Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

"Mr. Wang, the news that Qiantu Q9 caught fire in space is now spreading a lot. There are many related reports both at home and abroad."

"The battery manufacturer for this car is Guoxuan Hi-Tech, which is currently the second largest battery manufacturer in China after us."

"I am going to arrange for people to make good use of this wave of public opinion to widen the gap between us and Guoxuan Hi-Tech."

As the person in charge of BYD Battery, Lu Faxiang also has a strong sense of crisis.

BYD started out relying on batteries, and entered the field of power batteries relatively early.

But now the leader in China's battery industry is Nanshan Battery, and BYD can only be ranked second.

The most important thing is that this second position is not particularly strong. The battery manufacturers behind are constantly expanding their production capacity and want to surpass BYD.

After so many years of research, the threshold for power batteries is actually no longer that high.

Companies from all walks of life have felt the rapid development of China's electric vehicle industry, and they all want to enter this field to get a share of the pie.

Even Korean and Japanese companies are beginning to prepare to build power battery factories in China.

If BYD doesn't work hard, it may not even be able to maintain its TOP3 position, let alone second place.

This is definitely not a result that Lu Faxiang can accept.

"The development of Guoxuan Hi-Tech in the past two years has indeed been quite rapid, and it is not wrong for us to pay attention to it."

"This time Qiantu Q9 caught fire. No matter how Qiantu Motor explains it, there is no way to be completely convincing."

"Unless they can produce solid evidence to prove that Qiantu Q9 was indeed hit by a meteorite that hit the battery pack, and that's why it caught fire."

Wang Fu naturally paid attention to such hot news on the Internet.

Whether it was due to the competition between Guoxuan Hi-Tech and BYD Battery, or the competition between Qiantu Motor and BYD Auto, he wanted to make good use of this matter.

"If they could really take it out, they would probably take it out immediately."

"I heard that Qiantu Motor's valuation had risen a lot in the past few days, and now it is expected to fall back."

"However, their future Q9 has given us some reference. In the future, we must also give priority to large SUVs."

"This will leave more room for everyone to play."

Although Lu Faxiang is only responsible for the battery business, he also hopes that the car can sell better.

Otherwise, the batteries wouldn’t be able to sell well.

"That's true. I will communicate with the R\u0026D and sales departments at that time to see if the next step is to prioritize the development of a pure electric large SUV."

Wang Fu did not directly instruct Lu Faxiang how to deal with Guoxuan Hi-Tech and Qiantu Motor.

The person below reported this kind of thing, and he didn't object. Everyone naturally knew what to do.

There are many car companies with similar ideas to BYD.

Even Tesla, who was far away on the other side of the Pacific, couldn't help but gloat at this time.

"Masco, these Chinese companies just want to do some fancy marketing. Now it's okay. It's a big shame."

In the past few days, Max has been paying attention to the fact that Daystar Technology sent Qiantu Motor's Q9 into space.

He even took the time to watch Qiantu Auto's live broadcast for a while.

At that time, he thought that Musk had also thought about launching Tesla models into space on Falcon 9, and he couldn't help but secretly rejoice.

It is estimated that after this incident, no car company will ever think about launching its own car into space.

Invisibly, Qiantu Motor has made a certain contribution to reducing space debris.

"It's really surprising that Qiantu Motor was self-defeating."

"Actually, for safety reasons, if they directly disassemble the battery pack, there is actually no risk of fire."

"Of course, the other party probably didn't think of these situations beforehand, otherwise it wouldn't have happened."

Masco didn't take too much pleasure in his misfortune.

After all, it is not a good thing for electric vehicles to catch fire. To a certain extent, it will cause the entire industry to have certain concerns about electric vehicles.

In particular, one of Tesla's Model S caught fire last month.

Although in the end this incident was caused by a consumer's poor driving, a collision occurred, and then the fire broke out.

But this still has a certain impact on Tesla.

So at this time, no matter which electric vehicle company has news of a fire, Musk actually doesn't want to see it.

On this point, he looks at the problem from a relatively high angle.

"Yes, it was originally a very classic marketing case. Even if Qiantu Motor develops smoothly in the future, this case may become a classic in MBA textbooks."

"The result has suddenly turned into this. I think Qiantu Motor will be very regretful."

Max sensed Masco's attitude and immediately put away his gloating expression and looked at the matter with a relatively objective attitude.

"Anyway, the electric vehicle industry in China is developing very fast, and everyone's ideas are rich and colorful. This aspect deserves our attention."

"We have now opened our first direct-operated store in Huaxia, and our second store will be opened in Imperial City this month."

"The company needs to pay more attention to the situation in the Chinese market."

"At the same time, it is necessary to speed up the research and development of our third model and launch it as soon as possible."

Masco went to China and could fully feel the enthusiasm of the Chinese market.

It would be a shame to miss this market.

"Our new car Model X is also a large SUV, which is relatively close to the flagship model positioning of Qiantu Motor and Future Motors."

"It is estimated that there will be some competition with W9 and Q9 by then."

Tesla released the Medel X concept car in 2012, so there is no news about this car.

It's just that Tesla has never officially announced when it will launch this large SUV.

According to Musko's idea, the models Tesla wants to produce must have their own characteristics.

Therefore, they are preparing to use many new technologies in the development of this model.

As a result, the development progress is naturally not so ideal.

"I am still very confident in Model

"Tesla wants to convey an impression to everyone, that is, we have always led the trend of electric vehicles and are a benchmark company in the industry."

Masco is a very thoughtful person.

Although Tesla was not created by him, it is now owned by him. This is naturally because he is very optimistic about the electric vehicle industry.

"Our factory production capacity is still sufficient now, but if new cars are launched and sell well in the future, we will need to consider adding new production capacity."

"When it comes to the construction of a new factory, it naturally involves the purchase of equipment."

“As for the super die-casting machine, currently Nanshan equipment can meet our requirements.”

"In terms of stamping equipment, the solution of Ji'er Machine Tool Factory is the best."

"Should we continue to buy from them then?"

Equipment introduction and factory construction are things that need to be considered at the same time.

Especially if you have any ideas that you want to change, you need to think about it clearly in advance.

Max is well aware of the competitive relationship between Tesla and Future Cars, as well as the situation between Space Exploration Technology Company and Daystar Technology.

Under this circumstance, whether Tesla should continue to purchase equipment from Nanshan Equipment is a somewhat sensitive issue.

He didn't want to make a wrong judgment on this matter and cause Masco's dissatisfaction, so he directly confirmed Masco's thoughts in advance.

“Whoever has the best plan, we will buy it from!”

"If there are any difficulties in the middle, we will just find a way to overcome them."

Masco gave the answer very directly.

Competition is competition, and buying equipment is buying equipment.

Even if the relevant departments in the United States impose some sanctions on Nanshan equipment, that will not be a problem.

The worst case scenario is to do it in a third country.

And while everyone is discussing Qiantu Motor's space fire, Qiantu Motor, which is the center of the incident, is constantly thinking about better ways to calm down the matter.

"Mr. Lu, we have been too popular during this period, which may have caused dissatisfaction among some competitors."

"Judging from the feedback from Bitauto.com, at least several car companies are looking for advertising companies to secretly promote the development of public opinion about the Qiantu Q9 fire incident."

"They hope that Qiantu Motor will die before it takes off, and they have bad intentions."

Qin Lihong was almost too busy during this period, working with dark circles under his eyes every day.

He was obviously under a lot of pressure.

Because after the official Weibo released the content that Qiantu Q9 was hit by a meteorite and caught fire, the matter did not completely subside, but became more and more intense.

"Other car companies cannot appreciate our success. This is inevitable."

"Through this incident, at least we are well-known in the domestic automobile industry."

"As long as the feedback from all parties is good after the Qiantu Q9 starts test driving later, the impact of this incident should not be particularly large."

"But you reminded me that the company needs to maintain a better relationship with various automotive media. Otherwise, the same thing can be analyzed from different angles, which will ultimately make us very uncomfortable."

Lu Bing has now slowly calmed down his mood.

Anger and anger will not solve the problem.

Things have already happened, and what needs to be considered now is how to minimize the impact of this incident.

"We didn't pay much attention to the media and public relations aspect before. After all, the product has not been offline."

"The situation is different now, and I really need to communicate with everyone properly."

"Next month, I plan to start arranging a test drive event. First, I will invite major domestic automotive media to come and experience our Q9."

"We can also take this opportunity to explore the attitudes of each platform."

Qin Lihong knew that Lu Bing's reminder was reasonable.

I always felt that with the help of Bitauto.com, Qiantu Motor would have no problems in media and public relations.

But what happened this time made him realize that things were different from what he imagined.

If this is not done properly, the ship may capsize in the gutter one day.

“Currently, the most influential automotive media are several platforms such as Autohome, Bitauto, and NetEase Auto Channel.”

“As long as we get these big platforms, everything else will be easy.”

While Qiantu Motor was still thinking about countermeasures for the Q9 space fire, Ford Motor and General Motors in the United States jointly held a press conference.

At this conference, Ford and General Motors jointly announced the completion of the development of their own 9AT and 10AT automatic transmissions.

Although everyone has known for a long time that these two companies are cooperating to develop automatic transmissions, when the news was officially announced, it still had a huge impact on the transmission industry.

"Mr. Cao, Ford and General Motors have developed their own high-end gearboxes. It is estimated that our products will be switched out soon."

Ji Hua came to Cao Yang's office with a heavy face.

Nanshan Transmission is now the world's top transmission manufacturer, supplying most of the automobile brands.

Especially in the Chinese market, the market share of Nanshan gearboxes has reached about 50%.

This share is definitely a very exaggerated figure.

"Although Ford and General Motors' transmissions have been developed, the initial production costs are not necessarily cheaper than ours."

"It's okay if they switch out our transmissions in the American market. If they switch them out in China, then it's almost time for us to start thinking about how to deal with GM and Changan Ford."

Cao Yang was not particularly anxious.

This day will come sooner or later, and Nanshan Group is not without any tricks.

"Our sales staff are also trying to communicate with their buyers to understand their next plans."

"However, although the gearbox business is gone, part of the gear and bearing business should still be there."

"After all, General Motors and Ford do not produce these parts themselves."

Ji Hua saw that Cao Yang was ready to do something as soon as he came up, so he quickly added the relevant information.

"Based on the attitude of relevant departments in the United States, it is estimated that Ford and General Motors will continue to reduce the number of purchases from us in the future, whether it is gearboxes, gears and bearings in the gearbox, or other parts of the car. .”

"Our honeymoon period with Ford and General Motors will not last long."

"Whether it is Nanshan gearbox or Nanshan auto parts, we must make countermeasures after this part of the business shrinks significantly."

Cao Yang is relatively clear about some subsequent developments in the United States.

This general trend cannot be reversed by oneself.

But in this general trend, Nanshan Automobile Group is not unable to do anything.

By planning in advance, Nanshan Automobile Group's sales will also be able to maintain continuous growth every year.

Those who want to see Cao Yang's jokes are disappointed again and again.

"This...isn't it?"

Ji Hua didn't expect Cao Yang to make such a judgment.

This has not been said before.

"Nothing is impossible in this world, especially when people in the United States do things. Maybe they will constantly refresh your knowledge."

"The bottom line you think may not exist at all."

Cao Yang said with certainty.

"Mr. Cao, if this is the case, then do we need to expand the production capacity of some of the factories we built in Mocheng?"

In the past two years, Nanshan Auto Parts has begun building part of its factory in Mocheng.

Nanshan Transmission has also built a transmission assembly plant there to supply automobile companies in the American market.

To a certain extent, this can be considered an advance layout.

"Look at the parts. If the profit is relatively high, we can continue to expand production."

"If there's not much profit, then there's no need to bother."

Cao Yang is now not sure whether the United States will further strengthen sanctions or related restrictive measures in order to deal with Nanshan Group companies in the future.

After all, the situation is very different now.

It can be said that the enterprises of the Nanshan Group have brought China's industrial strength to a higher level with one fell swoop.

This impact is difficult to quantify, but it exists objectively.

"I will fly to the United States next week to communicate with people from Ford Motor and General Motors' purchasing centers to see what the other party's next steps are so that we can take countermeasures in advance."

At this time, Ji Hua must be taking action.

He doesn't have as many worries as Cao Yang when he goes abroad, and the United States won't arrange special methods to deal with him.

After all, he only mastered the gearbox technology. Even if it died suddenly, it would not affect the current technical level of Nanshan Gearbox.

The development of automobile gearboxes has almost reached its end.

Going further is more difficult.

…

Regarding the news that Ford Motor and General Motors announced the successful development of 9AT and 10AT gearboxes, Nanshan Transmission was quite anxious, but the mood at Aisin was slightly different.

Because due to the Nanshan gearbox, they no longer have orders from Ford and General Motors.

The transmissions over there are either produced by General Motors and Ford Motors, or supplied by Nanshan Transmission.

Now that the other party wants to produce high-end gearboxes such as 9AT and 10AT by itself, the first one to hit is the Nanshan gearbox.

After all, all high-end models of General Motors and Ford Motors use Nanshan transmission products.

Now that this order has been lost, Nanshan Gearbox has suffered a huge loss.

"Nakazawa, what do you think of the technical level of the 9AT and 10AT developed by Ford and General Motors?"

As the president of Aisin, Hisato Yoshikawa is naturally very concerned about this big news.

Although the products of these two companies are for personal use, they have no plans to sell them externally.

However, it is likely to stimulate other car companies to also conduct self-research on gearboxes, which will have a negative impact on Aisin.

Of course, after Ford and GM successfully developed these transmissions, they first had a huge impact on Nanshan transmissions, which Hisato Yoshikawa was very happy to see.

"President, this 10AT rear-drive transmission is developed by Ford; the 9AT front-drive transmission is developed by General Motors."

"General Motors and Ford successively announced at the press conference that they would spend huge sums of money to upgrade their respective transmission plants in Michigan. The main purpose is to upgrade and transform them so that they can produce this new ten-speed transmission."

"Judging from these actions of the other party, the research and development of 9AT and 10AT should have reached mass production status, and there are no major problems."

"However, the specific performance still needs to be compared and analyzed with the actual product before we can draw a conclusion."

As the R\u0026D director of Aisin Group, Hiroyuki Nakazawa is very familiar with gearbox technology, but he doesn’t dare to make casual judgments.

That way it is easy for Yoshikawa Hisato to make wrong judgments, which will bring about a series of very bad effects.

"Based on the data released by the other party at the press conference, what do you think?"

Hisato Yoshikawa will definitely not be dismissed casually by Nakazawa Hiroyuki's two sentences.

If he doesn't understand the situation, he won't be able to sleep.

"The 10-speed gearbox naturally has a wide gear ratio between 1st gear and 10th gear. Its gear ratio range is 7.384, which is definitely not the largest among existing gearboxes."

"Even the 8AT of our and Nanshan transmissions has a larger transmission ratio than them."

The boss wanted to hear some useful information, so Nakazawa Hiroyuki had no choice but to comply with the request.

"Judging from the existing experimental simulation test data, the gear ratio range of the transmission exceeds 7.4. In fact, it has no practical significance. The highest gear is basically not used on most models, because the current general high-speed driving speed is up to Less than the matching speed required for the 9th and 10th gear ratios.”

"Then the gear ratio range of their 10AT is not very wide. If a 10AT gearbox does not have a particularly wide gear ratio range, then its different gears will be relatively close."

"Therefore, the speed drop of this Ford 10AT when upshifting is only 20%. In comparison, the speed drop of the Nanshan 8AT gearbox currently widely used in the industry is 25% when upshifting."

"A closer transmission ratio can keep the engine at optimal output when accelerating at full throttle. At the same time, when mounted on a big guy like the F-150, it can also improve the power output of this type of pickup truck trailer during operations. Smoother.”

"Analyzed from these perspectives, the paper data of the 10AT jointly developed by General Motors and Ford is still very good."

"But the final effect after installation in the car still needs to be confirmed by the actual car to know."

Hiroyuki Nakazawa analyzed the 10AT gearbox jointly developed by Ford and General Motors from a more professional perspective.

Because Aisin itself also has 10AT, as for 9AT, it doesn't particularly care.

"Get the other party's gearbox sample as soon as possible. We have to be aware of it before it can be handled easily."

There are not many 10AT manufacturers in the industry, and each one deserves attention.

Know yourself and the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger!

This Chinese proverb is also very familiar to Hisato Yoshikawa.