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

Chapter 4 Porsche Calami
With a concrete plan, implementation becomes much simpler.

The previous new car project was scrapped, and the entire department devoted itself to the research and development of the elderly car as quickly as possible.

The power system of the mini four-wheeled vehicle is extremely simple, almost identical to the internal structure of a regular three-wheeled scooter.

Let alone a formal R&D team like theirs.

Even if you just find any "DIY master" in the community, it's not difficult to build a four-wheeled vehicle by hand if you have all the parts.

of course.

There is a big difference between mass production and hand-made products.

The most important aspect of industrialization is the standardization of standards.

The slightly more challenging and more difficult aspect to consider is the new car's exterior design.

Less than half a day had passed.

Wang Jingming, the R&D manager, excitedly arrived at the office with the preliminary draft of the design.

"Mr. Xu, the design for the new car is complete. What do you think?"

He opened his laptop.

The engineering software on the screen displays newly designed 3D models from various angles, as well as planar cross-sectional views from different angles.

The new "old man's car" is 3.1 meters long and is modeled after the Porsche Cayenne.

Supercars like the 911 would have their interior space reduced if copied, while low-speed electric vehicles are limited by size, and interior space is their biggest selling point, so SUVs are the best targets for copying.

With a length of 3.1 meters and a width and height of 1.6 meters, the rear seats can be folded down, providing ample interior space.

The resulting image is shown below.

The classic frog-eye design, with its smooth curves and meticulous details, is seven or eight parts similar to Xu Yi's design, only the scale has been reduced. At first glance, it will definitely leave many people stunned!

picture!
They look so alike!!

This thing... is like the son of the Porsche Cayenne—the Porsche Calami!
original.

Finalizing a 3D design takes at least one or two days of work, but for some reason, designing based on the original Porsche is, frankly, plagiarism.

Wang Jingming and the two engineers in charge of the new car's exterior design suddenly felt a surge of inspiration, a kind of fervent feeling of creating a novel and amazing toy. In less than a day, they produced the first draft design.

The whole process went incredibly smoothly.

Xu Yi took a closer look.

Judging from the initial design alone, it was even better than the high-quality imitation old man's car he remembered.

After all, the "Porsche Calami" in the previous life was just a piece of junk industrial product copied by a knock-off factory.

His R&D team, while not necessarily the best, at least possessed a basic level of aesthetic sense in the industry. Their designs were much more refined and aesthetically pleasing, and they even took into account some wind resistance optimization.

The only problem is that the similarity is too high.

"Yes, the front grille needs some changes, and the headlight shape also needs some minor adjustments."

Copying is also an art.

Generally speaking, the visual effect of a car's side, front, and rear is more important than its top. As long as these curves are similar, it can often make people feel that the two cars are very similar. However, if the actual size and details are compared, it is difficult to constitute plagiarism if changes are made.

This is a common occurrence in the automotive industry.

To put it simply, as long as the trademark and details are different, the curves can be slightly adjusted to make differences.

Even if you take it to court, or even to the highest heaven, it won't do you any good.

If they go even further, they might even apply for a separate patent for the copied design.

Don't ask him how he knew.

This is the "valuable experience" of our ancestors!

"We aim to keep the total parts cost of the new car under 10,000 yuan, require all interiors to have air conditioning, and prioritize only black and white color schemes, with the interior having a uniform color scheme."

Since it's a car for seniors, Xu Yi won't play the high-end/low-end model game.

Differentiated configuration options are nonexistent. Uniform pricing and configuration maximize the efficiency of the existing factory production lines.

To reduce costs, lead-acid batteries were used for the batteries, and the chassis was made of ordinary welded steel plates with two large springs for shock absorption.

It looks extremely rudimentary.

However, Xu Yi's target price was around 20,000 yuan.

After deducting transportation and distribution costs, there is still a net profit of 8,000 yuan. The old man's car itself does not have advertising or promotion, so it can save money in this regard.

Although the price of 20,000 yuan is indeed not cheap for a car for the elderly, it is even a bit expensive.

But don't forget, this is the era we live in.

The lowest-spec 1.2L manual transmission Wuling Hongguang has an official guide price of 4.18 yuan, and it doesn't even come with air conditioning.

If you want to add an air conditioner, the price will often increase by four or five thousand.

In the price range of 2 to 4 yuan, there is a huge gap, which has given the elderly-friendly electric vehicle model a chance to grow wildly.

In addition, the air conditioning configuration is extremely crucial.

According to Xu Yi's understanding, almost none of the elderly-friendly electric vehicles on the market are equipped with air conditioning.

Air conditioning and automatic transmissions became popular in vehicles designed for elderly drivers only after the mainstream Mini cars became popular, leading to fierce competition in the low-priced car market.

Moreover, even if we extend the timeline to a few years later, the low-end version of the newly launched Wuling Mini did not offer air conditioning as an option.

Is it very expensive to install an air conditioner?

Indeed, compared to other configurations, a compressor air conditioner is a very high-end configuration.

However, it is not so high that the cost is unacceptable.

Ultimately, it comes down to energy consumption.

Air conditioners typically consume 1kW-2kW, while electric vehicles for the elderly mainly use 48V lead-acid batteries, which have small capacity and poor discharge capability.

The total power of the motor in a typical electric vehicle for the elderly is only 3kw-5kw, with a power of no more than 7 horsepower. Turning on the air conditioner will lead to a decrease in range and insufficient power supply.

to be honest.

Does a car have an air conditioning system, both now and in the future?

These are all things that are close to being necessities.

At this point in time, at a price point of tens of thousands of yuan, air conditioning is an extremely rare feature.

"Mr. Xu, you said you want to add air conditioning to the old man's car... Forgive my bluntness, but even if the cost can be controlled, I'm afraid it will be difficult to maintain the power of the lead-acid battery system."

Wang Jingming was stunned when he heard the request to install an air conditioner.

Adding air conditioning to a senior citizen's electric vehicle?

It's not that it's impossible.

Rather, there are problems that are difficult to solve.

"If you want to add air conditioning, then it will be difficult to balance the power system, unless you replace it with a lithium iron phosphate battery... but that will increase the cost, and the total cost of the vehicle will be at least 15,000 yuan."

Wang Jingming did a simple calculation.

With the current well-developed supply chain in China, the cost of materials for automobile production is now very transparent. What they are producing are "old man's cars," which are essentially electric bicycles.

Like other new energy electric vehicles on the market.

The biggest cost in the entire vehicle is the battery.

Lead-acid batteries are insufficient to support the simultaneous operation of the compressor and the motor. Replacing them with lithium iron phosphate batteries to increase battery capacity and discharge capability would be too costly.

If the price is set in the range of 40,000, then it will be very difficult for anyone to buy it.

After all, at this price point, you can already buy an entry-level car that can be registered.

Why bother buying such a flashy but impractical toy?
……

(End of this chapter)