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Chapter 1761 Industrial Totem (Second update, please subscribe)

What is the totem of technology?
Every era has its totemic representatives.

At least in this era, the totem of technology is the towering chimneys, the thick smoke spewing out of the steel blast furnaces, the red-hot steel continuously produced on the production line, the roar of steel machines, and the cars produced on the assembly line.

At least in this era, heavy industry is the totem of technology.

Heavy industry is the standard for evaluating whether a country is strong. Even in the 21st century, this seems to be the basic standard for measuring whether a country is strong.

Therefore, many people ridiculed the hollowing out of industry in the United States and Europe. After the war between Mao and Mao, this ridicule seemed to be confirmed to some extent.

Precisely because of this, Li Yian has always held two attitudes towards industrial transfer - on the one hand, he vigorously promotes industrial transfer and drives the economic development of his younger brothers through industrial transfer.

On the other hand, specific "protection" is implemented for core industries.

The automobile industry is an industry that needs protection. Whether it is industrial transfer or technology transfer, it needs to be strictly reviewed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

This is because the automobile industry is a very important industry. Later Japan and Germany were largely supported by the strong automobile industry. The practitioners of Germany's automobile industry chain accounted for 35% of the practitioners in the manufacturing industry; as for Japan, the practitioners of the automobile industry chain accounted for 49.6% of the practitioners in the manufacturing industry.

Even in the United States, where industry is severely hollowed out, its automobile manufacturing industry is still surviving tenaciously.

Each of the four major industries involving food, clothing, housing and transportation can drive huge employment, because the demand naturally brings about huge employment.

Compared with the previous three, the automobile industry is an industry that is more likely to produce large enterprises, and it will also drive the development of metallurgy, machinery, and chemical industries.

Because of this, Li Yian has always been very concerned about the development of the automobile industry. He even made prototype cars from the system mall many times and used technology smuggling to help his own company gain an advantage in automobile technology.

After years of development, SEA now owns three major automobile companies: BMW, Wuling and Volkswagen.

The former is mainly engaged in luxury cars, including BMW, Alfa Romeo and Porsche. As for Wuling and Volkswagen, they are both national car brands, so their advantage is to win by volume. However, this does not mean that their technology is backward. In fact, they have always kept up with the trend of the times in terms of technology application.

In Wuling Motors' production workshop, Zhu Mingwei saw the laser cutting machine for the first time through the dust-proof glass. Although it was manufactured by General Electric Engineering Research Center ten years ago and used to drill holes in diamond molds, and then laser-assisted oxygen jet was used to cut metals, laser cutting technology is mainly used for titanium cutting in aerospace applications.

This is the first time it has been applied in automobile production. Through the glass, you can see that the laser cutting machine cuts the steel plate into specific shapes. Although its shape is complex, the complex workpiece is quickly cut out with the precise movement of the robotic arm.

"Manager, we are the first company in the world to use laser cutting technology. It not only speeds up the production of some complex workpieces, but also reduces production costs..."

Listening to the engineer's introduction, Zhu Mingwei just nodded. As the manager of Wuling Motors, he was no stranger to laser technology. Those welding robots used laser welding.

“The key is to increase production.”

Retracting his gaze, Zhu Mingwei said:
"Last year, our company produced 200 million cars, Volkswagen produced 175 million, and BMW produced 48. Our production exceeded 400 million for the first time. But what does it matter?"

When he said "so what", he emphasized the tone. He was talking about small passenger cars, such as Foton, Sany and other heavy vehicles and buses were not included in his statistics.

"Our production still cannot meet the demand. Last year, we imported 80 cars! Ford, GM, Volkswagen, and even Citroen have entered SEA. Why is this happening? Why is our own market occupied by foreign products?"

Zhu Mingwei's eyes looked at several deputy managers and then fell on Kyle who was standing nearby. He was a director who was transferred from the head office. On his first day of reporting, he caught the eyes of all the female employees. His facial features were very three-dimensional, like a Greek statue. He was almost 1.9 meters tall and he definitely stood out among a group of people.

Most importantly, he was young—only twenty-five!
He should be the son of a senior executive of the company!

"Kyle, tell me."

“Because the production is insufficient.”

Kyle said:

"The 50s generation is growing up and they need cars, but our production has not kept up with the market demand. According to conservative estimates, as the 50s generation grows up, we will need at least 5000 million cars. At the current production level, it is basically impossible to meet their needs."

The 50s generation is a unique generation in SEA, referring to children born between 48 and 58. That was also the peak of SEA fertility, with more than 6500 million people born in ten years. At that time, millions of people were born every year, and now millions of people reach adulthood every year. Kyle added:
"According to the industrial plan, in the next five years, our automobile production will exceed 1000 million vehicles, of which Wuling will produce 500 million vehicles. However, this is obviously unable to meet the market demand. After all, the market is there. We not only have to face the adulthood of the s generation, but also the first generation of cars we manufactured have begun to be replaced. Although these old cars will be given to children, the market demand is huge. Our production can only meet the basic needs of the domestic market, unless we plan to give up the overseas market..."

Before Kyle could finish his words, Deputy Manager Zhuge Jie said:
"Giving up the overseas market? You must be kidding. How can we give up the market that we have worked so hard to develop? The domestic market is important, but the overseas market is also extremely important. It can even be said to be our lifeline. Giving up? Don't be kidding!"

This is true.

Take Wuling for example. Although it is positioned as a national car, its overseas sales were three times its domestic sales at the beginning. In other words, the overseas market is its foundation, and this is also reflected in Volkswagen. Later, with the development of the economy, the domestic market gradually became on par with the overseas market.

Moreover, unlike ordinary industrial products, cars are the products that best represent a country's manufacturing. They are mobile billboards that represent not only the car brand itself, but SEA manufacturing.

In this regard, SEA has always been following the precision route. With advanced engines and excellent manufacturing technology, coupled with advanced design, Wuling and Volkswagen are both known for their reliability and durability.

There is even a saying that "Wuling can't be broken down and Volkswagen doesn't need to be repaired". Coupled with excellent fuel economy and reliability, even Americans who like full-size cars realize that fuel economy is really good.

After all, what’s saved is money!
Thanks to its good reputation, SEA's cars have gradually gained ground around the world. Not to mention Europe, even in the United States, the world's largest automobile country, Wuling and Volkswagen are everywhere. As for BMW, as a luxury car, it is ranked alongside Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Lincoln and Chrysler.

The various demands made by overseas markets for automobiles are stimulating the development of the SEA automobile industry, so that it will not be like the American automobile industry, which is "spoiled" by the domestic market, too self-righteous, and lags behind other countries in research and development.

“So, we need to expand our production capacity.”

Kyle turned his gaze to the manager and said:

"Manager, I think we should set up a new factory in Yong'an. Yong'an Steel can provide automobile steel nearby. There is also a mature machinery industry in the area. Some companies were originally our cooperative suppliers. The local industry system is complete and sufficient to support the production of the new factory."

Yongan, located on the western coast of Borneo, is another industrial center in SEA besides Changan and Dongning. It not only has Silicon Valley, but also has established a complete set of heavy industrial systems, from metallurgy to machinery manufacturing, from machinery manufacturing to shipbuilding industry, relying on Yongan Steel, which was fully promoted by the local government. Although it cannot be compared with Changan and Dongning in scale, it is the best choice for Changan.

The only thing lacking was the automobile industry. Kyle's proposal made Zhu Mingwei immediately understand the benefits of investing locally. Not only could he take advantage of the local industrial chain, but he could also get political support.

"Set up a new factory in Yong'an..."

Zhu Mingwei thought for a moment and said:

"You want to use Yongan as the headquarters for exports to Europe, right?"

Kyle nodded:

“It’s not just Europe, but also South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Of course, it would be better if we could set up a factory on the west coast of Malaysia, but due to the relevant laws, the scale of such a factory is limited and can only meet the local needs of Malaysia, which is completely meaningless.”

Li Yian is very cautious about the matter of industrial transfer. He does not want to cultivate a competitive industry for himself. Things like cars are simple - if SEA sells one more car, others will sell one less.

If it weren't for the overseas market, Li Yian might not be willing to invest in factories overseas, but overseas investment is inevitable, just like Wuling and Volkswagen set up factories in Brazil to develop the Brazilian and South American markets.

Not only that, they are now setting up factories in the United States to avoid future trade disputes. The reason why Toyota was able to stay out of the US-Japan trade dispute was that the cars it sold in the United States were basically produced in the United States.

Of course, the United States will protect such "American companies."

But all principles follow one principle - overseas investment is allowed, but industrial transfer is not allowed, which means it cannot be at the expense of local industry. It is for this reason that corresponding overseas industrial investment restrictions are formulated.

“Therefore, setting up a new factory in Yongan is undoubtedly the most appropriate.”

Kyle then added:

"At the same time, the new factory can also adopt a new generation of production lines and use more industrial robots."

Zhu Mingwei nodded after listening to his suggestion, but he did not agree immediately. Instead, he asked Kyle to prepare a report first. Afterwards, the group continued to inspect the production workshop.

(End of this chapter)