Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 432 BMW X6, Zotye X6, the beginning of the car market war

July 2008, 7, is a very ordinary day for most people.

But for BMW, this is a day worth looking forward to.

Their new all-around coupe X6 is officially launched in China.

With the common advantages of a sedan, a sports car and an SUV, the X6, which carries the huge expectations of BMW China, is priced directly at 99.99 to 129.99 million.

This price can be said to be very cleverly set.

It can be said that the price range of Xingchen Automobile’s Xingtu perfectly overlaps.

To a certain extent, BMW is looking for more hot spots for its X6.

This can be regarded as another successful performance of Xingchen Automobile.

"Mr. Cao, X6S is an SUV modified from the BMW 6 Series, although the current price range is very consistent with Xingtu."

"But the original intention of developing this car was actually for Audi."

"The X6 can be said to be a sharp weapon for BMW to compete with Audi's Audi allroad quattro!"

"The X6 and Audi allroad quattro are both sedan-type off-road vehicles. The X6 and the Audi allroad quattro will also use the sedan's engine, that is, the BMW 6 Series engine, equipped with a V8 4.8L 360 horsepower engine."

"The front face of the BMW X6 is the same as that of all BMW family members. The large double kidney air intakes and the waistlines on both sides extend to the rear of the body."

"However, the unique appearance of the X6 hatchback made BMW designers say that the X6 is coupelike when evaluating the appearance of the BMW X6."

"This is really special, so the BMW X6 can indeed be called a sports sedan."

"The X6 has BMW's own patented technical equipment, including the adaptive all-wheel drive system xDrive, advanced stability control system, active steering system and other equipment."

"In addition, there is a new system called DPC, which is Dynamic Performance Control. The main function of this system is to give this SUV car-like handling."

"Although I don't know yet whether the X6 can be recognized by consumers, their popularity has risen instantly."

Nanshan Group, Zeng Tingting reported the latest market conditions to Cao Yang.

Xingchen Automobile has always paid close attention to the developments of luxury car companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Porsche.

Now that BMW has launched the X6 model in such a high-profile manner, Xingchen Automobile naturally attaches great importance to it internally.

Know thyself, ever-victorious.

BMW specifically involves new models, and can even be said to have created a new category.

Zeng Tingting must understand the impact of this kind of thing.

"Can this DPC system really make SUVs have the same maneuverability as cars?"

Cao Yang attaches great importance to SUVs, which is reflected in the layout of Xingchen Automobile and its exchanges with companies such as Changan and Great Wall.

"When the X6 corners, the DPC system will distribute more torque to the outside rear wheels, reducing understeer and making the cornering line more perfect."

"If there is a sudden tendency for the rear to lose grip when cornering, the DPC system will distribute more torque to the inside rear wheel to reduce oversteer."

"This DPC system also works during deceleration and can stabilize the vehicle independently of the load of the engine."

"Moreover, the X6 also has the weapon on the X5, the downhill assist system."

"When the vehicle is going downhill, the ECU can automatically control the vehicle's driving speed to achieve a greater safety factor."

As a professional, Rao Yongxiang answered Cao Yang's questions.

"Mr. Cao, the X6 has still used ZF's 6AT so far, which is completely incomparable with our stardom and admiration."

"I think although the appearance is quite special, it is precisely because of the unique appearance that not many people will buy the X6."

Ji Hua, as the person in charge of Nanshan Engine, naturally participated in today's meeting.

"The engine of the X6 is a V8 4.4T twin-turbocharged engine. It has the same displacement as our V8, but its performance is not as good as ours."

"As for comparing it with our W12 and W16 engines, there is no comparison."

Cheng Tao is also confident in the products produced by Nanshan Engine.

BMW is very powerful. It even produced aero engines back then.

But so what?
Now your engine's performance just can't match mine.

"I heard that BMW is considering importing the X5 to be manufactured in China. They are expected to make more and more moves in the past few days."

"I think BMW and Mercedes-Benz will still be Xingchen Motors' main competitors in the country in the future."

Zeng Tingting still attaches great importance to BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Both companies have factories in China and can localize overseas models at any time.

If prices continue to drop by then, it will definitely bring pressure to Xingchen Automobile.

After all, the recognition of these two brands by Chinese people is really very high.

This is not so easy to change.

For ten or eight years, Zeng Tingting never thought about surpassing Mercedes-Benz and BMW in this aspect.

"The sales department will pay attention to the market performance of the X6 and see how well everyone accepts it."

Although Cao Yang knew that the sales volume of X6 was just like that in its original history.

It can't be said to be bad, nor can it be said to be good.

Similar-looking cars, in addition to the X6, also have Honda's Geshitu and the famous Tesla Model Y behind them.

But except for the latter, the other sales are not good.

But now China's automobile market has undergone considerable changes, and he is not particularly sure whether consumers' tastes have begun to change.

So follow up first and see what happens.

Zeng Tingting naturally had no doubts about this.

Even if Cao Yang didn't remind her, she would do the same thing.

It is not just Nanshan Group that is also paying attention to the market performance of BMW X6.

The X6 is aimed at Audi, and Strauss naturally knows this very well.

"Vondel, judging from the current market feedback, consumers have higher recognition of the X6 than the Audi A6 allroad quattro."

“并且4.4T的V8发动机，比我们的3.2升V6或4.2升V8汽油发动机的性能要强一些。”

"No matter which angle you look at the X6, below the waistline it is somewhat similar to the BMW X5."

“The part above the waistline has a beautiful roof curve, low window design, and tight C-pillars, which is exactly what a Coupe should look like.”

"Through a clever combination, BMW has successfully integrated the designs of an SUV and a Coupe into one vehicle."

"The rear windshield with a large slant angle, the huge L-shaped taillights, the low-profile rear wing and the fierce exhaust pipe."

"I went to BMW's 4S store yesterday to experience it. In addition to retaining most of the design elements of the X6, the X5 also added some configurations. The metal shift paddles feel quite good."

"The leather covering of the steering wheel is extremely uniform, and the feel and texture are of high quality."

"In addition, the audio control, cruise control system, and telephone system are all integrated on the steering wheel, allowing the driver to conveniently control the vehicle."

"The twin-tube silver instrument panel design is full of dynamics. Both the shape and color matching are consistent with BMW's style."

"Vondel, our opponents have begun to exert their strength."

Strauss was obviously more anxious than Cao Yang.

Audi is now facing competition from Xingchen Automobile. Before, it even thought about joining BMW and Mercedes-Benz to deal with Xingchen Automobile.

But judging from the current situation, the effect is very low.

The most important thing is that BMW itself is not willing to lag behind and wants to increase its market share in China.

They also attach great importance to the prospects of the Chinese market.

By 2008, international automobile giants have slowly increased their attention to the Chinese market.

In the past, when various car companies launched so-called new models in China, they were often not truly new models.

What we do better is to import overseas models that have been on the market for one or two or three or four years.

If you go too far, you can directly import old models that have been eliminated overseas as new models into China.

But this time BMW is different.

As a brand new model of BMW, X6 has just been launched globally this year.

Although Huaxia's launch was a few months late, it can be regarded as the simultaneous introduction of the world's most advanced models.

This is definitely a big improvement compared to what many other car companies have done in the past.

Strauss can certainly feel this.

You know, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have always been the targets of Audi's pursuit in the global market.

Although Audi is one step ahead in the Chinese market, Strauss actually does not have much confidence in whether this advantage can be locked in forever.

"BMW has always believed that Audi's status and strength in China do not match."

"They think there is no reason why we can sell better than them in China."

"Especially the BMW 3 Series is benchmarked against our Audi A4L, and the BMW 5 Series is benchmarked against our A6L."

"They were completely unwilling to admit defeat."

"However, the market is the market, and our Audi sales in China are better than BMW's."

"Even if they immediately import the X6, which has just been launched globally, to China for sale, there is no way to change this situation."

"So I think you don't need to worry. The impact of X6 is not as big as imagined."

Vondel has always felt that Xingchen Automobile is Audi's biggest competitor in China.

Although competitors such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz are powerful, their influence in the Chinese market is still not as good as Audi's.

Up to now, the image of Audi's official car has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Many people in China also have high brand recognition for Audi's four-circle logo.

On this point, Vondel is very confident.

"Looking at the X6 alone, it may not be that powerful."

"But the X5 and X6 are marketed together, and the X7 will definitely be introduced to China in the future. Our Audi Q5 and Q7 will definitely be directly impacted."

Strauss also wanted to get more support from Vondel.

However, Vondel's mind is no longer on BMW.

In his view, BMW will not pose much of a threat to Audi in China within ten years.

At this time, you should clench your fists and target your main competitors.

In particular, the rise of Nanshan Group will not only affect the Audi brand, but also put huge pressure on the Volkswagen brand.

Great Wall, Chery, Geely, BYD, Changan, Yangcheng Automobile...

A number of China's independent brand car companies have now emerged.

Their engines and gearboxes are no worse than those of Volkswagen, but the price of the entire vehicle is much lower than that of the same level of Volkswagen models from the north and south.

Under this circumstance, more and more consumers choose to buy self-owned brand models.This is a situation that Vondel really doesn't want to see.

And Fondel feels that the driving force behind all this is the Nanshan Group.

"BMW is taking action, and we are not resting either."

"The headquarters already intends to introduce Q3 models to Chinese factories globally, and the localization project of Q5 is also on the way to be approved."

"In the future, if the sales of Q7 are acceptable, it is possible to domestically produce Q7."

When Vondel said this, Strauss didn't know how to proceed.

In the end, he had no choice but to go back and figure out how to deal with the threat posed by the emergence of the BMW X6.

……

In the future, as the average age of car buyers is getting lower and lower, car manufacturers will also focus on the preferences of young people when designing cars. In addition to making the products more fashionable and dynamic, many SUVs are made in a coupe style, such as Mercedes-Benz GLA, Lynk & Co 02, Mazda CX-4, etc., I have to say that this crossover model is indeed beautiful in appearance.

However, in 2008, this style was very rare.

The reason why the BMW X6 has aroused a lot of heated discussion is because its shape is very special.

And this special thing makes people at Yangcheng Honda full of expectations.

"Minister Watanabe, I think the appearance style of the CROSSTOUR model that the company is promoting is very similar to the BMW X6."

"According to our schedule, it will be officially launched for sale in 2010."

"Is it possible to take advantage of the popularity of the BMW X6 to market a CROSSTOUR model in advance to let everyone know that our Yangcheng Honda also has new cars that are not BMW's coming soon?"

Lin Tiansheng has been paying attention to news related to the BMW X6 in the past two days.

Although I don’t know how much sales can be achieved, the popularity is not low at all.

It just so happens that they are promoting a new model that has the same style as the BMW X6.

"I've seen the CROSSTOUR prototype. Its front face adopts Honda's family design, and the large chrome-plated grille is very impressive."

"The most important features are concentrated on the sides and rear of the body."

"The side adopts a large slip-back shape, which is indeed very similar to the BMW X6. It is very round and full. The visual center of gravity of the rear of the car is very high, and it looks wide and heavy."

"The company is full of expectations for it, and it is equipped with a 3.5L V6 engine that won Ward's Top [-]."

"However, because the company has high expectations for it and it will not be launched for two years, if the relevant information is leaked too early, it will be easy for competitors to develop targeted marketing measures to deal with us. .”

"So in the past, companies usually wouldn't start promoting their new models so early."

Taro Watanabe naturally knows that the appearance of his CROSSTOUR is very similar to that of the X6.

He even feels that his own model is more elegant and better-looking than the X6.

He even wanted to buy one.

But the stubbornness in his mind will not change easily.

"Under normal circumstances, it is indeed inappropriate to start publicity so early."

"But now the automobile market situation in China is changing rapidly. We should seize some hot spots in time to give consumers something to look forward to."

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to even let consumers know about our CROSSTOUR in advance.”

Lin Tiansheng also wanted to make some efforts and try to persuade Taro Watanabe.

However, Japanese people sometimes become stubborn and simply can't listen to what you have to say.

"We must have confidence in our products. Honda's products have always led consumers' preferences. There is no need to disrupt our position just because of the emergence of the X6."

"When it's about to be launched, just promote it at auto shows."

Taro Watanabe's firm attitude made Lin Tiansheng give up his struggle.

Anyway, the company's development situation is quite good, so I don't have to worry about it anymore.

However, Yangcheng Honda is no longer bothering, but some other manufacturers are still thinking about how to make troubles.

"Mr. Wu, we analyzed it and felt that the BMW X6 is a very good imitation target."

"The unique shape is very recognizable. As long as we copy it, consumers will think it is a BMW X6 at first glance."

"When the time comes, our 2.0T engine and 6AT gearbox equipped with Nanshan Engine will not be much worse than the performance of the X6."

"We even have advantages in some equipment."

"They sell it for 100 million, and we only need to sell it for 15. If the monthly sales exceed 5000, there will definitely be no problem if the monthly sales exceed [-]."

Within Zotye Automobile, Chen Baikun, the vice president in charge of research and development, and Wu Kaiwei, the general manager, put forward their own suggestions.

As a car company born in Yeluzi, Zotye is not very well-known in China.

Although several products were launched, they actually did not make much money.

They have always wanted to create a hot model, so that Zotye can quickly rise and become the same as Chery and Geely.

To this end, their research institute has also made a lot of efforts and selected many imitated models.

But before, they had only considered models from Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen and other car companies.

The original selling prices of these cars are not particularly high. After Zotye imitated them, the impact was not big enough.

The appearance of the BMW X6 this time made Chen Baikun realize that a new opportunity had arrived.

Why don't you find a luxury brand model to imitate, and directly make the price difference between the two cars five or six times.

In this way, the impact came up immediately.

It can definitely stimulate some consumers to buy Zotye cars.

"BMW X6?"

"This car is quite special, but when it comes to good looks and classics, I don't think it can compare to Xingtu."

Chen Baikun did not refute Wu Kaiwei's words, but directly changed his explanation and said: "Mr. Wu, our engines and gearboxes are purchased from Nanshan Group, and some other key parts are also purchased from Nanshan Group."

"In this case, if we plagiarize Xingchen Automobile's products, can the entire vehicle be successfully produced?"

When Wu Baikun said this, Wu Kaiwei was immediately speechless.

indeed!

Nanshan Group only supplies engines and gearboxes to car companies that copy its own products if it is too stupid.

And with the influence of Nanshan Group in the country, if Zotye copied their models, it would probably be sued for bankruptcy!
"Forget it, what you said makes sense."

"The models of Xingchen Motors, Jaguar and Land Rover cannot be moved."

"The rest are Porsche, Mercedes and BMW."

"SUVs are quite popular now, and they only have a few SUV models from several brands."

"Apart from the BMW X6, the Porsche Cayenne is the most recognizable."

"But the Porsche Cayenne also has a problem, that is, their style is a bit similar to Xingtu."

"In order to avoid irritating Nanshan Group, let's imitate the BMW X6."

"You should arrange for someone to go to the BMW 4S store to order two X2s now. We want the cars to be ready, and the sooner they can be delivered, the better."

"Then let the R&D colleagues complete the disassembly work as soon as possible and finalize the relevant parts design drawings."

"At the same time, the purchasing department can also contact the suppliers simultaneously and ask the suppliers to come over and start preparations for production with the disassembled samples."

After thinking clearly, Wu Kaiwei quickly issued instructions.

Taking advantage of the fact that the BMW X6 has just been launched and the popularity is still relatively high, they need to get started as soon as possible.

It aims to produce Zotye's X6 by the end of next year.

By then, the Zotye X6 may become the most dazzling star in the Chinese auto market by the end of next year.

As for whether this dazzling star would damage BMW cars, he couldn't care less.

In cases involving design patent infringement, it is very easy to argue.

Even if you lose the case, you can still appeal.

After much hesitation, maybe it’s time to consider changing the car model.

Naturally, the people at BMW didn't know about Zotye's actions.

Wu Kaiwei has no plans to do any pre-publicity, and will just go on sale directly when the time comes.

However, although Zotye Automobile has done a good job in keeping confidentiality, it dismantled the BMW X6 and asked suppliers to produce parts.

Naturally, this news cannot be small. Some people still know that Zotye wants to copy the BMW X6.

"Mr. Cao, yesterday we went to Zotye Automobile. They were dismantling the BMW X6 and prepared for us to design corresponding parts according to the headlight shape of the BMW X6."

"According to what they said, we only need to directly use a three-dimensional coordinate scanner to scan the size data of the X6 headlights, and the structure can be directly copied."

"But the price of the headlights must be as low as possible, no matter what method is used."

Zhou Ling thought about it all night and felt that this news was a good opportunity to contact Cao Yang.

Otherwise, if she usually wanted to communicate directly with Cao Yang, her level would be a little lower.

Xingyu Auto Lighting now relies on the LED headlight technology provided by Nanshan Group and has become the strongest auto lighting company in China.

Zhou Ling is also very optimistic about the cooperation with Nanshan Group and hopes that this relationship can be maintained stably.

"Zotyy?"

"They want to copy the BMW X6?"

Cao Yang froze for a moment.

My previous focus has always been on self-owned brand car companies such as Chery, Geely, Great Wall, BYD and Changan. I have not paid much attention to other self-owned brands such as Zotye, Xiali and Zhonghua.

Now when Zhou Ling suddenly heard about Zotye Motors copying the BMW X6, she immediately thought of something.

Wouldn't these people also copy the products of Porsche Cayenne or Xingchen Automobile?
"Yes, they are preparing to launch the Zotye version of the X6 by the end of next year."

"But everyone has signed a confidentiality agreement, and the relevant content must be kept confidential."

Although Zhou Ling also signed a confidentiality agreement, she reported to Cao Yang without any hesitation.

"Did you see the model of Xingchen Motors when you were at Zotye Motors?"

Although if Zotye copied Xingchen Auto, Cao Yang would have enough confidence to make the other party regret it.

But if there is one less thing to do, it is naturally better to have one less thing.

"Star Car..."

Zhou Ling is also very smart. She knew what Cao Yang was worried about as soon as she heard what he said.

"Mr. Cao, I have neither seen nor heard of this information."

“I think Zotye should not dare to copy our models!”

"But I will pay special attention to the next step. Once Zotye Motors makes any move in this regard, I will report to you immediately!"

(End of this chapter)