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

Chapter 256 What kind of thing can reach 300KW?
The deciding factor now is price.

Because of their limited bargaining power, neither mainland China nor Weiba's overseas suppliers have access to the air suspension control algorithm, and subsequent adjustments even require paid authorization.

The condition of autonomous control of the ESC algorithm given by Kong Hui's air suspension is quite tempting.

Lu Fang's dissatisfaction with these imported suppliers stemmed from their procurement of high-end components.

After purchasing the hardware, cut a price.

Software algorithm licensing will be cut even further!

What do they take OEMs for?!
Developing new energy vehicles is inherently expensive, given the high research and development costs.

We need to seize the market.

It is impossible to pass on the costs to the consumer market.

Previously, this feature was only available on cars costing over 500,000 yuan, but now it's available in cars costing around 300,000 yuan.

The pressure is huge.

The benefits of procuring imported air suspension are, in their view, becoming increasingly diminishing.

of course.

That will depend on Xingchen's offer.

Xu Yi and Guo Chuan exchanged a glance and gave each other a friendly smile.

"President Zhu, I understand your feelings. Xingchen also considered importing air suspension at the time, but that path was really too expensive, and Xingchen Motors didn't have the huge investment to burn, so they chose to develop it domestically..."

He presented Dongfeng Motors with a quote of 14,000 yuan per set.

Based on this price, a gross profit margin of 30% can be guaranteed, and once the volume increases, the domestic air suspension manufacturers can continue to reduce costs through technology.

He also knows the current comprehensive procurement price of imported air suspension, which is at least 20,000 yuan. Judging from Dongfeng Group's attitude, they must have communicated with them in advance.

I just don't know exactly how much higher.

I saw.

Zhu Yanfeng's expression remained unchanged, but the slight tremor of his eyelids and the fleeting joy in his eyes did not escape Xu Yi's notice.

"Mr. Xu, this quote..." Zhu Yanfeng tried to control his tone, "It's indeed not expensive for an air suspension system, but we are actually quite sincere in our cooperation. Can you offer a further discount on the price?"

Despite conducting research, we still couldn't fully grasp Xingchen's costs, so we could only continue to pressure them for lower prices out of habit.

Xu Yi revealed an unspeakable expression: "President Zhu, it's not easy for us either. We've invested a lot in this before, working day and night on research and development, pouring our hearts and souls into it... and we haven't even recouped the R&D costs for domestically produced solenoid valves and ECUs yet."

If Voyah is planning to pursue large-volume, long-term procurement, then there is room for negotiation.

As soon as these words came out.

This essentially locks up any room for further negotiations with Dongfeng.

Voyah is a newly established brand, and its bargaining power is not strong anywhere. Moreover, it is impossible to make a sales promise before the car is released.

Without a large-scale purchase volume, this price is difficult to negotiate anywhere.

"Yes, I understand, I understand..."

Zhu Yanfeng nodded, and then disclosed Dongfeng Group's next steps.

"In addition to an SUV, we also have an MPV. If all goes well, the two vehicles will be developed in parallel and will both adopt air suspension. We are confident that we can establish a stable supply channel with Xingchen."

They don't plan to put all their eggs in one basket; half of their team values ​​the niche market of luxury MPVs.

Joint venture MPVs now often have markups of 600,000 to 800,000 yuan. If Voyah were to create such a luxury MPV, its prospects should be guaranteed.

The two sides hit it off.

Voyah plans to accelerate its progress and launch its first new energy vehicle in about 20.

And Xingchen has also closed a deal!

Having found a buyer, the company secured greater profits and production capacity expectations for its self-developed air suspension system.

Next.

Both parties jointly visited Kong Hui's first-phase suspended production plant in Zibo.

Gazing at the constantly operating production line, at each and every air spring component.

Zhu Yanfeng was deeply shaken!

Domestically developed air suspension airbag rubber formula...

Domestically developed high-speed solenoid valve...

And the self-developed ECU control module...

These were all points that had previously been bottlenecks, yet Xingchen and Kong Hui managed to overcome them.

amazing!!

Traditional automakers have been developing for so many years, yet they haven't even made a firm decision to invest heavily in this technology.

They were also worried about insufficient returns and a lack of market application space.

Now, Xingchen Automotive has become the first car company to take the plunge.

It is also the only domestic air suspension supplier in the industry.

Zhu Yanfeng and his team inspected the bench test on-site and were impressed by the quality, durability, and precision of the air suspension manufactured domestically. They were then convinced of the plan to cooperate between the two parties.

Lu Fang, standing to the side, was still regretting the opportunity he had missed.

"President Zhu, if we had made up our minds back then, the first domestically produced air suspension system might have been ours."

"You can't say that. Back then, there was internal debate about whether the new brand should be spun off. Even if Kong Hui had succeeded, we might not have had cars for him to drive," Zhu Yanfeng shook his head. He had a clear understanding of the situation.

The rise of the supply chain is inseparable from the OEMs. Without the Xingchen L7, Kong Hui's air suspension might not have the reputation it has today in the industry.

"Major Star, while supplying the Sky-Hanging system, is also a car manufacturer..."

Lu Fang pondered for a moment.

Cooperative procurement between OEMs has never been the mainstream practice.

Even if a non-direct competitor is a customer, there is still a fear of becoming too dependent and being held hostage. If the other party has limited production capacity or prioritizes its own cars, the risk factor is still not low.

Air suspension, on the other hand, is precisely a highly customized component.

Once the supply is cut off, it will be very difficult to find meal replacements.

"Hey—Top Group and another company that specializes in underlying sensors, Baolong Technology, have also announced that they have made initial progress on their internal air suspension project. Their progress may be slower than Kong Hui's at the moment, but once they make a breakthrough, we can switch suppliers."

"When you get back, take your team to meet with them and have a more in-depth discussion."

Zhu Yanfeng sensed his concerns and immediately smiled slightly.

He had also considered this matter. Purchasing Kong Hui's air suspension equipment was not intended as a long-term strategy. The other two companies were also listed companies, and their R&D funding and capabilities were guaranteed.

The market for air suspension has now opened up.

There should be at least one or two more domestic brands emerging.

This market share is quite obvious.

Once Voyah launched its product with the help of Xingchen's low-cost domestically produced air suspension, other domestically produced air suspensions began to emerge.

They can switch between them at will.

Starry Sky is just one step ahead in this regard.

There will always be a day when someone catches up with you.

Could it be that their cars are dependent on parts supplied by StarCraft?
(Laughed)

Totally impossible! !

The two of them were making their own calculations.

On the other side, Xu Yi came over and his sudden words broke Zhu Yanfeng's thoughts.

"Mr. Zhu, our R&D testing site is next door. Would you be interested in visiting our newly developed commercial supercharging facility?"

"Commercial supercharging?!"

"Yes, we just talked about the supercharging protocol. Actually, we've developed battery packs and commercial charging piles with a 2C charging rate for Yutong buses. A single gun has a power of 160KW, and a dual-gun peak power can reach 300KW, which is suitable for meeting the needs of high-frequency operation and rapid energy replenishment..."

correct.

Does Dongfeng Motor Corporation also have projects developing new energy freight cars and heavy trucks?

...

It was just a casual remark.

But this made Zhu Yanfeng's heart tremble violently!

Last year, Dongfeng Motor Group was the leading commercial vehicle manufacturer in China, second only to FAW Jiefang, with annual sales exceeding 120 million vehicles.

Although companies like Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Honda have large sales volumes, their profit margins are not high.

Commercial vehicles account for 31% of total sales, but contribute more than 50% of the group's profits.

This is because the gross profit margin of heavy trucks and light trucks is quite high!

Developing pure electric heavy-duty trucks and new energy freight vehicles is a project that Dongfeng Motor Group is considering.

However, the main problem lies in its practicality.

Currently, the new energy trucks on the market are mainly "light trucks" and "micro trucks," while there are almost no new energy heavy trucks because their range is too short and the refueling time is too long, making them impractical.

Take charging power as an example. The pure electric heavy truck launched by FAW has a battery capacity of 282kWh, but a charging power of only 120kW.

It takes two and a half hours to charge to 80%.

It would take at least three hours to fully charge.

This is already the fastest charging new energy heavy truck in the industry.

Putting subsidies aside, this kind of energy replenishment efficiency is extremely low, the range is unsatisfactory, and the market share is very low.

However, from a developmental perspective, if the issues of range and charging speed can be resolved, the development potential of new energy trucks and heavy trucks is enormous.

Dongfeng Motor Group is making attempts in this regard.

After all, compared to fuel-powered heavy trucks used in commercial applications, once this problem can be solved, it can save four or five hundred yuan in fuel costs per day, and over a year it can easily save 10 to 15 yuan.

The initial car purchase cost can be recovered in just over two years.

If this vision can be realized, it will be a huge disruptive force in the commercial application landscape.

The main bottleneck right now is the low efficiency of energy replenishment.

It's okay if the battery life is a little shorter, but you can't charge it for three or four hours at a time.

Replenishing energy two to three times a day is simply too inefficient.

The charging time is driving me crazy!
Zhu Yanfeng previously conservatively estimated that a power supply speed of at least 200KW would be needed to power electric trucks or commercial heavy trucks, providing applications for both coal hauling and cargo hauling, and even having its own advantages compared to gas-powered heavy trucks on the market.

At that moment, Xu Yi's words left him somewhat dazed!
What kind of thing can reach 300KW??

Ah? ? ?
(End of this chapter)