SWDnovel #401 - Walking in someone else's way leaves them no way to go
#401 - Walking in someone else's way leaves them no way to go
As the helmsman of the science and industry sectors, Chief of Staff Ye possesses profound and comprehensive insights, naturally having a clear understanding of the current flourishing state of the domestic automobile industry. Indeed, in this land, the automobile industry is like the rising sun in the morning, displaying vigorous vitality and unlimited potential. However, when it comes to pushing this force into the broader European and American markets, his expression couldn't help but become a bit more serious.
In this fiercely competitive international arena, relying solely on the existing domestic automobile product system to break through the encirclement is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg. Even the few Raptor pickup series that can stir up a slight ripple in the North American market have only gained a chance to breathe by relying on a preemptive strategy and unique market positioning. Most of the other models are overshadowed and struggle to gain a foothold on the international stage.
As for those replicas of the Willys Jeep, originating from wartime exchanges, they are more like historical footnotes. Although they carry specific emotional value, under the strict protection of intellectual property rights, their identity as market competitors is particularly awkward. Serving as a supplement to the domestic consumer market may still have room, but to use this as a stepping stone to enter the international market is undoubtedly a pipe dream.
Although the Raptor pickup is one of the few bright spots in China, in the absence of brand support and in-depth market understanding, even if it is launched in North America, it will inevitably encounter the fate of being marginalized, being regarded by consumers as an agricultural tool rather than a high-end choice. The price is difficult to reach expectations, and its market potential is greatly reduced.
Chief of Staff Ye deeply knows that it is by no means easy for the automobile industry to open up a new path among the international powers. This is not just a simple pursuit of product quality, but a comprehensive test of brand building, market strategy, technological innovation, and even cultural integration. In this pillar industry of civilian use, overtaking on a curve is not as straightforward as in the military industry. The strength and weakness are not clear at a glance, but require more delicate strategic planning and sustained efforts.
"Brother Ren," Chief of Staff Ye sighed softly, his eyes filled with a sober understanding of reality, as well as expectations and challenges for the future. "The road to internationalization of the automobile industry is long and arduous. Our current foundation is still relatively weak, and the competitiveness of our products still needs time to hone. It is not easy to stabilize the domestic market. If we want to cross the ocean and grab a share of the market surrounded by great powers, I am afraid we will have to put in more sweat and wisdom. Otherwise, that full of enthusiasm and hope may be reduced to bubbles in the face of cruel reality."
"I understand," Ren Zhong said with a smile. "So I'm not saying to become a big fat man in one bite, but to gradually strengthen our competitive strength by aiming at the international market step by step. Not only should we start from making products, but also build our brand next."
"This process may take more than ten years to start, but this does not prevent us from eventually occupying this market high ground. After two world wars, the world will eventually learn some lessons to avoid such wars as much as possible. Everyone will work together to achieve a well-off society. I estimate that the future world will have a long-term roughly peaceful development opportunity, and people's lives will become better and better, and more and more prosperous."
"The quality of clothing, food, housing, and transportation will definitely improve with the improvement of social development level. The huge domestic demand created by our development and the strong rigid demand of the great powers are all our opportunities."
"Alright, alright, I know that in this regard, no one sees it more clearly than Brother Ren. Now let's talk about how to do it," Chief of Staff Ye said with a smile. "What I said earlier was about institutional construction, and I agree with it all. An industry cannot develop in disorder. We do not restrict capable people from entering this industry, but they must meet certain quality standards and guarantee standards. After all, automobiles are not simple consumer goods. For ordinary people, this is a valuable product that is very related to life safety."
"But now it is not an easy task to reshape this industry, after all, it involves millions of direct automobile workers and millions of indirect supply chain workers. We can't kill all of these people at once, right?"
Ren Zhong also knew what Chief of Staff Ye said. He hated the style of doing things that died as soon as he grabbed it and became chaotic as soon as he let it go. Of course, he would not follow this style to do it again in the Liangjian world.
"We will not tear it down and start over. The introduction of an admission system will also give everyone a five-year transition period. If you are really capable, you can use this time to gradually improve your conditions or transform. If you can't do these things, then there is no need to be a loafer in the automobile industry."
"That's okay." Chief of Staff Ye nodded, "We clarify the industrial policy, and we must give a buffer zone. How will we distinguish which industries need access and which industries do not need access in the future?"
"As for industrial restructuring, we are well aware of its complexity and sensitivity. The livelihoods and futures of millions of direct employees and millions of supply chain workers are our unshirkable responsibility. Therefore, our strategy is gentle and firm, with both the rigid constraints of the access system and a sufficient buffer period to allow companies and individuals time to adapt and improve," Ren Zhong added, his eyes flashing with the light of wisdom.
"A five-year transition period is both a reasonable and humane arrangement. It can not only ensure orderly competition in the market, but also give companies and individuals aspiring to the automobile industry enough time to improve themselves and achieve transformation. For those who cannot adapt to the new rules and cannot improve themselves, perhaps leaving this industry is a better choice," Chief of Staff Ye nodded in agreement, his eyes flashing with anticipation for the future.
"This is a consideration of the macro measures of the industry. Brother Ren, do you have any ideas on the specific promotion?" Chief of Staff Ye knew that Ren Zhong would not just talk eloquently on the macro level. Whenever he put forward such suggestions, there must be a series of more specific and feasible product plans.
"I have some ideas, but right now the things I'm considering are still a bit scattered and not very systematic," Ren Zhong said with a smile. "I think first, we need to give foreigners an acceptable brand name. If we directly translate the names of our domestic companies, which are mainly based on place names, like Fengjing Automobile and Taiyuan Automobile, they basically won't be accepted or recognized. After all, the cultural differences between the two sides are too great. Foreigners can't distinguish between our east, south, west, and north, let alone internal place names."
Ren Zhong's viewpoints and strategies demonstrated his deep thinking and foresight on multiple levels. First, he recognized the potential embarrassment and inconvenience that existing company names might encounter in the process of internationalization, especially those brand names that directly translated place names or had strong regional characteristics. These names might be difficult to resonate with or appear unprofessional in overseas markets.
His proposed solution—to change the names of several leading automobile companies so that they comply with both the Chinese context and adapt to the international market—was a creative and practical idea. The new names, such as "Bora," "Jetta," and "Passat," are easy to remember and pronounce fluently in Chinese. At the same time, these names (BORA, JETTA, PASSAT) also have a certain international feel and professionalism in English, which helps to enhance the brand image and market acceptance.
In particular, he considered the uniqueness of these names on a global scale when choosing them, avoiding the problem of overlapping with existing brands, which is very important. Although the name "Passat" may seem slightly Westernized in Chinese, considering the international fame and recognition of its original English name Passat, and the difficulty in finding a more suitable alternative in the short term, this choice is also reasonable.
As for the names of the four major domestic car brands of Dongda Future in the main world (Dizi, Jizi, Qizi, and Chengzhi), Ren Zhong also cautiously did not mention them, which fully expressed Ren Zhong's disapproval of these brands, believing that these names might encounter unspeakable challenges in the process of internationalization.
The sales of an automobile brand are obviously very important related to the brand naming.
Finally, the specific implementation plan he proposed—to separate the household automobile part of different automobile companies and establish automobile companies named after the new names, and clarify their respective positioning and market direction—is a clear and workable strategy. Such a layout not only helps to enhance the professionalism and market competitiveness of each brand, but also better meets the different needs of domestic and foreign consumers.
In general, Ren Zhong's ideas and strategies demonstrate his deep understanding and grasp of the internationalization trend of the automobile market, as well as his keen insight and pragmatic attitude in brand building. The implementation of these ideas and strategies is expected to inject new impetus and vitality into the company's long-term development.
Chief Ye shook his head with a smile. He couldn't learn this pattern.
A country that focuses on the international market needs to produce four companies. Is this preparing to kill its competitors?
That is, there is no consideration for leaving any way out for the opponent.
However, thinking about the current powers, the emasculated eldest son of Sandezi's remaining ruins—Liande, a place as big as a province—has also risen to become Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. It is reasonable for a country with such a large volume as Dongda to produce four companies, right?
What's more, Ren Zhong didn't take these names for nothing. Some of the best-selling cars with sales of tens of millions, such as GOLF, JETTA, and Passat, must not escape Ren Zhong's clutches.
In the future development and selection of models, Ren Zhong will not choose blindly.
He directly selected the seven best-selling sedan models, one pickup truck model, and two multi-functional vehicle models in history from the top ten best-selling models as the focus of development.
Among them, Bora Company will produce the Golf and Accord of the main world with high and low matching, Jetta Company will produce Corolla, Camry and Jetta with high and low matching, and Passat Company will produce Civic and Passat, Phaeton and Raptor series pickups with high and low matching; and SUV car production HRV series and Wrangler series.
Since he can get complete evolution and iteration appearance data of these models, Ren Zhong is very confident in hitting the aesthetic G-spot of this era again in terms of model styling and market acceptance.
The most ⊥ new ⊥ small ⊥ said ⊥ is ⊥ at ⊥ six ⊥ 9 ⊥ ⊥ book ⊥ ⊥ bar ⊥ ⊥ first ⊥ hair!
Promote the more rapid evolution and progression of the automobile industry in this world.
After all, Ren Zhong didn't want to leave any of the best-selling car series to the original manufacturers to pretend to be aggressive.
Take them all, walk their own way, and leave them with no way to go. This is a historical development opportunity that Dongda owes to the main world. Ren Zhong has no psychological burden to take it over and force the original manufacturers to death!
However, appearance is only part of the success. The most important thing is to have a leading edge in core technology to truly gain an advantage. In order to achieve breakthroughs in technology, Ren Zhong is not idle. After comparison, he chose three series of engines that are not too technically difficult but have high cost performance to introduce into the Liangjian world.
One is a small and efficient gasoline engine based on Toyota 5A technology. The standard 1.5L version uses a water-cooled 4-stroke 4-cylinder 16-valve electronic fuel injection gasoline engine with closed-loop multi-point electronic control fuel injection. The displacement is 1498ml. In terms of power output, the maximum power is 68 kilowatts, and the maximum torque is 124Nm / 3200rpm (124 Newton meters at 3200 revolutions per minute). The speed at which this engine produces maximum torque is relatively low, and the performance is good at low speeds.
This engine is not only powerful in compact cars, but also consumes less fuel. After the 1.5-liter is successfully developed, 1.2L, 1.4L, 1.5L, 1.6L, and 1.8L will form a series, so Ren Zhong's several small cars will have a very suitable power to choose from.
Then, the 4G63 engine, an old engine, was selected. After all, this engine was introduced early, and information on all aspects of the domestic market is easy to find. This is obviously an excellent choice for quality improvement and development in the Liangjian world.
You must know that the performance indicators of the first generation of the 4G63 engine, the 2.8L main model, can output 250 horsepower and 309Nm / 3000rpm of torque! Under the current situation in the Liangjian world, this is a good engine with unparalleled performance.
It is very suitable for driving the Raptor muscle car!
Of course, considering the use of sedans, the displacement of this engine does not have to be so large. Therefore, Ren Zhong plans to start from 1.8L, and 2.0L, 2.4L, 2.8L, and 3.0L will also form a series, mainly driving medium and large cars.
From the early stage, the four major household car companies don't need to start from scratch and compete with each other in terms of engines. Instead, they should uniformly develop two series of engines, match them with their own models, create differentiated and cost advantages, and first use high-quality and low-priced products to gain popularity from the mid-to-low-end market, and then consider enhancing brand value.
Step by step into the world's mainstream automobile market.
4G63 engine
Raptor muscle pickup! (End of this chapter)