Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 497: The first pure electric car, focusing on a good-looking person

In the past few days, many people have come to Cao Yang to inquire about future cars.

So Cao Yang simply had someone publish an announcement on the Nanshan Group's official WeChat account.

It probably means that they are optimistic about China's future new energy vehicle market, so they established Future Automobile to specialize in mid-to-high-end electric vehicles.

Then there is a crackling and blowing of water, painting a pie for future cars and attracting traffic.

It can be said that the first car of the future car has already begun to become famous before it has been decided what it will look like.

This is the indirect consequence of the rise of Nanshan Group's influence.

Of course, within the Nanshan Group, Lin Cheng and Zeng Tingting came to Cao Yang's office together after several days of discussion and began to discuss the positioning of Future Auto's first electric vehicle.

No matter what company you are working on, the first product is definitely important.

In the future, if cars want to create something in the electric vehicle market, they will naturally have to get off to a good start.

Zeng Tingting and Lin Cheng have also considered many issues in this regard, but their opinions are now somewhat inconsistent.

"Mr. Cao, I think Tesla's approach in the United States is worth learning from. Their first electric car was an electric sports car."

"In the initial acceleration stage, the advantages of electric vehicles are very obvious, and they can easily reach the level of large-displacement engines."

"And since there is no need to install an engine, and the size of the motor and OBC are much smaller, there are very few restrictions on the styling design of the front and rear of the car."

"We can design the electric sports car as cool as possible to attract potential consumers to buy it."

Lin Cheng is a technical man, and his first consideration is to attract consumers based on performance.

In his view, in addition to the various intelligent and connected equipment mentioned by Cao Yang before, the most critical thing about electric vehicles is power.

If the appearance can be outstanding, it will not be so difficult to attract attention.

However, Zeng Tingting is more concerned about the sales of electric vehicles.

Originally, electric vehicles are still very niche. If you build an electric sports car, it will be a niche among niches.

If Future Auto is a company launched when Nanshan Group has no reputation, then it may be a good idea to attract a wave of attention by developing electric sports cars.

This can also improve your brand power and let people know that you are not a low-end brand.

But Nanshan Group is now famous across the country, and its Xingchen Automobile is a very successful luxury brand.

Under this circumstance, the future cars established by Nanshan Group will naturally give people a relatively high-end feel.

Future cars don’t need an electric sports car that doesn’t make money to make money at a loss.

How to develop a model that can really take off in volume, so that future cars can become the sales champion in the electric vehicle market and become the leader in the electric vehicle market, is of greater significance.

The global electric vehicle market has not yet entered an explosive period. Once a new electric vehicle company becomes the sales champion, the hidden impacts will be huge.

Future Automobile is the first company where Zeng Tingting serves as deputy general manager, so she naturally hopes to do a good job in this company.

Even according to Cao Yang's plan, the company's electric vehicle sales will strive to be the world's number one in the future.

That prospect is really worth looking forward to.

So her views are quite different from Lin Cheng's.

"Mr. Cao, I think we should consider choosing an SUV model as the first car model in the future. SUVs are more popular now and are easier to be recognized by consumers."

"Especially for medium and large SUVs, a large enough battery pack can be installed to bring the cruising range to a whole new level."

"When the time comes, let alone 400 kilometers of battery life, I think it won't be a problem even if it can reach 500 kilometers of battery life."

"Coupled with the rich intelligent configuration and luxurious interior, it should still be able to attract a group of people."

“In addition, we can also consider developing a coupe-style sedan similar to Ziweixing, so that people can feel the ultimate control capabilities of electric vehicles.”

"Of course, I think the design of electric vehicles needs to be as simple as possible and have that kind of eye-catching feeling."

Zeng Tingting considers this issue from the perspective of volume.

To her, if it cannot contribute to sales, then the car is a failure.

"Although SUV models are very popular, there are actually not many SUV models launched in China in recent years."

"Consumers are not necessarily very interested in its novelty."

"The most important thing is that the handling performance of SUV models is actually not as good as that of cars, let alone compared with sports cars."

"This way there is no way to fully utilize the advantages of batteries and motors."

"If we build a sports car, if the battery and motor are good enough, it will be possible to accelerate from 3 kilometers to [-] kilometers within [-] seconds."

"But for traditional fuel vehicles, this is very difficult."

"Once we build a reputation with electric vehicles, subsequent models will be easier to sell."

I have to say that Lin Cheng's words are not completely unreasonable.

If the parameters of an electric sports car are good enough by then, there will definitely be a gimmick in the promotion.

However, for Zeng Tingting, who is good at publicity, future cars no longer need such gimmicks to promote.

"Large SUVs not only have a huge market in China, but also have great market prospects in the United States."

"As far as the electric vehicle project is concerned, I think the American market and the Chinese market are the most important."

"On the one hand, these are the world's first and second markets respectively. On the other hand, new things like electric vehicles are often not accepted as quickly as in Japan, Europe and other markets as in the United States and China. Very fast."

"If our electric SUVs do well, there will be no problem if we sell not only hundreds of thousands of units a year but hundreds of thousands of units a year."

"This sales volume is already a very impressive result for electric vehicles."

"Of course, with the development of the electric vehicle market, it is not impossible for our car to sell hundreds of thousands or even millions a year in the future."

"But it just requires hard work, Mr. Cao, to personally participate in the design, so that our first electric vehicle in the future can be a blockbuster."

Zeng Tingting's statement is relatively more in line with Cao Yang's vision.

It’s not impossible to build an electric sports car. If cars become bigger and stronger in the future, it’s not impossible to build an electric car.

But now is really not a particularly good time.

As for large SUVs, that is certainly possible.

Whether it's the ideal L9 or L8, just borrow it from them, isn't it very fragrant?

Of course, Cao Yang was a little confused as to whether to pursue extended-range electric vehicles.

From the bottom of his heart, he was a bit repelled by this technology.

But from a market perspective, this technology, which seems a bit backward and a bit like plug-in hybrid, does have a market.

We'll look at the situation later.

"Whether it is an electric sports car, an SUV, or a sedan, future cars will definitely need to be involved."

"However, the spring of electric vehicles has just begun, and it will take at least three to five years before electric vehicles become popular."

"So at this time, it is not suitable for us to launch too many models at once. We should first develop a model to practice, so that our electric vehicle-related component technologies can be developed simultaneously."

"At the same time, it has also begun to change the understanding of some consumers and prepare for the second and third cars in the future."

"SUVs are indeed quite popular now, and they have quite a market in both the United States and China."

"Especially in the United States, most people who buy electric SUVs have independent homes. For them, the charging problem is actually not that serious."

"So as long as the future car products are interesting enough, they are worth pursuing."

"And with this opportunity, we can also officially enter the American dealer system and begin to establish a unique dealer model for future cars."

Since we are going to build future cars, we must distinguish them from the way traditional fuel vehicles operate.

Cao Yang understood this very clearly.

Otherwise, how can consumers have a different experience when the time comes?
Place an order directly online, go to maintenance and delivery centers in large cities, directly-operated stores...

These situations, which are completely different from traditional fuel vehicle models, will definitely attract a lot of attention when placed on future cars.

For some unconventional people, driving such an electric car may sometimes play a different role than Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

"If you want to build a large SUV, if you want to have a longer battery life, the battery pack needs to be larger."

“The corresponding costs will then be relatively high.”

Lin Cheng couldn't help but remind him.

Although Nanshan Battery has a high degree of automation, the battery cost is more than [-] to [-] times cheaper than the industry.

But that is also compared to the industry. If compared with later generations, the cost of current batteries is still relatively high.

If a large SUV wants to have a driving range of 500 kilometers, even if Nanshan Battery's battery technology is relatively advanced, the cost will definitely reach the level of 20.

In the future, when the volume increases and the technology iterates, it may be able to be reduced a lot.

But there is definitely no chance of mass production in the early stages.

Lin Cheng is quite certain about this.

That's why he specifically mentioned the issue of cost.

"For future cars, I think the first electric car does not need to consider profitability. As long as it can cover the research and development costs and parts costs, and ultimately not lose money, it is actually a success."

"We need to operate electric vehicles just like we operate Internet companies, break out of the traditional fuel vehicle track, and give them something different."

"This way we can also minimize the impact on our Xingchen Motors and Jaguar Land Rover."

Zeng Tingting revealed her plans for future cars.

Cao Yang couldn't help but nodded after hearing this, and said: "Then let's build an electric SUV first. After it is mass-produced, we will then build an electric sedan. When the time is right in the future, we will also build an electric SUV." Come out with the sports car and refresh the data."

"But now our Xingkong W16 has refreshed a lot of data. It doesn't make sense for future sports cars to compete with the Xingkong W16."

"Don't let the sales of Xingkong W16 drop when the time comes. If the sales of electric vehicles in the future do not increase, it would be embarrassing."

When Cao Yang said this, Lin Cheng naturally found it difficult to refute.

After all, Zeng Tingting also made the truth clear just now.

Just from a technical perspective, Lin Cheng felt that it was more interesting to build an electric sports car.Soon, after determining the general direction, the sales department and R&D center also began to consider the specific positioning and configuration of the model.

And Cao Yang also quickly designed the appearance of the SUV with the internal code "Future No. [-]".

"This closed front face, paired with unique LED headlights, gives people a unique sense of technology."

"Only electric vehicles do not need to consider the issue of radiator heat dissipation or grille air intake, so this design can be regarded as one of the unique attributes of new energy vehicles."

Zeng Tingting and Lin Cheng were naturally the first to see Cao Yang's appearance.

Although Cao Yang himself thinks that the appearance of L9 is acceptable, he is still a little worried about whether it is in line with the current aesthetics when it appeared more than ten years in advance.

There is no harm in letting Zeng Tingting and Lin Cheng experience it first.

"The daytime running lights are designed in the guide groove, which really highlights the sense of strength."

“The side lines of the body are simple, and the concave fenders and large wheels enhance the sportiness of the vehicle.”

"The door handle has a hidden design, which is a very big highlight."

Lin Cheng looked at the drawings in front of him and was filled with admiration.

How many days have passed?
The appearance rendering is out.

Although it will eventually become a part drawing, it still requires the efforts of many engineers.

But this step is the most difficult step in vehicle design, and it is also the most critical step in determining whether the final appearance will look good.

"This car not only has a relatively simple and eye-catching exterior design, but the interior design also uses a style that is very different from traditional cars."

"As you can see, its center console adopts a simple design style and a through-type dual-screen design, providing the driver with a better driving experience."

"The two 15.7-inch screens on the passenger side provide a good sense of technology and support a variety of entertainment functions."

"According to my vision, by then these car-machine systems will need to have OTA upgrades, Internet of Vehicles and other functions."

"In terms of space, the overall size of this car is approximately 5200x1990x1800MM, and the wheelbase is 3100MM. Some fine adjustments can be made."

"The front and second row seats can be equipped with heating, ventilation, massage and other functions."

"At the same time, the front seats can be folded down, making the entire vehicle in a flat state. The entire vehicle is spacious, and there is enough legroom in both the third and second rows."

"Such a unique electric vehicle should have a great impact on the entire automobile market."

After Cao Yang's introduction, combined with the renderings in front of them, corresponding imagination pictures appeared in the minds of Lin Cheng and Zeng Tingting.

This car seems to really have a head start.

For such a large SUV, how should the price be determined?

According to the content of the previous discussion, the main product of future cars is 30 to 50.

The prices of larger cars built at the beginning will move up.

But at most it's at the level of 50 to 60. If it's higher, it's a little different from the original corporate positioning.

It may even have a certain impact on the Xingchen Automobile brand.

Of course, the selling price must also be considered in conjunction with the cost. If the cost is not particularly exaggerated, setting the selling price lower will be more conducive to hitting the sales target in the future.

"Mr. Cao, how should we set the best price for our car?"

This question was so critical that Zeng Tingting thought it would be better to explore Cao Yang's thoughts now.

"The exact selling price can be determined later, but I think the low-end version can be set at 10,000+, and the battery life can be made into two versions: 400 kilometers and 500 kilometers."

"At the same time, some configurations inside can also be distinguished, extending the price range from more than 40 to more than 60."

"This large SUV can be regarded as the flagship model of future cars. Models launched in the future will generally be cheaper than it."

"In this way, there is not much problem with the overall model positioning before."

Cao Yang can naturally think of the problems that Zeng Tingting can think of.

Future Auto will focus on the market space of 30 to 50 yuan. There is no problem with this positioning.

But this does not mean that the price of the highest-end car models in the future must be within 50.

There is no need to set limits on yourself like that.

If the top trim of such a large SUV does not exceed 50, it will be difficult to determine the price when mid-sized SUVs and sedans are launched later.

The price was too high and no one bought it.

The setting is too low, and the blood will be lost by then.

In the beginning, future cars may not be profitable, but in the end they will definitely work towards the goal of making money.

Otherwise, why bother?

"This price is quite appropriate, but how should we set our sales target?"

"The subsequent development of various parts, preparation of molds, and various quotations all need to be set in conjunction with sales targets."

As the deputy general manager of Future Auto, Lin Cheng naturally needs to start thinking about the next specific move.

The design needs to implement the drawings, and the procurement also needs to determine the cost of the parts and the trial production schedule.

Otherwise, I don’t know when Future One will be launched.

According to Cao Yang's idea, this car needs to be mass-produced and launched in the second half of 2011.

Although it seems that there are still more than two years left, for a brand-new electric vehicle, time is actually a bit tight.

It was like 2023. Many electric vehicle companies were developing a new model and it took more than a year to develop it.

In the electric vehicle industry, there is no need for money.

"The sales target should be 5 vehicles in the first year, 10 vehicles in the second year, and 20 vehicles in the third year."

"For the time being, let's set the cost accounting for each link based on the three-year sales target."

Cao Yang thought for a moment and took a number.

This number is actually very challenging for an electric vehicle.

After all, the current annual sales of electric vehicles in China are less than [-].

Although this happened several years later, Zeng Tingting and Lin Cheng still felt the pressure.

"Our future car has been officially announced. Do related staffing and factory construction and other work also need to be put on the agenda?"

After hearing that Cao Yang's plan actually had 35 vehicles in three years, Zeng Tingting immediately felt that she needed to start thinking about building a new factory.

Affected by the financial crisis, investments of all kinds are now declining.

Future Auto proposes to build a new large-scale automobile factory at this time, no matter where it is, it will definitely be very welcome.

Even like Jaguar Land Rover, it is almost inevitable to provide a large number of preferential policies and land.

For the local area, the current land is not valuable at all.

At least before building an automobile factory, land is worthless and can be replaced at will.

Taking this opportunity, it seems very meaningful for future automobiles to occupy a large area of ​​land and continue to find land to build second and third factories in the future.

After all, according to Cao Yang's plan, the future sales of cars will definitely be in millions.

In this case, a factory will definitely not be able to meet the requirements.

Even if preparations for capacity expansion are made in early planning, the production capacity of a factory can only reach 40 vehicles at most.

No matter how much, a new factory will definitely need to be built next to it.

"You can let the wind go out."

"If our Future One is mass-produced in the second half of 2011, then we will have to start considering the construction of the factory."

Nanshan Group now has good profitability, and converting various profits into investment is what Cao Yang has been doing.

For him, holding too much cash in your hands is actually not a good thing.

It is better to develop some enterprises with tens of thousands more employees, and their influence will be greater by then.

No matter who is in charge of Yangcheng City and Lingnan Province, Cao Yang will be invincible.

This is actually a very important thing for Cao Yang.

Where does the sense of security come from?

At different stages, the needs are completely different.

At Cao Yan's level, what she pursues and the sense of security she needs are completely different.

"Yangcheng City definitely hopes that in the future, the automobile factory will be located there, but the Magic City will not be idle either."

"When the time comes, let everyone compete for it."

Lin Cheng was not from Yangcheng. He was recruited to the Nanshan Group and then came to Yangcheng.

Therefore, regarding the location of future automobile factories, he actually feels that it does not necessarily need to be in Yangcheng.

Of course, considering issues such as battery transportation, it is best to do it in Lingnan Province.

"The construction of electric vehicle factories is completely different from that of fuel vehicle factories. You need to take this impact into consideration when planning the factory."

“At the same time, we also need to consider some bolder production plans in the future.”

“Like an unmanned factory?”

“Or body-integrated die-casting?”

"There are also various intelligent tool applications, which can all be considered in advance."

When Cao Yang said this, Lin Cheng felt pressure immediately.

These things are all new and there are no other factories to refer to.

(End of this chapter)