Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

In 2012, when 90% of consumers bought a car, they first looked at the price of the model and secondly looked at the appearance of the model.

On the basis of meeting your own price budget, you will often choose which car to buy if it looks beautiful and meets your expectations.

This situation will take at least many years to slowly change.

The price of Xingchen G9 is certainly not cheap.

After all, it's definitely worth it.

But to say it is expensive, it is definitely not expensive.

The W12 and W16 engines are increasingly used less and less in new models.

Whether in Europe or elsewhere, due to regulatory restrictions, everyone is looking for ways to reduce fuel consumption.

Large-displacement engines have natural weaknesses in this regard.

In China, only Nanshan Automobile Group is using this type of ultra-large displacement model.

However, the fact that there are fewer and fewer models using this engine does not mean that there is no market for this model.

For rich people, especially those who are rich and like off-roading, large-displacement off-road vehicles are too important.

Even if you are stuck in a mud pit, a large-displacement model may be able to get out with just a kick of the accelerator.

If the small-displacement one doesn't come out once, there may not be a chance to come out on its own a second time.

Many people present actually understand this truth.

"It seems that Xingchen Motors has high expectations for the G9, and the price is quite competitive."

Lin Jiayan is naturally a knowledgeable person.

The W16's large-displacement engine is not cheap among all models equipped with this same level of engine in the world.

It is normal to sell it for several million yuan.

Of course, there are various tax reasons involved.

Especially for imported large-displacement models, taxes and fees are very high.

Nowadays, the W16 version of G9 can be bought for 1.7999 million yuan. She thinks that the W16 version will probably sell better than the W12.

After all, people who can afford to buy a car worth more than one million yuan can really afford hundreds of thousands.

"The market for G9 in big cities may not be that big, but in some remote areas and some special overseas markets, it is probably worth looking forward to."

"Especially in the North American market, this kind of large-displacement hardcore SUV should be very popular."

"However, based on the current situation of Nanshan Automobile Group, it is estimated that the relationship between the American market and them will become increasingly weak in the future."

"Even if the profit goes to Ford, there will probably be a lot of artificial restrictions on cars like the G9."

Fang Dawen also sees the problem very thoroughly.

The largest market for large SUVs is the United States.

This is recognized globally.

At least that's the case at this stage.

"Indeed, if such a model is Toyota's Lexus, Honda's Acura, or Nissan's Infiniti, its sales in the United States will definitely be very impressive."

The car market in any major country is not one where you can come and leave as you please.

Looking at the later generations of China's independent brands, they have gone global, but how many of them are preparing to enter the American market or the Korean market?

Are these markets so small that everyone looks down upon them?

Definitely not.

It's because these markets already have vested interests, and if you, an outsider, want to get involved, the price is very high.

They may even just make a few small moves, causing you to lose all your money.

Even in China, if you want to invest in building a factory, aren't there restrictions on the shareholding not exceeding 50%?

In fact, to a certain extent, this requirement is already very low and very friendly.

As long as you find a joint venture partner, you can enter this market very smoothly.

From now on, there will be almost nothing special to hold you back.

Even as a car factory, he will be treated as a guest of honor everywhere.

As for the 50% shareholding, there are actually countless ways to make your actual income exceed this number if you are serious about it.

For example, parts imported from abroad originally cost 100 yuan, but were sold to joint ventures for 200 yuan.

Isn’t part of the profit transferred?

There are many similar methods.

The problems that Fang Dawen and Lin Jiayan can see can naturally be felt by other people.

Star G9 is launched globally this time, and the momentum is relatively high. Naturally, there are more competitors paying attention to its news.

Toyota's LX570 can be said to be the car company closest to the Xingchen G9 in positioning to a certain extent.

Of course, the length, width and height of the LX570 are 5150 mm, 1980 mm, and 1910 mm respectively, and the wheelbase is 2850 mm.

Compared with G9, it is slightly smaller.

Coupled with the differences in engine power and gearbox, there is definitely a gap in the competitiveness of the LX570.

So after Toyota people saw the information related to G9, the pressure immediately increased.

"President, I think the company needs to pay attention to Xingchen Motors' big G series models. Their competitiveness is quite strong."

"The launch of G7 and G8 has had a great impact on our Prado and Land Cruiser, and the G9, which was just launched yesterday, will have a huge impact on the LX570."

"At that time, our biggest competitor in the global hard-core off-road vehicle market will be Nanshan Automobile Group."

"Star Motors and Land Rover Motors are dispatched together, so we may not necessarily have any hope of winning."

Toyota Motor lost its No. 1 position in the world last year and suddenly fell to third place.

Internally, Toyota is naturally working hard to regain its No. 1 spot.

Therefore, Kobayashi Zheming is very concerned about the developments in China, the world's largest automobile market.

Nanshan Automobile Group is regarded by Tetsuaki Kobayashi as Toyota's top enemy in China.

Especially for its Lexus brand, Xingchen Automobile has a greater impact.

Overseas, Tetsuaki Kobayashi is still confident that the Lexus brand will overtake Xingchen Motors, and no matter what happens, everyone will be on an equal footing.

But in China, Xingchen Automobile has a brand positioning close to that of Porsche.

However, Lexus cannot even compete with the brand power of Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

"The SUV market's global market share is constantly rising. This is a market that cannot be missed."

"Although the market for hard-core SUVs is not as good as that of urban SUVs, when it comes to higher-end SUV models, it means returning to hard-core off-road vehicles."

"This trend is likely to become increasingly evident."

Watanabe Yoshiaki's level is naturally not bad.

He immediately pointed out a truth that many car company marketers failed to understand.

High-end SUVs, hard-core SUVs often perform much better than mid- to low-end SUVs.

For example, SUVs priced between hundreds and hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands are almost all urban SUVs, and there is no market for hardcore SUVs.

But after the price reached 500,000 yuan, the situation gradually began to diverge.

After 1 million, it becomes even more different.

Toyota Motor has many hardcore SUV models as well as many urban SUVs. Regarding this news, they have a lot of data to support relevant views.

"Yes, so I think it is necessary to consider how to respond to the rise of Xingchen Motors in markets around the world."

"We need to work with dealers to consider how to suppress the impact of Xingchen Big G."

"There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and if there is a road, there will be a Toyota car."

"The spread of this slogan is inseparable from the contribution of our hard-core SUV models."

"Once this market is not maintained, it is likely to have a series of chain reactions, causing the sales of our other various models to be affected."

If it were simply a decline in market share of hardcore SUVs, Tetsuaki Kobayashi wouldn't be so nervous.

After all, the market as a whole is still relatively small.

But when it comes to other models, the situation is different.

"North America and China are the largest car markets. In the former, we can find ways to make the Xingchen Big G unsaleable there, but in the latter, we can't do much."

"We have to find a way to get our partners in China to make some contributions."

"In addition, for other markets, you should contact the local branch or dealer and come up with a solution together."

"I have no objections to Nanshan Automobile Group."

"Their existence has seriously affected Toyota's interests."

Both Watanabe Katsaki and others at Toyota Motor must hate Nanshan Automobile Group.

After all, the appearance of the other party directly harmed Toyota's interests.

Especially in the auto parts market, Aisin has lost countless orders because of Nanshan gearboxes.

Other companies such as Denso also suffered heavy losses due to Nanshan Auto Parts.

This kind of impact is sometimes difficult to quantify. I just know that it is very huge.

Now that Tetsuaki Kobayashi has this instruction from Katsaki Watanabe, he will naturally use more violent methods to deal with Nanshan Automobile Group.

Of course, it’s hard to say whether it will be effective.

…

Different people have different reactions when they see the launch of Xingchen Motors G9.

Toyota saw a crisis, but Zephyr Nissan felt that an opportunity had come.

"Mr. Ohta, China's hard-core SUV market seems to be showing signs of rapid development. I think we can consider introducing Patrol into the company for localization."

"We don't need to sell tens of thousands of cars a month. As long as we can sell 30,000 cars a year, it will be enough to support the long-term development of this model in China."

"A Patrol now costs more than one million yuan. If it can be domestically produced, the price can directly reach less than 500,000 yuan."

As the sales director of Zephyr Nissan, Teji Yoshikawa is also very sensitive to changes in the Chinese market.

Zephyr Nissan's sales volume entered the top 10 the year before last, but fell out last year.

They are definitely unwilling to do so.

In the past, everyone thought that the market for large hard-core off-road vehicles was too small, and only a few hundred units might be sold a year, so they did not plan to produce the Patrol at Zephyr Nissan.

The current situation has changed very quickly.

"The selling price must be 500,000 yuan, and the cost of parts must be around 300,000 yuan, otherwise there won't be much profit."

"Do you think if the annual sales volume can reach 30,000 vehicles, it can be that low?"

No one wants to do a business that does not make money now.

It's not like the car market of later generations, where you can get a roll if you don't want it.

"Individual parts with relatively large investment can be imported from overseas, and other parts should be produced in China as much as possible."

"Although the final cost has not yet been calculated, judging from past experience, it should be around 300,000."

Yoshikawa Teji came over to propose a plan to the boss, and naturally did some preliminary investigations.

Otherwise, you will easily get scolded if you talk nonsense.

Especially in Japanese companies, the hierarchical concept between superiors and subordinates is very strong.

The superior can basically use unlimited PUA to torture you to the point of death.

"If the price is lowered to less than 500,000, the first ones to be affected will be Spring City Toyota's Prado and Land Cruiser, right?"

Nissan's status in Japan is far inferior to that of Toyota, so Ohta still has some concerns about competing with Toyota's models.

Of course, there are just a few.

Their Teana is also in direct competition with the Toyota Camry, and it is not selling well.

"The sales volume of Toyota's Prado and Land Cruiser have been cut in half. It can't even be described as a cut in half."

"Compared with Star G7 and G8, Prado and Land Cruiser have no advantages."

"No matter the brand or equipment, it can't compare with Xingchen Motors, let alone its publicity ability in China."

"So now their market share in China's hard-core off-road vehicles is already relatively low."

"Of course, this has a lot to do with the very low level of localization of their two cars."

"Although they have produced these two cars at Spring City Toyota very early on, almost all parts are still imported from overseas."

"In this case, when there are no competitors in the market, it doesn't matter. There are always consumers willing to pay."

"But now that consumers have better choices, that's different."

"We try our best to make most of the Patrol parts domestically produced, so the price can be relatively low."

"In this way, we are equivalent to seizing part of the market share that Xingchen Motors and Toyota Motors do not cover."

"After all, our Patrol is also a large SUV with a length of more than 5 meters. There are still very few such models in the Chinese market."

When Teji Yoshikawa said this, Ota couldn't help but nodded.

There is nothing wrong with this statement logically.

It seems that we can really mention it to the headquarters and introduce Patrol to Zephyr Nissan for domestic production.

The headquarters still attaches great importance to the Chinese market. As long as sufficient evidence is given, it is not difficult to make relevant decisions.

…

When Nissan took into account the changes in China's hard-core off-road vehicle market and considered introducing Patrol to China, BMW was also a little entangled.

None of the models currently sold by BMW in China are hardcore off-road vehicles.

Even BMW has not considered producing this type of car.

This made Aimoha a little confused.

"Phillips, I think you can consider discussing with the headquarters to develop a hard-core SUV series?"

"We saw the changes in China's automobile market and persuaded the headquarters to develop the X7 model. Currently, the X7's performance in China and the United States is acceptable."

"Now if we develop a hard-core off-road vehicle similar to the X7, the development cost will probably not be so exaggerated."

Before Amoha formally reports to the headquarters, he must communicate with Phillips, the president of the Asia Pacific region.

Otherwise, when the time comes to report to another level and Phillips gives him little shoes to wear, his life will be difficult.

Anywhere, if your immediate superior wants to make you uncomfortable, there are countless ways to deal with you.

Of course, if you say you have a strong background and a good family background, that's another matter.

"When developing hard-core off-road vehicles, it is not that simple to have its own technical advantages."

"Even if we develop it based on the X7, we can only save some costs in terms of interior and exterior decoration."

"But in terms of the most critical chassis, we still have to start over."

After all, Phillips also has a PhD in engineering, and he also worked in research and development for several years.

Therefore, he could easily find some convincing refutations of Aimoha's point of view.

In his opinion, the chassis is a very important thing for hardcore off-road vehicles.

On the contrary, the engine and gearbox can be shared with the X7 and do not require any special attention.

But the chassis is really a bit troublesome if you have to make it from scratch.

If you simply make something out, there will be no problem.

After all, BMW’s heritage is still very deep.

But if you want to do it well, you need to do a lot of preparation work and develop something special.

For example, the two special systems on the Xingchen G9 are specially developed for off-road vehicles.

Even if BMW develops these two systems against plagiarism, the development cost is estimated to be in the order of 100 million yuan.

After all, it also involves a lot of software development-related work, which is something BMW headquarters is not good at.

"You are right, but in fact I feel that most consumers in China have a very weak understanding of the chassis, or even don't care."

"When they sell luxury cars, they basically look at the brand, appearance, and price."

"The influence of our BMW brand in China is undoubted, and everyone still recognizes it very much."

"In terms of appearance, as long as some changes are made based on the X7, consumers will not have a big problem accepting it."

"As for the price, as long as it's not much higher than the X7, I think everyone can accept it."

"At that time, we will sell two to three thousand vehicles a month in China, then three to four thousand in the United States, and several thousand in Germany and other places. We will have more than 100,000 sales throughout the year, which is basically enough. .”

"If everything develops as planned, we can launch a hard-core model on the same level as the X5."

"In this way, our model layout will be more complete."

Aimoha naturally has his own views on Phillips' rebuttal.

The purpose of producing a car is ultimately to sell it to consumers.

If you get the things that consumers care about well, you don’t have to worry about sales.

BMW is now constantly launching entry-level models. Isn't it based on the purpose of increasing sales?

Otherwise, there would be no need to develop the BMW 1 Series and X1 for the purpose of improving driving performance or brand power.

"Let's first take a look at the global market performance of the Xingchen Big G series, and then consider whether to propose it to the headquarters."

"The company has developed many new models in the past few years. If we continue to propose new projects, the pressure on the board of directors should be quite high."

Phillips thought for a while and did not give a direct answer.

Instead, he used the "drag trick" that can be used all over the world.

Naturally, Aimoha had no choice but to accept this.

After all, the first level of officialdom is overwhelming.

…

While friends and businessmen were discussing Xingchen Big G, Zeng Tingting came to Cao Yang's office happily.

"Mr. Cao, our G9 seems to be on the verge of becoming popular in the Middle East."

"Several local dealers have placed additional orders for more than 1,000 vehicles in just one week."

"Our G9 has already started marketing the title of 'King of the Desert' over there, and it seems to be well recognized by some people."

Zeng Tingting was obviously a little surprised that Xingchen G9 could suddenly emerge in the Middle East.

Although there are many rich people there, Xingchen Automobile's performance there can only be considered average, neither particularly good nor bad.

Now the G9 has only been on the market for a week, and it is already becoming popular. This situation is obviously relatively rare.

After all, whether a car is good or not often takes time to verify.

"Do you know why G9 is so popular in the Middle East?"

"In which countries is it going to become popular?"

Cao Yang looked at Zeng Tingting in surprise.

Although he also attaches great importance to overseas markets, there are so many countries in the Middle East. It is not that easy to promote Xingchen cars.

After all, in the mature automobile market, the shares have already been divided up.

It is also very difficult to develop an immature automobile market.

"It has performed well in several places, whether it is the big dog dealers, Dubai, or several other places, as long as there are dealers that have conducted test drive activities and then cooperated with us to do some publicity. , all of which have achieved results beyond expectations.”

"I feel that the next step for the company is to devote some resources to the Middle East."

Xingchen Big G has been the strategic model of Xingchen Motors in the past two years.

If this series of models is done well, it will be able to enjoy dividends for at least five years.

Even if this hard-core off-road vehicle does not make important changes to the appearance and power of the model within ten years, there will be no problem.

Look at the G series models of Mercedes-Benz. They have the same appearance for decades.

The facelift time of Toyota's Land Cruiser is obviously longer than that of other models.

A model can be sold for a longer period of time, which means that the development fee can be amortized over a longer period.

This is definitely a good thing for car companies.

"Since it seems to be popular in the Middle East, we must seize the opportunity and promote it well."

"Didn't we also shoot a series of videos in China?"

"Re-edit it, release promotional materials suitable for the Middle East, and communicate with local dealers. Let's turn G9 into a real king of the desert."

"We can even communicate with Nanshan Film and Television and arrange a team to go to the Middle East to shoot some G9-related promotional videos."

With Cao Yang's opinion, Zeng Tingting immediately started contacting him and flew to the Middle East in person to build G9 into a real king of the desert.