Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

Liu Zhenbo is the sales director of Bosch.

As the world's only supplier of CVT steel belts, Liu Zhenbo thought of who supplied the steel belts as soon as he saw Nanshan Transmission released the CVT.

The CVT either uses Bosch steel belts or Schaeffler steel chains.

So far, no third option has emerged.

But Liu Zhenbo naturally knows very well whether he supplies steel belts for Nanshan gearboxes.

So after seeing the news, he directly called Zhang Guoyi, Schaeffler's sales director.

"Mr. Zhang, Nanshan Transmission has started producing CVT. Do you know this news?"

Although Liu Zhenbo has basically determined that Nanshan Transmission purchased the steel chain from Schaeffler, he still needs to confirm it again.

What if there are any other situations?

Besides, even if Schaeffler's steel chain was really used, he still wanted to know more about the situation.

"I was just going to call you to find out if you are cooperating with them."

"how?"

"Looking at what you mean, it seems that you are also surprised that they released a CVT gearbox?"

Zhang Guoyi is not stupid. Liu Zhenbo would call him and ask him this question at this time. Obviously, he did not know about the development of CVT by Nanshan Transmission.

Then Bosch definitely did not supply the other party with steel belts for CVT gearboxes.

At least not directly supplied.

But then things get a little strange.

“Their CVT didn’t purchase steel chains from Schaeffler?”

Liu Zhenbo also quickly obtained some information from Zhang Guoyi's conversation.

This made him feel uneasy.

"No!"

"They have never communicated with us about purchasing steel chains from the beginning to the end."

"Mr. Liu, you should have heard about the relationship between Schaeffler and Nanshan Group."

"Whether it was the competition for bearings in automobiles or the competition for high-speed rail bearings, Schaeffler and Nanshan Group are direct competitors."

"We don't have any business dealings with each other. We even wish that the other party would go out of business tomorrow!"

"Under such circumstances, Nanshan Transmission has not even contacted us, not to mention asking us to buy steel chains."

"I don't even know the contact information for the other party's procurement."

When Zhang Guoyi said this, Liu Zhenbo could naturally understand the situation.

Although Bosch's situation is a bit different from Schaeffler's, the relationship between Bosch and Nanshan Group is also not good.

You know, Nanshan Auto Parts is Bosch's biggest competitor in China.

Even because of Nanshan Group, Bosch lost many orders in China.

Engine ECU, high-pressure oil pump and other parts are Bosch's traditional strengths.

Electronic control parts such as ESP are also Bosch's specialty.

But Nanshan Group has affiliated companies that can produce these things.

Even Nanshan Engine directly monopolized 70% to 80% of the engine supply of domestic independent brands, which directly caused Bosch to lose the quotation opportunity for these 70% to 80% of the engines.

Other manufacturers that do not directly use the finished products of Nanshan engines also purchase parts from Nanshan Auto Parts and assemble them themselves.

It can be said that the emergence of Nanshan Group has caused Bosch's business in China to drop by at least 30% or even half.

With this background, it is surprising that the relationship between Bosch and Nanshan Group is good.

"This is very strange. They did not purchase steel belts or steel chains from either of our two companies, so how did they produce CVTs?"

"Did they produce these parts themselves?"

When Liu Zhenbo said this, Zhang Guoyi felt a little uneasy.

Prior to this, the two of them basically divided up the CVT steel belt/steel chain market.

Who owns the specific share depends on which technical route the OEM chooses, and there is not much competition between them.

But the situation is different now.

Once Nanshan Group can really produce steel belts or steel chains by itself, the market structure will change.

"Mr. Liu, I remember that steel belt production is very difficult, right?"

Zhang Guoyi is a little unable to accept that Nanshan Group has made a breakthrough in steel belt or steel chain technology.

This is a huge blow.

"The CVT steel belt relies on the mutual extrusion of many pushers to transmit power, but ordinary steel belts can easily break due to long-term mechanical fatigue."

"Many people think that the surface of the steel belt is smooth. In fact, the steel belt is composed of countless triangular pieces."

"The basis of our Bosch CVT steel belt is Germany's strong steel smelting level. Although China's steel output is high, its steel smelting technology lags behind the world's top level."

"In addition to the steel, we also performed automatic transmission of the steel ring, solvent-free cleaning and laser melting of the edge of the steel ring. Bosch's steel belt can drive the vehicle for 300,000 kilometers without damage."

“This is something no one else can do.”

Although the popularity of CVT steel belts is very low, most people don't know that Bosch also produces such a thing.

Even people in the automobile industry, 90% do not know this news.

But Liu Zhenbo is still very confident about this product.

"I think so too. Qualified CVT steel belts are not that easy to produce."

"Qualified steel chains are not that easy to produce."

"I think we can complain about this on Nanshan Gearbox's Weibo to guide the development of public opinion."

Although Zhang Guoyi knew that he could not change the result, he felt that he could still do it after feeling disgusted with Nanshan Gearbox during the process.

"Now Nanshan Transmission has only announced the basic information of three CVTs, and the internal structure has not yet been announced."

"Let's see if we can use the comments to find out whether they used steel belts or steel chains."

It is naturally not difficult to arrange for people to speak in other people's comment areas.

Even if Zhang Guoyi didn't say it, Liu Zhenbo would do it.

Of course, it’s hard to say whether it will be effective or not.

But after this topic is raised, it can at least make some people pay more attention to the situation of steel belts or steel chains.

That doesn't hurt for Bosch.

However, before Bosch and Schaeffler could take action, the second round of propaganda for Nanshan Transmission came.

They took the initiative to announce the main parameters and internal structure of the CVT.

It also directly advertises that its CVT is maintenance-free for life except that the transmission oil needs to be replaced every 50,000 kilometers.

This immediately made Bosch feel even more uncomfortable.

"Mr. Liu, the steel belt structure of Nanshan gearbox is somewhat similar to ours. I think the technical team can study it carefully at that time to see if it infringes on our patent?"

As Bosch's sales manager, Ren Cai naturally knows the meaning of Nanshan Transmission's CVT not using its own steel belt.

From now on, Bosch will no longer be able to continue its exclusive business in CVT steel belts.

It will definitely be a bit difficult to continue selling steel strips at high prices.

After all, people now have Nanshan Group as a choice.

"It is maintenance-free for life. Our steel belts are so good that they have a lifespan of 300,000 kilometers. They dare to say that they are maintenance-free for life. They are very impressive."

Liu Zhenbo's mood was very complicated.

He knows that there is a high probability that he will not win the lawsuit.

If the other party dares to use the steel belts it has researched and produced, it shows that they are not afraid of lawsuits.

And Nanshan Group will definitely not simply copy Bosch's design directly.

As long as the other party consciously makes some patent avoidance actions, it will be very difficult for Bosch to win the lawsuit.

After all, this is China!

"For most cars, they drive less than 300,000 kilometers before being scrapped."

"So the so-called lifetime maintenance-free does not mean that their steel belt technology level is higher than ours."

"It's not surprising that it's even worse than us."

"It's just that people are better at publicity."

When Ren Cai said this, Liu Zhenbo couldn't help but nodded.

There is nothing wrong with this logic!

However, in the eyes of consumers and CVT manufacturers, the feelings are completely different.

Bosch does not dare to easily promise that its steel belts are maintenance-free for life.

This kind of after-sales warranty risk is too high.

"No matter what, this matter still needs to be taken seriously."

"We must keep abreast of the news from Aisin and Honda. Most of their future models will use CVT transmissions."

"The main customers of our steel strips are them."

What Liu Zhenbo is most worried about now is that Nanshan Group is competing with him for orders.

Currently, the main OEMs that use CVTs are Japanese car companies and Korean car companies.

Toyota and Honda's CVT gearboxes use Bosch's steel belts, while Nissan and Subaru's CVT gearboxes use Schaeffler's steel chains.

As for Hyundai Motor, it was initially supplied by Bosch, but Liu Zhenbo has heard that a company under Hyundai Mobis is preparing to produce it itself.

This means that the steel strip market in the future will be far less moist than it is now.

"The relationship between Toyota Motor and Nanshan Group is very poor, and Nanshan Transmission is Aisin's main competitor."

"So I think it is impossible for Aisin to purchase steel strips from Nanshan Group."

How to judge the customer's reaction and take some countermeasures in advance.

This is a skill that sales managers of various parts companies need to master.

As Bosch's sales manager, Ren Cai's personal ability is beyond doubt.

According to her speculation, Bosch didn't need to do anything special on Aisin's side, and it was best to just pretend that nothing happened.

Otherwise, it is very likely that it will fall into passivity and allow Aisin to seize the opportunity to reduce prices.

"Well, you're right, then let's just ignore Aisin's side."

"But the situation of Honda cars is different. Their gearboxes are all produced and sold by themselves, and they have no competition with Nanshan gearboxes."

"And in the early years, Honda Motor and Nanshan Group had good cooperation, and there are even some transactions now."

"Now that Nanshan Group can produce CVT steel belts themselves, they will definitely consider looking for Honda Motor to compete with us for orders."

Liu Zhenbo gave his judgment with certainty.

"Indeed, this is the most troublesome thing now."

"However, Honda's actions are often relatively slow. If they want to change core components such as steel belts, they need at least one or two years of verification before they can be installed on new models."

"I think there is still time to communicate with them."

"Honda's own auto parts technology is not as good as Toyota's, and they are more dependent on us."

"I think we can make full use of this situation to deal with the steel strip."

When Ren Cai said this, Liu Zhenbo couldn't help but nodded.

This is indeed the truth.

For the steel belt order from Honda, I don’t seem to have to worry about losing the order.

As long as we cooperate better on annual price cuts in the future and communicate closely on other parts, it seems that it will be fine?

Of course, things may not be as perfect as they imagined.

Everything they can think of can naturally be thought of by Nanshan Auto Parts.

"Mr. Cao, I went to inquire about it. Bosch's steel belts are mainly used in Toyota and Honda's CVTs."

"Among them, Toyota is supplied by Aisin, so it definitely doesn't make sense for us to go to Aisin."

"However, Honda's gearboxes are produced by their own companies. I am going to go to Japan in person to talk to them."

"As long as we can convince Honda's headquarters to purchase, we will have a chance to get orders for steel strips from the Chinese factory or the American and Japanese factories."

As the general manager of Nanshan Auto Parts, Dai Hanbiao naturally wants to expand some new businesses.

As their latest successfully researched component, CVT steel belts naturally have to consider customers other than Nanshan Transmission.

"It's okay to give it a try, but don't have too high expectations."

"As for Japanese car companies, the cycle time for replacing a part is very long."

"At that time, it is estimated that they will have to rely on Nanshan Transmission's low-priced CVT to prompt them to actively look for price reduction solutions and come to us to buy steel belts."

It's the same project. If you go to find someone and if someone comes to you, the speed and smoothness of progress will be completely different.

Many things are similar.

Whoever has this initiative will feel much more comfortable.

Obviously, Nanshan Auto Parts now goes to Honda Motor to discuss the supply of steel strips, and the initiative lies with Honda Motor.

On the other hand, although it cannot be said that the initiative is in the hands of Nanshan Auto Parts, at least it will not be so passive.

Nanshan gearbox products are destined to be sold to various domestic independent brands.

Brand power has been rising. If the cost of gearboxes can be reduced a lot, the price power of independent brands will be even greater.

This is certainly not a situation Toyota and Honda want to see.

It is not even possible for Aisin to bite the bullet and come to Nanshan Auto Parts to buy steel strips.

After all, if Bosch is the only supplier for such a key component as steel belt, there will definitely be a certain supply risk.

If any accident occurs, Aisin's CVT will have to be discontinued.

This is definitely not in Aisin’s interests.

In shopping malls, it is very common for everyone to be both a competitor and a partner.

"Bosch is Nanshan's biggest competitor in becoming the world's number one auto parts company. I think we can give Bosch a try if anything can cause damage to Bosch."

"It was successful and we got a big order."

"If it fails, we have nothing to lose."

"Anyway, regardless of success or failure, Bosch will be disgusted."

Zeng Tingting expressed her opinion from the side.

In recent years, she has competed with Bosch in many OEMs, and she is really unhappy with Bosch.

Now that she has the opportunity to trick Bosch, she will definitely support it.

Even if this matter is not beneficial to Nanshan Group in the end, as long as there is no harm, it can be done.

Cao Yang had no objection to this.

He even went further: "CVT transmissions are not only used by Toyota and Honda, Nissan also has CVT."

"You can simply communicate with other gearbox companies and see if you can sell our steel belts to them."

"Compared to the steel chain structure, the CVT with the steel belt structure is still cheaper."

"As for the issues that everyone is worried about, such as slippage and insufficient torque carrying, they have been greatly improved in our CVT."

"Even if it doesn't succeed, Schaeffler will be disgusted at the same time."

Regarding Zeng Tingting's plan, Cao Yang simply diverged.

The two manufacturers of such parts, Bosch and Schaeffler, are both competitors of Nanshan Group, and they have often fought against them in the past.

As long as there is an opportunity to stumble the other party, no one will show mercy.

Now that the opportunity is in the hands of Nanshan Group, Cao Yang will naturally not be polite.

As a result, Bosch and Schaeffler were naturally disgusted very quickly.

"Mr. Liu, Honda's auto parts procurement department just called me. Can the price of our steel strips be reduced by 30%?"

Ren Cai came to Liu Zhenbo with a heavy expression.

Steel strip is a project with a relatively high profit margin and a relatively promising project.

After all, most of Honda's global models will be equipped with CVT gearboxes in the future, and the steel belts in these gearboxes are produced by Bosch.

This is an order for four to five million units a year, most of which are produced by Bosch's factories in China.

The annual turnover is several billion yuan.

No matter which supplier it is placed with, the annual turnover of several billion yuan is no small project.

"30%?"

Liu Zhenbo immediately got angry, "Reducing prices by 30% in one year? What supplier can reduce prices like this?"

For suppliers like Bosch who have mastered core technologies, they do not have real awareness of Party B when dealing with OEMs.

In many cases they are even more like Party A.

Especially when there was no disruptor like Nanshan Auto Parts in China, Bosch was even more dominant.

Normally, their price reductions are 1% or 2%, and a 3% reduction is considered very cooperative.

A higher ratio is simply impossible.

"According to them, our quotation is at least 30% higher than the industry."

"So this 30% must be reduced. If it is difficult to reduce it all at once in one year, then it can be divided into three years and the price can be reduced by 10% each year."

When Ren Cai said this, Liu Zhenbo immediately realized something.

30% more expensive than the industry?

In the past, there was only Bosch in the CVT steel belt industry, which was a separate business.

The only change now is the Nanshan gearbox that appeared some time ago.

They did not buy parts from Bosch and Schaeffler, so the CVT steel belts are most likely produced by Nanshan Auto Parts.

There it is again!

The ghost lingers!

"The people from Nanshan Auto Parts went to Honda to purchase?"

Liu Zhenbo stared at Ren Cai and asked with a bit of gritted teeth.

Needless to say, the result is natural.

"Mr. Liu, although I'm not sure yet about the level of CVT steel belts produced by Nanshan Auto Parts, since Nanshan Transmission dares to officially launch CVT, I guess the performance should be passable."

"If we really don't cut prices, it's very likely that Honda will really take some action."

"So I thought about negotiating with them and dividing the 30% into six years, with the price reduced by 5% each year."

"This way it won't appear that the steel belts we sold before were too expensive. Honda finally achieved the 30% reduction goal."

Ren Cai proposed a compromise plan.

Although this plan may not necessarily work, she feels that it is barely acceptable to both parties.

With this plan, at least Honda will not be forced to go all out to develop Nanshan auto parts.

Even if Nanshan Auto Parts comes in in the future, Bosch should still be able to retain a part of its share.

"Let's talk to the other party first. It's best to find some reasons why our costs are relatively high and let them know that the conditions of parts produced by different manufacturers are different."

"In the end, you came up with your plan when it really didn't work."

Liu Zhenbo took a deep breath and finally chose to respect the facts.

It will be increasingly difficult for Bosch to make big money in the future.

…

Just when Bosch and Schaeffler were feeling uncomfortable because of the disruption caused by Nanshan Auto Parts, Cao Yang had no time to pay attention to these things.

Because Pan Jun came to see Cao Yang with several special customers.

Needless to say, Cao Yang knew that there must be a hard-core project waiting for him to participate in the development this time.

"On a helicopter, the main reducer is an independent component. It is installed in the reducer compartment on the upper part of the fuselage and is supported on the load-bearing structure of the fuselage with brackets."

"Helicopter main reducer has the power input end of the engine and the power output end connected to the rotor and tail rotor attachment drive shaft. It is one of the main transmission components on the helicopter and is also the most complex, largest and most important component in the transmission device. .”

"The working characteristics of the main reducer are deceleration, steering and merging."

"It converts high-speed, small-torque engine power into low-speed, high-torque transmission to the rotor shaft, and transmits the power to the tail rotor, accessories, etc. according to the speed and torque requirements. In helicopters, it also serves as a central stressed component. role."

"It will directly bear all the forces and moments generated by the rotor and transfer them to the airframe."

"Currently, we have other domestic manufacturers that can produce main reducers, but the lifespan cannot meet our design requirements."

"Especially one of our new helicopters puts higher requirements on the main reducer."

"The design department has designed the relevant main reducer, but there are still some difficulties in producing it."

"Nanshan Group has extensive experience in engine gearboxes, motor three-in-one reducers, as well as gears, bearings and special steels."

"So we want to invite Nanshan Group to trial-produce this main reducer."

Pan Jun and the others were not sloppy at all in their work.

After entering the conference room, we quickly entered the topic.

There was also a hint of urgency in their tone.