Japanese people also need to celebrate the New Year.
But after the magic reform, their year has become the Gregorian calendar year.
The Chinese Spring Festival is no longer a festival in Japan.
So while China is celebrating the Spring Festival, people at Aisin Seiki are still working.
"The extensive application of planetary gear sets is the only way forward for the development of 8AT."
"Nanshan Transmission, the 8AT used in Xingchen cars, uses 4 sets of planetary gears."
"These planetary gear sets achieve intervention and separation respectively through five shifting mechanisms."
"The 8AT we are developing also uses a structure of 4 sets of planetary gears, but there are 7 shifting mechanisms."
As the R&D director of Aisin Seiki, Hiroyuki Nakazawa personally led a group of designers to dismantle and compare the 8AT of the Nanshan gearbox.
Previously, the Huaxia branch had disassembled an 8AT in advance and provided some data.
But some things are always incredible until you see them with your own eyes.
"The 8AT is more fuel-efficient and efficient than the 6AT, and is comparable to a dual-clutch transmission. According to our survey, the manufacturing cost of the 8AT is 20% lower than that of a 6-speed dual-clutch, and its smoothness is better."
"It seems that Nanshan Transmission is preparing to make full efforts in AT in the future."
"Now that they have built a technological advantage, we have to follow up as soon as possible."
Okumura is also very anxious now.
As the head of the sales department, changes in Aisin's turnover are what he is most concerned about.
In recent years, although Toyota's global sales have increased, Aisin's turnover has declined.
Because the turnover of other customers has dropped too sharply.
Especially on the Ford side, Aisin is almost disappearing.
"Nowadays, various companies' investment in R&D of 8AT has indeed suddenly increased a lot."
"According to the information we don't fully understand, ZF, Ford Motor, and Hyundai Mobis are all already developing 8AT."
"But except for the Nanshan gearbox, the speed of others will definitely not be able to keep up with ours."
"Aisin's strength is not so easy to catch up with."
Hiroyuki Nakazawa still has certain confidence in the R&D team he leads.
According to the original plan, Aisin 8AT will be the world’s first 8AT.
However, Cheng Yaojin appeared halfway.
“Does the performance of Nanshan Transmission’s 8AT match the published news?”
The purpose of dismantling research is for benchmarking and learning.
But to learn from it, the first thing to do is to understand the other party’s parameters.
How else would you learn?
"Judging from the current testing situation, they are basically consistent."
"Compared with theirs, our 8AT is still a little behind in various parameters."
"That's what's so incredible about it."
"How can a local gearbox company in China make such a good gearbox?"
Speaking of this, Nakazawa Hiroyuki's face became a little ugly.
This is totally against common sense.
"Do you think it's possible for us to dig some people from Nanshan Gearbox?"
"Being able to work in Japan should be something that many Chinese people are looking forward to, right?"
When Okumura suggested this, Nakazawa's eyes immediately lit up.
However, he soon became disappointed again.
"We have disassembled the 8AT of the Nanshan transmission. There is not necessarily much secret in the design."
"Some of the patents in it have been registered in major countries. If we were to copy them directly, it would definitely be infringement."
"It's nothing more than the accuracy and tolerance data of some parts. We can't accurately grasp it yet."
"But this aspect has always been our strength at Aisin. There is no need to learn from Nanshan."
Nakazawa Hiroyuki is quite familiar with the current situation.
Being able to recruit people from Nanshan Gearbox will certainly allow Aisin to better understand the other party's situation.
But for Aisin’s 8AT, the significance is really not that big.
"Then are we just going to chase passively like this?"
“I heard that Nanshan Transmission is already in contact with car companies such as Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. If these auto giants are using Nanshan Transmission’s 8AT, it will be very bad news for us. "
Okumura is an ambitious man.
Naturally, he was unwilling to accept that Aisin was only supplying parts for Toyota vehicles.
In that case, the development space will be relatively limited, and the social influence will be greatly reduced by one level.
"We can only consider some process optimization to see if we can further improve the performance of our 8AT."
"At this level of gearbox, the performance is a little bit worse, but the impact is actually not that big."
"The most critical thing is the matching and tuning of the engine. We are definitely better at this than Nanshan Gearbox."
"In the end, it is entirely possible that the powertrain equipped with Aisin 8AT will have better performance than Nanshan."
"Of course, finding ways to reduce costs is something that must be considered."
"Otherwise, Nanshan Transmission's technology is better than ours and its cost is lower than ours, and it would be difficult to compete with them for orders."
When Hiroyuki Nakazawa said this, Okumura's head almost got bigger.
Than cost?
When will Japanese companies start to compare costs with Chinese companies?
"It seems that we need to consider producing 8AT in our factory in China as soon as possible."
"Or it can be produced in Southeast Asia, otherwise the cost will not be completely reduced to a level similar to Nanshan gearbox."
Okumura has a clear understanding of labor costs in Japan.
Whether it is the wages of workers or the value of water, electricity, gas and land, there is no way to compare with China.
In this case, the production cost of Aisin gearbox is destined to be higher than that of Nanshan gearbox.
Putting the main production location overseas is no other choice.
Invisibly, Cao Yang has made an alternative contribution to the development of China's gearbox industry.
After all, if Aisin puts 8AT into production in China, it will inevitably recruit some relevant personnel to engage in this work.
Even if many technical parameters are not announced, local technicians can eventually learn something.
…
While the people at Aisin Seiki were dismantling the 8AT on the Ziweixing, Porsche engineers were driving the Ziweixing to conduct various tests.
"Lai Ping, Xingchen Motors' Ziweixing will be officially launched in Germany next month."
"The dealers they are looking for still have some overlap with us."
"Do you think we should use dealers to create obstacles for them?"
Weidejin did not take Xingchen Automobile seriously at first.
But the tests during this period overturned many of his perceptions.
Unexpectedly, the bullshit Cao Yang urged at the Yangcheng Auto Show were all true.
"We have no idea how many Ziwei Xings can be sold in Germany."
"But Porsche's sales in China are constantly rising."
"If we take the lead and use some tricks, and Xingchen Automobile follows suit, Porsche will definitely suffer the biggest losses."
When Lai Ping said this, Wei Dejin immediately knew what he meant.
Fortunately, he just mentioned it and didn't particularly care.
"I always feel that this Ziweixing has a bit of a Porsche 911 style."
“Especially the shape of the front part of the car is slightly similar to many of our models.”
"The Chinese people say they have created a new model, but in fact I think they have not escaped the path of copying in the east and copying in the west."
Weidejin tried his best to find out more problems on Ziwei Star.
However, there are really not many places to criticize.
This made him feel a little depressed.
When will Porsche feel a little passive when facing Chinese car companies?
"The exterior design of a car will inevitably have some design elements that can be borrowed from each other."
"It is obviously untenable to say that Ziweixing is a copycat model based on this feature alone."
"If we announce this news, it may cause some people to resent it."
"Weidejin, I feel that when Porsche designs some models in the future, it will be necessary to make some special adjustments for the Chinese market."
"For example, Audi has specially launched an extended version in China, making the wheelbase longer."
"BMW and Mercedes-Benz are doing similar things."
Lai Ping's understanding of China is obviously much deeper than that of We Dejin.
When Chinese people drive, they often need to travel together as a family.
The space in the rear seats becomes very important.
This is very different from the market demand in Europe and the United States.
However, even in later generations, Porsche did not launch any extended version models.
"After lengthening, the car's handling performance will definitely decrease."
"We can't destroy our sign."
Weidejin rejected Lai Ping's proposal without thinking.
"You are right. The maneuverability of the extended version will definitely be reduced, but only professional drivers can clearly feel this change."
"For most consumers, they don't feel that the driving performance of the extended version is compromised."
“There are even fewer consumers in China who understand cars.”
"So I think we can consider launching some extended models in China."
"For example, we can consider launching an extended version of the Cayenne SUV, which we sell well now."
In terms of exterior design, Lai Ping is naturally the authority on Porsche cars.
But when it comes to the size parameter settings of some models, he, the designer, does not have the final say.
Obviously, Wei Dejin, the CEO, has a much higher say in this regard than Lai Ping.
"If we don't extend the length, won't Chinese consumers be happy to buy it?"
"Not to mention that launching the extended version alone requires redesigning a bunch of parts. The increase in the cost of those parts alone will lead to an increase in our selling price. In the end, sales may not only not increase, but decrease."
When Wei Dejin retorted like this, Lai Ping didn't know what to say.
After all, his proposal was only based on the situation of other manufacturers and the needs of Chinese consumers.
He couldn't guarantee whether it was really the most suitable one.
However, he, who has always been very conceited, made a bolder proposal, saying: "Weidejin, you said that if this Purple Star is slightly modified, put on the Porsche logo, and launched as our coupe As for the market, will it be liked by many people?"
Lai Ping always felt that the design of Ziweixing was very consistent with his imagination.
That's why such an incredible plan was proposed.
"Lai Ping, although you will retire in a few years, you are already past your peak age as a designer."
"But we at Porsche will never do this kind of cooperation with Chinese automobile companies for the appearance of models."
Wedekind gave his answer very seriously.
In his opinion, this is completely an act of price reduction.
However, his answer made Lai Ping feel very uncomfortable.
This made some of the ideas in his mind that were just in their infancy begin to loosen up.
As the fallen leaves return to their roots, it’s time to think about returning to China to continue to shine.
…
"Ayang, our Weibo beta version has been developed."
Just two days after the Chinese Spring Festival ended, Fang Sisi brought good news to Cao Yang.
He had previously provided Fang Sisi with various ideas for Weibo.
In this case, the research and development progress is naturally very fast.
If Fang Sisi hadn't kept improving and wanted the projects he hosted to achieve great results as soon as they were launched, Weibo would have launched a beta version before the Spring Festival.
"Very good!"
"Yesterday Zhang Song Wenye sent a list with information about a group of celebrities."
"When Weibo is officially launched, we can invite these celebrities to join it and make it famous."
"At the same time, you can also advertise on various portals and forums. Weibo's users can exceed 10 million within a month, completely establishing its dominant position."
Weibo is such a big killer, Cao Yang knows very well that other companies will follow suit and imitate it.
So we can only create a time difference to seize users before everyone reacts.
Just like advertising on various portals, it is feasible at the beginning.
When various portal websites react and prepare to start Weibo, they will then advertise for you, which is something that you don’t even have to think about.
"No problem, I've already said hello in advance at the Huaxia TV Advertising Center."
“When Weibo is officially launched, we will start advertising on China Channel.”
"However, after we have done this, the various publicity expenses will be extremely exaggerated."
“Until now, I don’t know how Weibo can make money.”
“If we rely solely on advertising fees, we may not be able to earn back our investment in the future.”
Fang Sisi said a little worried.
Spending money is fun, but making money is more painful.
"Don't worry, as long as everyone realizes the influence of Weibo, advertising fees will be much higher than you think."
“And when advertising on Weibo, sometimes it’s difficult for users to feel it.”
"The effect of this kind of advertising will be much better than blunt advertising, and it will appeal to many people."
"Especially various entertainment companies and celebrities, they may all be our advertisers by then."
When Cao Yang said this, Fang Sisi became a little confused.
Will celebrities become Weibo advertisers?
Is this the opposite of what I said?
"Ayang, aren't we asking those big stars to help promote Weibo? Why do you want them to pay to become our customers?"
"If you can do this, it will definitely be big news in the Internet industry."
Although Fang Sisi is very smart, there are some things that cannot be compared to Cao Yang's vision just because you are smart.
"It's very simple."
“Isn’t there a ranking list of popular news on Weibo?”
"If a singer releases a new song, does he hope that the news will be on the hot news rankings?"
"A new movie is about to be released. Do you also hope that related news will be included in this news ranking?"
"Or to put it another way, if a big star's negative news is on the rankings, will he want to take the news down?"
When Cao Yang said this, Fang Sisi was immediately stunned.
Can it still be done like this?
It sounds a bit weird.
But if you think about it seriously, it seems entirely possible.
"Ayang, you..."
"I don't even know how to describe it."
"I feel that the Chinese entertainment industry will be harvested by you in the future."
"But with this model, will it be easy for me to be scolded in the future?"
Fang Sisi, who was Bingxue and smart, was naturally able to understand the various meanings and influences behind the cases Cao Yang mentioned.
"It depends on how to grasp the degree."
"In short, if Weibo is developed properly, it will be of great benefit to Xingchen Motors and Nanshan Film and Television."
"And they promote each other, and ultimately what I want to achieve can be achieved smoothly."
"You can send me the beta version later to try it out. If there are no major problems, it will be officially launched on February 1st."
Launching Weibo before the arrival of smartphones would definitely have a much greater impact than when Weibo officially appeared in 2009.
Even in later generations, Weibo's influence in some fields is still very large.
For the development of Xingchen Automobile and the promotion of Ziweixing, Cao Yang naturally wanted to personally guide Fang Sisi.
When the time comes to set up a persona of a former beautiful journalist with an education from China National Taiwan High School to start a business, maybe Fang Sisi can become a unique presence in the Internet circle.
When the time comes, let Fang Sisi go directly to promote Ziweixing, and the effect will not be worse than that of a big star.
…
On January 17, 2006, statistics released by the China Internet Network Information Center showed that as of December 31, 2005, the number of Internet users in China reached 111 million, an increase of 17 million from the end of 2004.
The Internet penetration rate reached 8.5%, and the number of people using broadband Internet access exceeded the number of dial-up Internet users for the first time.
This can be said to be the beginning of the rapid development of China's Internet. In the next five years, the number of China's Internet users will rise directly to 450 million.
With such a large base of Internet users, combined with the advent of the smartphone era, the Internet industry has enjoyed great success for more than ten years.
If Nanshan Group launches Weibo at this time, it will naturally reap a wave of dividends.
"Mr. Cao, our company has contacted more than a hundred celebrities, and they are all willing to register on Weibo and post some simple slogans on it."
"At the same time, the first TV series "Struggle" invested by Nanshan Film and Television has also completed preparations and will officially start filming next week."
"This makes more people in the entertainment industry willing to actively cooperate with Nanshan Film and Television."
Zhang Songwen knew that Cao Yang attached great importance to the launch of Weibo, so he called Cao Yang to report the results during this period.
Attracting a group of celebrities to Weibo to build momentum and then driving a group of fans to join Weibo was Cao Yang's publicity plan for Fang Sisi.
If Nanshan Group has never interacted with the entertainment industry before, then it would be more difficult for this task to be completely natural.
Now with Nanshan Film and Television, the situation is completely different.
Thanks to Zhang Songwen's intentional or unintentional publicity, the news that Nanshan Group invests 100 million in TV series and movies every year has spread in the industry.
Both film and television companies and celebrities have taken a fancy to this piece of fat.
Just register a Weibo and post a post, what's the difficulty?
"Well, when the time comes, Weibo will provide a VIP certification for the corresponding celebrity."
"For celebrities who actively cooperate with us, Weibo will also have some reward programs."
"At that time, you can also see which celebrities have urgent publicity needs recently, and you can ask Weibo to help operate it, so that everyone can see the power and usefulness of Weibo."
Cao Yang knew that most of the celebrities who agreed to help at this time must not have realized the importance and power of Weibo.
Since everyone is not aware of it yet, then help them raise their awareness.
"For these stars, the main thing is that we can invest in a few more TV series or movies, and then give some good roles to people who are highly cooperative. That is the best result."
"If there are other unexpected surprises, then more celebrities will definitely take the initiative to cooperate with our promotion in the future."
Zhang Songwen is also very aware of the reality of the entertainment industry.
If you can give others benefits, they will always cooperate with you.
Otherwise, go back to where you came from.
"In terms of film and television investment, you can also check if there are any other suitable dramas recently."
"As long as the dramas are not bad, you can cast a few movies first to let everyone see the strength of the company."
Cao Yang naturally knew how realistic those celebrities were.
So don't count on the resources of these people.
Soon, under the leadership of these celebrities, Weibo caused a huge response in the Chinese Internet industry as soon as it was launched.
On the first day of its official launch, the number of registered users reached 500,000.
What's even more exaggerated is that before the second day is over, this number has already become 1 million.
In the next few days, the number increased exponentially.
Advertisements on Huaxia TV, advertisements on the four major portals, online guides on various forums, celebrities settling in...
With all kinds of big moves coming together, Fang Sisi is in charge of Weibo, and it’s difficult not to become popular.
However, Cao Yang, the instigator, left Yangcheng at this time and went directly to Chuncheng to discuss the matter of the big red flag with Zhu Zhengfeng.
The automobile industry is the foundation of Nanshan Group.
Cao Yang understood this very well.
(End of chapter)
