The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 462: Not willing to fall behind, the prototype rolls off the assembly line

"Reform is good for most industries."

"Of course, it is undeniable that some factories will experience pain as they are unable to adapt to the post-reform situation."

"There's no way around it."

"The vitality brought by market-oriented development has been felt by everyone in Shenzhen and other places."

"In the next decade, the pace of this will surely get faster and faster, and the impact will be greater and greater."

Jiang Hui naturally hopes that Zhu Jiansheng's future choices and efforts will be in line with the development direction of the times.

Don't make the wrong choice.

At his level, choice is more important than hard work.

"Tell me the details about this matter, and I will record it carefully."

Zhu Jiansheng was not embarrassed and directly took out a pen and notebook and began to record some of the things Jiang Hui said.

Compared with outside experts and scholars, Zhu Jiansheng is obviously more willing to believe in Jiang Hui's vision.

This has been proven by past achievements.

Throughout the Spring Festival, the father-in-law and son-in-law spent most of their time discussing this topic.

This made Zhu Ling speechless.

……

"Mr. Jiang, we can set up a high-tech industrial park to attract companies in the computer, mobile phone and semiconductor industries to settle in."

"Then the high-tech industrial park will develop in coordination with the automobile and equipment industrial parks and become the cornerstone of Shenzhen's economic development."

After Jiang Hui returned from the capital, he told Liu Tianwu about the establishment of Zhujiang Technology Co., Ltd.

Liu Tianwu naturally fully supports this.

If an ordinary company set up a new business and wanted to develop computers and mobile phones, Liu Tianwu might not feel anything.

But if this company was founded by Jiang Hui, the situation would be completely different.

Jiang Hui's vision and ability have been fully demonstrated over the years.

Products like computers and mobile phones were considered high-tech in 1989.

Even the production of computer and mobile phone cases is a high-tech related industry.

The key point is that even with such a simple shell, there are not many manufacturers in China that can meet the needs of large-scale production.

After all, the precision requirements for mobile phone casings are relatively high.

It is naturally not easy to ensure quality during large-scale production.

At least that was the case in 1989.

"Shenzhen already has the Great Wall Computer Company, as well as some other affiliated companies."

"For example, Warwick, which is involved in the agency of telephone exchange, is said to be starting to move into independent research and development."

"It is indeed a good idea to gather everyone in one industrial park for development."

Liu Tianwu’s proposal was exactly what Jiang Hui was considering.

Shenzhen is close to the Steel City, and the development speed of areas related to the electronics industry is still acceptable.

At least in China, it's considered pretty good.

Many electronic watches and other products in the mainland are exported from Shenzhen.

"Then I will act as soon as possible. At the beginning, I will position this industrial park as a provincial industrial park, and then upgrade it to a national level based on the situation."

After a new year, I received such good news.

Liu Tianwu was in a very good mood.

Originally, BMW Group's car sales were expected to increase significantly this year, which would benefit Shenzhen's economy greatly.

Now Jiang Hui has started to work on computers again.

If we start taking action now, we should be able to see some results next year.

This basically means that there is no need to worry too much about Shenzhen’s development next year.

"Industries related to computers and mobile phones are also associated with many software-related companies."

"I think Shenzhen could consider attracting a number of start-up companies in this field to settle here."

“Although these companies may not necessarily generate high output value at the beginning.”

“But the potential for the future is huge.”

It is impossible for Jiang Hui to reap all the profits from every industry by himself.

That is simply unrealistic.

If Zhujiang Technology, BMW Group, and even Lingnan Semiconductor want to continue to develop at a high speed, they will definitely need a supporting industrial chain to support them.

It is also crucial that various small companies develop in the surrounding areas.

For example, various software or small games used on computers, or companies that develop some supporting industrial design software.

Although it is not well-known, it is an indispensable part of the development of the industry.

"This proposal is very good. I will arrange someone to implement it as soon as possible."

"I heard there is a Silicon Valley in America, which has a huge impact on the semiconductor and computer industries."

"Shenzhen can also refer to similar development plans and strive to attract a number of high-tech companies to settle down."

Liu Tianwu's vision now is much higher than that of many local leaders.

He comes into contact with companies such as BMW Group and Lingnan Semiconductor every day, and he is also very concerned about many international situations.

"Yes, leader."

"There is one more thing I need to report to you."

Considering that Mercedes-Benz is going to set up a new factory in Shanghai this year, Jiang Hui feels that he still needs to inform Liu Tianwu in advance.

It would be very unworthy to avoid any misunderstanding at that time.

"The Magic City is preparing to vigorously develop the Pudong New Area, and relevant policies will probably be implemented soon."

"In order to expand the market in the Yangtze River Delta, our group plans to set up a new automobile factory in Shanghai to produce some Mercedes-Benz products."

Although this is the company's own decision, it doesn't matter if it doesn't tell Liu Tianwu.

But there's definitely no harm in saying it.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Liu Tianwu was not angry, but felt a little relieved.

He is very clear that the BMW Group cannot continue to develop in Shenzhen.

Now that Jiang Hui took the initiative to discuss it with him in advance, it shows that Jiang Hui still attaches great importance to the opinions of Shenzhen City.

Liu Tianwu was very satisfied with this.

"The Yangtze River Delta does have its own advantages, and previous reform policies were mainly implemented in Lingnan Province."

"Shanghai's development has slowed down a bit in recent years, so it's normal for superiors to have new ideas."

Liu Tianwu knew that he would stay in Shenzhen for only two years at most before being transferred to another place.

It won't even take two years for him to be promoted and reused based on his outstanding achievements in the past.

At this time, the impact of BMW Group setting up factories in other places on him was relatively limited.

In the long run, it may even be a good thing.

If the BMW Group had not expanded beyond its borders, Liu Tianwu would have been assigned to work elsewhere.

So if he wanted to ask BMW Group to set up a factory in his jurisdiction, he would feel a bit embarrassed to do so.

It’s different now. A start has already been made in Shanghai.

Who knows, maybe he will be assigned to work there someday.

Besides, Jiang Hui first established Zhujiang Technology in Shenzhen to develop computers and mobile phones, and then proposed that Mercedes-Benz build a new factory in Shanghai.

They didn't treat Shenzhen badly.

"Thank you for your understanding, Leader."

"Shenzhen is the base camp of our group. Our roots are here, and our headquarters is here."

"We will never stop investing in Shenzhen."

"We will also start the construction plan of a new headquarters building this year."

“We will strive to make the headquarters building a landmark building in Shenzhen by then.”

Jiang Hui is well aware of the enthusiasm of various places in creating landmark buildings.

Now that the group's staff size is increasing rapidly, it is quite necessary to build a headquarters building.

"That's really great."

"Whether it's about land use or procedures approval, you can contact me at any time."

Liu Tianwu didn't expect to have such a pleasant surprise today.

BMW Group is such a large company, and he had long hoped that the other party would build a headquarters building.

It’s just that in recent years, the BMW Group has developed very rapidly, and various projects are being promoted non-stop.

He was too embarrassed to make such a suggestion.

……

"Boss Jiang, the prototype of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan has been officially assembled today."

As the first project of 1989, less than half a month after the start of work, Hou Guoming brought a surprise to Jiang Hui.

Land Rover previously focused on developing SUVs and pickup trucks, so this is a unique way to open up a new market.

However, in today's automobile industry, mainstream sales are still contributed by various sedans.

BMW Group will definitely not give up on sedans.

Mercedes-Benz is currently responsible for the vigorous development of sedans.

The previous Mercedes-Benz sedan was named Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and the current C-Class is positioned lower.

The sales target will naturally be higher by then.

"Is the preparation of the parts going smoothly?"

Jiang Hui is very confident about the appearance design and product competitiveness of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

The key now is to make sure there are no problems with the individual parts.

Although consumers are not as concerned about the issue of quality as they are in later generations, it is still easy to damage the reputation over time.

Especially now that all supporting factories are busy dealing with the production of mass-produced parts, they may not have enough energy to cope with the trial production of parts for new models.

"Based on the subsequent test results, some design adjustments may be required for individual parts."

“But the overall schedule should not be affected much.”

"We have worked with the purchasing department to develop new supporting factories for many parts."

"That is to say, the new manufacturer is very enthusiastic about cooperation, but there are still some areas that need to be adjusted."

With the current size of the BMW Group, it can naturally support a larger supply chain system.

The same type of parts needs to be supplied by several factories.

Even for the same part of the same project, two manufacturers can be considered for development.

Each manufacturer supplies a part of the parts, and whoever has a better QCD will be given more orders.

The two companies check and balance each other, compete with each other, and stimulate each other to continuously improve their technology and cost levels.

As long as it is not overdone, this is actually a good thing for the development of the parts industry. Otherwise, the situation of many state-owned enterprises will occur, where the technical level has not changed for more than ten years.

“The cultivation of the supply chain does need to be taken seriously.”

“If our group is to truly grow and develop, it cannot do without the support of suppliers.”

“Making everything yourself is not the best solution.”

There are too many types of parts in a car, and many of them need to be purchased from outside.

By continuously improving the strength of suppliers, BMW Group will indirectly benefit from it.

Jiang Hui saw this very clearly.

In the past few years, Nanshan Technology has supported the development and growth of many small workshops based on Jiang Hui's point of view.

After several years of hard work, we have achieved some results.

But Jiang Hui felt it was still not enough.

If the BMW Group wants to become the world's largest automobile company in the future, it must have a more complete supply chain.

All parts can be purchased domestically.

And there is more than one choice.

By then, on the list of the world's top 100 auto parts manufacturers, at least 20 to 30 of them will be Chinese manufacturers, which would be considered a significant achievement.

"I understand that the R&D center, the purchasing department, and the technical department will work together to train suppliers so that they can keep up with our development pace."

Hou Guoming is an old man who follows Jiang Hui.

Naturally, he is very clear about Jiang Hui's many ideas and will resolutely implement them.

Invisibly, this has brought huge potential impact on the development of China's automobile industry.

State-owned enterprises such as FAW, Second FAW, and Capital Automobile Manufacturing, as well as subsequent private car companies such as Geely, can all enjoy the benefits.

The situation where those parts cannot be bought domestically and can only be purchased from international parts giants at high prices has basically disappeared.

……

"Austin, the BMW Group has invited us to visit the Mercedes-Benz C-Class prototype."

"This car will be officially launched this year, and they want to start related publicity work in advance."

“When it is launched on the market, it will be able to quickly increase sales and occupy a place in the market.”

At the General Motors headquarters, Edward came to Austin's office and discussed the BMW Group with him.

Generally speaking, matters involving the BMW Group will be reported to the company president only after communication between their sales and R&D departments.

Of course, if it involves cooperation on parts, Edward will not pay much attention to it and will mainly leave it to R&D and procurement.

This time, the incident with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan is obviously closely related to OEM sales.

"Compared with designing various SUV models, I am more looking forward to Jiang Hui's level of designing sedans."

“Whether it is the Cadillac model that helped us design before, or their own Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan, they are all amazing.”

"This time they have higher expectations for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, and I am also very interested in seeing what the car will look like."

Austin is not at all opposed to going on business trips to China.

People who don’t know China may think that going on a business trip to China is a scary thing.

But Austin goes to China every year and knows that the actual situation is very different from what the media reports.

Going there is not only not dangerous at all, but very safe, and you will be treated with great courtesy.

"I heard that Mercedes-Benz will build a new factory specifically to solve the problem of production capacity after the subsequent sales increase."

"This shows that they are indeed very confident in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class."

Edward could also feel the confidence of Mercedes-Benz.

In fact, their speculation was not wrong.

Jiang Hui does believe that there is huge market potential for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Although this car can only be considered a mid-size sedan, its size is not particularly large compared to later generations.

However, the models of this era are generally not that long.

Unlike later generations, there are a lot of car models with a length of more than 5 meters.

Because today's cars are generally not that long, the size of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a mainstream size that everyone can accept.

Considering the classic styling of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, Jiang Hui felt that global monthly sales of 2 units would be no problem at all.

Even global monthly sales of 3 vehicles by then would be worth looking forward to.

"We are also now introducing some of our own models based on the design style of Land Rover."

"Starting from the second half of this year, these models will be launched on the market one after another."

"This approach is expected to have some impact on our cooperation with the BMW Group."

"I feel that the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan may be the last model that we can happily cooperate with in the future."

"After that, the situation will be hard to predict."

After Austin said this, Edward fell silent.

He naturally knew that what Austin said made sense.

Most of those cars were proactively proposed by the sales department.

The R&D department also develops according to market demand.

Of course, General Motors is not the only one doing similar things.

The entire automotive industry, whether it is Ford, Chrysler, or even other automakers such as Toyota, are adjusting the appearance style of their models.

Although it cannot be said that it copied Land Rover, many design elements were definitely borrowed.

In this way, the appearance advantage of Land Rover cars is not so obvious.

"BMW's influence in the American market is very limited."

"If Jiang Hui doesn't want to give up this part of the market, continuing to cooperate with us is the best choice."

Edward gave his own views from the perspective of sales.

In his opinion, the main reason why BMW Group can achieve sales of hundreds of thousands of vehicles in the American market every year is General Motors.

Otherwise, those models would not be able to be launched quickly in cities across the United States.

Other competitors have already used various tricks to deal with the BMW Group.

It’s nothing like now, when cars with Buick or Chevrolet logos are vigorously marketed to consumers by General Motors.

"I hope they can realize this themselves, otherwise future cooperation will not be so smooth."

Austin sighed.

He still didn't want to ruin his relationship with Jiang Hui.

Based on his experience of dealing with Jiang Hui over the years, maintaining a good relationship between General Motors and Jiang Hui should be a win-win result.

On the contrary, it is a harm to both parties.

"Then let's go and see if the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is really worth the wait."

"Assuming the cooperation plan remains the same as before, we can consider increasing our investment in marketing."

"Let more consumers know about this model in advance."

After Edward said this, Austin no longer objected.

Soon, the two of them led a team to fly to China to visit and confirm the prototype of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.

……

"Jiang, your design talent is still as admirable as ever."

When Austin saw the actual Mercedes-Benz C-Class, he was filled with emotion.

In the past two years, General Motors has been imitating the design styles of previous Land Rover and other models, hoping to make its new products more fashionable.

Judging from the results, Austin's goal was basically achieved.

But everything is afraid of comparison.

General Motors is designing several new products on its own. Although there has been great improvement in appearance, they are still obviously inferior to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.

The classic level of this car exceeded Austin's expectations.

“After this sedan is launched, I think its sales will be no worse than any other Land Rover product.”

"Especially when its selling price is lower than several Land Rover products, its sales are even more worth looking forward to."

"I even saw the luxury style of Toyota's Lexus and Germany's Mercedes sedans in it."

“This is definitely good for our sales.”

Edward also has a very high opinion of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.

Such a new product is really worth looking forward to.

If General Motors could cooperate with BMW Group on such a classic model every year in the future, then General Motors' position in the global automotive industry would be more secure.

According to his speculation, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan is fully capable of selling 2 units per month in the American market.

Combined with the European market, GM can increase its sales by 3 vehicles per month.

This is definitely not a small amount.

After all, General Motors has so many models, and monthly sales of more than 3 vehicles are not common.

“The power system of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is considered to be quite classic.”

"But now in the major automobile markets, engines have begun to become electronic fuel injection engines."

"It would be even better if the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan could launch an electronic fuel injection version or even a diesel engine version later."

Austin thought about it and came up with a shortcoming of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.

Although the existing carburetor engine is a classic, it is after all behind the times.

Some consumers still care a little bit.

As for the diesel engine version, it also has a large market in Europe.

This is quite different from the perception of many Chinese people.

For most Chinese consumers, diesel engines are only used in commercial vehicles such as trucks.

There is no diesel engine in the car.

But overseas, this is not the case.

The market share of diesel engines in the passenger car sector is not low at all.

"We are already developing the electronic fuel injection version of the engine."

"It will be launched next year at the latest, and if it goes fast, it will be available at the end of this year."

"As for the diesel version, it may take a little while, but we also have plans for it."

If the company wants to become a global automaker, it cannot miss out on diesel engines.

After Jiang Hui said this, Austin had no other opinions.

The communication with Edward was also smooth.

After all, the man is in love and the woman is willing, and everyone has a good foundation for cooperation, so everything will naturally be easy.

Finally, the cooperation agreement for Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan to be rebadged with Buick's logo and subsequently sold in the American market was signed very smoothly.

General Motors also quickly began preparing for related publicity work.

(End of this chapter)