ABT Chapter 196: Which Platform Technology is Superior

In a book titled "From Animals to Gods," it is mentioned that through the long course of biological evolution, humans have come to dominate the entire Earth by continuously accumulating and learning. However, humans have never abandoned their instincts, such as men's desire to conquer and women's sixth sense. Besides her sixth sense, Anning also possesses strong logical abilities. She guessed correctly; Guangqi indeed intends to make a move in the B-class car market. The reason, actually, has a lot to do with Li Fanyu.

The previous axle break incident had a significant impact on Mitsubishi. After that event, the few models they had almost became unsellable. From October to January, Mitsubishi's nationwide dealers sold fewer than 200 cars in total. The owners of these 4S shops were so desperate they couldn’t even find a tune to cry to. So, despite the cost of breaching the contract, they all demanded to terminate their dealership agreements with Mitsubishi.

Facing such a situation, Mitsubishi knew things were bad. After several unsuccessful attempts to offer discounts to dealers, they had no choice but to retain 4S shops in first-tier cities and halt three poorly selling models to reduce operating costs, shifting their focus back to engines.

As a result, three advanced production lines were left idle. As Mitsubishi's joint venture partner, Guangqi certainly wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by. They took over these three production lines, which had been in use for only 12 years, at a bargain price since Mitsubishi was now a fallen phoenix.

However, this brought about a problem—they had production lines but no models to produce. This was like having a pot but no rice. Although Guangqi had its own R&D team, their foundation was weak. Developing the Legendary SUV took them seven years. The domestic car market was dominated by foreign car companies with strong capabilities to launch new models quickly, making the market highly dynamic. Guangqi couldn't afford to wait seven years. According to their internal plan, they needed to shorten the R&D cycle and develop new models quickly. But how to speed up? By buying a platform!

So, they turned their attention to Li Fanyu.

What is a car platform? Simply put, it’s a solution, much like a computer motherboard. A computer is assembled using different parts: you can use different CPUs, memory sticks, and graphics cards to form different configurations. However, you need a motherboard to house these components. A car platform works on the same principle. With the platform as a base, you can assemble the engine, gearbox, transmission, and other components according to the platform's parameters, eventually creating a car. This greatly reduces the overall development cost and time for the vehicle.

Most foreign car companies now adopt platform or modular development methods. There are many mature and advanced platform technologies abroad, such as the CMF developed by Renault and Nissan, Toyota’s MC platform, Hyundai’s HD, and Fiat’s 178. Take the CMF platform, for example, it has been adopted by multiple brands and has derived over 30 models due to the success of several best-selling cars under Renault and Nissan. Car platforms are highly open, with many adjustable parameters. For instance, the CMF was initially developed for B-class cars, but derived models cover four major categories: mid-size cars, station wagons, SUVs, and MPVs.

However, due to technical restrictions, none of these platforms are open to domestic car companies. This is one reason why the domestic auto industry has struggled to develop; platform technology increases development freedom and lowers the cost and difficulty of developing different models. Most importantly, it also enhances production efficiency and quality.

But now things are different because the Audi A4 has already proven its technical maturity and reliability in the market. Using the current design and production method of the A4 as a blueprint, it is easy to extract platform technology. This is precisely Guangqi’s intention. Following Anning’s reasoning, the two quickly deduced Guangqi’s plans. Li Fanyu couldn’t help but silently praise—Guangqi, you really have an eye for opportunity!

In the unaltered automotive history of the previous timeline, the MLP platform of the A4 was hailed as a model of modular platforms by the industry! Although the MLP was Audi’s exclusive domain and didn’t spawn as many models as the CMF, just looking at the cars Audi produced using the MLP shows the level of this platform.

Based on the A4, all Audi models with a name greater than 4 are products of the MLP longitudinal engine platform. This includes the A4, A5, Q5, A6, and A8. Beyond these, performance models like the S4, RS4, S6, and S8 also originate from the MLP! It could be said that without this platform, the only notable features Audi could boast about would be the Quattro all-wheel drive and the flashy headlights!

Understanding this critical point, Li Fanyu felt a surge of excitement. If it weren’t for Guangqi and Anning, he wouldn’t have considered this aspect. Looking at the automotive industry, what brings in the fastest money? Technical output!

If we compare the automotive industry to a food chain: doing OEM or parts manufacturing is the bottom end. Establishing your own brand and making whole vehicles places you in the mid-tier. But only by relying on your own R&D capabilities to provide technical output to other car companies do you reach the top of the food chain.

Take the A4 during the parts procurement stage; for instance, the ECU component—even the previous A4 used Bosch's, so it wasn’t in Li Fanyu's design blueprints. Because there were no mature ECU manufacturers in China at the time, Zhengxin had to proactively negotiate with foreign companies. Bosch, Siemens, Denso, and Visteon dominate the global ECU market. Even as a buyer, you have to humble yourself to negotiate with them. Seeing Zhengxin as a Chinese car company, the price they quoted was 50% higher than for other brands! You had no choice but to swallow your anger and accept it. This is the status that technology grants them!

So, when Li Fanyu guessed Guangqi’s intention, he immediately realized this was a great money-making opportunity; foreign platform technology is closed off to domestic companies, and the A4 he had was truly a treasure. A platform is different from components like engines; it’s open. Even if Guangqi used the A4 platform, with their own technical reserves and design capabilities, it wouldn’t mean they would compete with Zhengxin.

Since that's the case, why not go for it? The company had invested heavily in the A4's R&D and production. Although current sales of the A4 were high, they had just about recouped the costs. Right now, Li Fanyu was in dire need of money!

Previously, he thought having enough money to spend was sufficient, but since Xapp upgraded and he got the skill of [Point Exchange], he realized that if Zhengxin wanted to keep developing and launching new models, no amount of money would ever be enough!

The entire set of A4 blueprints required 450,000 R&D points. Higher-end cars demanded sky-high R&D points. For instance, Li Fanyu's dream car, the Koenigsegg One, required 1.5 million R&D points. According to the point exchange rules, the complete car blueprints would cost 150 million RMB!

Watching the dilly-dallying host on stage, Li Fanyu silently calculated his asking price. Anning saw the look on his face and knew he was plotting to make money again. Seeing his slightly curved lips, her heart swelled with pride and an inexplicable fluttering.

"Even when he's scheming, he's so handsome. I really chose the right person."

In an instant, she felt a surge of admiration akin to Purple Xia looking at Supreme Treasure.


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