Set sail1992

Seeing Zhao Yi with a tense expression, Zhang Qihang smiled instead. He nodded slightly and said, "I understand what you mean. You plan to launch a semi-automatic transmission similar to Eaton's 'UltraShift' to the market first, right?"

"Yes," Zhao Yi responded, "This semi-automatic transmission can greatly reduce the driver's workload, but that's not the point. The point is that compared with the original pure manual transmission, its cost has not increased much. The difficulty is not too great. With the technical level of our group, if we purchase related technologies from Huateng and ask Huateng's technical team to help, we should be able to come up with finished products soon.

Assistant Xiao Liu and I have learned that among the cars sold by Huateng Group, models equipped with semi-automatic transmissions account for more than [-]%, which shows that the market and consumers actually still recognize this kind of car, which can greatly reduce the operating intensity of drivers. of the gearbox.

If our group can take the lead in launching the first semi-automatic gearbox dedicated to heavy trucks in China, it will not only greatly enhance the brand image and technical image of our group, but also accumulate data and improve it in the next use process, so as to develop a real one for the future. Accumulated technology and experience in AMT gearboxes and special hybrid gearboxes..."

Speaking of this, Zhao Yi was no longer the cautious look before, and his whole body began to dance with joy.

Zhang Qihang looked at Zhao Yi with a smile, very happy.After Zhao Yi finished speaking, he nodded with relief and said, "Very good, Mr. Zhao, I am very pleased that you can tell me this.

I have always said before that technical developers should not only think about problems from the perspective of technology, but also think about problems from the perspective of the market. As the chief engineer of the transmission system of our group, you can take the initiative to tell me this, which shows that You really thought about this project before, but why didn't you tell me before? "

Zhang Qihang is really a little strange. Being able to say so many things shows that Zhao Yi has been thinking about this matter for a long time. If so, why didn't he report it to himself earlier?
"This one……"

Zhao Yi scratched his head, and said with some embarrassment: "Mr. Zhang, as you know, our group has never engaged in automatic transmissions before. After you assigned the task last time, we have been trying to find out about AMT transmissions for commercial vehicles. Although we have applied for special funds to import two heavy trucks equipped with AMT gearboxes from Germany and the United States, but before that, the cars have not arrived yet, and our transmission department has been learning from the AMT gearboxes on passenger cars. And the object of groping..."

That's it!

Only then did Zhang Qihang understand what was going on.

In fact, AMT gearboxes for passenger cars are not a new thing. In the domestic passenger car industry, some manufacturers have purchased AMT gearboxes and equipped them with AMT gearboxes in order to control costs and at the same time want to realize automatic shifting functions. Among the more famous models in China are Chery's leading models.

In the absence of actual products for learning and reference, it is also a normal choice to get an AMT automatic transmission on a passenger car to have a simple understanding of AMT technology.

Zhao Yi went on to say: "After the heavy truck equipped with Eaton's AMT gearbox we ordered arrived, I found out that Eaton's gearbox is different from what we thought, and it is closer to the semi-automatic gearbox of Huateng Group. At this time, I suddenly had this idea: the real AMT automatic transmission for heavy trucks must not be successfully developed in a short period of time. While slowly accepting, it can also accumulate technology and experience for the next development of a real automatic transmission, and the most important thing is to buy time.

certainly……"

Speaking of this, Zhao Yi glanced at Zhang Qihang, and said with some embarrassment: "There are actually some immature thoughts on my part."

Zhang Qihang laughed immediately when he heard the words, nodded and said, "Oh? What do you think? Tell me."

"I think the AMT gearbox is indeed a good thing, which can greatly reduce the driver's work intensity, but the price of the AMT automatic gearbox is too high. Take the MAN heavy truck we purchased as an example. The same model is equipped with an AMT gearbox. The version is almost 10 yuan more expensive than the version equipped with a normal manual transmission.

This is a full 10 yuan! "

Speaking of this, Zhao Yi's tone became excited: "Even if there is a little water in it, but I estimate that after our AMT automatic transmission is put into production, the model with the same configuration, the version equipped with the AMT transmission may be better than the version equipped with the pure automatic transmission. The manual transmission version is at least 3 yuan more expensive.

You also know the potential users of trucks in our country...whether it is an individual car owner or an industrial user...or pay more attention to cost performance, if it is only 5000 yuan, it is fine, but the difference of 3 yuan is enough to influence the choice of most users , Compared with spending an extra 3 yuan, they would rather choose a manual transmission. "

Zhang Qihang nodded and agreed with Zhao Yi's words: "Well, that's the truth."

"Really?" Mr. Zhang agreed with his point of view, which made Zhao Yi even more happy, but he said repeatedly: "So I think that in a short period of time, at least within five years, there are not many automatic transmissions in the domestic truck industry. It cannot be said that no one buys automatic transmission trucks because of the existence of models, but I think the annual sales volume may only be a few hundred..."

Zhang Qihang nodded. Although he didn't speak, he agreed with Zhao Yi's statement.

Moreover, influenced by Zhao Yi's analysis, Zhang Qihang thought more far-reaching: when the domestic commercial vehicle industry just started to promote and popularize automatic transmissions, potential prospective car owners of Everbright, including old car owners who were planning to change cars, People, there are still misunderstandings in their thinking. In their thinking and cognition, they always feel that the truck gearbox must be a manual transmission. The automatic transmission is too delicate, not as reliable as the manual transmission. The cost is still high.

Moreover, because the technology of the domestic automobile industry has been inferior to others for many years, car owners will also form a thought in their minds: "If it is a foreign automatic transmission truck, you can also consider it, but domestic trucks? Our domestic truck manufacturers have automatic transmissions. gearbox technology? Even if they can produce automatic transmissions, the reliability, durability and ease of maintenance may not be comparable to foreign truck companies, right?” With this doubt or concern, coupled with There are not enough feedback from peers on the Internet. Except for a few bold car owners who are willing to try early adopters, I am afraid that for the vast majority of potential prospective car owners, they would rather choose manual transmission.

Potential car owners are unwilling to choose automatic transmission, which brings another potential trouble, that is, manufacturers that have invested huge R&D funds cannot reduce and even out the transmission costs through large-scale mass production of automatic transmissions. The research and development and cost of the gearbox, the result is that the price of the model equipped with the automatic gearbox is much higher than that of the model equipped with the manual gearbox. vicious circle.

Zhao Yi didn't know that his words had already been approved by Zhang Qihang. He felt that he had come up and continued to say: "But if it is a semi-automatic transmission, the situation is different. The first point is that it is easy to promote..."

"Easy to promote?"

Hearing this, Zhang Qihang had a smile on his face, he already thought of what Zhao Yi would say.

"Yes, in my opinion, semi-automatic transmissions are much easier to promote than automatic transmissions," Zhao Yi said excitedly: "Speaking of which, I would also like to thank you, Mr. Zhang, if you hadn't vigorously promoted semi-automatic transmissions in Huateng Group. The gearbox has made everyone generally accept the concept of "semi-automatic gearbox". I'm afraid this matter is not so easy.

But now, the situation is different, because so many cars equipped with semi-automatic transmissions have appeared, and after these years of use, the durability and reliability of semi-automatic transmissions have been tested by the market, and everyone naturally loves semi-automatic transmissions. There is a higher level of trust, including the truck's users as well as potential users.

In addition, the most important reason is that compared with the traditional manual transmission, the semi-automatic transmission is improved on the basis of the traditional manual transmission, and the overall manufacturing cost does not increase much. For semi-automatic transmissions used in cars, I think the cost of semi-automatic transmissions used in trucks will increase by about 2000 to 4000 yuan. In the future, the production capacity will be expanded, and the cost will be further reduced. This price increase will benefit car owners and prospective buyers. Car owners are very attractive. After all, semi-automatic transmissions can really reduce their labor intensity. In terms of their profitability, they should be willing to spend more money for this ease... Of course, in the end If so, it's best to do some research.

If coupled with a constant-speed endurance system, it should be able to attract a considerable number of prospective car owners. "

Can manual transmission models also be equipped with cruise control system?

The answer is of course you can.

In the impression of many people, cruise control is equated with automatic transmission, but in fact, manual transmission models can also be equipped with constant speed cruise function, and there are many manual transmission models equipped with constant speed cruise function ( For example, Baojun 730 manual transmission models, all series are equipped with cruise control as standard), of course, because the gearbox cannot automatically shift gears, there are some points that need to be paid attention to in the use of manual transmission models equipped with cruise control systems, such as Or it is not a big problem to use it on a highway with a small slope, but if the road slope changes greatly and the current gear is no longer suitable for the current road conditions, the driver is required to manually switch gears. Manual transmission models with constant speed cruise function also have corresponding reminder functions.

But in any case, manual transmission models can be equipped with a cruise control system. Since manual transmission models can be equipped with constant speed cruise control, trucks equipped with manual transmissions or semi-automatic transmissions are naturally no problem.