and the price has an advantage, normally it can be considered."

"But our relationship with Dongying car companies is a bit stiff, so it's best not to use it."

Cao Yang knew very well that later generations of Takata had launched a large-scale parts recall, and he would definitely not jump into this trap.

But there is no way to say it now.

"As for Toyoda Gosei, it goes without saying."

"Leaving Autoliv and TRW, whichever is cheaper can be used."

Cao Yang quickly gave his opinion on Su Mingxing's proposal.

It is impossible to completely avoid the international auto parts giant.

However, as soon as he turned around, he gave Peng Changyi, the Minister of the Interior Department, a task.

"However, in the process of using their products, the research institute should try to understand the structure and design of the airbag as much as possible, and the precautions in production."

"After the production of our models increases, the group will also invest in the production of airbags."

Although the airbags of Xingchen Automobile now need to be outsourced.

But the airbag is a component in the automotive industry, and it is definitely a Chaoyang component.

There will be more and more airbags installed in future models, and the market size will become larger and larger.

With such a large business, Nanshan Auto Parts can completely produce it by itself.

It's just that at this stage, due to limited manpower and material resources, this part also involves various safety issues, so we will not do it for now.

After all, the working process of an airbag is actually a lot like the principle of a bomb.

The gas generator of the airbag is filled with "explosives" such as sodium azide (NaN3) or ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3).

When receiving the detonation signal from the sensor, a large amount of gas will be generated instantly, filling the entire airbag.

It was equivalent to an explosion!

"We have established a dedicated group to work on the design of passive safety components related to airbags and seat belts."

"Although there is no way to use our own designed parts on Xingchen 1, I believe there will definitely be opportunities to use them in the future."

Naturally, Peng Changyi quickly stood up and expressed his opinion.

Even if he felt a little guilty.

It's not that simple to do a good job of this airbag.

Although the principle may not seem complicated, if the threshold is not high, the world's airbags will not be monopolized by a few suppliers like Autoliv.

"Mr. Cao, if a large number of components are produced by our group, although it is beneficial to the cost and supply, it is actually equivalent to taking the risk of developing all models by ourselves."

"I think it can be divided into categories. For some parts, we can consider supporting some manufacturers to develop."

"It's like Yangcheng Huaqiang Factory. After using our presses and molds, the development has been getting better and better in the past few years."

"Our current four doors and two covers and hot stamping parts are handed over to them for production."

"For some other components, can we also consider cultivating some suppliers similar to Huaqiang Factory?"

When Su Mingxing heard that Cao Yang instructed the research institute to develop airbags, he naturally would not object.

After all, airbags are such a monopolistic part, the purchasing department must be relatively passive when dealing with them.

In particular, Star Motors is only planning 10,000 units now, and their attitude will certainly not be particularly good.

If he could produce it himself, he wouldn't have to be enthusiastic about sticking to other people's cold asses.

However, he felt that the model of Huaqiang Factory should also be recognized by Cao Yang.

If all parts are produced by Nanshan Group itself, it will be more difficult to reflect the value of the purchasing department.

That's why he thinks whether to classify the parts, some are produced by himself, some are produced by Nanshan manufacturers, some are purchased from international parts giants, and the last part is purchased from other Chinese manufacturers that meet the requirements in the market.

"Your suggestion is good. Some interior parts, even seat parts, can be considered in this way."

"For other car lights, drive shafts, tires and other parts, we can also consider finding some cooperative manufacturers."

What Su Mingxing said made some sense, so naturally Cao Yang would not object directly.

In fact, he feels that there is no contradiction between his research and development and finding a supplier for production.

Just like OEM in the mobile phone industry is very popular, he thinks that in the auto parts industry, OEM can also be considered in the future.

For example, if Nanshan's airbag technology has been successfully developed in the future, some of the airbags can be handed over to Nanshan Auto Parts for production.

If the production capacity is not enough, we will find other manufacturers with the ability and cost advantage to produce from the market.

In this way, it is very beneficial for cost control.

Of course, this must wait until the output increases before it makes sense.

Otherwise, you only have a total planning quantity of 10,000 units, what are you tossing about?

"After the news of the establishment of our Xingchen Automobile spread during this period, some domestic parts companies also expressed their willingness to cooperate with us."

"I'll tidy up when the time comes, and make another appointment to report to Mr. Cao!"

Seeing that Cao Yang accepted his proposal, Su Mingxing also heaved a sigh of relief.

The cooperation enthusiasm of some manufacturers is very high, and Su Mingxing hopes that the two parties can follow up.

Both public and private are beneficial.

...

"Brett, is the company really planning to cooperate with Xingchen Motors?"

In an office building in the magical city of Linjiang, Autoliv Asia Pacific Headquarters is located here.

Although most of China's self-owned brand car companies do not carry airbags, seat belts are always needed, right?

So in recent years, Autoliv's business in China has developed very fast.

Brett, the sales director, also lived a very comfortable life.

Even the sales managers below all look like elites.

Every time I go to a client to discuss matters, I stay in a local five-star hotel.

The taxi fare is unlimited in amount and time, and will be reimbursed in full.

So even if your plane lands at Baiyun Airport, and then you have to take a taxi to Shencheng, there is no problem.

Under such a comfortable life, all the sales managers naturally tried their best to protect the interests of Autoliv.

Take people's money and eliminate disasters for others.

This doesn't seem to be a problem either.

At least Sun Chengwei, the sales manager in charge of self-owned brand customers, doesn't think there is any problem.

"William, Xingchen Motors is preparing to build a car. This matter should be confirmed."

"It's rare that they are willing to carry six airbags in a car. Why don't we cooperate?"

"Even if they really only produce 10,000 cars, they still have a turnover of tens of millions."

Brett didn't understand why Sun Chengwei spoke like this this time.

In his opinion, it is a good thing for Sun Chengwei that the company can get the order of Xingchen Automobile.

"If it is Geely Automobile or Chery Automobile, I will naturally support it with both hands and feet, but behind Star Automobile is Nanshan Group. This company not only produces key components such as engines and gearboxes, but also produces bearings, ESP and other parts. factory."

"Although they don't have airbag-related business now, I am worried that they want to steal our technology through this cooperation."

"When the time comes, after we cooperate on a project, we will be kicked out immediately, and we will produce airbags ourselves."

When Sun Chengwei said this, Brett couldn't help laughing.

"William, you overestimate the strength of Nanshan Group."

"It is also too underestimated the technical difficulty of airbags."

"The airbag inflates quickly after the collision, pushes the occupant out of the seat, and reduces secondary collisions."

"So the inflation rate of the airbag needs to be fast enough and it needs to be uniform."

"The airbag needs to be automatically switched on and off according to the vehicle's motion state and collision situation to achieve the best protection effect."

"Therefore, the airbag switch control system needs to be precise, reliable, and also needs to be intelligent."

"In addition, there are very special technical difficulties in the shape, size and inflation pressure of the airbag."

"It's simply not something that any manufacturer can master."

"To put it bluntly, even if Huaxia's companies produce airbags, ordinary car companies would not dare to use them."

"Especially in the United States and Europe, if someone is killed in a car accident due to the willingness of the airbag, it is necessary to face a very huge risk of compensation."

Obviously, as an employee of the world's largest airbag manufacturer, Brett has great confidence in the company.

In his view, Sun Chengwei's worries were groundless.

"What you said is very reasonable, but this Nanshan Group is a bit evil. Some of my classmates are in other parts companies, and they have already suffered from Nanshan's losses."

Sun Chengwei wanted to continue reminding Brett.

But the latter couldn't listen at all.

"William, you don't have to think so much."

"At most, when Xingchen Motor asked us to submit an offer, we made an appropriate higher offer."

"When they ask us for technical details, we will try to disclose as little as possible."

"It will not bring any risk to the company."

The sales director has said so, even if Sun Chengwei still has some ideas, he dare not say more.