The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 282: The Light of BMW, the Project of a New Generation of Magic Cars is Officially Launched

"The most common cars in Hong Kong are various Japanese cars, and taxis have very high requirements for car quality. The quality stability of Toyota Crown and Nissan Duke is very good, and their reputation has already been established."

"While Shanghai-branded cars are considered the best in China, they still have problems from time to time when used in the taxi market, which greatly affects business."

"As a result, no taxi company in the market would be willing to use domestic cars."

Fang Huihui explained quickly.

You can make something like a car by hand, but to produce it on a large scale with guaranteed quality is a great test for a country's industrial system.

Not to mention other things, even simple basic parts such as bearings, gears and bolts, there are not many countries in the world that can make them well.

A car has tens of thousands of parts. If any one of them is not made well, the car may break down while driving.

"Crown and Duke are good, but imported cars require foreign exchange and are sold at very high prices. If there are other options, I think many people would consider other options."

Jiang Hui felt that it would be best if BMW’s first product could get a share of the transportation market.

Of course, the risk is a little greater if we go straight into sedans.

Moreover, the sedan product focuses on riding comfort and is very particular about the luxury of the interior, so it is not suitable to be BMW's first product.

"That's true, but there's nothing we can do about it. Even if the relevant departments don't want to waste so much foreign exchange to import cars, each unit will still use various methods to buy imported cars."

"There are even cases of smuggling of imported cars in some places."

Fang Huihui and Jiang Hui naturally had nothing to hide, so they told each other all the information they knew.

"Smuggled cars?"

Jiang Hui was stunned for a moment, and a lot of relevant information emerged in his mind.

In the early days of reform and opening up, the restrictions on the grades of official vehicles were relaxed. Economic development and foreign exchanges made domestic cars no longer meet the demand. Japanese cars such as Toyota Crown flooded into China through legal imports and smuggling.

The places with the biggest moves here are some places in Lingnan Province.

“Yes, restrictions on the use of foreign exchange by relevant departments, coupled with high import duties, make car smuggling very profitable.”

"So all kinds of smuggled cars started to appear, and it is estimated that this situation will continue to get worse in the next few years."

"But this also means that China's automobile market is booming. If our products can be launched as soon as possible, we won't have to worry about no one buying them."

Fang Huihui is still very optimistic about the future of BMW.

If I could become the general manager of a car company, the influence would be completely different.

By then, even if he returns to Hong Kong, he will be a high-end figure in the business circle.

"During this period, I have been thinking about what kind of product BMW's first model should be."

"We will definitely produce sedans, but I don't want to produce low-end sedans. I want mid-to-high-end products, at least comparable to Toyota Crown and Nissan Duke in terms of appearance, size and comfort."

"Developing such a car would be difficult and time-consuming, so it is not suitable for BMW's first mass-produced model."

The factory has already started construction, but the design of BMW's products has not officially started, and the schedule certainly cannot be delayed any longer.

Even if Jiang Hui can significantly shorten the vehicle development time by forcing things to happen, time is still very tight.

"The prospects for domestically produced sedans are indeed still full of variables. It is a more stable solution to produce other popular models first and then sedans."

"But what kind of car are you going to develop as our company's first model?"

During this period, Fang Huihui has also made a serious study of the development of China's automobile industry and has a relatively clear understanding of the domestic situation.

So I know that what Jiang Hui said makes sense.

The more this happened, the more curious she became about what kind of product Jiang Hui would choose as BMW's first model.

"I have already thought about this car and will finalize the general plan with the design team in the next few days."

“It’s an affordable van with a roomy interior.”

"According to my design, this car uses a 1.5L engine and is equipped with a 4MT manual transmission from the Capital Gear Factory. It is available in 2-seat, 5-seat and 7-seat versions."

"Whether it's transporting people or goods, it can play its best role."

"Except for the driver's and co-driver's seat belts and a radio, all other configurations can be omitted, minimizing the cost of the car to the greatest extent possible, making it the cheapest model on the market."

Jiang Hui planned to design the first BMW product based on Wuling Zhiguang, and the name was simply BMW Zhiguang. Of course, the first generation of Wuling Zhiguang used a 0.8L engine, which Jiang Hui thought was too small, so he changed it to 1.5L.

Anyway, considering the engine structure and component costs, the price difference between a 0.8L engine and a 1.5L engine is not particularly large, but there is a huge difference in power performance.

With such an engine, future sedans and entry-level SUVs can be used.

If we develop a 2.5L and 3.5L engine, BMW cars will basically have enough power for the next ten years.

Of course, if development is rapid, other engine configurations can also be enriched, which is something that needs to be considered in the future.

At this stage, Jiang Hui plans to let BMW develop three engines, and start with the 1.5L engine as the first product, allowing the R&D team to formally practice.

As for the gearbox, I will definitely have to make it myself later, but considering my limited energy, it is acceptable to use the 4MT produced by the Capital Gear Factory for the time being.

Anyway, this product was also designed by Jiang Hui himself, but it was produced at the Capital Gear Factory.

If the other party does not give me face, I can completely produce it myself in Shenzhen.

Other factories may not have this capability, but for Jiang Hui, it is definitely no problem.

The people at the Capital Gear Factory should be aware of this.

"The last time I went to Japan to consider Suzuki's production line, their previous products were actually somewhat similar to the van you mentioned."

“It should be much easier to adjust the production line by then.”

When it came to the specific car model selection, Fang Huihui was prepared to listen completely to Jiang Hui, so she didn't raise any objections.

Besides, Jiang Hui’s plan for the van sounds good, so there is even less reason to object.

After Jiang Hui exchanged information about BMW's first product with Fang Huihui, he quickly called together Hou Guoming, Chen Chenxing, Liao Chengwen and others to discuss the specific design content.

"The front suspension uses a McPherson independent suspension, and the rear suspension uses a leaf spring non-independent suspension, which can fully strike a balance between ride comfort and production costs."

“I think there is absolutely no problem with this chassis design.”

After listening to Jiang Hui's introduction to the overall design of the BMW Light, Hou Guoming and others immediately began to discuss the specific layout.

Time waits for no one. During this period, the overall layout and design plan must be finalized so that other technicians can start working.

"The appearance is relatively simple, with four doors and two covers without too many lines. The mold processing should be relatively simple, but the steel plates will have to be transported from the capital, which is somewhat troublesome."

Chen Chenxing studied with Jiang Hui for several years, and his professional knowledge in automobiles improved very quickly.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with his own efforts.

At first he liked to repair cars. After realizing that in order to repair cars well, he needed to have a very in-depth understanding of the structure and principles of the car, he worked very hard in the past few years.

Today's professional level is higher than that of ordinary engineers.

"The interior is also very simple, and there is no difficulty in production and processing. No special new technology is used in the electronic and electrical aspects. At most, there are some difficulties with the radio function."

"The most troublesome thing may be the production of the engine. The Capital Internal Combustion Plant does not have a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine, so we need to design and produce it ourselves."

Liao Chengwen also expressed his own views.

Now that the BMW Light project has been officially launched, the next step is how to implement various design plans, which will always bother everyone.

"This time, we are going to purchase production lines from Suzuki, and some of the equipment is the die-casting machine for the engine production workshop, which should be helpful for the development of our 1.5L engine."

Fang Huihui was not going to speak, after all, what they had just discussed were all professional matters.

However, she knows more about Suzuki's production line than anyone else, so she can naturally give timely reminders based on the situation.

"The structure of the engine is actually not as difficult as everyone imagines. It's more about some design details and the processing accuracy of the parts."

"I will personally lead the technicians to tackle this problem and ensure that the engine will not fail."

Jiang Hui knew that everyone lacked confidence in developing and designing a new engine.

There is no automobile manufacturer in China that can independently develop a completely new engine and achieve successful results.

In fact, according to Liao Chengwen's idea, BMW can completely go to the Capital Internal Combustion Engine Factory to purchase the engine used on the BJ212, and just put it in the shell of a van. The sales volume will definitely be good by then.

But Jiang Hui already had an idea, so he didn't dare to object.

(End of this chapter)