Chapter 221
Chapter 221
Big One brought major changes to the industrial landscape, and companies had to rethink their strategies accordingly.
NPL was originally scheduled to release the NPhone Z at the end of September, but it was delayed by nearly three months and released just before Christmas last year, and Karos also delayed the launch of a new car by several months, so it was only released now after a year has passed.
It is true that Karos has the most advanced autonomous driving technology. However, there were several difficulties before commercializing the technology.
How many companies have disappeared even with good technology?
If it had not been for OTK Company’s investment, it would have been sold to other companies or remained as a software company. (The company that developed the technology for the first time goes bankrupt, and other companies succeed in commercializing it and hit a jackpot.)
However, by pouring billions of dollars, we overcame the difficulties of commercialization.
Through continuous R&D, the technology level was raised, and Chrysler was acquired and a new plant was built. And through partnership with Suseong Electronics, we solved the problem of supplying autonomous driving hardware.
The value of Karos has gone up since we acquired it, but apart from that, it’s been running huge losses every quarter.
R&D, driving experiments, factory construction, etc. money is constantly being put in, but vehicle sales continue to decline and the money that comes in has continued to decrease.
As with all industries, automobiles in particular have economies of scale.
Even if the car did not sell, the employee’s salary could not be reduced, and the cost of maintaining the sales network and service center was completely spent.
After a long period of investment, the launch of a new car is finally approaching.
The development has come to an end, but the most important thing remains. It’s just to name it.
There are two main ways to name a car.
One is to attach a suitable word for each car model, or to combine spellings and numbers according to the size and car model.
For example, Volkswagen in the same group uses Golf, Tiguan, and Passat, while Audi uses A4, A6, and Q5.
In either case, the most important thing is that the consumer can clearly recognize the car by just hearing the name.
After discussions with management and public relations experts, it was decided to build AD after the word Autonomous Driving Car, and then number them in the order in which they were released.
The sedan model is AD1 and the SUV model is AD2. As AD stands for ‘after the dawn of time’, it also has the meaning of ushering in a new era of automobiles.
This is a trend these days, but the biggest advantage is that you can save money on naming from now on.
The price of the car is $39,900 AD1 and $44,900 AD2. It adds about $5,000 depending on whether or not the option is available.
That’s pretty expensive for a midsize car.
The engine has been improved as much as possible from the previous model, but the design is completely new.
The most distinctive part is the interior. The interior is equipped with a dual display, so all systems can be operated by voice and touch.
As for the oil, both AD1 and AD2 are gasoline.
“Isn’t diesel all the rage these days?”
“America doesn’t use diesel in cars.”
In Korea, diesel is mainly used for SUVs, whereas in the United States, even large pickup trucks use gasoline.
For the same fuel consumption, diesel is more fuel efficient. Therefore, industrial demand is higher, and the international oil price is higher for diesel than gasoline.
Taehyung tilted his head.
“In Korea, gasoline is more expensive.”
“It’s because of the tax.”
Due to the high tax on gasoline, a price reversal has occurred in which diesel is relatively cheaper.
So, unlike other countries, Korea is a rather unusual market where diesel cars are sold well.
“Anyway, this is the last internal combustion engine that Karos sells.”
With the launch of a new car, all existing Chrysler vehicles have been discontinued.
And Karos is developing a new electric car. If this car sells well, the future release plan will proceed smoothly.
“How much are you going to sell?”
There are many reasons not to sell. The brand recognition is low, the price is high, and there are many cars that perform better than this at the same price.
On the other hand, there is only one reason why it sells so well. That is, it is equipped with the most advanced autonomous driving technology among all existing cars.
Taek-gyu pointed at me and said.
“There is one more. your awareness.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Okay.”
There was a time when my popularity swept across America.
But that was already 4 months ago. Many sacrifices were made in the rescue process, and many heroes were born.
There has also been a significant decrease in the number of press references to me. Will it still be of great help to sales?
Ten days before the launch, they decided to receive reservations for 50,000 units each through the website. Reservation is $100. A full refund is possible if you cancel before delivery.
“Isn’t 100,000 a bit too much?”
It’s definitely not a small number.
“I spoke to Daryl yesterday, and he was confident that before the official release, it would be sold out.”
Nikola unveiled the Model TH and received 450,000 reservations. But it was an electric car, and it was possible for Nikolai.
And while Nikola draws reservations from all over the world, Karos takes reservations exclusively in the US.
Will we be able to fill 100,000 reservations before the official release?
Reservations are scheduled to start at 12:00 PM local time. The time difference between Detroit and Seoul, where the Carlos headquarters is located, is 13 hours.
We ate lunch together at a nearby Korean restaurant and waited for reservations to start.
I hit my chopsticks a few times and put them down.
Hyun-joo’s sister asked.
“Are you nervous?”
I shook my head and said frankly.
“I feel a little bit nervous compared to when I was investing. Even if you can’t hit the jackpot, you should do the basics.”
As long as you have enough money, the failure of a new car doesn’t mean it will go bankrupt. However, future strategic changes are inevitable.
Ellie said kindly.
“Don’t worry too much, it will be fine.”
Taek-gyu also said something.
“right. Chairman Lim Jin-yong said it was going to be fine when we just called.”
“… … .”
So, if you haven’t even started selling, would you say that it won’t sell well?
Perhaps Chairman Im Jin-yong is also praying for good sales now. Seosung Electronics is Karos’ top priority partner.
He has a lot of money invested, and he is risking his life at the group level as well. It’s only natural that he wants to do well as long as he’s in the same boat.
Ellie looked at her watch.
“I should have started now.”
I took out my phone and tried to access the website. It is refreshing to see the two cars on the first screen.
My heart is pounding and I feel like I’m about to cry.
Seeing my expression, Ellie asked.
“Are you impressed?”
“Yes, a little.”
Taehyung nodded his head.
“It brings tears to my eyes when I think of the money I spent to put this car into the world.”
“… … .”
I used it a lot.
So if you fail, you might really cry.
The number of reservations is displayed in real time, and when the deadline is over, it is transferred to the waiting number.
Taegyu said.
“Shall we book one by one first?”
“Huh?”
“lets think. Even when beggars go hunting, they start by putting a few coins in a can.”
“Even if I had to use an analogy… … .”
But that’s right. Wouldn’t it be possible to stimulate the desire to buy only when it seems that buyers are flocking in the beginning?
“That’s a great idea.”
We all put down our spoons and quickly pulled out our phones and clicked on reservation.
“I can’t go to the next page.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
Then the connection crashed and nothing was displayed.
Taehyung said hurriedly.
“Doesn’t that mean you can’t even take a reservation for one?”
“Huh?”
“You have to pay when you decide to buy it, and if you miss the timing, you won’t be able to buy what you were going to buy.”
“Is that so?”
Reservation is the most important start. When people are interested, you need to increase sales as much as possible.
Isn’t this really messed up?
I think so, but I got a call from Carlos.
As soon as I answered the phone, Daryl shouted.
[The website is down due to a large number of reservations! Reservations are pouring in to the company right now!]* * *
Ronald posted on Twitter.
[A new car made by American workers was released at an American factory. Congratulations to Carlos and CEO Kang Jin-hoo]Not only SNS, but also made direct phone calls.
[Long time no see. How are you?]“Yes. Is the president in good health?”
Ronald, who led the rescue from the shelter, returned to the White House at the end of the year to conduct his government.
Since he returned to Korea, he has spoken on the phone for a while, but this time it’s been a while. Ronald was talking about this and that as if he were chatting with his friend.
[It’s hard to die because of domestic and foreign issues and the Democrats. By the way, when I tried to buy one, the reservation was already closed.]“It’s all thanks to the president’s publicity on Twitter.”
In fact, the reservations were closed before then.
Ronald burst out laughing as if he liked what I said.
[Hahaha, that’s right! Wouldn’t it be nice to see your face sometime soon?]“I want to see you too. Just give me a call, and I will go to America any time.”
[Okay. Say hello to that friend too.]That friend is Taek-gyu.
“Okay.”
It’s not empty words, I haven’t seen it for a long time, so I really want to see you. Perhaps it was because we had gone through the crisis of the great earthquake together, so it felt like an old friend.
I then called Daryl.
He said in a recalled voice.
[It is only 230,000 units that have received additional reservations. This is what production hell is all about. I think I know how Nicola CEO Allen Eberhart feels.]Even if he said that, he seemed excited to see the factory he had been playing at full operation. The union is also said to be screaming joyfully as overtime is increasing.
As the release schedule was delayed, the production line was switched to a new car before that, and I thought that I had already manufactured enough quantity, but that quantity has run out immediately.
[The new factory is partially operating, but it is insufficient to meet the order quantity.]When all the new factories are completed, the capacity of Kepa will increase to 5 million units per year. Since the new plant is mainly made of electric vehicle production lines, the annual production of AD1 and AD2 was limited to 1.5 million units no matter how much it increased.
Again, AD2 accounted for nearly 70% of sales, proving the popularity of SUVs.
Orders poured in from the website as well as to the dealers. Online sales will be handled by Karos directly, and offline sales will be left to dealers who have been trading in the past.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
Dealers who had cut ties due to incentive problems came and asked for a contract again, but they all refused.
I will keep my loyalty to the dealers who stayed until the end even during the difficult times when cars didn’t sell, but I don’t need to do business again with those who have turned their backs on me.
Currently, there is no problem with sales even without a dealer.
* * *
AD1 and AD2 were shipped sequentially from the minute of reservation.
As soon as it came out, it became the subject of criticism and reviews that automobile experts pay the most attention to.
Gerard Clark, MC of Top Motor, the world’s most famous automobile program, came to the United States and drove the AD1 around the circuit, ruthlessly criticizing it.
“Acceleration, cornering, braking, fuel economy, etc. It’s basic, but don’t expect anything more than that. Driving itself is hard work. I don’t want to drive a car like this, even if it’s free. But, as we all know, the real strength of this car is something else.”
Gerard Clark played classical music and pulled out a newspaper and read. Meanwhile, the car ran on the circuit as before.
“I’ve ridden Gubble’s self-driving car before, but this is more than that. It is not behind compared to the experimental car with various electronic equipment. Compared to Nikola’s Autopilot, it’s a few steps higher. In a nutshell, it utilizes the highest level of autonomous driving among mass-produced cars.”
AD1 then exited the circuit and went out onto the road.
“It starts by recognizing signals and surrounding situations and automatically stops. Once you’ve decided on your destination and route, you don’t even need to touch anything. It’s maddening about the drivability, but the technology is truly amazing.”
No matter how perfect a product is released, various problems will occur in actual road conditions. For example, if a sensor or camera is damaged or the software is down, autonomous driving is immediately terminated and converted to manual driving. (Even if autonomous driving is performed under the current law, the driver is responsible)
Autonomous driving worked almost without problems under normal circumstances.
People who have tried it in person were surprised, and the media poured favorable reviews.
[Caros new car AD1, AD2 released!][Pre-orders are closed!][The most complete autonomous driving system in existence][The most innovative car of the 21st century!][Caros’ first step in the era of driverless cars][Caros, is it going to become the enflo of the automobile industry?]Despite the high price of the car, the profit margin of Karos is at a high level of 10%.
This is also a case of full operation of the plant, otherwise there would be little margin left.
The reason is that the manufacturing cost of the vehicle is high.
Autonomous driving parts account for the largest portion of the cost. Vehicle AP, semiconductor, communication equipment, 3D camera, lidar, sensor, etc.
Most of these parts were supplied by Suseong Electronics, and more than 30 percent of the vehicle sales went to Suseong Electronics.
However, Seosung Electronics is also unable to make a profit. Considering the development cost that has been poured so far, it was practically a loss.
Nevertheless, Seoseong Electronics cheered, and the stock price soared.
The stock price reflects the future value.
Seosung Electronics has not been able to find future growth after semiconductors and smartphones, but now it has become a leading company in the automotive electronics field.
Cost can be lowered as much as possible through mass production and technology development.
Other companies may not be sitting still and sucking their fingers, but if they dominate the market and build economies of scale, the technology gap can widen further.
Until now, the autonomous driving field has been a battleground between automobile companies, IT companies, electronics companies, and car-sharing companies. When Karos first launched self-driving cars, each company moved to find a countermeasure as if a fire had gone out in the foot.
