Cao Yang did not choose to develop Xingchen Motors' sports car based on the Bugatti Veyron, not because it was too expensive.
Cao Yang did not agree to consider competing against Lamborghini's Gallardo, nor was it because it was an entry-level sports car or had an all-aluminum body.
In fact, the most fundamental reason is that Cao Yang already has the answer in his mind for sports cars.
Cao Yang knew that it was unrealistic to expect Xingchen Automobile Research Institute to develop sports cars.
So he planned to "participate" himself and directly set all the requirements for this car.
Then the institute will complete part of the development tasks step by step.
Of course, after listening to Zeng Tingting and Rao Yongxiang’s reports first, it’s not just out of boredom or wanting to watch other people’s jokes.
Instead, I wanted to have a comprehensive understanding of the sports car market in 2005, and to compare it with some of the information in my mind in a timely manner.
In order to have a clearer pricing and promotion strategy in the next step.
"For a sports car to do well, power is definitely very important."
"We already have the W12 engine under development, and we will continue to expand to the W16 engine development. The input-output ratio is very low."
"With this energy, we might as well consider powertrain development from other perspectives."
"For example, can we equip a hybrid system based on the W12 engine and equip the front and rear wheels of the sports car with a motor, so that the acceleration performance can be more extreme?"
As soon as Cao Yang said these words, Zeng Tingting and Rao Yongxiang were stunned.
Hybrid system?
Using a hybrid system in a sports car?
This is something that has never been done before.
Isn't this something that Japanese companies like Toyota and Honda, which are pursuing low fuel consumption, are working on?
It doesn't seem to be something high-end.
"Mr. Cao, as far as I know, all the best-selling sports cars on the market use large-displacement engines."
"Whether it's the W16 engine, or the V12 and W12 engines, none of them have anything to do with the hybrid system."
"Hybrid systems such as Toyota's and Honda's are also matched with 2.5L or 2.0L, or even 1.8L and 1.5L naturally aspirated engines, so as to have better fuel performance in economical cars. And developed.”
"A system like this is used in sports cars..."
Obviously, Yao Yongxiang is not optimistic about the use of hybrid systems in sports cars.
In order to develop this sports car, he also made a lot of preparations.
I am also quite familiar with the situation on the market.
However, with Cao Yang, a boss with a God's perspective, in front of him, he obviously said that there was nothing he could do to change Cao Yang's mind.
"Our W12 engine itself is already the pinnacle of the internal combustion engine era. Except for the parameters of the W16 engine, which are better than it, there is no opponent."
“With the hybrid system, the electric motor can output high torque at low rpm, which allows us to focus on optimizing the performance of the internal combustion engine at higher rpm.”
"The engine has excellent power performance throughout the entire speed range, with a peak torque of more than 900Nm."
"Thereby catching up to or even surpassing the performance of the W16 engine used in the Bugatti Veyron."
"The most important thing is that we can take this opportunity to enter the hybrid system and start producing batteries for hybrid vehicles."
“These things will definitely have broader application prospects in the future.”
In Cao Yang's mind, the LaFerrari launched by Ferrari in 2013 is obviously the best sports car.
This flagship supercar launched by Ferrari is to replace the Ferrari Enzo model and is limited to 499 units.
It has extraordinary performance, aerodynamic efficiency and handling, setting a new benchmark for super sports cars.
This car accelerates from 0-100km/h in less than 3 seconds.
The acceleration time from 0-200km/h is also less than 7 seconds.
0-300km/h only takes 15 seconds.
Without considering the speed limit, its top speed is as high as over 350km/h.
Although compared with Bugatti Veyron's exaggerated speed of 407km/h, there is still a little gap.
But for consumers, or for actual use, this difference is completely meaningless.
Because how can ordinary consumers drive up to 407km/h?
Even on the Deutsche Autobahn where there is no speed limit, you cannot see this scene.
The limit speed of 350km/h is enough!
"Mr. Cao, in the long run, the development prospects of pure electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles are worth looking forward to."
"But I think the next ten or even fifteen years will still be dominated by fuel vehicles."
"Especially in the field of supercars, without a powerful engine, it always gives people a not-so-good feeling."
Although Zeng Tingting felt that what Cao Yang said seemed reasonable, it was obviously very difficult to change her inherent concepts immediately.
"Our Xingchen Motors sports car will set a new benchmark for super sports cars."
"This sports car has better performance than the Ferrari Enzo and is even close to the Bugatti Veyron. It can provide us with sufficient pricing space."
"People sell it for tens of millions. If we set a price of three million, it will definitely be very cost-effective, right?"
"But for Xingchen Motors, as long as consumers can accept that it can produce three million models, that is enough."
Cao Yang has no intention of turning Xingchen Motors into a Rolls-Royce-level existence.
That doesn't make much sense, and the difficulty isn't that great.
As long as it can reach the level of Porsche, it is enough.
With the rapid development of China's economy, the market space for luxury cars will still be very broad in the future.
The small goal of annual output of 1 million may be achieved in five or six years.
It is not impossible to further challenge higher goals in the future.
At that time, even if Xingchen Motors produced one or two million vehicles annually, its annual turnover would not be lower than that of other international giants that produced seven or eight million vehicles annually.
After all, the unit price of each vehicle is not of the same level.
"Mr. Cao, three million is actually quite high."
Zeng Tingting felt a lot of pressure when she thought about selling her 3 million car to a consumer.
So I couldn't help but chime in.
"Yes, 3 million is indeed a very high price."
"But the real benchmark model of our Star III sports car is the classic Ferrari Enzo in the sports car world."
"With all aspects of performance surpassing the Ferrari Enzo in all aspects, I believe there will be no problem selling 999 units."
When Cao Yang said this, Zeng Tingting did not refute.
If the performance of the Star III can really surpass that of the Ferrari Enzo and its appearance is very beautiful, then the price of 3 million is really not high.
After all, the parts used in sports cars are all produced in small batches and the cost is very high.
The use of various new technology parts has kept the cost of parts high.
In this case, if the product is sold too cheaply, it will not only have little effect on promoting sales, but will also cause the company to suffer large losses.
This is obviously inappropriate.
"Mr. Cao, the design of various parts of this Xingchen No. 3 should be very different from ordinary cars."
"Can we consider recruiting some engineers from European sports car companies to participate in the design work?"
Although Rao Yongxiang knew that Cao Yang would definitely participate in model design in an all-round way, he couldn't just ask Cao Yang for every job, right?
Therefore, he still wants to find some engineers with experience in sports car design to join the team, so that everyone will not be like headless flies and don't know how to work hard.
"If you feel the need, recruit."
"However, the experience of those people can only be used as a reference."
"In fact, if you simply want to know how to design a sports car, it may be more convenient to recruit relevant personnel from Japanese companies such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan."
"On the one hand, these people are easier to manage and more willing to come to work in China."
"On the other hand, the cost will be much cheaper."
It's not that Cao Yang is reluctant to spend money, he just doesn't want the situation of unequal pay for equal work to be too obvious.
At this time, you have to recruit a few engineers from famous companies such as Ferrari or Porsche. Even if it is the most ordinary engineer, if the annual salary is not in the millions, it is estimated that it will be difficult to recruit suitable people.
However, most domestic engineers still earn an annual salary of 100,000 yuan.
Now, suddenly someone appears who does a job that is not very different from mine, but the salary is ten times that of mine.
So what do you think?
Relatively speaking, the cost for Japanese people will definitely be lower.
"Purely from a technical perspective, the performance of sports cars from several Japanese car companies is quite good."
"It's just that the brand power is a little bit worse."
"But it doesn't matter if it's used in the research and development field."
Rao Yongxiang immediately agreed.
The boss has spoken, and you have to agree even if you don’t agree.
What Cao Yang said soon made sense, and he had no reason to refute.
"Mr. Cao, then our sales department will readjust the report materials for the kick-off meeting in the direction you said?"
"Is it possible to release some information appropriately later, so that we can continue to keep the popularity of our Xingchen car?"
"It can also further enhance the style of the Ziweixing coupe model."
In addition to cooperating with the research institute to develop new models, Zeng Tingting now also needs to consider how to sell Ziweixing, which is about to enter mass production.
After all, judging from the current situation, although the price has not been finalized, it is definitely more than 500,000.
This price is really not cheap.
"No problem. I will also provide some renderings and cooperate with the sales department to carry out some preliminary publicity."
Continuously releasing various news to maintain the popularity of Xingchen Automobile is the general direction set by Cao Yang himself.
Therefore, he naturally had no objection to Zeng Tingting's proposal.
Soon, Xingchen Automobile officially held the launch meeting of Xingchen 2 and Xingchen 3.
Although some people inside already know that Xingchen No. 2 is the large SUV Wenquxing, and Xingchen No. 3 is the sports car Leo.
But in the future, we still need to send out pictures and quotes, etc. In order to keep confidentiality as much as possible, we must still use codes when communicating in various ways.
It's just that the code of Xingchen Automobile is relatively straightforward.
…
"Brother, you are still awesome!"
"Invest a hot stamping production line and a four-door and two-cover stamping line specifically for Xingchen Automobile next to Nanshan Industrial Park."
"Now it seems that when Xingchen 2 and Xingchen 3 are mass-produced, our production line will be at full capacity, and we need to consider adding a hot stamping production line."
The new model has been officially launched. As the purchasing department, we must grasp the production capacity of key components.
After all, investing in new production lines or factories takes a certain amount of time.
If the notification is too late, you will not be able to catch up by then.
So although the number of hot-stamped parts that Star 2 and Star 3 will ultimately use has not yet been determined.
But the number of hot-stamped parts on each car will not be less than that of Star 1. This is certain.
Even the launch meeting of Xingchen 3 specifically mentioned door knocker integrated hot stamping technology.
This means that the reinforcements around the entire cockpit will be formed using hot stamping technology.
By then, it will definitely be possible to increase the production capacity of the Yangcheng Huaqiang Factory to a satisfactory level.
"Mr. Cao never treats people badly."
"Since they have arranged for someone to notify us to build a new factory, it means that Nanshan Group has a relatively comprehensive plan."
"It's just that people who have some information may not express it to us in advance."
Guo Shuyin's mentality is relatively stable.
When the Xingchen Automobile Purchasing Department came to them to confirm production capacity, he just breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
"Now BYD is also preparing to use some hot stamping parts on next year's S6 facelift model."
"Geely and Chery also have needs in this area. Brother, are we almost finalizing our investment in a new hot stamping production line near Shanghai?"
At present, the Yangcheng Huaqiang Factory's hot stamping technology is already somewhat famous in China.
In addition to the models of Great Wall Motors and Xingchen Motors, several other manufacturers have basically determined to use their hot stamping parts.
This is definitely a very good sign.
"There should be a conclusion this month."
"If the orders from Modu Volkswagen and Modu GM cannot be confirmed, we will directly buy land to build a hot stamping factory. The risk is still relatively high."
"It would be better to add a production line directly here in Yangcheng."
Guo Shuyin is not such a radical person.
Although hot stamping technology is very popular now, after all, except for Great Wall Motors, none of them have yet been mass-produced.
Huaqiang Factory did not make much money in this field.
Even the investment in most of the factory equipment has not been recovered yet.
To continue to expand the factory means that we need to continue to find bank loans.
This made Guo Shuyin feel a little pressure.
"I will start going to various customers next week to finalize orders for new models."
Guo Shufu no longer struggled and was ready to go out and implement the order himself.
…
"Mr. Cheng, can your W12 engine be successfully developed this year?"
Although if the engine breaks down, the responsibility does not lie with Yao Yongxiang.
But this will definitely affect the development schedule of Xingchen 2 and Xingchen 3.
It may even affect everyone’s development confidence.
Therefore, after the kick-off meeting, Rao Yongxiang quickly came to Nanshan Engine alone to confirm the development progress of the W12 engine.
"The prototype has been produced, and all parameters are very good."
"This engine is definitely not worse than Volkswagen's W12, and it is not weaker at all compared to V12s from other manufacturers."
"But now in terms of the development of the crankshaft parts of this engine, there are still some details that need to be improved."
"Otherwise, the engine's noise and durability will not meet the design requirements."
Cheng Tao naturally had nothing to hide from Yao Yongxiang.
The W12 engine is a product made of two Nanshan 3.0T turbocharged engines spliced together.
As the crankshaft shared by two 3.0T units, it is the most critical component in the W12.
For parts like the crankshaft, the processing technology requirements are also very high.
Any difference in accuracy will affect the lifespan.
"Our Xingchen 2 and Xingchen 3 will only need to use W12 engines in the second half of next year."
"But Mr. Cao wants to launch the high-performance version of Xingchen One in the first half of next year."
"You have to hurry up."
After listening to Cheng Tao's words, Yao Yongxiang felt somewhat confident.
Although the development of the W12 engine has not been completed, the overall progress is still good.
The remaining difficulties should be solved within half a year.
Then he wouldn't be too worried.
"We will try to use the newly developed five-axis CNC lathe of Nanshan Equipment to process the crankshaft. At the same time, we will discuss with Nanshan Special Steel to improve the composition of the special steel for the crankshaft."
“There should be hope that these issues can be resolved within this year.”
"If it doesn't work, we will report to Mr. Cao again and seek support."
Cheng Tao naturally knew why Rao Yongxiang was so concerned about the development progress of the W12 engine.
As the main engine of Xingchen 2 and Xingchen 3, the importance of W12 is beyond doubt.
"If you need any cooperation from the institute, you have to say it directly."
"As long as there are no problems with the powertrain and the appearance of the model, our new model will be more than half successful."
Lao Yongxiang's daily task now is to confirm the supply and development status of major components one by one.
As for the specific design tasks, he does not need to do it.
You can't let him, a vice president of R&D, draw pictures, right?
…
"Mr. Cao, in the past few days, Nanshan Transmission has been discussing internally whether to start developing 9AT or 10AT."
"Although the current plans for Xingchen 2 and Xingchen 3 are to use 8AT automatic transmissions, as a technical reserve, 9AT or 10AT may need to be involved sooner or later."
"Now the development of the 8AT automatic transmission has been basically completed, and only some targeted improvements will be made in the future."
"We can already free up some of our R&D personnel to carry out technical research on 9AT or 10AT."
Ji Hua struggled for a few days and finally decided to have a chat with Cao Yang.
As a gearbox expert, he actually knows about the development of 9AT and 10AT. From a practical point of view, it actually doesn't mean much.
Although in theory, multi-speed gearboxes have many advantages.
They have better hardware conditions to obtain lower fuel consumption, faster acceleration and smoother shifting quality.
However, a multi-speed gearbox will add a large number of internal components and have higher requirements for oil pressure and electronic control systems.
In addition to higher manufacturing and development costs, there are also more points of failure.
In addition, the internal components are more complex, but the limitation of the housing size leads to the need to compress the volume of the internal components, and smaller gear sets and clutch plates will cause the reduction of the torque that the gearbox can withstand.
Therefore, when large torque intervenes, the engine output power is often reduced for the purpose of protecting the gearbox.
The most important thing is that whether it is 9AT or 10AT, there is almost no chance to use so many gears during actual driving.
This is where Ji Hua is most troubled.
"There is actually no essential performance difference between 9AT and 10AT, but for some people who don't know much about cars, they feel that the more gears, the better."
"Since we want to do research, we must directly do research on 10AT."
"However, with the 8AT automatic transmission, the demand for 10AT is very weak in the short term. Even if we develop it, there is no need to put it into use so quickly."
"Well, Nanshan Transmission can start the research on the 10AT automatic transmission, and the goal is to complete all technical research and development and mass production preparations before 2010."
Cao Yang could see clearly what Ji Hua was struggling with at a glance.
However, because of this, he gave the instructions very directly.
Whether a piece of equipment is actually useful or not is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is that consumers find it useful and that consumers find it good.
That's enough.
By then, Xingchen Motors' flagship model will be equipped with a W12 engine and a 10AT automatic transmission. This powertrain will satisfy many people.
that's enough.
As for the actual working conditions under which 10AT can be used, it no longer matters.
Just like building houses in rural areas, it is often necessary to build four, five, or even five or six floors.
In fact, there may only be two layers that are often used.
The rest are built there for others to see.
If you talk to people from a practical point of view that it is not necessary to build it so high, probably not many people will listen.
"If the target is 2010, there will definitely be no problem."
"However, the cost of 8AT has doubled compared to 6AT. I estimate that the cost of 10AT may increase significantly based on 8AT."
Cao Yang didn't really care about Ji Hua's reminder.
If you can afford a 10AT model, do you still care about the cost of 10,000 to 20,000?
At least in the first few years when 10AT came out, everyone didn’t care.
In the future, as more models will be equipped with it, the cost of 10AT will naturally come down.
"We have enough time to develop the product first and then slowly improve the cost."
According to Cao Yang's memory, the Ford F150 Raptor pickup truck that debuted at the 2016 North American Auto Show was the first model to be equipped with 10AT in theory.
The reason why I say it is theoretical is because on the same day, Lexus’ LC model equipped with 10AT also made its debut at the North American Auto Show.
In other words, whether it is the 10AT provided by Aisin to Lexus or the 10AT developed by Ford itself, it will normally enter mass production in 2016.
Affected by Cao Yang's butterfly, maybe their 10AT schedule will be advanced.
But at most it’s two to three years in advance.
I have targeted 2010 to launch the mass-produced version of 10AT, which is enough time.
(End of chapter)
