The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

The expansion of university enrollment has begun to take shape, and the various movements on the BMW Group side have not stopped.

Each factory is working hard to stand out.

Although Land Rover is currently leading the market, Mercedes-Benz is not far behind.

The new models of Chitu Automobile will soon be officially launched on the market.

As for the following companies such as Nanshan Engine, Nanshan Transmission, Nanshan Technology, etc., they are naturally no problem.

"Boss Jiang, the number of employees in our group has officially exceeded 10 this month."

"Once all the newly built factories are fully operational, the workforce is expected to exceed 15 people."

“It wouldn’t be surprising if the number of people there grows to 20.”

Fang Huihui is very satisfied with the current situation of the BMW Group.

She was originally just a middle-level manager in a company in Hong Kong.

Although she has outstanding personal abilities, she is just a woman after all.

Once you reach the middle level, that’s basically the end of the road.

But things are different now.

As the deputy general manager of BMW Technology, he is a well-known figure in the Hong Kong business circle.

After all, the nominal general manager Zhu Ling basically does not attend various activities, and the actual controller Jiang Hui is in Shenzhen and rarely goes to Hong Kong.

As a result, Fang Huihui often represented BMW Technology to attend various events.

"The production capacity of our factories was previously in a tight state, and often one person was doing the work of two people."

“This situation is definitely not sustainable.”

"It is necessary to maintain a certain level of surplus personnel to prepare for the next step of expansion."

"In the next few years, we must be prepared in terms of talent reserves."

“The next ten years will be crucial for our group to establish its position in the industry.”

Although China only really began to take off after 2002.

But the foundation-laying work in the 1990s was actually very critical.

Especially the period between 1992 and 2002.

Now that the time for finalizing the reform has been brought forward to 1989, the importance of the next ten years or so is naturally self-evident.

Especially if Jiang Hui wants to get involved in more industries, talent reserves become even more critical.

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

"In the future, not only will BMW Group need more people, but Lingnan Semiconductor and Zhujiang Technology will also need more people."

"It is estimated that in another ten or eight years, it is possible that the number of employees of these two new companies will exceed that of the BMW Group."

Fang Huihui compared the semiconductor giants with computer and mobile phone giants in other parts of the world, and combined with the direction of the current situation, she felt that many things were possible.

Especially since Jiang Hui now attaches so much importance to Lingnan Semiconductor and Zhujiang Technology, he often personally leads the technical team to carry out some research and development work and points out the direction for the research.

This attitude is definitely very different.

Fang Huihui has been working with Jiang Hui for quite some time, so naturally she can read a lot of different information from him.

"You are right. The semiconductor, computer and mobile phone industries will not be obsolete in the next 30 years."

"It can even be said that these industries will be in their golden age in the next thirty years."

"As long as they are well managed, the influence of these two companies will not be less than that of the BMW Group."

"The technological content is even higher than that of the BMW Group."

"After all, given time, there will be many companies in China that can produce cars."

"But there are not many manufacturers that can produce advanced semiconductor components, and their number may even decrease over time."

Jiang Hui was also saddened when he thought about the development of China's semiconductor industry in the 1990s.

The entire 1990s can be said to be a low period in the development of the domestic semiconductor industry.

America is developing these industries in full swing, but the related products in China are basically imported from abroad.

Which company would be willing to spend money on research and development when its own products are not as good as others in terms of price or performance?
In this way, we will naturally fall into a vicious cycle.

This situation has not changed fundamentally even by 2017.

Taking the domestic automobile industry at that time as an example, almost 100% of the chips used in various models of joint venture car companies were products of international chip giants, and no Chinese brands could be found.

Even the various chips installed in independent brand car companies such as Chery, Geely, and BYD, more than 90% are chips from international manufacturers.

It can even be said that 90% of them are given as a courtesy, but in fact 99% of them are bought from others.

It was after 2017 that the entire international environment changed greatly.

The pace of domestic investment in the semiconductor industry has suddenly accelerated a lot.

Finally, after years of hard work and entering the era of electric vehicles, the situation has changed slightly.

But it's only a slight change.

Many automotive-grade chips are still in the hands of major international manufacturers.

Even smart cockpit chips and autonomous driving chips are mostly products of international giants.

Several chips from Qualcomm and Nvidia often appear in the product promotions of new energy vehicle companies.

In this life, Jiang Hui must change this situation.

First of all, BMW Group, the largest automobile company in China, will be the first to use products produced by Lingnan Semiconductor.

With it taking the lead, other Chinese companies will naturally consider more affordable domestic chips.

Add to that the potential impact of Nanshan Technology, a giant auto parts company, and a lot of things can change.

In the early days of automobile development, OEMs paid very little attention to chips.

Basically, you can choose any parts manufacturer you want.

As long as the performance meets the requirements.

So when the chip crisis broke out, many OEM buyers didn't know where their first-tier suppliers bought their chips from.

In the early stages of the crisis, the situation was very chaotic.

A chip that usually costs 5 yuan is sold for more than yuan, or even several hundred yuan in the market.

Of course, it is hard to say whether there is any story behind this.

Anyway, at this stage, there must be quite a few people who have made money.

"Yes, the more I understand the situation in the semiconductor industry, the more I can appreciate the brilliance of your layout, Mr. Jiang."

"Among the world's auto giants, few have direct investments in chips, except for Toyota."

"Even Toyota Motor mainly relies on Denso to manage this aspect."

"But we started considering using our own chips very early on. This critical but inconspicuous component may become very important in the future."

Fang Huihui now admires Jiang Hui very much.

Professional business elites are more able to understand the subtleties of Jiang Hui's various layouts.

Most people really can’t see through it. “It’s very difficult to make a good chip.”

"Objectively speaking, the gap between our domestic technology in this area and that of Japan and the United States is huge."

"Even if we try to catch up now, we won't see hope of catching up in ten or eight years."

"It will take at least a dozen years to truly become an international chip giant."

Jiang Hui is obviously prepared for a protracted war in the chip industry.

This field is not suitable for quick investment.

In the early stages of production, it is difficult to make money from most chips.

After all, your technology is not the most advanced, and your product performance is not the best, so it is difficult to sell it at a high price.

The chip industry is not as prosperous as it has been since 2020.

"Lingnan Semiconductor has been working closely with Shenzhen University and Capital University of Technology Shenzhen Branch to jointly promote the research and development of semiconductor core technologies."

"Several other universities in China also have close cooperation with Lingnan Semiconductor."

"Plus, the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industry also supports the development of Lingnan Semiconductor, so its future prospects are still very worth looking forward to."

What Fang Huihui said is objective fact.

Although Lingnan Semiconductor started relatively late, its strength should not be underestimated.

Fang Huihui feels that it is a foregone conclusion that the company will become the largest semiconductor company in China in the future.

As for whether it can eventually become a chip giant like Texas Instruments and Intel, it depends on future luck.

After all, when a company develops to that level, sometimes it is not just about technology or something else, but it also has something to do with timing and luck.

"Shenzhen also attaches great importance to the development of technology in this area, and various related companies are constantly emerging."

"Nowadays, there are specialized industrial parks and related electronic cities."

"The future situation in this regard is still worth looking forward to."

Jiang Hui had a good discussion with Fang Huihui on this matter for a while, and waited until Zhou Yun came over and asked him to attend another meeting.

……

Although in 1989, the speed of media dissemination was far less exaggerated than in the Internet era.

But the situation at BMW Group is rather special.

Any relevant information is of concern to many people.

"Edward, is the influence of the BMW Group in China really as great as you said?"

In Detroit, Murphy was having an in-depth conversation in his office with Edward, who had returned to the country to report on his work.

After the establishment of Shanghai General Motors, various actions were launched continuously.

The new factory has officially started construction and is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

The three models that General Motors is preparing to put into production in the joint venture are also progressing.

Edward, the sales director, was appointed president of the Asia Pacific region and concurrently general manager of Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd.

Although the work location became a little worse, this was definitely a promotion for Edward.

"Absolutely true!"

"BMW's influence in China is greater than our company's influence in the United States."

"Especially in Shenzhen and Lingnan Province, that's even more unnecessary."

"Today, their company size has exceeded 10 people, which is not much different from ours."

After Edward said this, Murphy couldn't help but ask back, "Their annual sales volume is only about one million vehicles, right?"

"There is still a huge gap compared to us. Why do they have so many people?"

Murphy's question is probably one that many international auto giants have.

Your production and sales are obviously much less than mine, so why is there not much difference in the size of your employees?
"The reason is actually very simple. It is mainly because BMW Group has many parts businesses of its own."

"They produce their own engines, their own gearboxes, and most of their own parts."

“Even some of the steel and molds were produced by themselves.”

"Not to mention that their production efficiency is lower than ours and they have less automated equipment than we do."

"As a result, the BMW Group's employment scale will naturally be larger."

After Edward's explanation, Murphy quickly understood.

Simply comparing the number of employees, there seems to be nothing to compare with the Chinese company.

After all, it is a super populous country with a population of more than one billion.

"Do you think the future development of the BMW Group will pose any threat to us?"

Plan ahead.

Murphy is someone who has seen the strength of the BMW Group.

So naturally, there is some concern that the other party will bring challenges to GM's development in the future.

"If it's in the Chinese market, it will definitely pose a great threat to us."

"After all, they are the largest local automakers, and their products will definitely compete with those of Shanghai General Motors."

"But from a global perspective, the threat to us in the short term is relatively limited."

"Our main competitors should still be Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai."

"Even Volkswagen and Ford are much more important than the BMW Group."

Edward gave an answer that was relatively pertinent and in line with Murphy's expectations.

This understanding is definitely very popular within General Motors.

It would be extremely difficult to get everyone to admit that BMW would pose a huge threat to the development of General Motors' global business.

It's something that few people would even believe.

In this case, even if Edward really realized this, he would not say it like this.

Being half a step ahead of others is a genius, but being too much ahead is a madman.

Or become someone that everyone dislikes.

Just like in the workplace, a person who works particularly hard may not necessarily gain the friendship of colleagues around him.

On the contrary, it will make everyone feel a little disgusted.

This is especially true in the era of involution.

"Okay, since that's what you think, don't worry about it for now."

"We will expand the Chinese market according to our own development pace."

"But in the future, you will have to report the relevant situation regularly every quarter."

Murphy is quite confident in Edward's vision.

Since he said there is no need to worry, then don't worry. (End of this chapter)