Chapter 451: Relying on strength to win the order, this road is so refreshing
“Austin, the first batch of Highlander models equipped with 5AT have been put on sale. How is the market response?”

The gearbox, such a critical component, has undergone such a big change in the industry.

As the president of General Motors, Murphy must be paying close attention to this.

During this period, the design center is evaluating the performance of Nanshan Transmission 5AT in all aspects and the impact it will have after installation.

In order to finally determine which model it will be used on.

But Land Rover will definitely move faster.

Land Rover G Series, X Series and Highlander will all launch high-end models equipped with 5AT for sale.

General Motors’ OEM models are naturally also sold simultaneously.

“There are still quite a few consumers who are interested, especially those who have a deeper understanding of automobile knowledge.”

“Everyone is still very concerned about the various performance changes after the gearbox upgrade when other configurations are the same.”

“The driving experience is better, but fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 20%, which is an extremely exaggerated number.”

“According to our previous estimates, the change from 4AT to 5AT means a 10% reduction in fuel consumption.”

“However, because Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT innovatively uses a balance shaft design, its structure is quite special.”

“The final fuel savings were better than expected.”

Edward is naturally also very concerned about the market performance of models equipped with 5AT.

This will affect GM’s subsequent thinking on the use of 5AT.

Previously, GM produced most of its gearboxes in its own gearbox factories.

Now facing the sudden rise of Nanshan Transmission, in addition to actively considering using Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT, GM is also considering developing its own 5AT.

However, based on the current assessment impact, it is estimated that it will take 5 years to develop.

“The information marked on Nanshan Transmission is basically consistent with the information actually confirmed by the design department.”

“During this period, ZF also communicated with the purchasing and design departments and recommended their 5AT.”

“From the perspective of various parameters, Nanshan gearbox is obviously superior.”

“That is, the parameters such as output torque will be slightly worse.”

Murphy’s understanding of 5AT is deeper than Edward thinks.

As the president, he has more channels to obtain information.

After summarizing information from all aspects, his information coverage becomes much broader.

“Yes, so the opinion of our sales department is that some Cadillac models and Buick brand high-end models need to consider equipping with 5AT.”

“This is a good solution to counter the fuel consumption advantage of Japanese automakers, and it is also a good opportunity to showcase our technological leadership.”

“After all, we are the first car model on the market to be equipped with 5AT.”

Edward stated his opinion bluntly.

After being equipped with 5AT, the sales price of the entire vehicle also increased by US$2000.

This increase is actually quite large.

However, there are still many consumers willing to pay for this configuration.

This fully demonstrates the appeal of 5AT.

“I will consider your opinion carefully. The specific situation will also need to be judged in combination with the test results at the R&D center.”

“We have launched too many models equipped with 5AT at one time. If any of them have poor quality, the impact on us will be huge.”

Murphy is more or less worried about the things produced in China.

This is also an idea that many people have.

It will definitely take a very long time to reverse this situation.

“I heard that several BMW models will be equipped with 5AT automatic transmissions and sold globally next year.”

“Mercedes is also taking action, and even Volkswagen’s Audi brand will launch several products equipped with 5AT.”

“This information should be released to the public gradually during this period.”

Edward became a little anxious when he saw that Murphy seemed to need to think about it further.

He doesn’t want to see General Motors get up early and arrive late.

“I understand that next year we will definitely have our own models equipped with 5AT, but we still have to wait and see which one we choose.”

After Murphy said this, Edward didn’t know what to say.

However, he plans to have a good discussion with the design director Austin later and finalize this matter as soon as possible.

It seems that the advantages of 5AT that Jiang Hui told him at the beginning have been confirmed now.

‘Then what are you waiting for?
Take action quickly.

…’

“Some of our 3 Series will continue to be equipped with 4AT, and some will be equipped with Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT.”

“For the 5 Series and 7 Series, some 4ATs are retained, while some ZF 5ATs are installed.”

“These models are all in line with the direction of being updated and launched next year, and relevant work will be carried out as soon as possible.”

As a car brand with a high pursuit of technology, BMW has always been relatively active in the use of new technological parts.

Originally, ZF, as the world’s first parts company to launch 5AT automatic transmission, initially supplied it to BMW.

Although the title of the world’s first 5AT automatic transmission has now been taken away by Nanshan Transmission.

But BMW doesn’t want to fall behind.

In addition to the BMW Group, while other international auto giants have not officially announced the launch of their own 5AT models, BMW is ready to officially announce this plan.

To a certain extent, this can also highlight their unique attributes.

That’s what Walls is thinking at this point.

“This fully combines the advantages of Nanshan Transmission and ZF.”

“The 3 Series is more cost-sensitive, so the 5AT from Nanshan Transmission is more appropriate.”

“The 5 Series, 7 Series and M Series use ZF’s 5AT, and these car owners are not so sensitive to fuel consumption.”

“Everyone subconsciously believes that gearboxes produced by European parts manufacturers will be of better quality.”

Vardy naturally supports his president’s ideas.

He attended the mass production ceremony of Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT automatic transmission and knew the excellence of this product.

However, due to the special relationship between BMW and ZF, it is impossible for BMW to abandon ZF and purchase all gearboxes from Nanshan Transmission.

This situation is very common in the automotive industry.

For example, Honda Motor’s auto parts companies such as Keihin, Showa, and Nissin are much worse than Toyota’s Denso and Toyoda Gosei.

The more backward the technology, the higher the cost.

However, it is impossible for Honda to simply abandon its own direct line and choose Toyota’s parts company.

Similarly, BMW will not abandon ZF just because its 5AT is not as good as Nanshan Transmission.

This kind of thing can be said to be very common all over the world.

“That’s what I think too. We need to consider both cost and supply security comprehensively.”

“Otherwise, it would be bad if something unexpected happened.”

Yesterday, Walls played golf with the president of ZF, which can be regarded as sharing the cake with him in advance.

Now arrange for design director Vardy to implement the plan, and BMW will take action immediately.

Soon, BMW’s response was reflected on Nanshan Transmission’s side.

After signing the formal cooperation agreement, Nanshan Transmission and BMW both officially announced that the two parties will launch large-scale cooperation.

The BMW models that will be launched next year will be equipped with Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT.

With BMW’s move, Mercedes naturally did not want to lag behind.

Now that the two major luxury car giants have taken action, other brands that claim to be high-end models naturally do not want to fall too far behind.

In a short period of time, Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT automatic transmission quickly entered the equipment of various automobile companies.

“President, Aisin will not be able to launch any 5AT products in the next three years. The earliest will be five years later.”

“Our Lexus brand can’t wait that long.”

Saito Shoei doesn’t really want to cooperate with Chinese parts companies.

But the situation was stronger than people, and Lexus finally opened up the market in America, making BMW and Mercedes feel a huge threat.

If something suddenly went wrong at this moment, that would definitely not be the situation that Saito Shangying wanted to see.

So after much thought, he still felt it necessary to communicate with Shoichiro Toyoda and let Lexus models be equipped with Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT first.

In the future, when Aisin’s 5AT comes out, I will switch to Aisin.

Otherwise, if other luxury brands have started to equip their vehicles with 5AT, but Lexus is still using 4AT, it will invisibly damage its brand power.

This is a scene that Saito Shoei absolutely does not want to see.

“I have also communicated with Aisin and hope they can speed up the development of 5AT.”

“However, none of the transmission companies had thought about launching 5AT so quickly before, so Aisin was not well prepared.”

“Now we can only invite the wolf into the house and cooperate with Nanshan Transmission.”

The first thing Shoichiro Toyoda has to consider is the overall interests of the Toyota Motor Group, and then the interests of Aisin.

This time, Aisin’s interests conflict with Toyota’s interests, so Toyota’s interests must be given priority.

“It may not be a bad thing to put some pressure on Aisin and ask them to speed up the development of new technologies in the future.”

“Otherwise, these parts companies are used to relying on us to grow and develop, and compared with external suppliers, they are less competitive.”

Saito Shohei’s statement made Shoichiro Toyoda feel very comfortable.

I made this choice in order to better hone Ai Xin.

By then, even if Aisin has any complaints, I will be able to respond well.

Besides, this time it was Aisin’s own fault, and Shoichiro Toyoda didn’t think they would dare to complain much in front of him.

“You are right. All of our direct suppliers need to be able to obtain orders from other OEMs.”

“We can’t rely on ourselves to carry everything. That won’t work.”

It has to be said that Shoichiro Toyoda’s view has had a significant impact on Toyota’s direct suppliers.

In the future, Toyota’s direct suppliers will be able to get a lot of orders around the world.

This is also a very impressive thing. However, with the addition of Nanshan Transmission and Nanshan Technology, the situation is obviously very different from the past.

It’s hard to say what the situation will look like by then.

Japan’s industry essentially relies on several key industries such as automobiles, machinery, home appliances, and semiconductors.

Once the automobile industry is not doing well, the competitiveness of the machinery industry will also be affected.

As for the home appliance industry, it is even easier to be surpassed.

As long as China’s industrial system continues to improve and its technological level continues to rise, the competitiveness of its home appliances will naturally increase rapidly.

Especially in the Pearl River Delta, under the influence of the BMW Group, all industries are developing very rapidly.

As a result, many other industries, such as the home appliance industry, will naturally develop much faster.

After all, there are many things in common.

For example, in the mold industry, these mold factories can produce various parts for the BMW Group, so it is natural for them to make molds for various home appliance parts.

Similarly, if a stamping parts factory can produce automobile body parts, it can naturally also produce various stamping parts such as refrigerator shells.

Ultimately, the rapid improvement in the level of the automotive industry will lead to a simultaneous improvement in the level of various industries such as the home appliance industry.

This potential impact is absolutely huge.

“I will also communicate further with Aisin to make them understand our company’s decision.”

“At the same time, they are urged to further speed up their research and development.”

“We have already given them samples of Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT.”

“It would be unreasonable if they still cannot develop their own 5AT products.”

After hearing what Saito Shoei said, Shoichiro Toyoda stopped worrying about it.

So soon, Nanshan Transmission also received the designated notice from Lexus.

Starting next year, a batch of 5AT will be officially supplied to Lexus.

……

“Mr. Jiang, according to our current statistics, the 40 production capacity of the first production line can be fully utilized next year.”

“The introduction of our second production line is almost on the agenda.”

Ji Hua is absolutely in high spirits now.

As the general manager of Nanshan Transmission, he led his team to develop the world’s first 5AT automatic transmission, allowing China’s auto parts industry to stand at the top of the world.

This is definitely something worth writing about.

It doesn’t matter even if he didn’t actually design this gearbox.

Anyway, he is now the head of Nanshan Transmission, and his contribution is definitely in the book of merit.

“BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Cadillac, Lincoln, Lexus, Porsche, these car companies have all taken action.”

“If there is only one production line, the production capacity may not be enough.”

“You can communicate with Nanshan Equipment and start production preparations for the second production line.”

It is absolutely a great experience to get orders based on your own strength.

Some OEMs that did not make a breakthrough in the past have now changed because of 5AT and have become customers of the BMW Group.

This has made Nanshan Transmission and even the entire BMW Group determined to vigorously develop new technologies.

“However, these orders will basically not start mass production and delivery until next year.”

“Before this, the production of 5AT was consumed by the group’s own models.”

“In the short term, there will still be a certain amount of surplus production capacity.”

Although BMW Group’s annual production exceeded 80 vehicles last year.

Today, the monthly production has reached nearly 100,000 vehicles.

But it is impossible to switch all products to 5AT at once.

On the one hand, costs will rise, and if the final sales price increases, sales may decline.

On the other hand, if the original 4AT production lines were all left vacant, it would also be a huge loss.

After all, the 4AT products are now mainly supported by the group’s own sales.

The number of orders from other domestic customers is still relatively limited.

As for foreign customers, they can basically be ignored.

So taking all factors into consideration, it is a good idea for most models to continue using 4AT and for some models to use 5AT.

In any case, 4AT automatic transmissions should still have a certain market in the next ten years.

After amortizing various costs, Nanshan Transmission’s 4AT can further reduce its price.

This can suppress other competitors in disguise.

“It’s impossible for a brand new production line to reach full capacity right after mass production begins.”

“The 5AT production line has some surplus at the beginning, which is understandable. You don’t need to feel any particular pressure.”

Jiang Hui is a knowledgeable person.

We will not simply look at the temporary results, but will consider all aspects of the situation comprehensively.

The development pace of Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT is already very ideal.

There is absolutely no need to feel dissatisfied because of temporary idle production capacity.

“By the way, Mr. Jiang, my various 5AT-related patents have basically been applied for in major countries around the world.”

“If other manufacturers dare to infringe our patents, we will definitely make them pay compensation until it hurts.”

As the world’s first 5AT automatic transmission, Nanshan Transmission has naturally accumulated a lot of technologies in it.

These things must be patented.

For example, the balance shaft layout plan, the coordination plan of some gear sets inside, and the design plan of specific parts such as the torque converter have all been patented.

The path of directly copying and imitating Nanshan gearbox products is completely poisonous.

Unless other companies are willing to spend a lot of money to obtain patent licenses from Nanshan Transmission.

Otherwise, the balance shaft 5AT automatic transmission will most likely only be available from Nanshan Transmission in the future.

“Don’t be afraid of spending money on patent registration, and don’t worry that it won’t have any practical effect after registration.”

“This thing is to set up barriers for competitors and make things difficult for them at critical moments.”

As the patent owner, Nanshan Transmission has the initiative in 5AT.

If other gearbox manufacturers develop 5AT in the future, if Nanshan Gearbox wants to sue them, it can find some parts that may infringe on patents, or may not infringe on patents at all and sue them.

Even if the lawsuit is not won by then, the publicity effect will definitely be achieved.

Let everyone know that Nanshan Transmission’s 5AT is the most authentic and has the best performance.

Subtly enhance the brand influence of Nanshan Transmission.

In the future, whether we enter the era of 6AT or 8AT, Nanshan Transmission will continue to reap the benefits.

“International manufacturers probably don’t dare to infringe our patents easily.”

“But I am worried about some domestic factories, whose patent awareness is relatively weak.”

“Maybe they just copied the structure of our gearbox.”

Ji Hua is obviously very clear about the working styles of various factories in the country.

Although the country has promulgated the Patent Law, the concept of patents has not yet taken root in everyone’s mind.

It is still common for state-owned enterprises to directly use each other’s technology.

“It’s not that I look down on our domestic competitors. Even if they copy our 5AT, they can’t produce a qualified product.”

“Our gears and bearings are all produced within the group. As for critical parts like TCU, only Nanshan Technology has the production capacity in the country.”

“Even if other manufacturers want to copy us, they can’t get around us in the end.”

Even as late as 2000, China’s automatic transmission industry had not yet made any progress.

Therefore, Jiang Hui is not worried at all about other manufacturers copying his products.

To put it in an exaggerated way, even if we gave them the drawings, no factory would be able to produce it.

The industry barriers for automatic transmissions are so high.

Similar situations exist in the fields of aircraft engines, intercontinental ballistic missiles, high-end machine tools, etc.

For most countries, even if they obtain the drawings of these things, they have no way to produce them.

“That’s true. The structure of the 5AT automatic transmission doesn’t seem to be particularly complicated.”

“But the design of every part inside is full of thresholds.”

“If you are not careful, it will affect the performance of the gearbox.”

As the general manager of Nanshan Transmission, Ji Hua is naturally very familiar with the situation of 5AT.

Whether it is the Capital Gear Factory or other gearbox companies, it is not that easy to copy.

Up to now, Capital Gear Factory, which is second only to Nanshan Transmission in China in strength, is still using the outdated 3AT automatic transmission.

Even for outdated products like this, key parts like TCU still have to be produced by Nanshan Technology.

Ji Hua naturally knew all this information.

“But you also need to keep an eye on the movements of our core technical personnel.”

“I’m worried that some foreign manufacturers will try to poach our employees.”

“Although our treatment in China is very good, there is still a big gap compared with foreign countries.”

“Especially for some people, being able to go abroad is still very attractive.”

When Jiang Hui said this, Ji Hua’s heart immediately trembled.

He was really a bit careless about this.

If our talents are poached by competitors such as Aisin and BorgWarner, we will regret it to death.

“Boss Jiang, I will go and implement this matter later.”

“Anyone who wants to take our technology to a competitor will not be allowed to do so.”

Ji Hua absolutely cannot accept anyone betraying the interests of Nanshan Transmission.

This is the bottom line and must not be violated!
(End of this chapter)