The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 214: Killing Four Warriors with One Peach, Sitting Firmly on the Diaoyutai
Zhu Jiansheng is a relatively open-minded person.

Since Jiang Hui has made up his mind, he will definitely not try to stop him.

Besides, at his level, he is exposed to more information and actually knows that reform is a major trend.

Many things that seem impossible now will be possible in the future.

As for Jiang Hui's technical strength and talent, he would not be able to fully display them whether he stayed in the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant or went to the First Ministry of Machine Building.

He deserves more and better conditions and treatment.

“Americans really know how to enjoy themselves.”

Breakfast is a buffet, and Zheng Haiming, Chen Qi and others will make you eat until you are full.

Given their level, they should have enough food and drink on a regular basis.

But it’s just that there is no shortage.

It is still difficult to enjoy delicious food as you please.

Every household has several children, which is a huge burden.

"In the two world wars, America enjoyed the greatest fruits of war, so the material conditions were naturally much richer."

"But the situation in our country is getting better and better, and everyone's living conditions will definitely get better in the future."

Zhu Jiansheng had something on his mind, so he wasn't enjoying his meal very much.

Of course, you must be full if you are full.

"Today's schedule is mainly to attend a welcome party at General Motors headquarters and then visit their exhibition hall."

“There will be other visits and exchanges later.”

After breakfast, seeing that there were still more than ten minutes left before the departure time agreed with General Motors, several people were drinking and chatting in the restaurant.

With such a good opportunity, Yue Rui will definitely briefly review today's itinerary with everyone.

As the head of the group, the role he can play is relatively limited, and he is trying his best to do the job well.

"General Motors should still have a lot of things worth learning and drawing lessons from. Let's see if we can get some useful information from this visit."

As the director of Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant, Zheng Haiming may be promoted soon, but he also hopes that the factory will develop better and better in the future.

This way his resume will be even more brilliant.

"GM has dozens of models in production at the same time, and that alone is quite remarkable."

"And their annual R&D investment is said to be more than $10 billion, which is definitely an exaggerated number."

"This visit to their R&D center and the latest factory will be very helpful for the future development of our factory."

Chen Qi was also looking forward to this inspection.

This was his first time to visit the advanced factory of a global automotive giant.

The key is that they are willing to open their R&D center for you to visit, which is very rare.

Generally speaking, each company is keen to open its production factories to the media and others for visits. After all, even if competitors see such things, they will not be able to copy them immediately.

Besides, the production lines of each factory are basically equipped with equipment purchased from outside.

In terms of the sophistication of the production lines alone, the difference between General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz is very small.

Each company has its own characteristics and will not easily copy or imitate the production line layout of other manufacturers.

……

General Motors attaches great importance to the five-member inspection team from China.

Not only did Austin come to the hotel in person to pick us up in the morning, but GM President Murphy also attended the welcome party held at GM headquarters at 9 a.m.

Although it was only a brief meeting of half an hour, all the face that should be given was given.

Afterwards, under Austin's personal guidance, we visited GM's R&D center and production plant.

As the design director of a large enterprise, he was able to spend most of the time with Jiang Hui and others for several consecutive days, which showed his sincerity.

"Jiang, we have more than ten models under development at the same time, but we are currently lacking a hit model, a model that can completely attract consumers' attention."

"I will also send you the report data related to the North American market consumer analysis later. I hope that the car model you help design can become a hot-selling model that attracts North American consumers."

Austin invited Jiang Hui to come for inspection so enthusiastically, wasn't it because he was impressed by Jiang Hui's design talent and professional skills?
Now that a few days have passed, he will naturally start to formally make his demands.

Anyway, Jiang Hui agreed to help design a new car model during this period on his first day.

Up to then, Austin had not seen Jiang Hui discussing this topic with him.

As the date for Jiang Hui and his friends to return home was approaching, he became a little anxious.

"No problem, I already have some ideas."

"Pickup trucks have always been popular in the North American market. This time I plan to design a classic pickup truck model for the Chevrolet brand and let it challenge the North American auto sales champion."

Since Jiang Hui agreed to help General Motors design another car model in exchange for a high design fee of US$100, he naturally had to come up with a competitive product.

Vehicles like sedans and SUVs will be of great use in the Chinese market in the future, so he still doesn't want to give them to General Motors easily.

But pickup trucks are different.

Originally, pickup trucks were designed first and foremost to be transport vehicles, practical vehicles capable of transporting large and heavy cargo that ordinary cars could not transport.

General Motors Chevrolet pickup trucks have a very long history.

As early as 1918, Chevrolet ushered in its pickup truck era.

The Series 490 truck allows users to freely choose between open trucks or closed trucks in different styles to meet a variety of needs.

The birth of the 1955 Chevrolet CameoCarrier changed the definition of pickup trucks.

The pickup truck, originally used for rough work, boldly adopted many elements that were only used on sedans at the time in its appearance and interior, and has a highly recognizable appearance.

It proved for the first time that a pickup truck could be not only practical, but also comfortable and beautiful.

The 1969 C-10 pickup truck can be called the "pioneer" of high-performance pickup trucks, satisfying consumers' dual pursuits of high performance and pickup trucks.

Afterwards, Chevrolet also launched the El Camino SS 7.4 pickup truck equipped with a 454L engine, the Silverado SS pickup truck with a 6.0L V8 engine and other models to meet people's pursuit of performance.

It can be said that Chevrolet has always worked very hard, but judging from the results, the pickup truck sales champion in the North American market in recent years has not been Chevrolet, but Ford.

Even Toyota's pickup trucks began to rapidly capture the market, which put a lot of pressure on General Motors.

Austin has always wanted to make some breakthroughs in this regard.

However, according to the information he had learned before, there was basically no pickup truck market in China, so he thought that Jiang Hui might not be good at pickup truck design, so he never asked Jiang Hui for help in designing a pickup truck.

Unexpectedly, this time Jiang Hui took the initiative to design a pickup truck for the Chevrolet brand.

This gave Austin a lot more expectations.

"Pickup trucks do have extraordinary significance in American automotive culture."

"It has played an important role in the development history of American cars, from behind the scenes to the front stage, from a tool car that meets basic needs to an important way for the American people to pursue enjoyment and improve their quality of life, becoming one of the microcosms of the American dream and the American spirit."

"However, the design concept of pickup trucks in America is somewhat different from other models."

Although Austin has great confidence in Jiang Hui, he still feels it necessary to remind him to fully consider the particularities of the American pickup truck market and even the particularities of American automobile design culture.

If you were to sum up the meaning of American car culture in one sentence, it would definitely be "using the simplest methods to solve the most complex problems."

Unlike Japanese cars, if you want to improve power, you often have to go through a series of careful demonstrations such as engine strengthening - adding a turbine - improving heat dissipation - adjusting the computer - redesigning the vehicle's aerodynamics, etc.

In contrast, there is only one solution for American cars, which is to put a larger displacement engine into the engine compartment.

If that's not enough, add a sufficiently large mechanical turbocharger.

The same concept applies to American pickup trucks.

Want to be at home? Then make the passenger space bigger!

Want to load more? Just add a trunk.

Combined with the powerful American V8 engine, it is simply the best equipment for traveling in America.

These features make pickup trucks extremely expandable and practical. Even in later generations, pickup trucks are still the best-selling models in the US auto market. "Don't worry, Austin, I have slowly come up with an idea for a full-size pickup truck. Hopefully, it will be comparable to the Ford F150."

This is not the time to be humble.

It is completely meaningless to be humble to Americans. They will only think that you are not strong enough.

The products that Jiang Hui is preparing to launch are all classic models of later generations, and they are also products that are in line with General Motors' positioning.

This car can't fail.

"Okay, then I'll wait and see."

"We have arranged for Timken and SKF to come and discuss with you this afternoon. We have also arranged for NTN and Koyo Seiko tomorrow morning."

"These four manufacturers basically monopolize more than 80% of the global automotive bearing market. It doesn't matter if you don't talk to other manufacturers such as NSK and Schaeffler. After all, your time is limited."

Austin now also hopes that Jiang Hui’s sales of integrated wheel hub bearings will go smoothly.

If Jiang Hui is in a better mood like this, the products he designs will be more worth looking forward to, right?
Otherwise, Jiang Hui would be in a bad mood and would not have any design inspiration, and he would be depressed.

Austin was even willing to help Jiang Hui by selling the patent for the integrated wheel hub bearing at a higher price so that Jiang Hui could earn more money.

With so much money, Jiang Hui might be more interested in staying in America.

After all, in China, even if you have a lot of money, there is no place to spend it, and the improvement in quality of life is very limited.

But it's different in America.

If you have money, you can do almost anything.

"Thank you for your hard work. I plan to meet with them separately this afternoon. I will need your help in coordinating the schedule of Zheng Chang and his team."

Although Jiang Hui holds the overseas patents for the integrated wheel hub bearing, this part was designed only after Jiang Hui joined the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant.

Now, whether the patented technology belongs to Jiang Hui or Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant, if we really start to argue about it, there might be some disgusting consequences.

After all, with sufficient foreign exchange stimulation, even Zheng Haiming, who cares very much about Jiang Hui, may not be able to stick to his position.

Not to mention Yue Rui, who was arranged by the Ministry of First Machine Industry to be the head of the group.

So Jiang Hui thought it would be better for him to go and negotiate with the other party alone.

At most, after the deal is reached, we will ask General Motors to help arrange a professional lawyer to handle some contract-related matters.

Anyway, I can communicate in English and Japanese without any obstacles, so there is no need for outsiders to be present.

"No problem, feel free to come to me if you need anything."

"GM's next generation of models will also be prepared to use integrated wheel hub bearing technology. By then, whichever manufacturer obtains your patent or authorization will have a unique advantage in obtaining GM's orders."

"I have asked the purchasing director to talk to the people from these bearing manufacturers about this."

It has to be said that GM's approach is really helping Jiang Hui.

Of course, there is no loss for General Motors.

No matter who you purchase the wheel bearings from, you will buy them. Why not take this opportunity to do Jiang Hui a favor?
Even if the other party does not come to work at General Motors, there may still be opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Besides, even if Jiang Hui cannot be persuaded to come to GM this time, in the future, with the changes in China's reforms, GM may still enter the Chinese market.

By that time, if Jiang Hui was invited to take up the position again, people’s attitude might have changed.

It can be said that large companies like General Motors are still very sincere when it comes to real talents.

"Thank you very much for your help, Austin. I believe that GM will get better and better in the future development."

Jiang Hui was happily communicating with Austin.

That afternoon, Jiang Hui held the first negotiation with people from SKF and Timken.

One was sincere in buying, the other was sincere in selling, so the negotiation atmosphere was quite harmonious.

There is no such scene where one would slap Jiang Hui in the face by looking down on him from the very beginning.

After all, we should look at the Buddha's face rather than the monk's. This meeting was organized by General Motors.

None of these manufacturers dare to act big in front of General Motors.

The situation was similar the next day when I met with NTN and Koyo Seiko.

Of course, it is impossible for negotiations to be successful immediately after the first meeting.

Jiang Hui asked everyone to give him a quote, and he would cooperate with whoever offered the best quote.

He also specifically told the other party that he would return to China next week.

Only before returning to China did I consider selling the patent for the integrated wheel hub bearing, and after returning to China, this matter was put on hold.

As a result, the enthusiasm and pressure of several manufacturers are increasing.

"Richard, is this integrated wheel hub bearing design really that advanced?"

As the vice president of SKF, Lucas came in person to participate in the patent acquisition negotiations this time.

He also knew that General Motors had helped to arrange meetings with several bearing manufacturers.

The official bid will be made tomorrow, so he will naturally have to weigh it carefully to see what price is appropriate.

"It is very advanced. We can even say that the wheel hub bearings of passenger cars in the future will all be integrated wheel hub bearings."

As the design director of SKF, Richard has very professional judgment on the professionalism of technology.

Even though this can only be used on wheel hubs, other bearings should still be designed the same way.

However, wheel hub bearings still occupy a very important position in a car.

A car needs four wheel hub bearings, and it is a bearing product that consumers can intuitively feel the changes in.

From this perspective, wheel hub bearings are the most popular bearing products in a car.

"Is there no way for us to circumvent their patents?"

If you can avoid spending money, it’s definitely best not to spend it.

Even in Europe, it's the same.

Especially now that there are four companies competing, the cost of ultimately obtaining this technology patent will certainly not be small.

"If we must avoid it, there may be some ways to do it, but it will make our parts structure more complicated, and we will not be cost-competitive and have no quality competitiveness."

"And even if we take measures to circumvent patents, if someone really wants to sue us, it is possible that they will succeed."

"This patent used to be in the hands of the Chinese, so we don't have to worry too much about them suing us even if we infringe on it."

"But if the patent belongs to Timken or a Japanese manufacturer, the situation will be completely different."

After Richard said this, Lucas knew that SKF needed to do everything it could to obtain this patent.

SKF was founded in 1907 and is now the world's largest bearing manufacturer.

In the field of wheel hub bearings, they are also the world's number one.

It would be absolutely unacceptable if SKF's position in this field changed due to the failure of acquiring a patent.

"The Chinese man stated directly that he would only accept one way to sell the patent this time, which is to purchase it first."

"Except for China, the patent rights for all regions are sold at once. We do not accept sales in different regions."

"In this case, I'm afraid the price we have to offer can't be too low, otherwise it will be snatched away by someone else."

Since there is no choice, we must make every effort to purchase it and ensure that this key patented technology is in the hands of SKF.

In the future, whether it is licensing the patent to other manufacturers for use, or further transferring the patent rights in a certain area, it should be very feasible.

It is also possible to eventually earn back the cost of the acquisition.

"I think we can talk to GM. No matter how much other manufacturers offer, we at SKF are willing to add $10. This situation is also good for patent holders."

When Richard said this, Lucas immediately became interested.

(End of this chapter)