The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 431: Full Acceleration, New Pattern of Automobile Market
That evening, the news that the new Land Rover factory had officially started production appeared on the China TV news broadcast.

As one of the most advanced automobile production lines in the country, many of the processes used in the new Land Rover factory surpass those of other automobile factories.

As a classic example of reform in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, it is obviously worthy of vigorous publicity.

"Xiao Jiang, your previous information is still very accurate."

"We have already heard rumors that the Ministry of Electronics Industry will be merged into our committee next year to form a new Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industry, which will then oversee all matters in the domestic machinery and electronics industries."

“Although the specific restructuring plan has not yet been finalized, the direction should be like this.”

Zhou Jian's visit to Shenzhen this time was certainly not for him to simply visit the new Land Rover factory and then go back.

Taking this opportunity, he will also visit several other new companies under the BMW Group and other enterprises in Shenzhen.

In the evening, Zhu Jiansheng attended the reception dinner organized by Shenzhen City and BMW Group with Zhou Jian and others, and then went home with Jiang Hui.

The relationship between them is no secret in the department.

"Then the scale of the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industry will have reached a new height."

"The functions of the First, Fourth and Fifth Machine Ministries have been incorporated into the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industry, which will have a huge impact on all industries."

Although this new department may not last forever, as a transitional product, if Zhu Jiansheng can play an important role in this department, it will definitely be beneficial to the development of the BMW Group.

As long as the BMW Group is allowed to develop for a few more years, Jiang Hui will have very little to worry about in the future.

The overall environment has also completely stabilized, and there is no need to worry about any particularly major changes or shocks.

"Yeah, I also thought it was a bit unbelievable at first, how could so many institutions be merged together."

"But this is also an attempt at reform, streamlining various agencies and improving efficiency."

“I just don’t know how long this new Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industry can last.”

Zhu Jiansheng also knew that the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industry could not be a permanent product and would definitely be reorganized into a new department in the future.

Even some of these factories will be reorganized into a new group company, or several new group companies.

This is almost the development trend of the future.

"It has been reorganized several times in the past few years, so this time it should be able to last for a few years at least."

"But no matter how the ministries change, as long as our major cooperation projects with Polar Bear remain unchanged, I don't think we need to worry about the results by then."

Jiang Hui is still very concerned about the three major projects that Zhu Jiansheng promoted after taking office.

This is an important matter that concerns how much benefit China can gain from the polar bear.

Now that the relationship between the two sides has obviously improved, it will become increasingly convenient to promote those projects.

“We have completed transactions for several projects and are making good progress.”

"You don't know until you get in touch with them. Once you get in touch with them, you will find that even the supply of down jackets cannot be fully guaranteed for polar bears, the big brother."

“Canned fruits of all kinds are very popular there.”

"Many of the light industrial product manufacturers under our Machinery Industry Committee have become busy in the past few months."

"All kinds of inventory products have also begun to be shipped to Polar Bear, which has played a very positive role in boosting the vitality of its affiliated factories."

When talking about the three things he did after taking office, Zhu Jiansheng seemed quite excited.

Although the final effect has not yet been seen, the current progress is encouraging and makes people full of expectations.

"The polar bear's military strength is very strong. Even though it has changed in recent years, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse."

"But they put too much energy on the military industry. About 30% to 40% of their annual fiscal revenue is invested in the military."

"In the United States, their proportion is only one-tenth of that of polar bears."

"The polar bear model is very beneficial for improving military strength in the short term, but over time it will have a very big impact on light industry."

"If all resources are tilted towards heavy industry, people will not be able to solve their own food and clothing problems."

"This kind of damage is actually quite large, and will greatly undermine people's confidence and the mystique of polar bears."

Jiang Hui has a relatively good understanding of why the polar bears were reorganized.

There was a time when this topic was a hot topic among many people in the country.

Besides, any article in later generations can clearly explain many things.

With the benefit of hindsight, any expert can come up with many reasons.

But before this happened, no one dared to draw conclusions easily.

Just like stock speculation, before the stock really rises, no one dares to easily say which stock will rise.

But after the stock price has finished rising, you will find that both experts and so-called veteran investors can clearly give many reasons.

Whether from a technical perspective or a news perspective, it seems that there have been various reasons to make the judgment.

For example, before the share price of Light Media rose, few people bought it.

When the price has increased three or four times, the experts can then give a bunch of reasons to justify it.

"Yes, so during this period of time I have also set up a special team within the committee to collect data related to polar bears through various channels, and then analyze them to form some reports."

It was naturally impossible for Zhu Jiansheng to wait for his student Jiang Hui to teach him everything.

He himself is very capable, but he does not have Jiang Hui's vision that transcends his times.

But based on what's happening now, he can still make some meaningful decisions.

For example, setting up a team to study the situation of polar bears would be a very meaningful thing.

At critical moments, you may be able to provide more important advice to your superiors.

"The more commercial transactions we have with polar bears, the more real information we can gather."

"We can take advantage of this opportunity to borrow money from Polar Bear to purchase various machine tools and raw materials. We can also let the members of the team you formed go to Polar Bear to conduct an investigation."

"The opinions formed in this way will be closer to reality and more meaningful for reference."

Jiang Hui knew very well that based on imagination alone, few people in the country would think that polar bears are having a hard time now.

My life is getting better and better, so how could Big Brother's life be difficult?

This doesn't make sense.

But many things happen in a direction that seems unreasonable.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

"Then I will take the opportunity to inspect various machine tool equipment manufacturers and visit major cities in the polar bear region."

"We will conduct some investigations in areas that are more closely related to people's daily lives, such as food, clothing, housing and transportation."

"This is also more meaningful for our subsequent business cooperation."

"Some of these things are worthless here, and they fill up the warehouse and we don't know what to do with them."

"But polar bears are very scarce and can be sold for a good price."

Zhu Jiansheng is now slowly feeling the huge impact of information asymmetry.

This difference has a huge impact on the business world.

In the past, China implemented a planned economy, and everything was handled according to prescribed operating rules.

The lack of information and confidence will have no substantial impact on the development of the factory.

But in the era of market economy, the situation is completely different.

A simple information gap can turn the worthless inventory in your warehouse into something that can make you a lot of money.

Zhu Jiansheng has obviously also realized the impact of these aspects.

The father-in-law and son-in-law discussed topics related to polar bears for an entire evening, and various investigations on the second day were naturally carried out step by step.

As China TV and various newspapers reported on the new Land Rover factory, many other people were not in such a good mood.

"Director, the maximum annual production capacity of Land Rover's new factory can reach an incredible 36 vehicles."

"This is not a new factory at all. It is just the production lines of two or three factories merged into one factory."

"This is to completely monopolize domestic automobile production."

Zhao Guangming's mood was very complicated at this time.

The emergence of Hongqi BMW has deepened the cooperation between FAW and BMW Group.

Many people are also looking forward to the Hongqi A6 which is currently under development.

However, in this situation, BMW Group's production capacity is increasing rapidly, and FAW will naturally have more concerns.

With such a large production capacity, there always needs to be a place to consume it.

At that time, it will inevitably affect the sales of Hongqi BMW.

After all, the sales importance of a wholly-owned company is definitely more important than that of the joint venture Hongqi BMW.

There will definitely be a certain tilt in the BMW Group's resources.

No matter how you explain this, no one will believe that you can treat everyone equally.

"I'm not worried about the impact their increased production will have on our sales."

"The new Land Rover factory has such a high level of automation and a strong sense of technology."

"In comparison, the production line we prepared for Hongqi BMW is totally inadequate."

"I'm worried that the BMW Group will be dissatisfied and want to modify the Hongqi BMW production line as well."

"But our factory cannot afford so much money. It would be a pity if the mass production of Hongqi A6 was delayed."

Geng Weidong’s thoughts are a little different from Zhao Guangming’s.

Of course, his worry is not without reason.

You see advanced production lines every day, and now when you suddenly see such a backward one, it is normal to have some thoughts in your mind.

However, FAW has a large number of workers, a heavy burden, and not many profitable projects.

If a huge amount of money were to be invested to transform the production line at this time, it would obviously be unacceptable to Geng Weidong.

But once BMW Group formally made this request, it would be difficult for him to refuse.

After all, what they said are objective facts.

"I'm not particularly worried about this. Director Jiang is willing to cooperate with us, so he must know the situation of our factory."

"The sooner the Hongqi A6 is launched, the more advantageous position it will occupy in the official car market." "I believe Director Jiang is also very clear about this."

Zhao Guangming rarely put forward a relatively pertinent opinion.

If BMW Group disliked the Hongqi car production line, it would have done so a long time ago.

These demands will not be made after the joint venture.

"As long as the Hongqi A6 makes money after it goes on the market, we can actually make some modifications to the production line to increase output."

"Just don't get the order of time mixed up."

After Geng Weidong said this, Zhao Guangming could no longer continue to talk about his concerns about the new Land Rover factory.

FAW is all about learning from others, why are you still worrying so much?
But while FAW can find excuses or reasons not to worry, it is different for Toyota.

In the past two years, Land Rover's G-series off-road vehicles and X-series pickup trucks have had a huge impact on the global sales of Toyota LX70 and Hilux pickup trucks.

Although in terms of reputation, Toyota cars are definitely much stronger than Land Rover cars.

There is a group of consumers who habitually consider Toyota cars.

However, the huge difference in appearance, coupled with the various publicity about Land Rover's body strength, still had a great impact on Toyota.

Now that Land Rover has built a new factory, Toyota's first reaction is that Land Rover is going to launch a new model.

"President, after much inquiry, I can basically confirm that the BMW Group has at least two new products under development."

"Based on their past development speed, it is very likely that a new model will be launched next year."

As the head of Toyota Motor's marketing headquarters, Shoei Saito is a powerful position.

But in the past two years, his life has not been so satisfactory.

Toyota Motor, which has always been prosperous and rapidly developing, has seen its growth slow down significantly in the past two years.

Although it has not reached the point of falling, but everything is afraid of comparison.

It used to increase by 10% every year, but now it has become 1% to 2%. Will the shareholders be happy?

Will your superiors be satisfied?
With this trend, will the market start to fall in the next two years?

Saito Shoei believes that this change has a lot to do with the rise of the BMW Group.

It goes without saying that Land Rover's two products have brought a huge impact on Toyota.

Because of the BMW Group, General Motors suppressed some of Toyota's products in the United States, which also had a big impact.

Therefore, Saito Shoei attaches great importance to various movements of the BMW Group.

Now that he has heard the news that the new Land Rover factory has started production, he is more aware of the threat.

"Have you figured out what type of car they are developing?"

“Which of our models will be the competitor?”

Shoichiro Toyoda asked with a frown.

He naturally realized that after Land Rover built the new factory, it would inevitably bring more trouble to Toyota in the international automobile market in the future.

This is almost inevitable.

"The details have not been clarified yet, but judging from the cars designed by Jiang Hui in the past and the layout of the BMW Group, it is likely to be an SUV or a pickup truck."

"It's just that the size will probably be smaller than the Land Rover G or X."

Although Saito Shoei's guess is not accurate enough, it is close to the situation of Land Rover city SUV to a certain extent.

"Will GM continue to import new models from BMW Group and re-badge them for sale in North America and Europe?"

If he was just facing the BMW Group, Shoichiro Toyoda would not be particularly worried.

He is confident that he can deal with this threat.

But if you add General Motors to the mix, the picture is very different.

As a representative enterprise of the American industrial sector, General Motors has abundant resources at its disposal in the United States.

If General Motors takes the lead in suppressing Toyota, the impact will be huge.

They can definitely deal a fatal blow to Toyota from a policy perspective.

"GM has already tasted the sweetness of cooperation."

"I don't need to invest any development costs, and I can have a best-selling car model to make money for myself."

"American consumers are basically unaware of which models are OEMs, and they thought that the level of GM's designers had greatly improved."

"As long as the new models of BMW Group are not particularly bad, I think General Motors will definitely choose to continue cooperation."

Saito Shohide's answer was definitely not what Shoichiro Toyoda wanted to hear.

But this is most likely the fact.

So even if Shoichiro Toyoda felt a little unhappy after hearing this, there was nothing he could do.

"Try to find out more information from the BMW Group in advance."

"Didn't they recruit a group of retired engineers from our country to help with R&D and quality work?"

"There must be some people among these people who can receive more confidential information. Let's see if we can get more information from them."

Know thyself, ever-victorious.

As the head of Toyota Motor Corporation, Shoichiro Toyoda very much agrees with this statement.

"I'll make some arrangements. There should be personnel available."

Saito Shangying prepared to implement this plan without much hesitation.

This is also the key reason why he can maintain his current position.

When the leader assigns a task, sometimes he only wants to see you implement it and doesn't want you to make any suggestions.

Not everyone listens to other people's advice.

Especially when the advice is not so pleasant to the ear, even fewer people will be able to listen to it.

"And our luxury brand will be launched as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, it will be very difficult to completely reverse the current situation."

What Shoichiro Toyoda was referring to was obviously Lexus, a new brand established by Toyota in 1983 that focuses on luxury cars in the American market.

According to historical development, they will not officially launch their first model until 1989.

Then this car became an instant hit, and led Lexus onto the path of rapid development.

Although it is a new brand, it was able to defeat BMW and Mercedes in the American market in a very short period of time.

Even in later generations, Lexus' influence in the American market is still huge.

"We are in the final stages of perfecting our products and will be available to consumers as early as next year."

Saito Shoei naturally also knew the importance of Lexus' first model being able to be launched on the market ahead of schedule.

This car can be said to integrate the highest level of Toyota technology.

Whether it is the exterior design of the vehicle or the application of various new technologies, it is second to none in the market.

At least those who have learned about this car have this confidence.

This is not easy at all.

Generally, when a new car model is being developed, not every developer firmly believes that it can sell well.

But this new car from Lexus is different.

Toyota Motor Corporation has allocated 1400 engineers and 2300 technicians to the research and development of this Lexus model.

It took 450 prototypes and 6 years to produce the first mass-produced LS400.

Not to mention other things, the scale of 450 prototype vehicles alone is unprecedented.

Normally, when an automobile giant develops a new model, the number of prototypes is about one hundred.

This is the data collected from experimental vehicles in many stages.

Lexus has produced 450 prototypes, which is definitely a big deal.

You should know that the cost of a prototype car is very high, and on average one car is equivalent to several mass-produced cars.

Toyota's efforts have naturally paid off.

LS400 pays special attention to improving the vehicle's noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance.

The purpose is to make the cab exceptionally quiet and give you the enjoyment of a luxury car.

Thanks to its streamlined design, the LS400 has a drag coefficient of only 0.29, which further enhances the quiet atmosphere of the vehicle when driving at high speeds.

This has ensured that Lexus' reputation for quiet driving has continued to this day, and this principle has become a consensus in the development of every LS model.

So it only took them three years to surpass BMW and Mercedes in the American market.

It is no wonder that Shoichiro Toyoda thought of it at this time.

"In order to strengthen the North American market, Honda also created a second brand, using the same body and engine as Honda to develop a more luxurious Acura."

"According to the information I have, the price of Acura is not twice as high as Honda, but 2 to 1.2 times higher."

"Besides that, Nissan is also considering launching Infiniti in response to Honda's move."

"These will have a certain impact on the future of our Lexus."

"Faced with various pressures at home and abroad, we must step up our actions in all aspects."

"Lexus should also start considering the development of its second new model at the same time."

"After our LS400 is launched, we will strive to launch a second new model in one or two years."

"This is the only way to fully maintain the popularity of the brand."

These plans of Shoichiro Toyoda are undoubtedly correct.

But the people working below are under greater pressure.

Jiang Hui probably didn't expect that just building a new factory would bring so much impact.

(End of this chapter)