Countercurrent 1982

Chapter 1622 Localization Improvement

In fact, for Duan Yun, Volvo's heavy-duty truck technology is what he values ​​the most. As for Volvo's commercial sedans, if they can be introduced, they can be introduced. If they can't, it doesn't matter to him.

Because compared with the German Volkswagen, the Volvo business car itself does not have a strong technical advantage. A batch of Volvo 240 cars were introduced in China in the early years, and there are still many Volvo [-] cars used as taxis on the streets of Guangzhou. .

The Volvo 140 is an obsolete car. It was first produced in 1966. No one would buy this kind of car in China. After all, it is an obsolete technology that has long since been eliminated, and its fuel consumption is quite high. It is basically in a state of semi-stop production.

As for the Volvo 240, it was launched in 1974. In fact, in terms of appearance and configuration, this car is similar to the current domestic firms. In terms of price, the price is better. At present, the domestic price of the Santana sedan has been fired up to 80 yuan, while the price of the imported Volvo 24 sedan is as high as 240 to 35 yuan. This is mainly due to the issue of tariffs on imported cars. If it is all domestically produced, the price should be similar to that of Santana, but because Chinese people have relatively low awareness of the Volvo brand, even if the 38 sedan production line is introduced, it will be difficult to open up the market in the short term.

But Volvo heavy trucks are different. At present, the only commercial heavy trucks that can be sold in China are Steyr heavy trucks. This kind of car has a weird design, and the tires are still inside. The tires on both sides will only be flattened when they are fully loaded So much so that the traffic police determined that the tire installation was unqualified when it was first on the road, and many jokes were made.

Compared with the technology of Taituo Lasteyr, Volvo heavy trucks have stronger indicators and technologies in all aspects, especially the newly-produced F12 series, which can be said to be the pinnacle of commercial heavy trucks in the world. In some aspects, the performance is even stronger.

"Mr. Duan, in fact, we sold our company's heavy-duty trucks to the Chinese government in the early years, but we didn't get an order. You may not know much about this matter." Johnson said to Duan Yun.

In fact, as early as the mid-80s, the previous president of Volvo had already actively promoted Volvo cars, including heavy trucks, to China.

In fact, not only Volvo, but also the world's three giants of heavy-duty trucks, Volkswagen Scania, and Mercedes-Benz, they monopolized the heavy-duty truck market in the 80s. These three giant car companies also came to China to inspect and sell their heavy-duty Trucks, however, eventually found that they simply could not enter this market.

There are three reasons for this. The first point is that the FAW and FAW at that time produced the Jiefang brand Dongfeng brand heavy-duty transport vehicles as early as the 1s.

Although the former Soviet Union could not match the American Germans in the field of private cars, it had unparalleled innate advantages in the field of military trucks, especially the FAW Jiefang heavy-duty trucks, which basically imitated the military transport trucks of the former Soviet Union. here.

In the 80s, after the country introduced the Austrian Steyr heavy truck technology, it closed the door to the introduction of heavy trucks, so other international brands could not enter the Chinese market.

Secondly, the price of overseas heavy truck brands is too expensive. Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Scania have been actively promoting their heavy-duty truck products to China. On some construction sites in China, imported Mercedes-Benz large trucks can occasionally be seen, but these The price of large trucks is almost three times that of FAW and Dongfeng models of the same level. These three brands do have a high brand premium, but trucks are no more than private cars. Chinese project sites pay more attention to practicality, rather than as a dazzling Rich tools, so Mercedes-Benz is three times more expensive. Volvo’s large trucks are rarely imported in China. Occasionally, there are some national-level projects. Domestic heavy trucks are difficult to meet engineering needs, so they spend high prices to import Mercedes-Benz. truck brand.

As for the last point, heavy trucks mean that the country's important logistics industry is one of the national pillar industries. Its real status is not inferior to that of oil, electricity, and telecommunications. Such important sectors cannot be occupied by overseas brands at will. It can only be independently developed by state-owned enterprises to ensure that no one gets stuck.

In addition to these three important reasons, there is another small detail, that is, imported heavy trucks are too "squeamish".

At that time, domestic heavy trucks could be overweight, so almost all domestic large trucks at that time were not modified, and the rear trailers were thickened and heightened, while imported heavy trucks could not be overweight. This is the difference between domestic and imported.

If Duan Yun wants to introduce Volvo heavy trucks, he is actually interested in production line equipment and related technologies. After introducing himself to China, he will definitely improve and upgrade Volvo's technology locally, with the help of a large number of Soviet heavy truck experts. , he can develop an advanced heavy-duty truck that can be welcomed by the Chinese market.

"The situation you mentioned is related to our country's national policy. Our country's industrial level is relatively backward, and heavy trucks are strategic materials, so this kind of thing will not be imported in large quantities from abroad." Duan Yun paused, then continued. : "But now that our country has entered the 13th year of reform and opening up, the degree of openness is getting higher and higher. Imported goods, especially automobile products, still have to face high tariffs. However, if foreign companies can invest in China and set up joint ventures If so, not only can bypass the tariff restrictions, but also get strong policy support from our government.”

"That's right. Over the years, there have been many joint venture companies in China, including some well-known multinational companies. From the overall situation, most of them have already made money. This is in line with our country's preferential policies and support for joint ventures. Related." At this time Liu Donghai also hurriedly interjected, only to hear him continue: "In terms of patented technology, our country has also carried out strict protection for foreign-funded enterprises, and the crackdown on patent infringement is very strong. A series of special activities, the results are very prominent, you can send people to China to understand related matters, all in all, when investing in mainland China, everything is guaranteed, as long as you bring the technology, the return will definitely satisfy you !"

(End of this chapter)