Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 632: Impact on the industry, another big breakthrough for future automobiles

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

For integrated die-casting, large-scale die-casting machines are definitely a very critical link.

Under normal circumstances, the general die-casting machine rarely has a tonnage of more than 5000 tons, let alone more than 10000 tons.

The larger the die-casting machine, the larger and more complex the parts that can be die-cast.

Automobile body parts themselves have various special mounting holes, mounting surfaces and various three-dimensional shapes, which place relatively high requirements on the press.

Nanshan Equipment is willing to sell large die-casting machines, which is definitely good news for many interested manufacturers.

"Mr. Zhang, our Yangcheng Aian is a company that specializes in producing electric vehicles independent of Yangcheng Trumpchi. Its positioning is very similar to that of future cars."

"The previous Trumpchi S was essentially a modified version of a traditional fuel vehicle, but it just caught the trend of electric taxis and black cars, so its current sales are pretty good."

"But in the future, when facing the more competitive electric vehicle market, we will definitely have to make something a little different like future cars."

"Mr. Cao's vision has always impressed everyone."

"Although the integrated die-casting technology for future cars has caused a lot of controversy this time, I think Aian can follow suit and launch integrated die-casting technology."

"This way we can not only create buzz, but also closely benchmark future cars and enhance our own brand influence."

Zeng Guangda's thinking is very clear.

Everyone is not very clear about the development trend of electric vehicles, but the development of Nanshan Group has always been very impressive.

Now that Cao Yang has asked Future Automobile to launch integrated die-casting technology, this technology is likely to become mainstream technology in the field of electric vehicles in the future.

After all, integrated die-casting technology has very good results in reducing costs and vehicle weight.

Especially reducing vehicle weight may not be so sensitive on traditional fuel vehicles.

But for electric vehicles, range anxiety still exists.

Lightweight technology is a very needed technology for electric vehicles.

After all, after adding a battery pack, electric vehicles are generally heavier than fuel vehicles of the same level.

Integrated die-casting can greatly reduce the weight of the car and increase its cruising range.

This is actually a very important factor.

"If we are going to follow the path of other people's future cars, then we will need to build a new die-casting workshop, or purchase such integrated die-casting parts from suppliers."

"In a short period of time, unless we look for Nanshan Group to purchase it, no supplier will be able to produce parts like this."

Zhang Jiaqi was a little excited.

He knew what Zeng Guangda said made sense.

However, this also involves the rearrangement of the Yangcheng Aian factory, which will definitely involve additional investment.

Fortunately, Yangcheng Automobile Group now relies on two fields, Yangcheng Honda and Yangcheng Toyota, and makes a lot of money every year.

"For OEMs, it is definitely not mainstream to make all parts by themselves. There should still be some manufacturers who are interested in this type of parts."

"There are companies in Lingnan Province that specialize in die-casting parts. For example, Lingnan Hongtu has made some die-casting parts for us. I think we can consider letting them invest in some equipment."

"Of course, we also need to introduce at least one super die-casting machine internally to produce the parts that are most difficult to transport and have the largest volume."

"In this way, since the area of ​​the welding workshop is saved, the factory layout does not need to be greatly adjusted, and a piece of land can be freed up to install the super die-casting machine."

When Zeng Guangda said this, Zhang Jiaqi was very moved.

Make some of the integrated die-casting parts yourself and entrust outside suppliers to make some of them.

In this way, Yangcheng Aian can be regarded as firmly stepping on the forefront of the development of electric vehicle technology.

"Currently, only Nanshan Equipment can produce super die-casting machines. Let's find a time to visit Mr. Cao, visit their die-casting workshop, and then discuss the purchase of equipment?"

Zhang Jiaqi's words basically meant that he agreed to Zeng Guangda's proposal.

After years of working together, the two of them have slowly found the secret to business development.

That is, no matter what happens, try your best to follow the same pace as Nanshan Group. In the end, you can often achieve unexpected results.

The most obvious one is the electric taxi cooperating with Nanshan Group, which is now the most famous electric taxi in China.

Even if the popularity is surpassed by new models of future cars in the future, it will still leave a mark in the history of the development of electric vehicles.

In the past two years, no matter what events they attended, this electric car has brought many honors and topics to Zhang Jiaqi and Zeng Guangda.

So even if this electric car doesn't make any money, they still take it very seriously.

……

If Zhang Jiaqi and Zeng Guangda asked Yangcheng Aian to invest in integrated die-casting technology because they wanted to closely follow the development pace of Nanshan Group, then a company far away in the United States had a slightly different starting point.

"Max, I found a really cool idea that I almost thought of."

At Tesla's headquarters, R&D Director Max was called over by CEO Musk as soon as he returned to work.

I saw Masco pointing to a piece of news on the computer and telling him his opinion very excitedly.

"Look at this report, a Chinese company uses integrated die-casting technology to produce auto parts."

"If our new models also adopt this technology, we can greatly reduce the production cost of the body-in-white and improve production efficiency."

"It was originally necessary to weld hundreds of parts in the welding shop. After integrated die-casting, the welding can be reduced by at least half."

"If we are more successful and directly design 80% of the car's acoustic parts into integrated die-cast parts, then the production efficiency of the body-in-white will be greatly improved, making Tesla's models the most productive in the world. "

"I heard that this Chinese electric vehicle company called Future Auto will launch a new model this year that uses part of the integrated die-casting technology."

"We can definitely carry forward this technology and make integrated die-casting technology the mainstream technology for body-in-white production in the future."

Musko is a very innovative person.

Not taking the usual path is the characteristic of his work.

Although he was not the first to propose integrated die-casting, the first time he saw this technology, he thought about whether all Tesla cars could use integrated die-casting technology in the future.

Even the entire car body is produced in one go with the efforts of a super-large die-casting machine.

That kind of efficiency can definitely kill all competitors in an instant.

"Integrated die-casting technology is actually not a new technology. Some of General Motors' Cadillac models have cooperated with Magna's Cosma to produce some wheel covers and other parts using aluminum die-casting."

"The so-called integrated die-casting technology used by this Chinese company is essentially not much different from that used by Cadillac."

"It's just that they integrate more parts and use more aluminum die-casting parts."

As the R&D director of Tesla, Max is naturally very clear about the situation in the industry.

Therefore, the essence of integrated die-casting technology for future automobiles can be seen at a glance.

"You are right, but Cadillac did not promote this technology very well, nor did it come up with an eye-catching name like integrated die-casting technology."

"And strictly speaking, the concept of integrated die-casting technology of the Huaxia company is different from that of Cadillac."

"We can definitely promote ourselves as the first automobile manufacturer in the United States to adopt integrated die-casting technology."

"And don't you think that for electric vehicles, integrated die-casting technology can greatly reduce the weight of the car body, which is also very meaningful?"

When Masco said this, Max also realized the beauty of it.

This company in China can set off a craze in the topic of integrated die-casting technology, and Tesla can do the same in the United States.

Then, after integrated die-casting, the weight of the car body is greatly reduced, which can improve the cruising range without increasing the size of the battery pack.

For Tesla, the significance of this matter is absolutely no small matter.

“If you want integrated die-casting technology to truly exert its greatest power, more parts must be combined together to become a die-cast part.”

"However, in this case, the structure of the parts is very complicated. Current aluminum hydraulic casting is prone to surface defects, and the quality of the parts may not meet the requirements."

“If aluminum alloys can be developed that can be directly die-cast without heating, then this problem should be greatly alleviated.”

Since Tesla is about to start research on integrated die-casting technology, Max must point out the current problems with this technology.

For a long time, aluminum die-cast parts for automobiles have been almost always made by heating aluminum ingots into liquid and then pouring them into molds for molding.

Whether it is gravity casting or pressure casting, there is no essential difference in the principles.

However, if you use aluminum alloys that do not require heating, you can not only save the cost of the heating process, but also greatly improve the surface quality of the parts. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

"We can communicate with Novelis about aluminum alloy technology. We can jointly develop aluminum alloys that don't require heating. I don't think this will be a big problem."

“This could even become a promotional content for our new technologies in the future.”

Masco immediately pointed out the next step for Max's efforts.

As the world's leading aluminum alloy manufacturer, Novelis is now Tesla's main aluminum alloy supplier and the main aluminum alloy supplier for most American car companies.

They are even suppliers to some American military industrial companies, and their technical strength is beyond doubt.

Max naturally agreed with Masco's proposal.

However, he also thought of a question.

"The larger the integrated die-casting, the more large-scale die-casting machines are needed. At present, the world's most powerful die-casting equipment manufacturers, Idra Group and Brown Group, can only produce 6000-ton die-casting machines. There is no way to produce this report. It’s a 12000-ton die-casting machine.”

"Should we continue to cooperate with them to develop large-tonnage die-casting machines, or should we purchase them from Chinese manufacturers?"

When Max said this, Masco was really hesitant.

Because through reports, he could see that Huaxia Nanshan Equipment, which can produce 12000-ton large-scale die-casting machines, is a brother company of Future Auto. If this were not the case, Masco would not have any hesitation in choosing to purchase a die-casting machine from China.

After all, things from China are cheap, and this is recognized by the world.

"If we cooperate with them to develop a 12000-ton die-casting machine, how long do you think it will take to develop it?"

After having concerns in his mind, Masco naturally had no way to make an immediate decision.

However, Max's answer helped him make up his mind.

"From 6000 tons to 12000 tons, this is not as simple as increasing the pressure of 6000 tons, but involves changes in the entire supply chain, and even some working principles need to be changed."

"According to my speculation, it would be considered fast if it can be developed within three years."

"If it doesn't go well, it wouldn't be surprising if it takes five or six years."

Time waits for no one, let alone five or six years, even three years Masco can't wait.

It will take three years to develop it and then put it into the factory. The final mass production of the new model will only be four to five years later.

This is still an ideal situation.

"In that case, let's not go to any trouble and go to China specifically."

"Discuss the purchase of two pieces of equipment from the manufacturer of a 12000-ton die-casting machine."

"As long as you are sure that there is no problem with their equipment, the price is easy to say, but in terms of the time when the equipment will be installed and delivered, I hope it will be completed within next year!"

Tesla just successfully went public in the United States this year and raised a large sum of money.

Although this amount of money is nothing compared to Tesla's subsequent market value, it was already considerable in 2010.

So Musko is now willing to invest in equipment.

The most important thing is that Musk is confident that through this investment in equipment, Tesla's stock price will rise to the next level.

At that time, the amount of money invested in equipment will be nothing compared to the difference in value from the increase in stock prices.

Therefore, the arrival time of the equipment is a more important issue than the price of the equipment.

"Chinese people have always worked very hard. As long as necessary, they can go to work 365 days a year, and can also arrange production during the day and night."

"If it is delivered next year, I don't think it will be a big problem."

Max obviously has a certain understanding of the situation in China.

No one in the automobile industry knows anything about China's automobile industry, which is the world's largest market.

Otherwise, it would be a bit incompetent.

Of course, except for those workers on the front lines of production at General Motors and Ford Motor Company.

Those people only know how to enjoy a happy life, and they don’t care what the world is like?

Soon, Tesla contacted Nanshan Equipment.

Pan Jinxing must have heard of Tesla, the world's hottest electric vehicle company.

With a long-term vision, he can also realize that Tesla is likely to be a competitor of future cars in the future.

So after receiving the contact from Tesla, Pan Jinxing did not reply immediately. Instead, he came to Cao Yang's office to report.

No matter what company you are in, there is absolutely no harm in finding more opportunities to report to leaders.

In this way, it can not only increase the sense of presence, but also allow the leader to enjoy the authority of the leader more.

Especially at the grassroots level, this situation is even more obvious.

"Mr. Cao, Tesla in the United States, do you think they have a future?"

Pan Jinxing did not tell Cao Yang directly about Tesla's purchase of a 12000-ton super die-casting machine, but started chatting.

After all, he also wanted to adjust his next words based on Cao Yang's answer.

"Tesla?"

"This is an electric vehicle company with great ideas. It was successfully listed in the United States in June this year, becoming the first electric vehicle company in the world to go public."

"I admire their boss Masco very much. He is a very thoughtful person."

"Especially that they not only produce cars, but also engage in rocket launch business. This is something that most people dare not think of."

Cao Yang naturally knows Tesla, and even has a relatively clear understanding of Tesla's development history.

This is also a company worth learning from.

Whether it is the strategies they use in electric vehicles or their experience in rocket launches, they all have certain reference significance.

Of course, now that Cao Yang has taken some of the paths Tesla has taken, I don’t know if Musko will come up with more powerful innovations.

"So, Tesla will be our biggest global competitor for future cars?"

Pan Jinxing quickly summarized his views.

There is naturally no problem with this view.

After all, the U.S. market was once the world's largest automobile market. If Tesla can fight its way out under the pressure of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, it must be qualified to become a rival for future automobiles.

Even the history of researching electric vehicles is earlier than that of future cars.

"You are right to say that, but Tesla has positioned its models as sports cars from the very beginning. Until now, it has not gained volume and has not fully exerted its influence."

"As for the first large SUV model of our future car, the sales volume is definitely expected to exceed 3000 units or even 5000 units per month. Then our influence in the field of electric vehicles will soon surpass Tesla."

"In the future, the launch of our W8 and W7, as well as the launch of L9 and L8 models, will quickly make Future Auto's sales number one among global electric vehicle companies."

"It's hard to say whether Tesla can keep up at that time."

When Cao Yang said this, Pan Jinxing was a little confused about how to judge.

In Cao Yang’s mind, is Tesla a big threat or not?

never mind!

No more confusion!

Let’s get straight to the topic.

"Mr. Cao, Tesla has contacted us and wants to inspect our super die-casting machine technology. They are willing to purchase two 12000-ton super die-casting machines and hope to deliver them next year."

"I'm struggling with how to respond to them."

When Pan Jinxing said this, Cao Yang immediately said: "What's there to worry about? They want to buy equipment. Isn't this what we are looking forward to?"

"But you can tell them that there are already several manufacturers interested in purchasing super die-casting machines. The production schedule is very tight. If you want to speed up, you need to pay the deposit as soon as possible."

Cao Yang's answer surprised Pan Jinxing.

"Mr. Cao, aren't you worried that after we sell this equipment to Tesla, they will steal our limelight in the field of integrated die-casting?"

"There is nothing to worry about. Integrated die-casting is not a new concept, and it is also a technology full of controversy. By then, more manufacturers will choose to use this technology, which can just share the pressure of public opinion. We can also improve the equipment Make some money."

Since Nanshan Equipment is open for business, it must not give everyone the impression that the equipment used by Nanshan Group itself is not sold to outsiders.

Otherwise, many people will slowly give up purchasing products from Nanshan Equipment.

Since it is an independent business unit, Nanshan Equipment is Nanshan Equipment, and Future Auto is Future Auto. Everyone develops according to their own abilities and will not take too much care of them.

Of course, there must be differences in some schedules and technical guidance.

Similarly, in terms of price, the purchase price of future cars will definitely be different from that of Tesla.

This is probably something everyone can accept.

With this instruction from Cao Yang, Pan Jinxing naturally knew what was going on.

No matter which company comes to discuss business next, they can boldly sell the equipment.

As long as it's not a cheap sale, that's fine.

As for Future Cars, which had just released its "first bomb", the "second bomb" immediately came out before the craze for integrated die-casting technology had passed.

That is the large central control screen located in the middle of the center console.

According to the information released by Future Auto, the central control screen of W9 basically undertakes the operation of most of the vehicle's driving and entertainment functions, allowing drivers and passengers to easily make detailed and quantifiable settings for the vehicle.

Although the size is large, the screen display effect is very delicate. Since the in-vehicle system is designed by the Intelligent Network Center of Nanshan Group and is closely related to the HONOR operating system of Honor mobile phones, the design style and operating experience are very similar to the HONOR PAD.

The 17-inch central control screen is divided into upper and lower layers of information, and you can also customize the interface content and position.

Applications such as maps definitely support full-screen browsing. Taking advantage of the natural advantages of the large screen, the route and location information are clear at a glance.

The central control is equipped with a traditional USB connection method. You can also choose a simple and fast Bluetooth connection. After the central control is connected to the mobile phone, you can share address books, music and other information.

Select the camera option, and the reversing image and radar will help you understand the situation around the car. Although there are no auxiliary lines, the clear display effect can make up for all this.

Driving information, battery status, suspension adjustment, seats, lights, interior themes, air conditioning and other information can be displayed and adjusted on the central control screen, making the operability very rich.

Since many physical buttons on traditional models are missing, the area under the center console has become very empty. In addition to storage compartments, there are also cup holders, which provide a lot of space for front-seat drivers and passengers to place items.

It can be said that the "second bomb" of future cars will have a very big impact on the entire automobile industry.

This big breakthrough has completely subverted many people's perceptions.

Therefore, as soon as this "second bomb" was announced, it completely replaced "integrated die-casting technology" and became the hottest topic in the automotive industry.

(End of this chapter)