Reborn Tokyo Golden Age

After listening to Nakamura Takao's report, Shirakawa Kaede probably already knows the problems Subaru is facing now.

"This is because the North American market that Subaru has long relied on has been hit hard, while other markets and the mainland have been neglected.

So now Subaru is facing a global sales crisis, with factories operating at less than 40% of capacity? "

"Hai" Although the situation is ugly, Nakamura Takao has to admit that this is the case.

"Tell me about your short-term plans." Shirakawa Kaede did not give his own opinions directly, but was prepared to listen to Subaru's own plans first.

Before acquiring Fuji Heavy Industries, he knew that some people within the company had already come up with short-term plans.

For example, the Nakamura-san in front of him advocated using Neon's local market as a fulcrum to improve Fuji Heavy Industries' operating conditions in a short period of time.

It was precisely because of his plan that Shirakawa Kaede chose him as the current Subaru president.

When the society is in trouble, it needs a strong man with clear goals to lead everyone forward.

Hearing Shirakawa Kaede's words at this moment, Nakamura Takao also sat up straight and cheered up, and began to explain his short-term reform plan.

“Because the situation in North America is related to the appreciation of the yen, and the appreciation of the yen is an uncontrollable factor.

Therefore, my suggestion is that instead of expecting the North American market to return to normal, it is better to delve deeply into the local market of Neon.

Although Fuji Heavy Industries originally shifted its main operating market to North America, Subaru also has its own cooperative dealers in Neon's hometown. "

After all, it is a Neon car company. Even if it relies on North America's sales, Fuji Heavy Industries also invested a lot of resources in the country before the 1980s.

Currently, there are 48 dealers cooperating with Subaru in Neon's 43 prefectures.

Subaru has invested in 34 of these stores, which is now considered one of its assets.

As a relatively niche car company, there are so many dealers, also known as 4S stores, which is actually not too few.

Therefore, Takao Nakamura believes that by using these local resources, Subaru may not be able to turn losses into profits if it deeply develops the neon market.

“According to our market research, Neon’s demand for mid- to high-end models has greatly increased.

The CIMA luxury model launched by Nissan this year is expected to sell more than 35,000 units. Honda's third-generation coupe Prelude is also developed for this market, and its sales this year may even exceed 100,000 units.

Toyota is also rumored to be developing the Celsior luxury sedan, and rumors of Mazda's Cosmo are also leaked.

The series of actions taken by these major car companies are the best proof of the market trend. "

Neon is now at the peak of the bubble era, and people are not short of money at all.

Therefore, luxury cars that used to cost more than 3 million yen have now become ordinary consumer models that the public can afford for Neon.

Didn’t you see that the Nissan CIMA’s minimum configuration is 4.5 million yen and the high configuration is 5.6 million yen, and it is still being sold in Neon?

Once everyone's desire for consumption is aroused, this market frenzy will continue until the building collapses.

How could Subaru not be tempted by the actions of its friends and the huge profits they have made on luxury models, especially at the critical moment when it is currently in a business crisis.

"So what preparations has Subaru made now? Has it carried out early development for this market?"

Shirakawa Kaede also has personal experience of Neon's madness at this time. He personally agrees with Nakamura Takao's desire to enter Neon's local luxury car market.

If we don't take advantage of these times to sell high-profit luxury goods, we won't have such an opportunity in the future.

Hearing Shirakawa Kaede ask about the specific plan, Nakamura Takao's eyes lit up.

It seems that Shirakawa-san is also leaning towards this kind of plan, and I have to say that this is good news for him.

“We also have our own luxury model plan for Neon’s high-end market, with the internal code name 44B.

This model abandons all previous Subaru design foundations and uses a new platform.

In terms of styling design, 4BB takes current fashion as a reference and adopts a simple wedge-shaped body and a low waistline design.

At the same time, in order to highlight Subaru Industrial’s background in the aircraft industry, the A/B/C pillars were made as slim as possible while ensuring the rigidity of the body.

Moreover, the shells are all designed in full color, emphasizing the sense of integrity and striving to make users feel like they are in the cockpit of an airplane.

However, 4BB is an internal code name, and we plan to call the publicly disclosed model: Legacy. "

Legacy means inheritance and legacy in English. There is no doubt that this name has a certain tragic meaning.

Before becoming president, in order to cope with the crisis, Fuji Heavy Industries introduced a development director full responsibility system in management.

Takao Nakamura, who was in charge of emergency response at that time, was the head of the planning department and the person in charge of new model development.

Naming this car Legacy, I have to say that he is holding on to the determination that this will be the last model of Fuji Heavy Industries.

If Legacy fails, there is a high probability that Fuji Heavy Industries will go bankrupt.

Although the entry of Shirakawa Holdings has now solved the crisis of Fuji Heavy Industries' bankruptcy, Takao Nakamura still retains the name.

Legacy (legacy, bequest), I have to say it is full of European style.

It can also be understood as "a gift worthy of being passed on to future generations", which can be regarded as inheriting the spirit of the Subaru brand.

"Legacy?" Bai Chuanfeng muttered, feeling okay.

A photo of this car was placed in front of Shirakawa Kaede. It was a prototype made before. Looking at the shape alone, the proportions seemed to be very coordinated.

As for Legacy, it is also a very suitable name for a luxury car, and this name can be directly used in North America.

"So where is Legacy currently at? When is it expected to be launched?"

You have to make money early, the bubble is only a few years away. Subaru's problems will be more difficult to solve if we don't take advantage of the last opportunity to make a profit.

Hearing Shirakawa Kaede ask this, not only Nakamura Takao, but also Sugimoto Kiyoshi, who had been in charge of technical explanations beside him, beamed with joy.

Why? Because Shirakawa Kaede asked this, doesn't it mean that Legacy can be mass-produced?

Although Takao Nakamura and others have completed the design work of Legacy, in fact, there was still a little disagreement within Fuji Heavy Industries about this model.

After all, it is a luxury model. Once the extremely high cost is put into production, the funds required are not a small amount.

At that time, Fuji Heavy Industries was already facing a huge financial deficit. If Legacy failed, it might indeed be a disaster for it.

Therefore, although the car has been designed, there has been an ongoing debate within Fuji Heavy Industries about whether to mass-produce it.

But now listening to Bai Chuanfeng's meaning, it seems that this does not need to be considered at all?

Takao Nakamura, with a look of anticipation on his face, answered hurriedly, "Legacy has already produced three prototypes, and they are currently undergoing 100,000 kilometers of endurance driving tests at the Arizona Test Center in the United States."

“When is verification expected to be completed?”

"Probably in November."

"If it is launched on a large scale, when can the factory in Gunma Prefecture deliver the goods at the earliest?"

"Next January or February," Takao Nakamura answered fluently. Apparently he had already considered these issues.

"In January or February next year?" Bai Chuanfeng frowned slightly. If he remembered correctly, this was not a good time.

"Eh? Shirakawa-san, do you have any other instructions?"

Seeing Shirakawa Kaede frowning, Nakamura Takao and the technical team behind him became nervous again.

Is it possible that the production of Legacy has another setback?

However, Bai Chuanfeng spoke again, which surprised and delighted them.

“Starting from next month, the announcement of Legacy can be started in advance.

Boxer engine, full-time four-wheel drive, and extremely high safety design, these three points are the three pillars announced by Legacy.

Of course, you don’t need to use so many professional terms, it’s best to be concise and clear. Just make people realize that Subaru cars are easy to drive, safe and luxurious.

Xuanfa mainly focuses on neon, followed by Beimi. The total publicity cost is set at 50 million US dollars, 20 million for Neon and 30 million for overseas. "

Shirakawa Kaede's series of words made Nakamura Takao and the others tremble with fear.

5,000 US dollars, 6 billion yen~! When has Subaru ever had such a good fight in terms of promotion?

In the past, being able to make an advertisement worth tens of millions of yen on a neon TV station was considered a big deal.

With 20 million U.S. dollars and 2.4 billion yen, Takao Nakamura and the others didn’t even know how to spend so much money.

"Shirakawa-san, is this publicity budget too high?" Although more money is a good thing, out of a responsible attitude, Nakamura Takao secretly reminded him.

Shirakawa Kaede smiled indifferently at his caution, "Nakamura-san, if Subaru wants to become a mass brand, just studying design is not enough.

If you want to change the fate of Subaru's niche, publicity is also a top priority. Please don't worry about this yet.

In the subsequent promotion of Legacy, Shirakawa Holdings will deploy a dedicated publicity team to support Subaru's promotion. "

Shirakawa Holdings is an expert in this area. The advertising of so many of its clubs over the years has not been in vain. There are plenty of relevant talents.

"But instead of worrying about excessive publicity expenses, Nakamura-san should worry about the next issue."

"Eh?" Nakamura Takao looked confused.

"The release of Legacy should not be scheduled for January or February next year. We will move it forward and change the time to early December this year."

Why does Shirakawa Kaede want to advance the release date? Because if he remembered correctly, Akihito's father was going to meet his Amaterasu at that time.

According to the traditions of the small days, in terms of entertainment and advertising at that time, the Neon government would most likely impose relatively large restrictions.

So in order to avoid this pitfall, Shirakawa Kaede decided to advance the release date of Legacy.

However, two months earlier than the original plan to go public, the pressure came to Takao Nakamura.

"Shirakawa-san, can I take the liberty to ask why Legacy has to be moved forward?"

This is also where people here at Subaru are confused. I haven't heard of any competitors releasing similar models at the same time.

"As far as I know, the person in the palace may not be very optimistic. Nissan's advertising encountered such a problem some time ago."

When Bai Chuanfeng explained this, everyone looked surprised.

It is a well-known fact that the licking emperor is not in good health. In order to advertise its own cars, Nissan created a happy atmosphere on TV.

As a result, news happened that the Licking King's condition was getting worse, so Nissan's commercial was stopped after only two days of airing.

With this lesson learned, everyone understands why Shirakawa Kaede wants to release Legacy in advance.

If Subaru's Legacy is released, it will happen to happen. I don’t know if it has any impact, but it’s definitely not a good sign.

So regarding the early release, Nakamura Takao and others thought about it for a while and nodded in agreement.

"In this case, we will not wait for the results of the Arizona test. The factory in Gunma will start preparing materials in advance and debugging the production line."

Takao Nakamura is still somewhat confident about the design of his department, and there is absolutely no problem in terms of reliability.

Moreover, one of the three test cars has completed the test, with an average speed of 223.345km/h throughout the entire journey, and there is no problem at all for 100,000 kilometers.

This is Subaru’s specialty, and the technical team recognized Takao Nakamura’s decision on this point.

However, Legacy is just Subaru's short-term plan. If you want to reform it, you can't do anything big.