Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 491 If you are strong enough, you will have enough friends

Nanshan Transmission has put a lot of effort into the layout of the exhibition hall.

Not only does it look beautiful, but you can also feel a sense of high technology.

The purchasing managers of many OEMs directly gathered around Ji Hua to understand the situation.

High-tech gadgets like 10AT are definitely not affordable for independent brands for the time being.

They also know that Nanshan Group will not sell 10AT to them in the short term.

But CVT is different.

According to Ji Hua just now, the cost of CVT is lower than AT.

What does this mean? Isn’t it clear to everyone?

"Mr. Ji, among our three CVTs, what is the approximate cost of a small CVT?"

Zhang Jiaqi stood next to Ji Hua very actively, inquiring about the price information of CVT.

Although he knew it was impossible to get an accurate quote in this situation, he at least had a rough range.

The percentage Ji Hua just mentioned is really a bit too rough.

"Now the product has just started small batch production, and the production capacity has not been increased, so the price is not very certain yet."

"But our goal is to bring the price of a small CVT to the cost level of 6000 yuan to [-] yuan."

"In this way, more models with a price tag of less than 10 yuan can afford CVT."

This press conference is a technical publicity meeting and a product promotion meeting.

Therefore, some price information must be disclosed appropriately, otherwise how could everyone be interested?

However, for some manufacturers, such a low price is very interesting, but for Zhang Jiaqi, he is very worried.

Yangcheng Automobile Group has just established a joint venture with Aisin to produce 6AT and 4AT. According to the information Zhang Jiaqi learned, the price of these 6ATs should still be around 1 yuan in the future.

The price of 4AT will also be around 7000 RMB.

Even if the localization is relatively thorough and some of the original Aisin manufacturers are replaced, the level will be reduced by about 1000 yuan.

At this price, there seems to be no advantage compared to the CVT of Nanshan Transmission.

Besides, the current production capacity has not increased. If more than 100 million CVTs are produced a year in the future, is it possible that the price will reach less than 5000 yuan?

If that's the case, what's the point of establishing a joint venture between Yangcheng Motor and Aisin?

Will you increase your vehicle cost level?

It does not mean that through the establishment of a joint venture, Yangcheng Automobile Group has mastered automatic transmission technology.

"Mr. Zhang, I heard that Aisin also has a CVT gearbox. Do you want to contact the other party immediately to see if they are willing to bring the CVT to the joint venture factory for production?"

Zeng Guangda on the side spoke softly to Zhang Jiaqi.

However, Zhang Jiaqi felt that things were not that simple.

"Our current annual output is only 20. Even if it increases, it is estimated that it will be more than 30 in a short time."

"Some of them need to continue to use Nanshan transmission products and can be directly switched to Yangcheng Aisin models. It is estimated that there will be less than 20 units."

"Now we are producing 4AT and 6AT at the same time. The construction of two production lines has basically consumed our investment."

"If we continue to invest in CVT production lines, not to mention the need for additional investment, the key point is that this will cause the production capacity of all production lines to be insufficient."

"Correspondingly, costs will naturally increase."

"The gap between the gearboxes we produce and Nanshan gearboxes will become wider and wider."

"Originally we wanted to gain an advantageous position in the competition through the establishment of a joint venture, but now it seems that not only has the advantage not been obtained, but it may have become a hindrance."

"We need to consider how to avoid this situation."

Zhang Jiaqi couldn't help but worry about the future of Yangcheng Aixin.

At present, Yangcheng Trumpchi's competitiveness is not very high.

That is to say, the popularity of SUV models on the market is very high, so everyone can take a sip of soup.

As more and more car companies launch more SUV models, this situation will definitely continue to change.

By then, the pressure on Yangcheng Trumpchi will definitely become much greater.

"Why don't we just put the related work of the joint venture on hold while most of the investment in the joint venture has not yet materialized?"

"Let's take a look at the situation first?"

As soon as Zeng Guangda said these words, Zhang Jiaqi fell silent.

on hold?

Isn't this a slap in the face?

It will probably be very difficult to negotiate with Nanshan Gearbox in the future.

But otherwise, the situation might be even more pessimistic.

Dilemma!

"I'll think about it again and have a meeting within the group to discuss it as soon as possible!"

This kind of important decision is definitely not something that can be made at once.

Otherwise, what should we do if we are held accountable in the future?

So hurry up to the meeting and let everyone make a collective decision.

……

What Zhang Jiaqi can think of, Li Su and the others can definitely think of.

They even thought of something else.

"Mr. Li, I heard that Chery Automobile is also engaged in the research and development of CVT. They should have been doing it for several years."

"When the price of CVT becomes cheaper and the fuel consumption is lower, it is estimated that many small and medium-sized cars will consider using CVT gearboxes."

"Products like 4AT may not have much room for survival."

"Even the living space of 6AT will be squeezed."

"According to the information displayed by Nanshan Transmission, powertrains above 1.5T can use CVT transmissions. The difference is only whether to use a small CVT or a large CVT."

"But no matter which one it is, it should be slightly cheaper than 6AT."

"This means that in the future transmission market, the mid- to low-end will most likely be replaced by CVT, and the high-end will be replaced by 8AT and 10AT."

"The automatic transmission produced by our joint venture with Aisin is in a more embarrassing situation."

When Gao Songlin said this, Li Su felt a little depressed.

Originally, he thought Geely Automobile got a bargain.

Therefore, he obviously felt that the investment of 4000 million US dollars was a bit high. Aisin was definitely planning to invest a lot of money in the factory's production equipment, but he also agreed generously.

The purpose is to allow Geely Automobile to use its own transmissions.

But now the situation has suddenly changed.

At this pace, the significance of the existence of this joint venture factory is really not very high.

Given the strength of Nanshan's gearbox, CVT will definitely become a gearbox widely used by other independent brands such as Changan Automobile and Great Wall Motors in the future.

If Geely Auto wants to maintain its advantage in the competition, it cannot choose a more expensive gearbox.

The most important thing is that the gearbox you use is more expensive and has higher fuel consumption.

In this case, it is very fatal for mid- to low-end models.

Those customers are more sensitive to both selling price and fuel consumption.

"Do you have any good advice?"

Li Su asked very irritably.

"Stop!"

"Mr. Li, find an opportunity to chat with Mr. Cao today and pass on the information that we are planning to stop the Aisin cooperation project and fully use Nanshan Transmission products in the future."

"The best thing is to take this opportunity to let Nanshan Transmission sell 8AT to us."

"After having 10AT, I think they will not be so reluctant to sell 8AT."

Gao Songlin quickly gave his answer.

Anyway, your parts are not the only ones that can get stuck.

There are also many other parts that are exclusively supplied by Nanshan Auto Parts.

In this case, simply getting rid of the exclusive supply of gearboxes seems to have little meaning.

Forget it if the Nanshan gearbox doesn't have these actions.

just now……

"it is good!"

"Stop it, stop it!"

"In the future, we will only use Nanshan Transmission's products. In this regard, we can directly sign a contract with Nanshan Transmission to dispel their doubts."

Li Su is also a very decisive person.

He knew that Geely Automobile's actions years ago must have made Nanshan Group feel grudge.

So he proposed a more ruthless plan to prove his sincerity.

As for the people at Aisin, they still have no idea that the two joint ventures they just established will disappear soon.

……

If people from Yangcheng Automobile and Geely Automobile are concerned about CVT because they are worried about the impact of CVT on their joint ventures, then Chery Automobile's starting point is completely different.

After Yin Chuan understood the situation of the CVT of the Nanshan transmission, he felt very heavy.

"Lao Zhang, judging from this data, isn't our CVT significantly different from Nanshan's transmission?"

"Not only is the transmission efficiency inferior to others, but it is estimated that there is no advantage in terms of cost."

"This will make our future new models a bit passive."

Yin Chuan originally thought that through the research and development of his company's CVT, he could achieve cost reduction while achieving self-sufficiency in transmissions.

But things have clearly changed now.

No one expected that Nanshan Transmission would come up with a CVT without making any noise, and put it into small-scale mass production in no time.

According to this pace, some car companies will definitely start to equip CVT this year.

So when Chery Automobile launches its own CVT, not only will it not have any publicity effect, it will even be compared with Nanshan transmission products.

At that time, it will become a stepping stone for others.

"Mr. Yin, although there are some differences between our products and others, it is difficult for consumers to understand this difference."

"At that time, we can first install it on SUV models that are not so sensitive to fuel consumption, and slowly cultivate our own technical team."

<divclass="contentadv">"Through continuous technological iteration in the future, our cost should eventually be similar to that of Nanshan Gearbox."

"After all, sometimes we are more bold than them when choosing suppliers."

"Besides, with so many car companies using Nanshan gearbox products, consumers will eventually get tired of them, and that's when our advantages will be reflected."

"And if there is a supply shortage one day in the future, our advantages will be very obvious."

Zhang Wuchao must insist on CVT at this time.

Since 2004, five years have passed.

Mass production is about to begin this year. If we give up, the price will be too heavy.

Chery Automobile Research Institute is completely unacceptable.

This is a very heavy blow to the development team.

"What you said is correct, but it becomes risky to act like this."

Yin Chuan sighed, feeling helpless.

Today's meeting makes people unhappy.

……

In a conference room somewhere far away in Japan, Aisin, the atmosphere was very dull.

"Nakaze, if we start the research and development of the 10AT project now, how long do you think it will take to develop it?"

Aisin has always wanted to become the world's largest transmission company. Now that Nanshan Transmission has developed a 10AT, Yoshikawa must also hope that Aisin can develop a 10AT.

Otherwise, we will be one step behind others in terms of publicity in the future.

This definitely won't work.

"President, the design of 10AT is not that easy. If you can't find a suitable gear ratio, it is very likely that you will not be able to use 120th gear even when driving to 10 kilometers per hour."

"Either it is frequent shifting, which causes the transmission efficiency to drop significantly."

"Among them, Nanshan Gearbox must have registered some patents of its own, and we still have to find ways to avoid them."

"Because there was not much technical reserve in this area before, if we start research and development now, we will have to wait until after 2012 at the earliest to achieve mass production."

Hiroyuki Nakazawa naturally knows the significance of 10AT to Aisin.

But he was really not sure, so he didn't dare to talk casually.

Otherwise, he, the R&D director, would commit seppuku if he couldn't produce anything by then.

"Nanshan Transmission's 8AT has only been available for two or three years, and now it has already developed 10AT."

"The fact that they can produce 10AT proves that there is no technical problem with 10AT."

"Then we can only spend two or three years studying it at most."

"With Aisin's technical accumulation in the field of gearboxes, I will give you three years at most. You must develop 10AT!"

Yoshikawa did not discuss with Nakazawa and directly gave his instructions.

This is not the time to discuss and discuss, but to act quickly and come up with the product as soon as possible.

In a short period of time, although 10AT has been released, it has not yet been installed on any model.

Even if a model starts to carry it, it will take some time to increase the volume.

So Aisin is not particularly far behind.

The key is that other gearbox manufacturers around the world do not yet have products like 10AT. As a result, although Aisin is under pressure, it can still withstand it.

Similarly, ZF is also discussing the Nanshan gearbox 10AT.

"Luke, in just over an hour, I have already received calls from purchasing managers from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and other companies. They are all asking whether ZF has its own 10AT technology."

"Why is it that China's gearbox companies have already launched 10AT, but we at ZF have made no progress at all?"

As the sales director of ZF China, Zhou Gang's previous sales pressure was not particularly great, but now he feels pressure from all sides.

ZF and Modu Automobile Group have a joint venture gearbox company that specializes in providing gearbox products to customers such as Modu Volkswagen.

But let alone 10AT, even 8AT cannot be produced.

Now customers are starting to ask about 10AT, and the information Zhou Gang knows is really limited.

"As far as I know, the headquarters is already studying 9AT products and has no intention of developing 10AT."

"Fuel economy varies with gear ratios and ratio coverage, and is not determined solely by the number of gears."

"The ratio range of the ZF gearbox is wide enough, so the benefits of increasing gears are not obvious."

"Therefore, the headquarters feels that the improvement in fuel economy from 9AT to 10AT is very limited. The weight and friction brought by the increased gears and even the enlarged shape of the gearbox have almost offset the benefits of the increased gears."

As the general manager of China, Lukes obviously knows more information.

"We have 9AT?"

"Is the structure significantly different from the current 8AT?"

Although there is no 10AT, it is better than having nothing at all.

So after Zhou Gang heard the news, he was also very interested.

"I don't know the details yet. I only know that this gearbox is expected to be mass-produced in two years."

"Although Nanshan Transmission announced today that it has developed 10AT, I think it may not be until the end of this year or next year that it can truly achieve large-scale mass production."

"In this way, there will be no big gap between our 9AT mass production time and Nanshan gearbox 10AT's mass production time."

"I even think that 8AT is enough in a short period of time. We don't need to worry about it."

Lukes is obviously very confident in ZF's gearbox.

Although ZF's 8AT has eight forward gears, its volume is only equivalent to a traditional 6AT.

At the same time, ZF's 8AT, when combined with the automatic start-stop system, can reduce fuel consumption by 6% compared to the 11AT series gearbox.

In addition, on this transmission, ZF has also applied a modular design often heard in vehicle development, allowing it to be easily matched with hybrid systems and four-wheel drive systems.

All this means that ZF’s 8AT has strong vitality.

Even after ten years, there is no need to worry about being obsolete.

"This is the truth, and those of us who specialize in gearboxes know it very well."

"But for most consumers, 10AT is more advanced than 8AT."

"Although our 8AT is excellent, it is probably hard to believe that it is better than the 10AT."

"Chinese consumers now have extraordinary confidence in Nanshan Group's products."

"As long as there are no obvious problems with the 10AT of Nanshan gearbox, I think the future market prospects should be very bright."

"Needless to say, Xingchen Motors and Jaguar Land Rover will definitely use 10AT."

"Even BMW, Lincoln, Cadillac and other car companies will consider purchasing 10AT automatic transmissions from Nanshan Transmission."

Zhou Gang expressed his worries.

But this doesn't change the situation.

"Observe for a while before talking."

"Of course, arrange for someone to collect information on the Nanshan gearbox 10AT. It would be better if we could get a few samples."

"Then we will report the relevant situation to the headquarters, and maybe we can provide some reference for the development of 9AT."

"At the same time, let the headquarters evaluate the gap between the two gearboxes."

Following Lux's instruction, Zhou Gang immediately took action.

Within the Nanshan Group, Ji Hua, who had just finished today's new product launch conference, came to Cao Yang to discuss what Li Su from Geely Automobile had just communicated with the two of them.

"Mr. Cao, Geely Auto suddenly announced that it will abandon its joint venture with Aisin. In the future, all transmissions will be purchased from Nanshan Transmission. The two parties have formed a strategic alliance in the field of transmissions."

"This attitude changes a bit quickly."

Ji Hua was still angry about Geely Automobile's actions a few years ago.

Unexpectedly, he was so decisive and gave up the newly established joint venture with the determination of a strong man.

"Li is always a smart man. After our CVT gearbox and 10AT gearbox were launched at the same time, the situation in the entire gearbox industry was immediately different."

"In the future, all economy cars can consider using CVT, and the cost can be lower than the current AT."

"Although the launch of 10AT will definitely not be sold to ordinary brands in a short period of time, it also means that Nanshan transmission has always occupied a technological advantage in the industry."

"Nanshan Transmission's influence in this field will definitely continue to rise in the future, and its brand reputation will continue to improve."

"In this case, if Geely Auto uses Aisin's products and its competitors use our products, not to mention the cost difference, the branding aspect alone may lead some consumers to choose models equipped with our transmissions. "

"Of course, these are just Mr. Li's worries. In the end, he didn't want the $4000 million investment to go to waste, so he stopped the loss in time."

"After all, with Geely Auto's current profitability, it is not that easy to earn US$4000 million."

Cao Yang quite understood Li Su's thoughts.

If there are good ones, I will buy them.

Anyway, it’s just a joint venture factory, not Geely Automobile’s own factory.

It is not difficult to make the decision to give up now.

If it were a few months later, it would be a big headache.

Equipment has been ordered and the factory has been put into operation...

"Mr. Cao, we already have 8AT and 10AT. It will be very simple to build another 9AT."

"But it doesn't seem to be that significant, so do we still need to continue challenging 12AT?"

Both 10AT and CVT were successfully developed, but Ji Hua suddenly felt as if he had lost the goal of his efforts.

After all, in a short period of time, Nanshan Gearbox has become technically invincible.

"You can invest in some theoretical research, but don't get into physical design and production for the time being."

"I think the combination of 10AT and 8AT, as well as 6AT and CVT, these transmissions are enough."

"The next step for Nanshan Gearbox is to improve the quality and stability of these gearboxes and further reduce costs."

Cao Yang was not very happy about his achievements.

I haven’t heard of 2023AT being used in passenger cars until 12. Spending money on it is a waste of time.

"No problem, then I will try my best to develop the research and development resources in the direction of commercial vehicle gearboxes."

"It just so happens that the market in this area is growing very fast now."