Set sail1992

Chapter 1365 The Avalanche Begins

Fukui Taro nodded slightly: "So, Mr. Hachigo, do you think that 'electricity as the main and oil as the auxiliary' has a better development prospect?"

After listening to what Hirotaka Hachigo said, Taro Fukui actually started to take this approach.

"Hai! That's what I think," Hachigo Hirotaka bowed slightly, "but my vision is limited, and my perspective is not high enough, so my opinion may not be correct.

Of course, I don’t think the IMA solution needs to be abandoned completely. After all, the cost advantage of the IMA solution is there. The IMA solution can be used in K-cars and small cars, and a dual-motor hybrid solution can be used in medium-sized cars or SUVs. At least, Hongda should explore this direction.”

"That's a good idea," Fukui Taro nodded, then turned to the others and asked, "Gentlemen, do you have any other different opinions?"

Everyone looked at each other, and finally nodded:

"We think Mr. Baxiang's suggestion is very reasonable."

“It’s always a good idea to try more…”

…………

It is certainly not acceptable to directly admit that the original choice was not far-sighted enough and that the technical solution of the Otto cycle engine plus a single motor is not as good as the Atkinson cycle engine plus a dual motor solution. Isn't that equivalent to admitting that the wrong path was chosen at the beginning? This is absolutely unacceptable, but "trying more" is another matter.

After hearing this answer, Fukui Taro secretly breathed a sigh of relief: with this discussion, his master's face was saved.

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While everyone was still arguing over the "Qilin" engine of Huateng Group, no one noticed that a new car was quietly launched on the market.

It is not right to say that it is a new car, because this car has actually been on the market for almost two years. Since its launch, although the sales volume of this car cannot be compared with that of Huateng Kaiyue, it has always been a frequent visitor in the top ten of the compact car sales rankings, and it is even seen in the top five from time to time.

This car is the F3 produced by Lao Wang.

In the first week on the market, the car achieved sales of 728 units per week.

It is not the entire F3 series, but only the hybrid version of the F3 that achieved a sales volume of 728 units.

Seeing this performance, Lao Wang excitedly paced around his office: "728 cars... 728 cars, Lao Xia, we sold 728 cars in just one week! And this is only the first week!"

Xia Bing, who was affectionately called Lao Xia by Lao Wang, nodded excitedly: "Yes, 728 units... Mr. Wang, this is the result we achieved without much publicity. If we promote it vigorously and more potential consumers know that our BYD F3 is also a hybrid model, then it is not impossible to sell 5000 or 8000 units per month."

“Yes, yes…” Lao Wang was equally excited and nodded repeatedly: “Lao Xia, now it seems that our previous market estimates for hybrid vehicles were too conservative!”

Xia Bing smiled and said, "We are a little conservative, but those dealers are really anxious now, right?"

"Ha ha……"

Speaking of dealers, Lao Wang couldn't help but laugh.

Although BYD Auto has performed well in the domestic market in the past two years, it is a newcomer in the domestic automobile industry after all. So even though it bought the first-generation extended-range hybrid technology from Huateng Industrial Group, Lao Wang was not very confident, so he only produced a small batch to test the market's reaction to hybrid models.

The dealers were somewhat resistant to this batch of hybrid F3s. Even though Mr. Wang had explained to everyone that our hybrid system was purchased from Huateng Group, everyone was still hesitant. One dealer said, "Mr. Wang, I know that our hybrid technology is purchased from Huateng Group, but the same engine produced by different manufacturers has different quality. We at BYD Auto have never produced hybrid cars before, so we have no idea about the quality of this car."

The result was that no matter how Lao Wang and Xia Bing persuaded, no one was willing to buy the hybrid version of the F3.

In the end, it was only after Lao Wang and Xia Bing repeatedly persuaded the dealers and promised that the goods could be returned if they could not be sold within half a year that the dealers reluctantly agreed.

But who could have imagined that 1000 of the first batch of 3 hybrid F728s used to test market reaction were sold as soon as they were launched on the market.

Such a result was unexpected not only to Lao Wang and Xia Bing, but also to all the dealers. At the beginning, everyone was mentally prepared for these cars to stay in the warehouse for half a year and eventually be returned to BYD Auto. But who could have imagined that within less than a week after the cars arrived, the hybrid models were already sold out in the garages of many dealers, and they were now desperately calling Lao Xia to request supply.

It was not until this moment that Lao Wang and Xia Bing finally put their minds at ease. Lao Wang continued, "Now it has been proven that as long as the price is right, ordinary people really like hybrid cars. Next, our focus will be to expand the production capacity of hybrid models. In addition..."

At this point, Lao Wang looked at Xia Bing and said, "It's really unsafe for a car manufacturer to only have one model, the F3. What level do you think our company's next car should focus on?"

For an OEM, it is incredible that it only has one model and this model has achieved huge success in the market!

  No matter how much he is praised by others, Lao Wang has a clear mind. Although BYD Auto is doing well now, it is actually in a very bad situation - what will happen if there is a problem with the sales of F3 one day?

As the sales manager of BYD Auto, Lao Xia has an obligation to take responsibility for this issue.

Without hesitation, Lao Xia said, "I have also been thinking about this issue for a while."

"Tell me."

"Okay," Xia Bing responded, and said, "I carefully analyzed the product distribution of major OEMs, and I found that those mainstream, mass-market, first-tier civilian car brands basically have two products in the same pricing range. For example, Wolfsburg Automobile has not only the Lavida in the compact car field, but also the Golf, Sagitar and other products.

The positioning of these products is actually similar, but there are slight differences in the details. In this way, if the user has a limited car purchase budget but is not satisfied with car A, he can also look at car B, which gives users more choices and also promotes this business as much as possible. "

"That's what happened," Lao Wang nodded. "So you think we should make another car in the compact car segment, and the positioning of this car should be slightly higher than the F3?"

"Yes," Xia Bing nodded. "I think that although this car is still a compact car, and even shares the powertrain and most of the accessories with the F3, its overall shape should be more refined and luxurious, forming a high-low match with the F3 in the compact car field.

In addition, I think BYD Auto should have a product in the mid-size car segment, and if possible, it would be best if we also have a product in the entry-level micro car segment.

In this way, we have formed a complete product line distribution of micro cars, compact cars and mid-size cars, which is basically stable, and we can gradually improve other product series in the future. "

As for what these cars were used as a "reference", Xia Bing did not say. He believed that his boss would have his own considerations.

Lao Wang thought for a moment, then nodded slowly: "That's right."

After a pause, he continued, "Old Xia, think about this carefully during this period of time. We can talk about it later."

"Okay," Xia Bing thought for a moment and asked, "Boss Wang, if we place a lot of additional orders, there won't be any problems with the supply from Huateng Group, right?"

The motors and batteries of this batch of hybrid F3s are produced by BYD Group itself, but the dedicated ECU and controller are provided by Huateng Group. Considering that Huateng Group itself has a lot of hybrid orders, it is understandable that Xia Bing has such concerns.

"Don't worry, I have discussed this issue with Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang said that even if our monthly demand reaches 10,000 sets, they can still supply enough."

Xia Bing heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this: "With Mr. Zhang's words, I feel relieved."

Xia Bing was convinced by Zhang Qihang. She was so convinced that she couldn't be more convinced.

....................................

In the first week, the hybrid F3 was like a leaf falling on the water, without even a splash. But starting from half a month later, major automakers gradually realized that something was wrong: How come the sales of BYD F3 increased so much all of a sudden?

  This is wrong!

check!

Go check what’s going on with this F3!

  This investigation was not a big deal. The sales managers of major OEMs were immediately shocked: Are the extra sales of hybrid models? When did BYD F3 have a hybrid model? With their technical level, even the engine and gearbox are outsourced, how can they have the ability to develop a hybrid system?

what?

Bought from Huateng Group?

Next, as the sales data from Huateng Group was also obtained, everyone was shocked to see that the sales of several models of Huateng Group were almost all rising, and then compared with the continued decline of its own sales. So, the people are so fond of hybrids? What should we do? Should we also develop hybrids, or reduce prices for promotions?

While the major automakers were still hesitating whether to cut prices and launch a wave of promotions to boost sales, a domestic brand could no longer withstand the pressure and began to cut prices for promotions.

This promotion seemed to have pushed the first domino. Following this domestic brand, the second domestic brand also started to cut prices for promotions. Before everyone could react, a second-tier joint venture brand also started to cut prices for promotions...

It was as if an avalanche had begun.

(End of this chapter)