The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 413: New models cannot stop, continue on this path

"Brother-in-law, didn't Shenzhen University invite a group of experts from our company to work as visiting professors there part-time?"

"I think you can also register and take some time to attend classes every now and then."

Now that his father-in-law has become a member of the academic department, Jiang Hui naturally needs to consider other arrangements for the future.

How to maximize the influence of BMW Group among the academic committee members is actually very useful for future development.

When leaders make decisions, they often listen to the opinions of academicians.

When there are things that the BMW Group is not suitable to take the lead in, it will seem much more normal if familiar academicians step forward to push them forward.

Combine industry, academia and research, and each of them should have its own influence.

Jiang Hui saw this very clearly.

"As a visiting professor?"

Wu Ming didn't expect Jiang Hui to suddenly bring up this topic with him today.

"That's right!"

"Visiting professors often come from different academic backgrounds or industry fields, and can bring cross-disciplinary thinking and methodology to help teachers and students of Shenzhen University break through the inherent academic framework."

"Shenzhen University currently does not have a major related to materials science, but I think it will definitely include content in this area in the future."

"Your appointment as a visiting professor now will allow them to think more seriously about the direction of setting up new majors in the future."

Jiang Hui knew that for people like Wu Ming who were very principled, if he wanted to do something, he had to first make him understand the benefits of this matter for Shenzhen University.

Instead of always emphasizing his advantages.

As the director of Nanshan Iron and Steel Plant, Wu Ming is not only a steel technology expert, but also involved in factory management.

This is definitely beneficial for students of Shenzhen University.

The knowledge that these visiting professors bring to students is much more meaningful than that of teachers who stay in the school.

Especially some college teachers nowadays, due to the shortage of teachers, their level is not very high but they can still teach there.

For students, this sometimes affects their lifelong development.

I believe many people have deeply understood the importance of a good teacher during the study process.

Not to mention universities, even in elementary and middle schools, an excellent teacher can directly influence the performance and even the fate of a group of students.

"Now that you mention it, I might really consider giving it a try."

"Nanshan Iron and Steel Plant will also have a strong need to recruit personnel in the next few years."

"But in Lingnan Province, most universities do not offer majors related to metallurgy."

“This is not good for the long-term development of our steel mill.”

After hearing about Jiang Hui's way of life, Wu Ming was quickly attracted.

"Yes, as a visiting professor, I will be of some help in the selection of academicians in the future."

"Dad and his team pushed for the system of converting academicians into academicians last year. Although it has not been officially implemented yet, I think it will happen in the next few years."

"The status of academician will have a profound impact on a scientific researcher at that time."

"Brother-in-law, you can consider working in this direction."

"This is also very positive for establishing Nanshan Steel's position in the domestic and even global steel industry."

After talking about the benefits of visiting professors to Shenzhen University, Jiang Hui also mentioned the benefits of this matter to Wu Ming personally and Nanshan Iron and Steel Plant.

Things that benefit you, me and everyone should definitely be strongly supported.

"Since you said so, I have to give it a try anyway."

"But wouldn't it be a bad idea for our factories to have so many visiting professors at Shenzhen University?"

Wu Ming did not mention the idea of ​​being a visiting professor at the Capital University of Technology Shenzhen Branch, because that would definitely be even more inappropriate.

After all, their father-in-law is the president of Capital University of Technology.

"It doesn't matter. Our strength is over there."

"Shenzhen University has only been established for a few years, and it is in great need of various teaching staff."

"If necessary, or if some people are interested, we can directly let them join Shenzhen University as full-time professors."

"They can also continue to carry out various technical cooperation with our factory at Shenzhen University."

Jiang Hui was quite open-minded about this matter.

The BMW Group needs all kinds of talents, but they are not the Pixiu type.

There is no problem with talents joining or leaving.

We should even make everyone who leaves the BMW Group grateful for the experience and opportunities the company has brought him, which will have a greater impact in the future.

Who knows, in every walk of life in China, there will be a term called "BMW series" in the future.

After all, according to Jiang Hui's current plan, the BMW Group will definitely have hundreds of thousands or even millions of employees in the future.

The impact of so many employees is naturally huge.

……

The election of a new batch of academicians including Zhu Jiansheng has attracted great attention in the academic circle, but for individual factories, not many people are paying attention to it.

Even though Zhu Jiansheng is Jiang Hui's father-in-law, employees within the BMW Group are not particularly concerned about this matter.

Except for the first few days, everyone will discuss it.

Soon, everyone's attention was drawn to the busy work.

"Brother-in-law, the launch of the new model is about to begin."

As Jiang Hui's secretary, Zhou Yun is now doing his job very well.

Jiang Hui basically doesn't need to worry about his schedule, as she has already arranged it clearly.

For many people at BMW Group, the most important task this year is to ensure that the Land Rover G and X series are hot sellers in the global market.

After all, these two cars were just launched last year and are still in a relatively new stage.

But for Jiang Hui, the importance of developing new models cannot be ignored.

The Land Rover G Series and X Series are the cornerstones that ensure the rapid development of the BMW Group in recent years.

But the development of new models is the key to ensuring that the BMW Group remains in a phase of rapid growth.

Although Jiang Hui will ultimately be responsible for the design of the appearance of each model.

However, Jiang Hui is also consciously cultivating the group's own design talents.

At this new car model launch conference, he plans to simultaneously start the development of a new product in Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Chitu.

Of course, the production time of these new models will definitely be spaced out to avoid the situation where their own products compete with each other for popularity.

However, considering that the BMW Group is on an unstable footing, Jiang Hui will not give everyone too much time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our group has developed rapidly and smoothly in the past few years."

"We have a certain influence at home and abroad, but there is still a long way to go before we can become a true auto giant."

"In the next three years, we will develop three new models simultaneously."

"First of all, for Land Rover, while consolidating the sales of existing models, we will develop a new model that will subvert the industry's perception and lead the trend of the era."

Jiang Hui is preparing to officially promote the concept of urban SUV.

This is destined to be a red ocean market.

It is impossible for the BMW Group to take over this market alone.

As long as you can make your first car model a classic by relying on your status as an industry leader, it would be amazing.

Just like Honda's CR-V, it played this role back then.

Not to mention CR-V's outstanding performance in the American market, it is also a classic even in the Chinese market.

Since 2004, the second-generation CR-V, as Dongfeng Honda's first model, has been officially produced domestically, becoming a pioneer in domestic urban SUVs.

In the following ten years, the price of CR-V has been increasing.

The price is not cheap in the first place, and you have to pay extra to pick up the car.

This car has brought Honda huge profits.

To some extent, CR-V has made an indelible contribution to Honda's success in the Chinese and American markets.

Jiang Hui is now preparing to come up with the concept of urban SUV in advance, so as to add another name to Land Rover.

As for the benchmark model, he did not choose Honda CR-V, but planned to start with Toyota Highlander.

The Highlander, which has five-seat and seven-seat versions, is undoubtedly positioned one level higher than the CR-V.

Make high-end products first, and then make low-end products. This way it will be easier to succeed.

On the contrary, the difficulty will be very high.

"I position this car as an off-road vehicle, but it does not use a non-load-bearing body. Instead, it uses a load-bearing body like a sedan."

"Except for the off-road vehicle's appearance, its performance in all aspects will be close to that of a sedan, and it will try to reach a similar level as a sedan of the same level."

"Even in terms of appearance, it should be made as rounded as possible, without too much off-road aggressiveness."

"It makes it acceptable to both male and female consumers."

In terms of vehicle model positioning, Jiang Hui does not want to leave it to his subordinates to decide for the time being.

He directly determined the positioning of the car model and even some key design elements.

Only in some specific design aspects will the subordinates be allowed to slowly try independent design.

He doesn't have that much time to do it all by himself.

"Like the Land Rover X and Land Rover G, this car uses 2.5L and 3.5L engines and offers two options: 5-seater and 7-seater."

"Its body size will be around 5 meters, providing enough space for passengers..."

Jiang Hui directly began to explain the design plan of Land Rover Highlander.

Car models of this era are generally not that long, especially some off-road vehicles, which would be the size of compact SUVs in later generations.

Jiang Hui obviously didn't intend to do this. Later generations have proved that the body size of a large SUV must reach the 5-meter mark.

Otherwise, the third row of passengers cannot be guaranteed at all.

If there is barely enough space for the third row, then there will be no space in the trunk.

For Chinese consumers, the third row cannot be too crowded and the trunk cannot be too small.

This is especially true for future-oriented markets.

The appearance of today's classic cars is changed every few years.

There is absolutely no problem in using a classic car model for ten years.

To put it in an exaggerated way, there was no need for any major changes to the exterior until 2000. Just some appropriate updates to the interior and electronic and electrical equipment were enough.

In this way, it is natural to ensure that various design elements can fully meet future needs and avoid constant changes in the future.

To change the appearance of a car, it is necessary to remake the molds of many parts, and the cost is actually very huge.

If it can continue to be used, the cost savings alone will be a huge profit.

"Director, the engines are readily available. We just need to upgrade some parts as appropriate."

"As for exterior design, you are the best designer in the world. The appearance of this city SUV will definitely be very competitive, and it won't take a long time."

"Then the key consideration is the chassis."

"I think in order to bring this city SUV to the market as quickly as possible, can we directly develop the chassis of this city SUV based on the Mercedes-Benz sedan?"

As the director of the R&D center, Hou Guoming naturally couldn't remain silent at today's meeting.

Although he is not young, his mind is very lively.

He is very clear about Jiang Hui's working style. Now he is going to develop three models at once, and he must hope to increase the sales of BMW Group as soon as possible.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop this urban SUV as quickly as possible.

The three major parts of a car are the engine, gearbox and chassis.

The first two can directly use products from current mass-produced models, but the chassis must be appropriately adjusted.

In particular, the Land Rover X and Land Rover G are both non-load-bearing bodies and are not suitable for use in urban SUVs.

Then the Mercedes-Benz sedan with a load-bearing body naturally came into Hou Guoming's consideration.

The urban SUV is a completely new concept vehicle, and there is no ready-made design experience from other auto giants to refer to.

BMW Group is also crossing the river by feeling the stones.

“This direction is entirely feasible.”

"The chassis design of the Mercedes-Benz sedan is very classic, and its body size is also quite similar to the city SUV we designed."

"Of course, one is a sedan and the other is an SUV, so there must be some places where appropriate adjustments need to be made."

“However, key parts such as the front and rear subframes should be retained from Mercedes-Benz cars as much as possible.”

"For parts such as brake discs, steering knuckles, and drive shafts, if they can be shared, they will be shared. If they cannot be shared, appropriate adjustments will be made."

"We want to enable the relevant supporting factories to continue to produce these parts without having to make major adjustments."

"This is very beneficial to the advancement speed and quality stability of urban SUVs."

Jiang Hui quickly agreed to the direction proposed by Hou Guoming.

When a new car is launched on the market, consumers are often most concerned about quality issues.

After all, there is no reference in the past to compare with, and everyone would feel insecure.

Especially since Land Rover is a new brand that just emerged last year, it is normal for everyone to have concerns.

The impact in this regard may be relatively small within China. After all, domestic individual consumers have just emerged and are far from forming brand loyalty.

The awareness of various car brands is still very weak.

As for the relevant government agencies, there is even less need to worry.

But it is different in the international market. Various automobile giants have been working around the world for decades and each has its own market.

As a newcomer to the market, Land Rover needs to have some skills if it wants to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

The engine and gearbox of this urban SUV are both mass-produced models, so quality concerns are greatly reduced.

If the key chassis parts are retained from the Mercedes-Benz sedan, there is no need to worry about the three major parts.

The remaining parts will be much less of a concern.

This can play a great role in increasing the sales of urban SUVs in the future.

"The body can be fully borrowed from the Land Rover G-series off-road vehicle and some changes can be made on its basis."

"This can also reduce the difficulty of white body production to the greatest extent."

Seeing that his proposal was recognized, Hou Guoming continued to work on it.

There are already several products for reference and selection, so the difficulty of developing new models will be much lower.

The process from zero to one is the most difficult and painful, but from one to two is much easier.

"There is nothing to learn from in terms of appearance. I will bring the design team to make a clay model and try to get the relevant technicians to start drawing the blueprints as soon as possible."

"However, in terms of the body structure, we can indeed learn a lot of design elements and experience from the Land Rover G."

“Especially with our experience in applying hot stamping parts, we can fully consider the balance between strength and cost in this car.”

Jiang Hui put forward his own ideas based on actual needs.

It was in line with his idea to launch the Land Rover Highlander urban SUV as soon as possible.

According to the current direction of discussion, the three major components will be taken from existing models and used, so there will be fewer parts that need to be redeveloped for this car.

The difficulty of development naturally drops sharply.

The most important thing is that by doing this, the mass production time of this car can be very fast.

Even though it is already March 1987, there will be no problem in producing this car within the next year.

Nowadays, China's requirements for various certification work before a car is put on the market are far less numerous and less high than in later generations.

As long as Land Rover can officially mass-produce the Highlander next year, it can be directly put on the market for sale.

It’s not like in later times, where there are various certification announcements to obtain and various tests to do.

"Director, if this is the case, based on previous experience, can we schedule the mass production of this city SUV in the second half of next year?"

As the head of sales, Chen Chenxing naturally hopes that the company can provide as many car models as possible.

This way, sales will be higher and he will have more cards to play.

"Yeah, I think so too. The mass production of the city SUV is scheduled for the second half of next year."

"We will come up with the first version of the design drawings in the next three months, and then the procurement and R&D departments will notify the supporting factories to start preparing molds, materials, equipment and other aspects of production."

"Our prototype vehicle must be officially rolled off the production line in the first quarter of next year, and then we will modify the drawings after conducting some targeted tests."

"Then we will make the second batch of prototypes, and if there are no major problems, we will officially enter mass production."

After all, the automotive industry has its own particularities.

Even if there is a very mature design plan, it is impossible to enter large-scale mass production without producing a prototype car.

That way it is easy to cause some unnecessary problems and also easy to cause huge losses.

For example, after a large batch of a car has been produced, it is discovered that an important part has a design flaw.

By then, the cost of replacement will be very huge, and may even bring the risk of market claims.

Especially in the mature automobile market, the trend in this regard is even greater.

Therefore, no matter which car company it is, they will make at least two rounds of prototypes for confirmation before the car is officially launched on the market.

For some traditional automobile giants, they make two or three rounds of prototypes during the development stage, and then when they are handed over to the factory for mass production, the factory will make two or three more rounds of prototypes before finally entering mass production.

This is also an important reason why the development time of a car often lasts for four to five years.

Many people think that the way BMW cars are done is definitely a mess.

How can a new product be developed in just over a year?
Even if the powertrain of this new product is retained, this time is incredible for many car companies.

But time waits for no one. If the BMW Group wants to expand its influence in a short period of time, it certainly cannot take the traditional path.

Otherwise, you will never be able to catch up with others.

Just like China’s new energy vehicle companies in later generations, their path is very different from that of the world’s auto giants.

The development time for a new car model is generally around one and a half years, and in extreme cases it may even take around a year.

This is still a situation where key parts such as batteries and motors need to be redeveloped.

Instead of simply changing the appearance and other parts like the Land Rover Highlander.

Traditional international auto giants are certainly not adaptable to this kind of changing approach.

Your product may have technical advantages when you are planning it, but before you officially go into mass production, others have already upgraded their products two or three times.

In this case, how can your product be considered technologically advanced?

The new energy vehicles launched by the joint ventures of various automobile giants in China in later generations, whether it was Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, Honda, Ford and Nissan, all failed.

On the contrary, China's local automobile companies such as BYD Auto, Chery Automobile, Changan Automobile, and Ideal Auto have developed rapidly.

China's domestic brands have finally surpassed 50% of the auto market share.

This situation is definitely something that many international auto giants could not have imagined.

The key is that faced with that situation, even if they wanted to adjust, they didn’t know how to do it.

Developing a new car in just over a year completely overturned their cognition and did not conform to their traditional work process.

Unless you start over again, there is no way to keep up.

But there are too many bottles and jars. It’s not easy to start over again.

The resistance within the company will be enormous.

(End of this chapter)