From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 255 The Hottest Domestic Suspension Project

Dongfeng Motor Group plans to invest 8 billion yuan in factory construction and R&D, and to integrate the upstream and downstream supply chain.

Financing mainly comes from strategic investments by state-owned enterprises and industrial capital.

The new brand Voyah is entirely composed of personnel who were spun off from the original H brand business unit of Dongfeng. Although this has not been officially announced to the public, the relevant project procedures have already been fully launched.

There is a viewpoint circulating online.

The emergence of Xingchen Motors can be described as a dark horse among new forces, a mudslide in the car manufacturing industry, and a lucky one under the era's policies.

Because every step Xingchen Automotive takes has precisely hit the gaps in policy and the market.

Even in the seemingly impossible market of six-seater vehicles, they were able to accurately hit the pain point of family users seeking more comfort and higher cost performance, and just happened to catch Toyota's financial crisis. What kind of luck is that?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the chosen one of destiny!
Zhu Yanfeng scoffed at this view.

This is completely reversing cause and effect.

If it were that easy, how come Xingchen Automotive was the one that got caught?

How come I didn't encounter any of the other car companies that went bankrupt due to financial scandals or failed subsidy schemes?
These people are oversimplifying the barriers to entry and the amount of money required to develop the new energy industry chain.

Zhu Yanfeng had the company conduct a detailed market survey of the Xingchen L7 car, and even specially prepared a car for in-depth research and disassembly. The final conclusion was quite shocking.

This car is simply an overachievement compared to the current domestic supply chain!

This is something a domestic car company could actually pull off.

If we were to compile a separate list of car companies that have ventured into the new energy vehicle market in recent years, and then rank them based on the cars they have produced, then Xingchen Automotive would definitely be the first one to be put on the blacklist.

It’s too much!

There wasn't a single drop of urine in the stimulant!

With its sophisticated electric drive system and compact chassis layout, this car maintains excellent wind resistance and NHV even with minimal energy consumption. Even without features like a large screen and refrigerator, it remains a vehicle with superior mechanical quality and spaciousness.

The reason this car became so popular can be summed up by its absolute strength.

The idea of ​​seeking knowledge from the Buddha also took root in his mind.

Xu Yi warmly received the guests from Dongfeng Group in the observation deck on the 15th floor. Guo Chuan from Konghui Technology was also present as invited. The two sides had a history with each other, so the introductions were omitted.

Because it was a technical collaboration, neither side had many hidden agendas.

"Mr. Xu, the presentation by Xingchen Automotive at the 100-person conference a few days ago was very inspiring. After discussions, we all agree with the development direction of the Supercharging Alliance. Otherwise, if new energy brands fight their own battles and even third-party charging stations develop different supercharging protocols, it will be a headache for both manufacturers and consumers."

Zhu Yanfeng was the first to express his opinion.

Dongfeng Motor Group's new energy sector is willing to join the Supercharging Alliance and Supercharging Protocol.

Because they don't intend to engage in an arms race by building their own charging stations.

That's for the sake of car sales.

Naturally, they hope their cars can be compatible with more protocols. Since they don't have charging stations to operate, they can just join whichever company dominates the market.

However, for brands that do not build their own websites, the biggest concern is that as supercharging power increases, protocols become more complex and mutually exclusive, even if the charging gun can be plugged in, the charging protocol may not be able to reach its full power.

This trend has been evident since Tesla started setting up its website in the country.

Tesla's Superchargers aren't exactly exclusive; they're purely closed, not open to other brands except for Tesla models.

If it continues to develop...

This could very well lead to a repeat of the chaos surrounding mobile phone charging ports.

Fortunately, the national standards for this matter are quite strict.

At least the national standard 450V, 120KW protocol has strict specifications, and currently all manufacturers can adapt to it without any problems.

But as Xu Yi said, they had to consider one thing.

In the future, the widespread adoption of supercharging piles with capacities of 240KW and 360KW or higher will exceed the requirements of the national standard GB/T 20234.3-2015 general protocol.

If each party tries to improve the agreement, exclusionary phenomena are bound to occur.

The adaptation process can be handled by either car manufacturers or charging station brands, or a combination of both is also an option.

Zhu Yanfeng leaned more towards the latter. Xu Yi smiled and said, "President Zhu is very insightful. It would be a bit unrealistic for Xingchen to say that we are doing this purely for public welfare. It is more about building a healthy ecosystem in the market. However, it is also gratifying to see that we can promote the industry and our competitors while building the ecosystem."

Xingchen Automotive invested heavily in the research and development of the first generation of domestically produced air suspension, spending 300 million yuan from research and development to investment in factory construction.

Now it's time for it to blossom and bear fruit.

Even without advertising, people have already come to us on their own initiative.

Because there is a demand for this in the industry!
With the hot sales of the Xingchen L7, domestic air suspension technology has begun to attract the attention of more and more brands and is gradually becoming highly sought after.

"Yes, we've started a new brand, and the first car will definitely have a 120kW high-power charging system." Zhu Yanfeng gazed at the industrial park outside. "This time, I came here to see the domestic air suspension system. Considering that the tonnage of new energy SUVs is indeed too heavy, if we were to use four-wheel drive, mechanical fatigue and the car's own weight would be unavoidable, and the range would be compromised."

Weight reduction, battery life...

These are two major issues that cannot be avoided when developing new energy SUVs!

Since the weight of the battery and components cannot be reduced, the only option is to address the issue with the chassis's mechanical parts.

In fact, Zhu Yanfeng observed that some new energy vehicle companies, in order to reduce weight and costs, completely transplanted the chassis system of fuel vehicles, making only a small part of the improvements, and did not even consider the issues of shear force and mechanical fatigue.

And then, as expected...

A shaft breakage incident occurred.

This is very difficult to maintain.

Once it gets out, the negative impact can be significant.

To avoid this problem, we can only increase the mechanical strength. Traditional steel parts are not enough, so we have to use aluminum alloy parts, which is very expensive.

If you want to go for the high-end configuration, the overall weight of the vehicle will have to be increased!

The strength is sufficient.

What about battery life?

Range is no joke. Even an increase of 50KG in vehicle weight results in a visible reduction in pure electric range. Range drops drastically at high speeds and in low temperatures!
From being single-minded to being blocked at both ends.

After much deliberation, I decided that an air suspension system would be the best option.

This is a problem that Xingchen Motors experienced before, and now Dongfeng Group also needs to consider this issue.

Xu Yi was in a good mood, and it was clear that the other party valued the air suspension feature quite a bit.

After all, apart from ordering custom air suspension from foreign manufacturers like Continental, Wibac, and ZF, this is the only domestic manufacturer that offers air suspension for passenger vehicles.

He said, "I am very pleased that Dongfeng trusts domestically produced air suspension. Let Mr. Guo and his team introduce it to you. We have prepared a detailed set of performance data and durability test results."

Upon hearing this, Guo Chuan also had someone bring out a detailed technical document and handed it to the Dongfeng Group team.

"President Zhu, President Lu... Our self-developed airbag rubber + aramid cord formula has undergone 15 bench tests, including solenoid valves and control arms. Its performance is comparable to mainstream imported air suspension products, including Continental ContiAir and Wibac AirSpring. In addition to being natively adapted to the chassis of new energy vehicles, it also has targeted weight reduction design..."

Lu Fang leaned closer to examine it carefully, and was also taken aback.

The domestically produced air suspension system that Kong Hui is using is completely different from the initial sample he saw when he communicated with them last year. Even compared with the air suspension products that they have recently communicated with foreign suppliers, it is indeed comparable. They can even provide some extreme test data. No wonder Xingchen L7 dares to use it on such a large scale.

Performance is one aspect, but Kong Hui's air suspension system demonstrates higher integration and lower weight, which is what attracted him. This air suspension system is very beneficial for subsequent vehicle development.

They had previously encountered obstacles with overseas suppliers.

It's important to understand that Voyah is a newly independent brand, and even though it's under the Dongfeng Group's name, its initial procurement volume won't be very high.

In this situation, foreign suppliers have always been unwilling to take risks and have quoted a very high price.

Calculating the cost of four air springs and air hoses, the integrated air pump control unit, height sensor, acceleration sensor, etc., as well as the OEM's investment in the overall assembly and development of parts in the vehicle, the cost per vehicle is estimated to be between 27,000 and 28,000.

This procurement cost is outrageous.

Even for a car priced at 300,000, it's difficult to weigh the pros and cons.

"I wonder what the purchase price of this air suspension system is, Mr. Xu?" Lu Fang asked at the right time, as they were very satisfied with the report on the parameters and durability.

(End of this chapter)