The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 360: The design is confirmed, I like it at first sight
Jiang Hui is quite experienced in designing a car.

When he was at the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant, he almost personally promoted the new BJ212.

The BMW Light of the BMW car behind also followed a similar process.

Now we just need to finalize the exterior design of the Land Rover pickup and SUV in the same way, skip some steps, make a one-to-one clay model, and then we can start arranging technicians in the R&D center to start drawing.

Jiang Hui is the design director and also the factory manager, so naturally there is no process in which the design plan requires constant evaluation and adjustment by various leaders.

As long as Jiang Hui feels that the design he has created is acceptable, he can proceed to the next stage.

The time savings in these processes alone are unmatched by ordinary car companies.

After all, few design directors of car companies have such power.

In addition, Jiang Hui himself already wanted to use a certain car as a prototype for the Land Rover pickup truck and SUV, so the related work became even simpler.

"Brother-in-law, this pickup truck doesn't look like a pickup truck at all. Instead, it looks like a beautiful and fashionable off-road vehicle from the front."

Secretary Zhou Yun was the first witness to Jiang Hui's design plan.

Watching Jiang Hui drawing on the paper, one design sketch after another appeared in front of her.

It was the first time that Zhou Yun saw a designed car, and you can imagine how shocked he was.

At the same time, her admiration for Jiang Hui grew deeper and deeper.

"That's right. Our brand power cannot be compared with Toyota, GM and other global auto giants. The models we design must be eye-catching, give people the urge to buy, and create a topic of discussion. Only in this way can we maximize sales."

"Otherwise, even if our quality is very good and the various configurations are improved, but consumers don't even know that you have such a model, sales will not be good."

"After all, our Land Rover pickup trucks are mainly aimed at the export market. We are not only targeting the African and Middle Eastern markets, but we are also ready to give the traditional world auto market, America, a try."

For Chinese companies, the past few decades have been the best opportunity to enter the American market.

At that time, America did not consider China's products as competitors at all.

With Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda from Japan and Hyundai Motor from Korea rushing to the front to attract firepower, the sales volume of Land Rover pickup trucks is simply not enough for the American auto giant to take action against them.

For Land Rover pickup trucks, there is no need for particularly high sales in the early stages. As long as it can maintain sales of several thousand vehicles a month, it will be considered a great success.

Anything more would be an extra surprise.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of exporting Land Rover pickup trucks around the world, it is actually a very important thing for the sales team to develop sales channels for BMW cars around the world.

Whether it is to set up a sales company in some places and find local dealers to cooperate with, or to directly export to local dealers, both are possible.

It is even possible to consider setting up a few direct-operated stores in some countries to better understand consumer needs.

Nowadays, most car manufacturers do not open their own sales stores and rely on dealers.

In the era of new energy vehicles, many Chinese car companies have begun to set up their own stores, skipping all the intermediate links and understanding market trends in the most direct and rapid way.

Jiang Hui will not directly move all of these over, but he can still try to appropriately integrate these methods into the current dealer system.

This can also keep dealers under a certain level of pressure, so that they don't end up shitting or pissing on the head of BMW one day.

"I think no matter which country's car market it is, there must be some consumers who are particularly concerned about the appearance of the car."

"As long as our engine and transmission performance can reach the market average, this Land Rover pickup truck is expected to sell very well in some markets."

Zhou Yun's confident look is quite rare.

The Chinese people of this era attach great importance to export business, but generally feel that exporting is very difficult.

Especially for industrial products, it is extremely difficult to sell well abroad.

This situation did not begin to change until the 21st century.

Now we mainly rely on various clothing and textile industries to expand exports and give full play to China's labor cost advantages.

After all, the gap between the labor cost of a few dozen yuan a month and the cost of thousands of dollars a month is absolutely huge.

"If that's what you said, then our Land Rover pickup truck will probably have a bigger market."

"In terms of appearance alone, I personally think it's better than the pickup truck just now."

Jiang Hui took out several design drawings of Land Rover off-road vehicles from the drawer.

This off-road vehicle was designed by Jiang Hui based on Toyota's third-generation Prado.

As the most urban SUV model among Toyota's off-road vehicles at the time, Prado's relatively rounded appearance was very popular among family consumers.

Hard-core off-road vehicles are not only purchased by pure off-road enthusiasts, but also by a large number of family consumers.

As a domestically produced model introduced by FAW Toyota, the third-generation Prado has allowed Chinese consumers to experience another kind of charm of hard-core off-road vehicles.

After all, after the third-generation Prado was launched on the market, it became the model with the best driving experience among Toyota's hard-core off-road vehicles at the time.

However, the price is not cheap at all. In 2003, the suggested retail price was 52.5 yuan.

The most perverted thing is that when you go to the 4S store to buy this Prado, the sales manager does not talk to you about how many tens of thousands of discounts you can get, but tells you that you have to pay an additional fee of so many tens of thousands to pick up the car, or that you have to install a value-added package of so many tens of thousands to pick up the car within a month.

Think about the housing prices at that time, and then look at that price...

Of course, in 1985, the prices of cars like Santana were even more exaggerated when compared with housing prices.

"This……"

“Brother-in-law, is this really an off-road vehicle?”

Zhou Yun comes from a well-off family. Although he just graduated from college, he is quite knowledgeable.

She had never seen an off-road vehicle like the one in the drawing before her.

"Of course, the Land Rover SUV is designed to be a classic off-road vehicle, and its appearance is not going to be adjusted in the next ten years."

“To achieve this goal, its exterior styling combines tough and stylish elements, showing a unique off-road feel and urban style.”

"From the overall point of view, the tower adopts the classic 'square box' shape of off-road vehicles. This design not only gives the vehicle a strong off-road atmosphere, but also makes it stand out among many off-road vehicles." "The body lines are tough and smooth, outlining a posture ready to go, highlighting the dominance and power of Prado as an off-road vehicle."

"For the front part of the car, I used a wide air intake grille. This design not only improves the recognition of the car, but also adds a bit of toughness and grandeur to it."

"The style of the air intake grille may be combined with the engine displacement to make some differentiation, but no matter which style it is, it complements its off-road positioning."

"Matched with the tough headlights on both sides, the internal light groups are staggered and bright when lit, further enhancing the visual effect of the front of the car."

“The shape of the headlight group echoes the lines of the body, creating a strong visual impact.”

After drawing the exterior of the Land Rover off-road vehicle, Jiang Hui was very satisfied with it and planned to ask Hou Guoming to arrange people to prepare the clay model.

"Brother-in-law, the shape of this car is exactly as you described. It looks very special."

“From the side of the car, its lines give people a feeling of being both tough and smooth.”

“The upward waistline outlines a sense of movement and makes the vehicle look more dynamic.”

"At the same time, the wheel you designed is also very fashionable. The large-sized aluminum alloy wheel and wide tire not only improve the off-road performance of the vehicle, but also add a sense of fashion to it."

"The door's shape is simple and elegant, echoing the lines of the car body, creating a sense of unity."

During this period, Zhou Yun has also been reading a lot of car-related articles, even various international car magazines. BMW Technology has brought back a batch of them, and Zhou Yun has basically read them all.

So I followed Jiang Hui's introduction and expressed my feelings about the Land Rover off-road vehicle.

You know what, the feeling of praising a product you designed yourself versus praising it by others is quite different.

Although Zhou Yun is her secretary, even if the car model designed by Jiang Hui is not very good, she will most likely praise it.

However, Jiang Hui felt that the classic design of the third-generation Prado was not enough to warrant Zhou Yun’s false praise.

When the Land Rover off-road vehicle is launched on the market, it may be the time for the BMW Group to take off.

After having a few classic products, the situation has been completely opened up.

In the future, there will be a lot of room for choice, whether we want to make these products well or continue to develop other new models.

"You're right. I think the design of this car is equally excellent, whether it's the front, the side, or the rear."

"The tail lines look clean and simple, and the width looks solid."

"The design of the taillights is also very interesting. I took a clever approach. When they are lit, they are very distinctive and match the headlights on the front of the car, which together enhances the recognition of the vehicle."

"At the same time, the rear of the vehicle is equipped with an external spare tire. This design not only enhances the off-road feel of the vehicle, but also adds a bit of practicality and convenience to it."

"In addition, I also arranged some special designs in terms of details."

"For example, the bumper, guard plate and other parts of the car body are all prepared to use heavy materials, which not only improves the protection performance of the vehicle, but also adds a bit of toughness and atmosphere to it."

“At the same time, the various logos and decorative parts on the car body have been carefully designed to echo the lines and colors of the body, creating a sense of integrity.”

"This car will not only be exported to earn foreign exchange in the future, but will also become an industry-leading model in the country."

Compared with the embarrassing situation of pickup trucks in the Chinese automobile market, the situation of off-road vehicles is much better.

Although before the rise of urban SUVs, the overall sales of off-road vehicles could not be compared with those of sedans.

But in some special units and frontiers, off-road vehicles are definitely very popular.

Jiang Hui is not worried at all that the Land Rover off-road vehicle will have no sales in the domestic market after it is launched.

"Brother-in-law, after our Cool Tiger off-road vehicle is launched, the sales volume of the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant's BJ212 will probably drop significantly."

"Mercedes-Benz cars seem to be much better than their BJ310."

"Won't the Capital Automobile Factory have a hard time by then?"

Since Jiang Hui's first job was at the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant, and its current sales volume is also leading in the country, Zhou Yun naturally wants to learn more about its situation.

Considering the new model designed by Jiang Hui and the Mercedes-Benz sedan that was about to be launched on the market, Zhou Yun felt that there was a layer of dark clouds covering the sky of the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant.

The other party’s good days probably don’t last many days.

"They are now gradually focusing their development on the joint venture company, Shouqi Jeep, hoping that through the joint efforts of the two companies, Shouqi Group will become the largest automobile group in China."

"It's just that this idea is very good, but it's hard to say whether it can be realized."

Jiang Hui knows that joint venture car companies are bound to develop in this era, but all joint venture car companies are considered competitors to BMW.

So naturally he didn't have any good impression of Shouqi Jeep.

It would be best if we could kill him.

Maybe it can also provide more fertile ground for the development of domestic independent brand cars.

"That's true. The more ambitious people have already followed you. Many of the people who are left now are just trying to get by."

"It is normal that they will be gradually eliminated."

Zhou Yun doesn't think any domestic automobile company has the strength to compete with BMW.

Not to mention other things, Jiang Hui's design level alone can crush any domestic automobile manufacturer.

At this time in China, most automobile manufacturers do not have the ability to independently design a new car model.

When private car companies started out in later generations, they basically "borrowed" from a best-selling model of an international auto giant.

Although they say it is a reference, in fact, in many cases even the subtle dimensions are exactly the same.

If you remove a part of the car body and interchange it, there may not be any installation problems.

Jiang Hui is not dissatisfied with this approach, but he feels that if China can acquire the ability to independently design cars at an early stage, perhaps the scene of rapid development of independent brands in the new energy era in the future can appear a dozen years earlier.

This is of great significance to the development of China's automobile industry.

Why is the Chinese auto market filled with auto brands from all over the world, but why can't the world's auto market be filled with Chinese auto brands?
(End of this chapter)