The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 306 BMW Light Prototype Rolls Off the Assembly Line
Things with industrial software are not that simple.

Even if you want to copy AUTOCAD and CATIA, it will not be done in one or two years.

Jiang Hui is now just starting the project and consciously cultivating talents in this area.

With the development and growth of BMW and Chaoyang Motorcycle Factory, real success will be possible only when a trend of using industrial software developed by BMW is formed in the Chinese automobile and motorcycle industries.

For this process, ten years is not short, and twenty years is not long.

"Director, our BMW Light prototype can be assembled today."

“Should we invite some leaders to come and visit us then?”

Hou Guoming has basically stayed in Shenzhen since the beginning of this year.

He has slowly begun to hand over the work at the Chaoyang Motorcycle Factory.

Of course, in order to take control of the development technology of BMW motorcycles, Jiang Hui is also planning to poach a group of technical personnel from Chaoyang Motorcycle Manufacturing Plant and bring them to BMW Technology.

At that time, a BMW Technology (China) Co., Ltd. can be established next to BMW Automobile to be responsible for managing related domestic enterprises, and at the same time set up a special R&D department to develop motorcycles.

As for the Chaoyang Motorcycle Manufacturing Plant, it should play the role of a joint venture factory.

Anyway, the various engines and other products they are currently researching are actually based on the information provided by BMW Technology as a reference.

In the future, it will definitely be beneficial for BMW Technology to further take back the R&D rights and turn the Chaoyang Motorcycle Manufacturing Plant into a pure production plant.

This way, there is no need to worry that Chaoyang Motorcycle Manufacturing will want to kick BMW Technology out when they see the good annual profits.

As long as someone dares to do this, BMW Technology can find new partners from other places in minutes and then produce similar BMW motorcycles, so that Chaoyang Motorcycle Manufacturing Plant will fall into development difficulties in a very short time.

"The information that the BMW Light prototype has been assembled must be reported to the leaders of the First Ministry of Machine Building, but there is no need to invite them specifically."

"The capital is so far away from Shenzhen, so we don't need to rush to promote it this time. We can just wait until the BMW Light is officially put into mass production before we start to take action."

BMW Technology has now formed a certain cooperative relationship with China TV. Previously, the BMW S produced by Chaoyang Motorcycle Manufacturing Plant also advertised on the Spring Festival Gala.

It is obviously not that difficult to continue cooperation in the future.

Although the BMW Light is just a van, its price is relatively low.

However, no matter how cheap a car is, it is not affordable for ordinary people in this era.

In 1983, people who had a television at home were basically not ordinary people.

The effect of advertising on TV should be worth looking forward to.

"That's true. If we can develop the project well, the leaders will naturally think of visiting us when they visit nearby in the future."

Hou Guoming didn't feel disappointed at all.

As a product that BMW uses to open up the market and cultivate the supply chain, the sales volume of BMW Light is definitely worth looking forward to.

Although the positioning of cars like Santana is higher than that of BMW, only a few thousand are sold each year, which is not enough to develop its own supply chain.

However, the BMW Light is aiming to achieve sales of over 10,000 units per month.

Setting such a high goal in 1983 was of absolutely extraordinary significance.

So even if producing low-end vans first would affect BMW's brand image, Jiang Hui still chose the product with the highest sales volume.

If it really doesn't work, we can refer to the path taken by Toyota in the future.

The BMW brand will operate for ten to eight years, develop its supply chain and R&D technology, and then launch a high-end brand.

This is just like the Toyota and Lexus brands, both of which were ultimately quite successful.

At worst, the high-end brand will be called Mercedes-Benz.

Drive a BMW, ride in a Mercedes-Benz, and at that time this sentence will be closely related to BMW technology. It will be a purely Chinese local enterprise, and there will be no BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

"After our prototype is assembled, in addition to confirming the performance of the vehicle and its components in all aspects, the parts production capacity of each supporting factory also needs to be confirmed simultaneously."

"We must not let the situation happen that the BMW Light is in short supply in the market, but our production capacity cannot keep up."

Jiang Hui specifically reminded that this kind of thing is entirely possible in this era.

……

BMW's factory is in Shenzhen. Some of its supporting factories must be found in Lingnan Province, but there must also be some that have intersections with the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant.

For example, the 4MT manual transmission provided by Capital Gear Factory and the wheel hub bearings provided by Capital Auto Accessories Factory, our suppliers are the same.

As a result, it would be impossible for BMW's movements to be completely concealed from its peers such as Capital Automobile Manufacturing.

As soon as the BMW Light went offline, Chen Qi had already received the news.

"BMW's first passenger car has completed the assembly of the prototype and may be officially put on sale by the end of this year."

"Although the positioning of their first car is different from our BJ212 and BJ310, it will have some impact."

"We need to pay more attention to their movements and also consider in advance whether to launch a model similar to the BMW Sunbeam."

Chen Qi called Lu Jianqiang to his office.

According to the information he had obtained, the configuration of the BMW Light in all aspects was very simple, and the technology used was not advanced.

The level of the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant's R&D center is not very high, but he thinks there is still hope if they can improve the technology of existing products and make a simple version of the van.

"I heard that there are also some military-industrial enterprises in the Northeast that are engaged in military-to-civilian projects similar to the BMW Light."

"This type of vehicle can carry both people and goods, and it is likely that its sales performance will be relatively good."

"You can tell from the sales data of Chaoyang Motorcycle Factory that motorcycles like the BMW X, which are convenient for carrying more people and more goods, are selling very well."

"So the BMW Light will probably sell well, and we can consider starting the van development project now."

As the head of the R&D center, Lu Jianqiang naturally hopes to have some big projects on hand.

Otherwise, if there is no big movement on the two models BJ212 and BJ310, and many people in the R&D center are not fully loaded with work every day, it would be a bit embarrassing.

Besides, having no projects means that he cannot fully exercise the power in his hands, which is also a situation that Lu Jianqiang does not want to see.

We need to undertake more projects.

"Jiang Hui's vision and technical level are second to none in the domestic automotive industry."

"Since he chose the BMW Light as BMW's first product, it means he is very optimistic about it."

"You should make formal plans, and our factory will also start the van project."

After listening to Lu Jianqiang's words, Chen Qi's inner thoughts became firmer.

There is no need to hesitate about this matter.

……

"Director Jiang, I heard that BMW has completed the production of the prototype of its first model. Congratulations." Zhao Guangming personally called Jiang Hui.

Among all the domestic automobile manufacturers, FAW is the most anxious now.

In the truck field, Second Automobile Works has begun to exert its strength, making FAW feel the pressure.

In the sedan field, Hongqi sedans have no presence at all, and the new products prepared for redevelopment after cooperation with Audi are not released so quickly.

But other car manufacturers have taken a lot of action.

The combined sales of Capital Automobile Manufacturing's two models have caught up with or even surpassed FAW.

Santana, produced by Shanghai Automobile Manufacturing Plant and the first car produced by a joint venture in China, has begun to be used as official cars by relevant departments, making the future development of Hongqi cars full of uncertainties.

Some military factories in Northeast China have also transformed and launched some automotive products.

Now even a special car company like BMW has started producing prototypes, and new products will soon be officially put on sale.

The leaders of FAW are under absolutely tremendous pressure.

"We have just assembled the first prototype and there are still many problems to be solved."

"In the field of car manufacturing, we are newcomers and need to learn more from the big brothers."

Jiang Hui had met Zhao Guangming twice when he was in the capital, and the other party had also represented FAW to recruit him.

Although BMW's sales will soon surpass FAW in a few years, there is no need to flatter others.

Otherwise, you never know when someone might trip you up, and that wouldn't be worth it.

"You are a newcomer in the industry, with no historical baggage, and you can quickly introduce new technologies and equipment from abroad. We envy your development speed."

"I heard that you are also planning to produce sedans in the future?"

Obviously, this issue is what Zhao Guangming cares most about.

FAW is ready to vigorously promote its sedan project, whether through a joint venture with Audi or independent development.

Therefore, other car products in the industry are all areas of Zhao Guangming's close attention.

BMW's sedans are the focus of attention.

"We have this idea. The technological level of domestic sedans is still far behind that of foreign auto giants. A Santana has already made many companies love it."

"This is not the most advanced product yet. If foreign luxury brand cars enter the country, the impact will probably be even greater."

"So I also want to develop a car model that can compete with the sedan products of international auto giants, so that each unit has more choices."

In this era of selling sedans, the official car market is definitely not to be ignored.

In this era, the purchasing power of ordinary people still needs to be further improved, while the demand for official vehicles in various units is huge.

Models such as Santana, Passat and Audi A6 have become household names, and the impact of sales of official vehicles is definitely not to be ignored.

BMW's sedan products will naturally not miss the official vehicle market.

Jiang Hui even hopes that BMW can drive Volkswagen's products out of most of the official vehicle market, which will definitely be beneficial to the future development of BMW.

"BMW built its factory in Shenzhen. The promotion of these various projects is really the speed of Shenzhen."

Zhao Guangming felt a little sad, but he praised the BMW car somewhat against his will.

At the same time, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the efficiency of advancing various tasks within FAW.

He planned to have a good discussion with the factory director Geng Weidong about this topic later.

……

"Director, according to BMW's requirements, we have to add a new production line to meet the 4MT production capacity requirement."

"Even though it's just adding an assembly line, it will take at least half a year, so we have to get started as soon as possible."

Ji Hua has been dealing with Jiang Hui for a long time, and he attaches great importance to the production capacity requirements proposed by BMW this time.

The Capital Gear Factory is not worried about sales now, and they are quite strong in facing the demands from some automobile manufacturers.

But BMW is different. Ji Hua is prepared to be a loyal party.

"With annual sales exceeding 10 units, is BMW so confident in the BMW Sun?"

Li Nanhai was a little confused about whether he should increase the production capacity so much at once.

Although the sales volume of 4MT manual transmission is very good, the selling price is not very high.

Therefore, the profit margin of the Capital Gear Factory is not particularly high. This year, stimulated by the Chaoyang Motorcycle Factory, they have just started the construction of two residential buildings and are preparing to build several more buildings.

In this case, funds will definitely be tight.

If a large sum of money is allocated to expand production capacity, the construction of subsequent residential buildings will likely be affected.

This is definitely not what Li Nanhai wants to see.

"Director Jiang always brings unexpected surprises to everyone when he does things."

"The BJ212 and Hummer military vehicles he designed before were both very popular. I heard that the models he designed for General Motors also sold very well."

"In this case, we have no reason to suspect that the BMW Light he designed will not sell well."

After Ji Hua said this, Li Nanhai did not refute.

After all, these are facts.

"Director, the 4MT manual transmission is a difficult part to produce for other factories, but it is not the case for BMW."

"If we lag behind, BMW will definitely consider producing its own 4MT manual transmission in the future."

Seeing that Li Nanhai was still hesitating, Ji Hua immediately added a sentence.

This time, Li Nanhai didn't dare to worry about it anymore.

"Okay, then let's formally discuss the matter of starting the expansion of the new production line."

Having had too many good days, Li Nanhai absolutely does not want to go back to his previous state.

If BMW really produces 4MT and sells it to the outside world, it will be a disaster for the Capital Gear Factory.

In the future, let alone continuing to build more residential buildings, the factory may soon fall into a state of operating losses.

As the factory director, he is very aware of the various problems in the factory.

The cost of the 4MT produced by BMW is likely to be lower than that of the Capital Automobile Gear Factory.

He doesn't dare to take this risk!
Just when all supporting factories were preparing to expand the production capacity of parts to meet the needs of BMW, a very major event suddenly occurred in China's automobile industry.

(End of this chapter)