The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

The appearance of Panamera quickly became a heavyweight news in the world automotive industry.

The design teams of various car companies are studying this completely different design style.

Porsche, which does not have a strong presence in China, has become very active this time.

"Lai, do you know the designer in charge of exterior design at BMW Group?"

As Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche AG, Buz Porsche now shoulders a heavy responsibility.

Porsche was at a critical stage of development at this time.

Previously, the company had experienced family infighting and operational crisis and faced the risk of bankruptcy.

Toyota and BMW both want to acquire Porsche.

However, with the joint efforts of family members, Porsche gradually got out of the predicament and began to seek new development opportunities.

One of the important measures was to re-hire design director Lai Ping.

This is the first Chinese design director in the history of Porsche and even the entire German automotive industry.

Lai Ping previously worked as a designer at Ford and BMW, and was involved in the design of models such as the BMW 3 Series.

Today he personally oversees the design of the new generation of Porsche 911.

"I don't know him, but I did go and ask about his news before."

"This is a very talented young Chinese man, who is said to be only 30 years old this year."

“Now he is not only the person in charge of the design of various models of the BMW Group, but also the actual person at the helm.”

"He and his lover were previously listed in the top 10 of the world's richest list published by Forbes magazine."

"As early as 1982, he helped General Motors design the new generation of Cadillac's flagship sedan, which was a great success."

"This also laid a solid foundation for the subsequent cooperation between BMW Group and General Motors."

"So far, all BMW Group models sold in the United States have been in cooperation with General Motors and have been labeled with Buick or Chevrolet logos."

Lai Ping had obviously done some research and knew a lot about Jiang Hui's situation.

Especially when it comes to content related to car design, he has a thorough understanding of it.

When we were at BMW, the company specially purchased a batch of various products of BMW Group for everyone to learn from and refer to.

Sometimes a designer’s inspiration comes in a flash.

If you have realized it, you have realized it; if you haven’t, you haven’t.

The stuff inside is rather mysterious.

"He is indeed an amazing person. Every car model he designs is so classic that it is beyond everyone's imagination."

"This Panamera model is also very special."

"I vaguely saw some shadows of our company on it."

"If we can come up with a product like this, the company's situation may be completely turned around."

Baz said with mixed feelings.

Although he is not a master of car design, as a core figure of the Porsche family, he has a very deep understanding of the automotive industry.

A car like the Panamera is something you might not come across once a year.

Any company that has a classic product like this coming out every few years will not have to worry about operational difficulties.

"The Panamera is indeed very classic, and this design will not be out of date even in ten years."

"In fact, this can be considered one of Jiang Hui's design styles."

"Whether it's the Land Rover G-Series or X-Series, or the Highlander and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, they are all models that will not be outdated even after another ten years."

"He keenly grasped consumers' demands for car appearance and grasped the pulse of the development of the automotive industry."

"This is also the fundamental reason why the BMW Group, as a Chinese company, has been able to develop to its current level in less than ten years."

Lai Ping gave his own insightful judgment.

As a fellow Chinese, he and Jiang Hui have definitely been friends for a long time.

The more professional the car design talent is, the more they can read the difficulties from the car models designed by Jiang Hui.

This is truly a genius-level talent.

It's not the kind of thing where one designs a hit car model by chance and then runs out of ideas.

"Can our 911 model also borrow some design elements from the Panamera? The Panamera is a 4-door coupe, and our 911 is a -door sports car."

"Even if some design elements are similar, people won't think it's plagiarism."

Buzz really wants to reverse Porsche's current unfavorable situation.

As a family business, Buzz doesn't want the company to end up being acquired.

Especially some relatives in the family are still very powerful.

When the family gathers together, I will inevitably be ridiculed.

"I have already finished the preliminary rendering of the exterior of the 911. The next stage is to prepare a 1:18 clay model."

“Some of the design elements on this 911 model are similar to those on the Panamera.”

"I even vaguely felt that some of Jiang Hui's ideas were the same as mine."

Lai Ping is very sure that when he designed the exterior of the 911, he did not see anything related to the Panamera.

At that time, he didn't even know that there was a car model called Panamera under development in the world.

Now that he has seen the photos of the prototype car, he himself is quite shocked.

Because these two cars have at least 20% to 30% similarities.

If someone said that these two cars were designed by the same designer, he would believe it.

But Lai Ping knew very well that there was no relationship between the two parties.

The design style of Panamera is also quite different from other previous products of BMW Group.

Therefore, even if Lai Ping borrowed design elements from previous BMW Group products, it has little to do with the Panamera.

In this case, it’s amazing that the exterior design of the 911 is somewhat similar to the Panamera.

"The development of the 911 needs to be accelerated. It cannot wait until 1993 before it is launched on the market."

"It would be best if we could bring it forward to 1991. Even if there are difficulties, we should at least go public in 1992."

Baz really hopes that the company can come up with a competitive product as soon as possible.

That way his life would be better.

Nowadays, BMW Group can launch new products one after another in a very short period of time. There is no reason why Porsche cannot do it.

"No problem, I will work towards this direction."

Lai Ping thought about it for a moment and took on this difficult task.

As Porsche's new design director, he also hopes to create a classic product so that he can establish his position within Porsche.

Otherwise, as a design director, if there is no classic product released in the company, people’s trust in you will be discounted.

Especially since Lai Ping is a Chinese, he is considered an outlier in the design circle of European automobile companies.

……

"Bill, I heard that General Motors did not continue to cooperate with BMW Group on the Panamera model this time." "Do you think it is necessary for us to contact BMW Group now?"

Peterson has always been very concerned about General Motors' movements.

In recent years, the models jointly developed by General Motors and BMW Group have sold very well.

Naturally, he paid more attention to content related to this aspect.

“The Panamera’s styling is as stunning as ever and is definitely a classic.”

"But I believe there is no reason why GM cannot see this."

"There must be a reason why both parties did not choose to cooperate this time."

"Before I figure out the reason, I think it's meaningless to negotiate with BMW Group."

As a member of the Ford family, although Bill's rank is lower than Peterson, he has a great influence within the company.

After all, he will be the president of the company sooner or later.

"You make sense in saying that."

"It seems impossible that General Motors would be disliked by a car like the Panamera."

"Either the price asked by BMW is too high, or GM has other considerations."

Peterson could naturally understand what Bill meant.

This matter doesn't seem to be as simple as I imagined.

There must be a story behind it.

I just don't know what the specific reason is.

However, with the strength of Ford Motor Company, it is not particularly difficult to roughly figure out this matter.

"In recent years, the BMW Group has developed rapidly around the world."

"We used to focus on Japanese automakers, but later Korean automakers also became our focus."

"In the future, I think the BMW Group from China should also attract more attention from us."

"Especially their influence in pickup trucks is growing."

"Land Rover's X-series pickup truck is now the best-selling product in the world, which has a very direct impact on our pickup truck sales."

As the head of sales, Bill has a better understanding of the market situation.

Although the number of products of BMW Group is far less than that of Ford, the strength of each product should not be underestimated.

This is very dangerous.

At BMW Group, Bill felt the same pressure that Toyota had brought him.

"The BMW Group is so special. They have been continuously launching various classic new models."

“That’s something no other company can do.”

“But they did it.”

Peterson's sentiment definitely represents the true thoughts of many auto giants.

Who can defeat an opponent like this?

"Not only have they been very successful in terms of car exterior styling, but they have also been developing very rapidly in the parts business."

"A few years ago, no one would have believed that the world's first 5AT automatic transmission would be produced by a Chinese parts company."

"Nanshan Technology, a subsidiary of them, has now become an important player in the global auto parts market."

"These changes will bring about various chain reactions. We must also consider entering the Chinese market as soon as possible and actively penetrate their ranks."

“This is the only way to better develop globally.”

Bill's view gradually became mainstream within Ford.

This means that Ford’s path to entering China will have to be accelerated!

……

When all the OEMs were paying attention to Panamera, the attention of some parts giants also shifted.

As a giant in the global auto parts industry, Bosch is a typical representative.

After Robert Bosch founded this world-renowned auto parts company in 1886, it has now become a global auto parts giant after 103 years of history.

Bosch started out as a manufacturer of ignition spark magneto ignition equipment.

In 1897, it introduced an improved magneto ignition device and became the only reliable supplier of ignition equipment.

It is also the world's first component company to mass-produce automotive engine ECUs.

"Sterling, Volkswagen hopes that we will set up a factory in China to produce ECUs. In the future, the cars they produce in China will be transformed into electronic fuel injection engines."

"I specifically analyzed and investigated the situation of the Chinese automobile market."

“Although they cannot compare with us in terms of overall scale, their potential is huge.”

"Especially in the past five years, China's auto market has been growing rapidly at a rate of more than 20% per year."

"If this trend continues, they will soon become an important player in the global automotive market."

Franz, the vice president in charge of overseas business, came back and proposed a plan to build an ECU factory in China to the company's president Sterling after communicating with Volkswagen's purchasing director.

Bosch entered the Chinese market in 1909.

But at that time, we cooperated with Jebsen & Co. and let them serve as our sales agency.

In the 1980s, following in the footsteps of Volkswagen, Bosch also set up a factory in China to produce engine parts and other parts.

It is only natural that we want to further expand our business now.

"The Chinese auto market is quite special. If we want to grow rapidly, we need to think carefully about how to build new factories."

"If we were to go it alone, we might not be able to get many orders other than the one from Volkswagen."

Sterling is also quite clear about Bosch's development in China.

In recent years, various automobile giants have entered the Chinese automobile market.

These companies are naturally also potential customers of Bosch.

But so far, the development of business in this area has not been particularly smooth.

"I've also been thinking about this. Volkswagen suggested that we find some Chinese partners to set up a joint venture."

"This will give us advantages in terms of land acquisition, factory construction and personnel management."

“It’s also convenient in terms of getting some orders.”

“I think this suggestion deserves our serious attention.”

Franz expressed his thoughts very directly.

Of course, he also heard a different meaning in Sterling's words.

Otherwise it wouldn’t be so direct.

"You go talk to Volkswagen's two main partners in China in person."

"At the same time, don't give up on other car companies. Contact them more and then come up with a plan."

Sterling thought about it and gave an instruction. (End of this chapter)