From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 150 Integrated Seat Ventilation Manufacturing

Xu Yi's statement was not unfounded.

They want to instill concepts like "high-end," "luxury," and "high-class" in people's minds.

—Air suspension is definitely a must.

Not only is air suspension a must.

Self-developed and domestically produced technologies are also essential.

-

Take the current state of the industry as an example.

International giants like Wibac and Continental sell air suspension systems as "package deals".

Not only are automakers forced to adapt to the air suspension solutions they provide, but they also have to pay extra "development fees".

The development cost for each model is as high as several hundred million yuan.

Who can stand this?
They're practically treating mainland Chinese automakers like Ridge itself!

Once air suspension is truly domestically produced and mass-produced, the installation cost will only be a couple thousand yuan per set.

The difference between the two has driven thatch to be sold at the price of gold.

in fact.

If it were just expensive, that would be one thing.

As long as the final installation effect is good, some domestic car companies can tolerate it even if they have to grit their teeth.

Take, for example, NIO, this nouveau riche company.

The first-generation ES8 was equipped with a Continental air suspension system, which was quite impressive in terms of both price and quality.

As a well-known top-tier supplier in Germany, and moreover, it's the same model used in the BMW X5.

Perfectly matches the attributes of a luxury car!
However, the final chassis experience was extremely poor!

The tuning is extremely poor.

NIO then relayed the feedback to the manufacturer, wanting to readjust the settings.

As a result, the pace of those European companies was something that everyone in the know understood; there was no response for six months.

Not only that, but they won't even open up the chassis data. The air suspension, which cost billions to purchase and develop, has become a "black box," and the controller can't even adjust itself.

Ultimately, this proved a "truth".

Without sufficient in-house R&D, trying to break into the high-end market will only lead to endless frustration!
—The seat ventilation is causing neck pain.

—A bottleneck in chip supply.

—Air suspension gets stuck.

— Bottlenecks in intelligent driving software and hardware.

……

Xu Yi's thinking was also very simple.

Xingchen Motors wants to go the high-end route.

It's not about changing the brand or getting a fancy car logo.

You can change the brand name and car logo to something else entirely.

If you can't offer something truly "high-end," the high-end consumer market won't accept it.

We should take a direct approach and develop everything that needs to be developed in-house.

—High-end will naturally follow!
Research and development in lagging industries and reverse engineering have always been Xingchen Automotive's strengths!
If it were applied to other car companies...

He was being choked to the point of near death.

It will take two to three years to develop the "assisted driving algorithm", "self-developed air suspension" and "seat ventilation and massage components".

For Xingchen Automotive, one year is enough.

If the acquisition process goes smoothly enough, it could be even shorter!
...

So Xu Yi is quite busy.

Not only him, but the entire domestic car manufacturing industry is very busy.

Everyone's scrambling, their eyes practically bloodshot, trying to squeeze into the top tier!
Despite the many years of development of gasoline-powered cars, domestic cars are still being outmatched.

Today, China's domestic supply chain has finally become complete and has reached a certain scale.

With the support of the entire country, a door to the "high-end" in the new energy sector has been opened.

This thing—

Whoever squeezes on first gets to keep it!
After so many years of industrial development, a country can only watch others pursue "high-end" products and sell them at "high premiums."

The many R&D personnel present were watching intently.

Besides making money.

At least I still have some dreams in my heart.

That is to create a luxury car that can achieve both high sales volume and a high price!
What if they actually do it?

In the future, when we're bragging, we can say that we manufacture "domestic high-end cars"!

Even if you just pile on top of it with a refrigerator, a color TV, and a big sofa!!

That counts too!
...

"In that case, it is indeed an opportunity. Kong Hui's company is currently specializing in chassis tuning, and I believe their team would be very willing to contact us."

"Let's do it! Let's do air suspension!" The R&D staff present all had their eyes light up.

"With CDC and air suspension, if the tuning is not bad... it can even save some chassis component costs."

Chassis engineer Cheng Li also analyzed the situation.

Compared to ordinary steel suspension, air suspension has another characteristic: its load-bearing capacity is particularly strong.

Their Polaris batteries are, after all, lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Well known.

Lithium iron phosphate battery packs are very heavy.

In addition to the large space of a SUV, there are also so many additional features, which puts a lot of pressure on the chassis components.

Whether it's a steel component or a lighter aluminum double wishbone.

Considering metal fatigue, the only option is to thicken and reinforce the chassis connecting parts.

However, this will also further increase the weight of the vehicle body, making tuning more difficult.

However, if air suspension is used for load-bearing, then there are many advantages.

Not just lightweight.

The load-bearing pressure on the chassis components will be much less.

This is why many new energy vehicles have been willing to come standard with air suspension in recent years.

……

After the R&D conference.

That afternoon.

The department then compiled the manufacturer information that Xu Yi requested.

The project of developing our own car seat is currently the easiest to start.

The seats in the Star S7 are directly sourced from Yanfeng Adient, one of the largest automotive seat suppliers in China and a joint venture, supplying customers including traditional luxury brands and mainstream joint venture brands.

Although car seats may seem insignificant, making them well and ensuring the driver's comfort requires considerable skill.

If the headrest is too hard or the backrest angle is not designed correctly, it is very likely that sitting on it for a while will cause back pain.

As a car priced in the 200,000 yuan range, considering factors such as the R&D cycle, the risk of a failed launch, and stable production capacity, only top-tier suppliers in the industry can guarantee its quality.

Besides.

The seats for the Star Mini don't have as many requirements, as they are mainly supplied by several regional suppliers.

"Mr. Xu, as per your requirements, one of the local suppliers for the Starry Sky Mini seats happens to have the potential to develop seat ventilation..."

Changrong Auto Parts Company in Weifang serves as our alternative supplier, supplying us with 60,000 sets of Xingchen Mini seats annually. They also manufacture low-end seats for some passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

This manufacturer can independently produce the frame, foam, and fabric, basically completing the entire process from raw materials to finished products in one stop, which means it has the capability of the entire automotive seating industry chain.

Last year, we collaborated with a passenger car brand and applied for a patent related to the seat ventilation fan.

However, perhaps due to funding issues or the client's withdrawal of demand, they were unable to successfully develop the ventilated seats.

Now we've become our biggest customer.

Liang Shouzhou produced the company's business investigation report.

This company was established in 2007 and mainly engages in the manufacturing of low-end seats. Its registered capital is only two or three million yuan, but now it has the capacity to produce 80,000 sets of seats per year.

What's remarkable is that they can independently produce seat frames, foam, and fabrics, making it easy to expand production capacity. They also have a certain level of technological accumulation, making acquisitions and integration for research and development much faster than Xingchen building a new factory and purchasing production lines.

"Let's contact them first, schedule a time for an inspection, and see for ourselves what their factory and production lines are like. If they meet our standards and requirements, I believe they will be quite willing to discuss the acquisition," Xu Yi nodded and said.

For small local car seat manufacturers like this, the technological barriers are not deep.

Its gross profit margin is quite thin, only 5%-8%, or even lower.

Unfortunately, we can't manufacture high-end seats.

It's difficult to find the necessary research and development funds and resources. Even if you manage to build it, it might not be of high quality, and it's hard to find stable, large clients.

Unfortunately, Xingchen Automotive is currently their only "major customer".

If Star Mini announces a production cut one day, these small factories may all face the risk of "order cancellation".

Therefore, Xingchen Motors' current industrial status in the region, if not "the lifeline of millions of canal workers," can certainly be considered the lifeline of suppliers for all sizes of local manufacturing industries.

……

really.

As soon as Xingchen Automotive expressed its interest, it quickly received a very proactive response.

Two days later.

Sun Shuhua, the head of Changrong Auto Parts Manufacturing Plant, couldn't wait to come to Xingchen Company's headquarters to personally extend an invitation.

As soon as Xu Yi stepped out of the company gate, a slightly overweight middle-aged man in a suit quickly went to greet him, accompanied by a senior executive from the factory, bowing and scraping repeatedly.

"President Xu, when I learned that you wanted to personally inspect the production line, I didn't even have breakfast and rushed over from the factory right away!" Sun Shuhua said excitedly.

The fawning gaze and enthusiastic attitude made it seem as if they were worshipping Xu Yi.

The two drove over a hundred kilometers in a brand-new Maybach to come over, intending to personally invite Xu Yi over.

Xu Yi smiled, neither confirming nor denying: "President Sun, at present we only have the intention to expand production capacity. We'll see how things go first."

"Yes, yes! Mr. Xu is right! The client's needs are our factory's goals!"

……

　It's a little short, I'll add more later!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)