The hot sales of F3 have completely opened up the sales of Nanshan engine 1.0T.
As the general manager of Nanshan Engine, Cheng Tao is naturally in a very good mood.
"Mr. Cao, our 3.0T twin-turbocharged engine production line has been built. After debugging for a period of time, formal mass production can begin."
"In addition, the prototype test of the W12 engine has also been completed. After re-modifying the drawings of some parts, we can enter the mass production preparation stage."
"As for the 1.5T and 1.0T engines that have been mass-produced, their current production capacity and load are relatively high."
"There is only a 2.0T engine production line, and the capacity utilization rate is less than 50%."
"According to the current situation, basically the main research and development work of the engine has been completed."
"We will soon be able to form a series of engine products including 1.0T, 1.5T, 2.0T, 3.0T and 6.0T."
"But I feel that there is a lack of a V8 engine with a displacement of about 4.0T."
"Our Xingchen 2 currently plans to use a 6.0T engine, but if there is a 4.0T low-end version, it may be able to take sales to a higher level."
"Similarly, Star One uses a 3.0T engine, although there are plans to install a 6.0T high-performance version in the next step."
"But a 4.0T V8 engine may actually be more suitable for it."
Nanshan Engine must continue to develop new engines to have the possibility of progress and expansion.
Publicly and privately, Cheng Tao hopes to develop more engines.
Not only can Xingchen cars be used, but they can also be sold to others to make money.
"Mr. Cao, I also think there is a certain need for research and development of the 4.0T V8 engine."
"With it, our 3.0T engine can be considered for small-scale external sales in the future."
"Once Xingchen 2 is successful and everyone sees the charm of large SUVs, domestic independent brand car companies may immediately follow up and launch large SUVs."
"Although the 2.0T engine can also be used to match it, the 3.0T is obviously more suitable."
"At the same time, with the advent of the V8 engine, it has become possible to directly develop a high-horsepower W16 engine by using the same camshaft between the two V8s, similar to the W12."
"It will make sense for us to launch more high-end models in the future."
Even though Zeng Tingting is only 155cm tall, she likes big cars very much.
The future Xingchen No. 2 is the model she particularly wants to buy.
"What Minister Zeng said makes sense. After we have V8 and W16, the engine displacement is basically enough."
"We only need to make some more modifications on this basis in the future to meet the needs of the next ten years or so."
Cheng Tao glanced at Zeng Tingting gratefully.
Compared with popular engines like the 1.5T, the input-output ratio of the V8 engine is definitely worse.
And there are no plans for external sales in the future.
Under such circumstances, it was not easy for Zeng Tingting to stand up and support his views.
"Our engine R&D team has accumulated some experience."
"In addition to developing products with larger displacement, the next step is to carefully study the engines suitable for hybrid models."
"Whether it is the FHEV route that Toyota and Honda are taking, or the PHEV route, the future is quite promising."
"Beyond that, have you ever considered looking into diesel engines?"
Cao Yang's question was a bit beyond Cheng Tao's expectation.
When it comes to hybrid engines, he can understand it.
After all, strictly speaking, the engine used on Xingchen 3 can also be regarded as a hybrid engine.
But as for the diesel engine...
As we all know, China's diesel engines can be said to be "unpopular" or even "disliked"!
First of all, in most people’s minds, diesel engines are basically tractors that emit black smoke, or rumbling heavy trucks. Moreover, the impression of diesel engines in the minds of Chinese people is: emitting black smoke. , noise, vibration, bulky!
But in fact, diesel engines are more suitable for our domestic road environment.
Although the speed is not fast and it stops and goes, the diesel engine's low speed and high torque can just be used, and it is more energy-saving.
In some European and American countries, diesel engines are even more popular than gasoline engines.
Some organizations have made statistics. In Europe, which has stricter vehicle exhaust emission requirements, the penetration rate of diesel vehicles can reach more than 60% in a few years, but in China it is less than 1%.
"Mr. Cao, there is no application prospect for diesel engines in passenger cars, right?"
"Are we going to produce heavy trucks in the future?"
Seeing that Cheng Tao was a little confused, Zeng Tingting couldn't help but ask this question for him.
"In the future, both our own models and those of other independent brands will definitely go overseas."
"Due to poor oil quality in China, diesel-engine cars really have no future."
"But it's different abroad. The advantages of diesel engines are still obvious."
"The first thing is to save fuel."
"The energy conversion rate of compression-ignition diesel engines is higher than that of ignition-type gasoline engines. Therefore, for diesel engines and gasoline engines of the same model or the same displacement, diesel engines are more fuel-efficient."
“The second thing is that it has high torque and enough strength.”
"The diesel engine is very powerful even at low speeds. This is worse than the gasoline engine when carrying loads, climbing hills and off-road. Of course, the performance on high speeds is not as good as that of gasoline vehicles."
"The third is to save money, which is something independent brands care about. After all, diesel engines have simple structures and low maintenance and upkeep costs."
Cao Yang's explanation naturally makes sense.
However, Cheng Tao couldn't help but retort: "Mr. Cao, as you said, the diesel engine does have these advantages, but its shortcomings are also very obvious."
"First, diesel vehicle engines have high technical content and require high processing accuracy for many parts. However, many mechanical manufacturing processes of domestic auto parts companies are not up to standard."
"For example, the fuel supply pump and fuel injector on a diesel engine are processed with extremely high precision, while on a gasoline engine there is no high matching accuracy requirement between these two parts."
"Second, diesel vehicles have high torque and low speed, so they need a gearbox with multiple speeds and a speed ratio that cannot jump too much between each step. There are no very good products in China for this."
"Our Nanshan Transmission is considered the most powerful transmission company in China, but we have not researched products in this area."
"Another very critical and most important point is policy-related things."
"This is something neither businesses nor consumers can change."
"Diesel is a strategic material. Freight vehicles on the street use diesel, and some large equipment used in industrial production also uses diesel."
"In addition, things like airplanes, ships, and tanks also use diesel."
"China is not rich in oil resources, so we still have to rely on imports."
"After the imported crude oil is refined, part of it will be diesel and part of it will be gasoline. Diesel itself is a very important industrial material and strategic material. If all private cars are filled with diesel, then there will definitely not be enough diesel, and The extra gasoline will be wasted.”
"So I think it's not a good direction to spend a lot of R&D resources on diesel engines."
Cheng Tao has worked in Nanshan Group for several years and has a certain understanding of Cao Yang's character.
If you know this situation, you can just say what you have to say without thinking too much.
"Mr. Cheng, what you said makes sense, but our diesel engines are mainly aimed at the future export market."
"I believe that when the time comes, independent brand car companies such as Great Wall Motors and Chery Automobile will be interested."
"As for technology and processing issues, it's a problem for other companies."
"But for our Nanshan Group, this is not a problem at all."
"Nanshan equipment can now produce some five-axis CNC machine tools. Are you still worried that the accuracy of the parts will not meet the requirements?"
"As for technology, when we first developed the 1.5T engine, our technology accumulation was much weaker than it is now. We haven't developed it yet."
"Now you are worried that you won't be able to do it?"
Cao Yang is obviously optimistic about the development of diesel engines.
The main thing is that this thing can be used not only on passenger cars.
Even in twenty years' time, many heavy trucks and special vehicles will still need to use diesel engines.
After Nanshan Group further develops, it is inevitable to expand related businesses.
How can we expand our business in the future without accumulating some related technologies?
"If we want to study diesel engines, I think we should consider studying those used in trucks first?"
"That way we can sell it to some domestic companies relatively quickly."
"If it is used in passenger cars, I think there won't be any demand in the short term."
Zeng Tingting gave her own suggestions from a sales perspective.
After all, if the diesel engine is developed by then, she will be needed to be responsible for sales.
It can’t really be regarded as a technical reserve, right?
"What Minister Zeng said makes sense. The most promising application of diesel engines in China is indeed heavy trucks."
"But if it is a diesel engine with a general displacement, domestic companies such as Cummins and Weichai Power are already producing it."
"If we want to do it, we have to get a large-displacement one."
"Only diesel engines with a displacement of 11L, 13L or even 15L can be competitive."
Cheng Tao also saw Cao Yang's determination to develop an oil extraction machine, so he began to give some serious suggestions.
"First of all, you can study the market demand for a specific diesel engine with a certain displacement."
"In addition to the large-displacement diesel engines used in heavy trucks, the 1.5T diesel engines used in cars are also being developed simultaneously."
"Engines with this displacement should be used the most in cars."
Cao Yang will not give up diesel engines.
Whether it is the overseas automobile market, truck market, or engineering equipment, diesel engines have broad market prospects.
If Nanshan Group wants to shine in the automotive industry, it cannot just focus on the passenger car market.
That's the good thing about private enterprises. The people below have to do what the boss decides, even if they don't want to.
However, after Cao Yang went to Nanshan Engine to work for a few days, Dai Hanbiao of Nanshan Auto Parts found an opportunity.
Cao Yang had been busy at Xingchen Automobile before, and he was too embarrassed to disturb him.
Now that I have time to give guidance on Nanshan Engine, I would also like to give guidance on Nanshan Auto Parts. Isn’t this a request too much?
Considering that auto parts are also a very critical and important link, Cao Yang put aside the matter of Xingchen Automobile and listened to Dai Hanbiao's report on the research progress of each part.
"Mr. Cao, regarding the four-wheel drive system, we have reviewed it and are preparing to develop our own full-time four-wheel drive system. However, we have encountered many problems in the design of the differential and other parts."
Dai Hanbiao knew how powerful Cao Yang was.
At this time, it is natural to "squeeze" it in order to speed up the research of new technologies.
"When it comes to a car's four-wheel drive system, many people may think of Mercedes-Benz's 4MATIC, BMW's xDrive, and Audi's Quattro. It is indeed necessary for us to create a four-wheel drive system that belongs to Xingchen Cars."
"And give it a relatively easy-to-remember name as one of the focuses of future publicity."
Cao Yang was not surprised to see Dai Hanbiao discussing the four-wheel drive system with him.
Although many car companies in later generations have their own four-wheel drive systems, in fact there are not many suppliers who actually make four-wheel drive systems.
BorgWarner, Magna, GKN, and JTEKT are just a few that are doing well.
The remaining companies, such as Honda Motor Co., will also produce some four-wheel drive systems in their own factories, only for their own use.
Dai Hanbiao now arranges for people to develop the four-wheel drive system, obviously preparing to take this key component technology into his own hands.
Otherwise, if Xingchen Car's four-wheel drive system needs to be purchased from outside in the future, it is likely to become one of the most expensive parts purchased from outside besides seats.
"Audi's Quattro is also the most famous four-wheel drive system. It became famous in WRC events."
"This WRC event, also known as the World Rally Championship, requires the competition to go through various terrains such as sand, ice, snow, mud, rain, etc. The entire race is thousands of kilometers long. It is very important for a car's controllability and Stability has almost cruel requirements.”
"In the 1980s, the Audi A2 racing car achieved amazing results in the WRC. But it was also called an unfair competition by many people, because at that time other cars participating in the competition were rear-wheel drive, and only Audi adopted a four-wheel drive system for the first time. , so it formed an absolute crushing."
"Later the organizers changed the rules and required all four-wheel drive cars to add weight, but it still couldn't stop the power of Audi's four-wheel drive. Later, they simply banned Audi from using the Quattro system."
"Although it caused Audi to withdraw from the WRC event, it also made Quattro the biggest selling point of Audi."
"Can our four-wheel drive system be designed directly based on Audi's Quattro, so that in future promotions, we can also step on Audi's shoulders?"
Zeng Tingting interjected from the side.
What is the selling point of a car? This is a very important question.
If the selling point cannot be found, the work of the sales department will be difficult to carry out.
Therefore, Cao Yang also involved some personnel from the sales department in the early development of many technologies.
I even hope that some employees in the sales department can understand a little bit of technology, so that they can better promote their cars.
"The technical patents of the four-wheel drive system are locked in the hands of foreign investors. Even if everyone knows the principles of the four-wheel drive system and the basic industrial manufacturing capabilities can produce a sufficiently stable four-wheel drive system, there are currently no companies in China that produce four-wheel drive systems. .”
“In fact, it’s not that the capabilities are insufficient, but that it will be checked and balanced by patents.”
"A simple four-wheel drive system is difficult to operate under complex patent barriers. After a monopoly, we can see a very natural situation. Models equipped with four-wheel drive systems are often linked to high prices."
"So just like what Minister Zeng said about Audi's Quattro, its structure and principle are actually not as complicated as everyone thinks."
"The core of this system is the Torsen differential."
"As a differential that has been around for many years, the Torsen differential is a worm planetary gear structure."
"The way it works is purely mechanical, without any electronic system intervention."
"The basic principle of this differential is to utilize the one-way transmission characteristics of the worm gear. That is, motion can only be transmitted from the worm to the worm gear, and self-locking occurs in the reverse direction."
"Therefore, the front and rear torque distribution can be adjusted more timely and reliably than the electro-hydraulic controlled central differential system, and the power can be smoothly distributed to the front and rear output shafts through the planetary gears, thereby being able to drive the front and rear axles."
"The power transmission characteristics of the worm gear are just opposite to the spur planetary gears of ordinary open differentials. It can automatically distribute power to the output shaft on the side with greater resistance."
"If we want to design it ourselves, there will be no problem."
"But there are many problems if we want to circumvent the patents of manufacturers such as Audi or Magna."
Obviously, there is a reason why Dai Hanbiao would take the four-wheel drive system as a subject to report to Cao Yang.
If it were really so easy to find a way to circumvent patents and develop a good system, he would definitely not want to bother Cao Yang.
Otherwise, how can we realize their importance by asking Cao Yang for everything?
"Mr. Dai, actually I think everyone's thinking has fallen into a misunderstanding?"
"Why do we have to use traditional technology four-wheel drive systems like companies like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW?"
"We can completely change to a completely new model and engage in electric four-wheel drive."
When Cao Yang said this, Dai Hanbiao was stunned.
Electric four-wheel drive?
What the hell is this?
Why do you feel so strange to yourself?
"Unlike researching mechanical four-wheel drive, which is very difficult, the design of electric four-wheel drive is very simple."
"After laying out the circuit system, and then equipping the motor on the rear axle, the power can be controlled through the electronic control unit, and the power can be distributed to the front and rear motors as desired. The design difficulty has been greatly reduced."
"Compared with the engine, the motor can reach the highest speed and burst out the maximum torque in an instant, and the motor speed is often much higher than the engine. Therefore, the instantaneous power output of the electric four-wheel drive will be stronger than the traditional mechanical four-wheel drive, which is more conducive to the vehicle getting out of trouble. and acceleration from the start.”
"Compared with the mechanical four-wheel drive of traditional fuel vehicles, electric four-wheel drive eliminates components such as gearboxes and transfer cases, making the structure simpler, the transmission efficiency higher, and the loss of power during transmission is reduced."
"Electric four-wheel drive distributes power directly by controlling the motors of the front and rear axles. Compared with mechanical transmission, electric four-wheel drive responds faster and more accurately. When driving on complex roads, the vehicle can adjust the power according to the real-time adhesion of the four wheels and road conditions. Reasonable distribution of power and torque to the four wheels in a timely manner.”
"Due to its simple structure, electric four-wheel drive systems can often be adapted to different models. They do not need to consider traditional axle length, transfer case, and differential lock layout issues like fuel vehicles. Different models need to re-layout the four-wheel drive system, so electric four-wheel drive systems The cost is lower.”
"The most important thing is that after our system is developed, it can be perfectly combined with BEV, PHEV, and FHEV models in the future era of new energy vehicles."
"Even the most suitable scenario for the electric four-wheel drive system is a model with a battery."
"In traditional fuel engine vehicles, it will bring some additional difficulties, and some issues such as power distribution between the engine and generator need to be fully considered."
"Even in extreme cases, we can only consider using it on FHEV models first."
"But at least our Xingchen 3 now has a hybrid system. There is no problem in using this electric four-wheel drive on it."
"Whether it can be mounted on Xingchen 2 requires you to study it carefully."
When Cao Yang said this, Dai Hanbiao and Zeng Tingting's eyes became brighter and brighter.
For Dai Hanbiao, finding a four-wheel drive system that is less difficult to develop but seems to be more technologically advanced is the biggest gain today.
For Zeng Tingting, she feels that when promoting new cars in the future, she can promote this electric four-wheel drive system as a selling point.
Compared with traditional mechanical parts, live parts always give people a feeling of more advanced technology.
However, the cost of electric four-wheel drive is cheaper than the traditional four-wheel drive system.
This makes people even happier.
"Mr. Cao, does this electric four-wheel drive have no shortcomings?"
Happy to be happy, Dai Hanbiao is also worried that something will happen during the development process.
So take this opportunity to prepare and confirm clearly.
"No matter what part or system it is, it must have its own shortcomings, and electric four-wheel drive is no exception."
"Electric four-wheel drive relies on the instantaneous burst of torque from the motor to achieve escape, that is, 'power can produce miracles'."
"Under normal circumstances, electric four-wheel drive models are not equipped with transfer cases and differentials."
"Therefore, when one group or one of the wheels slips, the vehicle cannot distribute the power of the slipping wheel to the wheels with adhesion, making the escape ability of the electric four-wheel drive inferior to that of the traditional mechanical four-wheel drive."
"Of course, our current models, even SUVs, are essentially urban SUVs, not hardcore off-road vehicles."
"So this disadvantage is not very obvious."
"If you want to build a pure off-road vehicle in the future, take a hard-core off-road route, and be equipped with a non-load-bearing body, then you can consider installing a simple transfer case and differential on top of the electric four-wheel drive system."
"Or just purchase a simple part-time four-wheel drive system from outside, which can also meet the needs of hardcore off-road vehicles."
When Cao Yang said this, both Dai Hanbiao and Zeng Tingting breathed a sigh of relief.
This shortcoming is not a shortcoming at all for the current Xingchen Automobile.
Because the future models have no intention of becoming hardcore off-road vehicles.
And Cao Yang himself knows very well that within ten years, urban SUVs will be king.
Only when urban SUVs have developed to a certain stage, everyone begins to pursue other things.
At that time, the opportunity for hard-core SUVs came.
(End of chapter)
