The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 371 A wonderful misunderstanding

Different people may have different opinions on whether a car is good-looking or not.

Just like the various models of French car companies in later generations, they are all relatively rounded and mostly hatchbacks, and are quite popular in France and South America.

But when it comes to China, few people can accept it.

But for those classic models, almost everyone agrees on whether their appearance is good-looking or not.

For cars like the Porsche Panamera and the Land Rover Range Rover, very few people would say that they are ugly.

The Mercedes-Benz sedan designed by Jiang Hui quotes the appearance of the BMW 5 Series. Although it cannot be said to be comparable to classic cars like the Panamera, it is also considered a leader among cars.

In 1985, he would definitely be the most handsome guy on the street.

"President, this car has entered FAW. Is it a new model launched by FAW?"

Saito Shangying looked at the familiar door in front of him with a bit of disbelief.

We have been discussing cooperation with FAW during this period. If the other party can design such an amazing car model, why would we need to cooperate with Toyota?

"Let's go and register at the gate and have a good chat with Director Geng."

Shoichiro Toyoda, who had originally planned to return to China in two days, was ready to continue meeting with his old friend Geng Weidong.

He felt unwilling to accept the situation if he didn't figure out the situation of the car he just saw.

The Toyota Motor delegation is the most important one for FAW in recent days.

If Shoichiro Toyoda wanted to meet Geng Weidong, it would be easy to accomplish even if it was a temporary request.

Ten minutes later, they met Geng Weidong in the conference room.

Still thinking about the image of the car he had just seen, Saito Shoei, the head of the sales department, directly asked the question that his president wanted to ask.

"Director Geng, may I ask if FAW has recently launched a new sedan?"

In Saito Shoei's subconscious mind, there should be no company in the whole of China that can come up with a car with such a stunning appearance, but the car actually appeared in front of him.

So even if he didn't believe it, he had to admit it.

"Our new generation of Hongqi sedans will be launched soon, and prototypes have already been produced."

I'm not quite sure why the people from Toyota came to see me so suddenly today.

However, the new Hongqi sedan was not a particularly confidential project. Geng Weidong answered Saito Shangying's question after a little thought.

"A new generation of Hongqi sedan?"

Saito Shoei felt that he might have found the answer to the question.

As the Hongqi sedan is produced by China's most important automobile factory, Saito Shoei also did some research before coming to China.

Although the appearance of the previous products was acceptable, they were just acceptable.

I didn’t expect there would be such a big breakthrough this time. It’s really surprising.

"Who is the designer of your new generation of Hongqi sedans? Could you please come over and talk to us?"

Although he really wanted to go and see the sample car right now, Saito Shoei also knew that it was a bit excessive to make such a request for a model that had not yet been officially launched on the market.

However, he was a little confused. Why was a car that had not yet been officially launched on the market being driven back to the FAW factory from the streets outside?
Are they conducting actual vehicle testing?

That should be it!

"No problem. This car is the latest masterpiece of our design department and will be the main force in China's official car market in the future."

"It uses the same powertrain as the Audi 100 under Volkswagen, and its appearance also draws on the excellent elements of the Audi 100. It is expected to completely change FAW's position in the sedan market."

Geng Weidong has been negotiating with Toyota Motor Corporation recently. In order to make Toyota Motor’s people fully aware that FAW is not completely helpless, he is taking this opportunity to give Toyoda Shoichiro and Saito Shoei a detailed introduction to the new Hongqi sedan.

However, as he introduced them, the expressions of Saito Shoei and Toyoda Shoichiro began to change.

The information Geng Weidong said seemed a bit inconsistent with what they saw.

The new generation of Hongqi sedans fully draws on the exterior design elements of Audi 100?
Saito Shoei knew exactly what the Audi 100 was like.

But does that car have anything to do with the white car they just saw?

That round and novel shape can never be found on the Audi 100.

With doubts in their minds, the two of them waited for Wang Le from FAW Design Department.

"Director Wang, please explain to the distinguished guests the design highlights of our new generation of Hongqi sedans, so that everyone can also see the changes in FAW's design ideas in recent years."

In Geng Weidong's opinion, telling Toyota people more about the project would be helpful in their negotiations.

"It's like this..."

Now that the leader has spoken, Wang Le must perform well.

It's a rare opportunity for them to design the director's face.

However, as he explained, Saito Shoei finally determined that something was wrong.

Seeing that Wang Le was about to continue speaking, he immediately interrupted and said, "We just saw a white car driving into the FAW factory area outside. From a distance, it looked very round and special."

"They are completely different from the models of this era. Is this the new generation Hongqi sedan you mentioned?"

Hearing Saito Shangying's question, Wang Le quickly showed an awkward smile on his face and said, "That white car is the model we bought from outside for comparative analysis. It is not our new generation Hongqi car."

As the director of the design department, benchmarking competitors' information is one of their main daily tasks.

Mercedes-Benz sedans are a popular model that has been launched recently, and Wang Le was deeply impressed by them.

So as soon as Saito Shangying mentioned it, he knew what car the other party was talking about.

"Did you buy it from outside?"

"Which car manufacturer produced it?"

“Is it imported from abroad?”

Saito Shoei asked three questions in one breath.

It is conceivable how curious he was about the white car he had just seen.

“This car is…”

Wang Le looked at Geng Weidong with great confusion, then looked at Saito Shangying and Toyoda Shoichiro, feeling very depressed.

It seems that the reason why they came to communicate so actively is not about the new generation of Hongqi cars or other cooperation matters.

"Just tell the truth."

Geng Weidong's face also looked unhappy.

But he knew that there was no point in hiding anything at this time.

If people can't get answers from FAW, they can just arrange some people to investigate and find out everything.

"This is a Mercedes-Benz sedan under the BMW Group, which was officially put into mass production some time ago."

"The one you just saw was a prototype vehicle that our technical department applied to purchase and then disassembled for comparison."

Since the boss had spoken, Wang Le naturally had no need to hide it. He also knew that he couldn't hide it. "BMW car?"

Saito Shangying naturally knew this company. After all, the BMW Sunshine is now the best-selling single model in China.

Although the price is relatively cheap, the sales volume is real.

"Yes, it is the BMW Group that produces the BMW Light. Their second product is the sedan you see, equipped with a 2.5L L4 engine and a 5MT manual transmission."

“The exterior design is very unique and completely different from mainstream sedans.”

"After this car was launched, it was very popular. Many government agencies in Lingnan Province have already ordered it as an official car."

"Some wealthy self-employed people are also scrambling to buy this car."

"In time, it may become the best-selling sedan in the Chinese auto market."

After Wang Le said this, Qi Teng Shangying became even more curious.

"Director Wang, can you drive that car over here so we can have a look and experience it?"

This request is not too excessive. After knowing that it is a Mercedes-Benz sedan, Toyota will definitely get a sample car for analysis as soon as possible.

Even Saito Shoei is planning to import a few cars so that Toyota's exterior designers can study and learn from them, so that they can also design amazing car appearances in the future.

Soon, the group arrived downstairs. Someone had already gone to the design office and drove a Mercedes-Benz sedan over.

A group of people surrounded the Mercedes-Benz car and kept watching it.

"President, I think this design style is very suitable for our Lexus to learn from and adopt."

"I even think this style will be the mainstream trend in the next decade or so."

"The boxy appearance of traditional sedans is slowly being phased out by the market."

As the head of Toyota Motor's sales headquarters, Shoei Saito is considered an expert in the field of sales.

He still has a say in whether a car's styling is good or not.

"Are you sure no other car manufacturer has designed a car similar to this one?"

Shoichiro Toyoda found it hard to accept that such an amazing car model was actually produced by a Chinese company and was first designed by a Chinese.

This is not common sense.

If a car company in Europe designed a product like this, and China copied it and created the two cars we have now, that would seem more reasonable.

"General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, PSA and other car companies have never designed a vehicle of this style."

“Even car design companies in Europe have never displayed similar products to the public.”

"So this Mercedes-Benz sedan must have been produced first in China."

"I heard that Jiang Hui, the head of the BMW Group, is a famous automotive technology expert in China, and General Motors has always wanted to invite him to serve as deputy director of design."

"But this idea has never been successful. The BJ212 at the Capital Automobile Factory was designed by Jiang Hui."

"This Mercedes-Benz sedan in front of us was most likely designed by Jiang Hui himself."

Saito Shangying was in a very complicated mood.

It’s a good thing that China has such an excellent car designer.

"I know Xiao Jiang a little bit. He has a very high level of expertise in automotive parts and automotive design."

"BMW has developed very rapidly under his leadership, and there may be new products coming out in the future."

Geng Weidong felt quite satisfied that he could make the Japanese lose face.

Although Mercedes-Benz cars are not owned by FAW, they can at least suppress Toyota's arrogance during the negotiation process and make them look up to the Chinese automobile industry.

"The exterior design of this car is indeed very good, but to judge whether a car is good or not, we cannot simply look at its appearance. What is more important is the performance of the engine, the parameters of the gearbox and the quality of each component."

"So what if it looks good?"

Shoichiro Toyoda made an excuse with a bit of stubbornness.

But even Saito Shangying didn't believe this.

After all, no matter what era it is, no matter which country's automobile market it is, there are always some consumers who look at the appearance first when buying a car.

The appearance of the Mercedes-Benz sedan is definitely something that some people will like.

As long as the powertrain is not too bad, the sales will definitely not be bad.

At least BMW will definitely not lose money on this project.

Of course, he would not say these words out loud, otherwise it would conflict with what Shoichiro Toyoda said.

"President, how about I arrange for someone to purchase a few Mercedes-Benz cars so that everyone can analyze and study the performance of this car?"

Following his leader's words and combining his own demands, Saito Shoei proposed buying a sample car.

Over the years, Toyota has purchased many car models produced by automobile manufacturers on the market as sample vehicles for research.

However, purchasing a sample car from China is definitely the first time in history.

However, the Mercedes-Benz sedan was so amazing that even though Toyoda Shoichiro was a bit stubborn, he did not object to Saito Shoei's request.
After figuring out the situation, the Toyota team did not stay at FAW for long, but found an excuse and left quickly.

However, the misunderstanding they created had a great impact on the people of FAW.

No matter what Shoichiro Toyoda said, after seeing the Mercedes-Benz car on the street, he immediately chased it to FAW. Just from this incident, everyone knows how successful the exterior design of the Mercedes-Benz car is.

"Director, are we considering adjusting the exterior design of our new generation Hongqi sedan before launching it on the market?"

After Zhao Guangming said this, Wang Le immediately became anxious.

It was originally scheduled to be launched this year, but if it is readjusted, it might have to be launched next year.

The most important thing is that unless he directly copies the appearance of a Mercedes-Benz car, he doesn't have the confidence to lead his own team to design a car that is equally stunning.

"Director Geng, Deputy Director Zhao, the new generation of Hongqi sedans is ready to be launched."

"If we redesign the exterior, it would basically be like redesigning the entire car, which would be too time-consuming."

"Should we consider changing the exterior design when the next generation is replaced?"

Wang Le didn't want to go against Zhao Guangming, but if he didn't stand up at this time, he would be the one who would suffer.

Car design seems simple, but it is not easy at all to design it well.

It was not until 2010 that China's own-brand companies were able to fully master the level of independent design of automobile exteriors.

Before this, most of the time, they relied on "borrowing" the appearance of cars from other car companies, and the models they designed generally did not look good.

"You two both have a point. The preparations for mass production of the new generation of Hongqi sedans have been basically completed. Directly changing the appearance will cause some of the past tooling investments to be scrapped, which is difficult to explain clearly to the higher authorities."

"So the design of a new exterior will have to be put off until later."

Geng Weidong weighed the pros and cons and made what he thought was the most appropriate choice.

(End of this chapter)