Chapter 56: Targeting Toyota

In Wang Ye's mouth, the rotary-wing aircraft, decades later, would be referred to by netizens as "airborne tricycle," essentially a flying motor tricycle.

From this nickname, one can see a major characteristic of rotary-wing aircraft, which is their low cost!

Compared to other manned aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft have the lowest cost. The only things cheaper are items like powered paragliders, but those can hardly be called "aircraft," and they also have payload issues.

The second characteristic is stability and safety.

Unlike helicopters, which rely on vertical rotor propulsion, rotary-wing aircraft rely on horizontal propellers at the rear for propulsion. During motion, the top rotor spins in the wind, providing lift for takeoff.

So even if the engine shuts down in mid-air, because the speed is still present, the top rotor can still provide lift for a safe landing.

Decades later, after the introduction of small rotary-wing aircraft, they were warmly welcomed by the military and widely used for tasks like border patrols, and even featured in military parades.

This is precisely why Wang Ye had no doubts about the practicality of rotary-wing aircraft. So, after acquiring this motorcycle production line, Wang Ye decided to introduce this product first.

After all, the core of the rotary-wing aircraft is the engine!

In fact, designing an engine posed no difficulty for Wang Ye.

Instead, determining what kind of engine to design wasted a lot of Wang Ye's energy because while designing is easy, nowadays, it's not easy to produce it due to insufficient technological conditions. Moreover, some degree of versatility needs to be considered.

After a series of considerations, Wang Ye finally settled on this engine.

Firstly, it could provide sufficient power for rotary-wing aircraft, with power output reaching just over a hundred horsepower, which was the most important aspect.

Secondly, this engine would have a water-cooled version. Wang Ye planned to use the water-cooled version of the engine as a basis to create various models such as sedans, SUVs, and small pickups.

These models could not only be sold domestically, addressing the issue of many gaps in the domestic automobile market but could also be exported!

Take Toyota, for example.

As is well known, Toyota originally started in the textile industry. Its founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, was known as the "Textile King." Later, Kiichiro Toyoda sent his son, Kiichiro Toyoda, to study mechanical engineering at the University of Tokyo. After graduation, he placed him in the family factory as an engineer.

However, Kiichiro Toyoda had great ambitions. At the beginning of this century, during one of his trips to Europe to purchase new textile machinery, he came into contact with the automotive industry and then resolutely led the Toyota company into transformation.

During World War II, the Toyota company transformed into a military factory, producing military vehicles and weapons for the Japanese army. It wasn't until after the war when they faced sanctions due to their involvement with the Japanese military, that they found themselves on the brink of bankruptcy.

The turning point came during the Korean War when the United States, due to the long front lines, had to purchase military vehicles from Japan. It was these military vehicle orders that revived Toyota!

As for Toyota's resurgence and global fame, it was in the seventies and eighties.

With the outbreak of the oil crisis, American cars with large engine displacements of seven or eight liters and over ten cylinders became unaffordable. Toyota, on the other hand, quickly captured the American market with its low fuel consumption, reliability, and marketing tactics that they excelled at. Subsequently, they dominated the global market.

So this time, Wang Ye wanted to intercept Toyota and Honda!

Since your main selling point is low fuel consumption, then I'll make sure mine consumes even less fuel than yours. Since you're emphasizing reliability, I'll make sure mine is more reliable than yours!

What's more critical is that the scene of bowing to lions must not happen again!

Of course, challenging or even surpassing giants like Toyota and Honda with these small engines alone is impossible. So, when there's money later on, Wang Ye will still work on larger engines.

Finally.

The current basic model of this engine is a horizontally opposed four-cylinder with a displacement of 1200cc. In the future, it can easily be reduced to a two-cylinder with a displacement of 600cc, or even directly reduced to a three-cylinder with a displacement of 300cc.

This way, it can easily be installed on motorcycles.

In this day and age, domestically produced motorcycles, under the impact of imported Honda and Suzuki motorcycles from Japan, can only produce vehicles with engine displacements smaller than 100cc, which are low-cost and have poor reputations.

And Wang Ye wants to compete with imported motorcycles. Since domestically produced motorcycles are not cheap anymore, Wang Ye must find his own track and leverage his advantages!

Ultimately, Wang Ye decided that this advantage would be engine displacement!

After all, those who can afford high-end motorcycles now are not short of money. Domestic fuel prices are also not expensive. If your Honda motorcycle sells for forty thousand yuan, with a dual-cylinder displacement of 125cc, then mine, with a dual-cylinder displacement of 600cc and fifty horsepower, will be even more impressive!

So Wang Ye's strategy is simple: to use the most straightforward data and performance to target the high-end market!

Only by conquering the high-end market can he conquer the low-end market. What's the use of a 50cc displacement commuter motorcycle? By then, it can not only be sold domestically but also sell well in Southeast Asia, Africa, and other third world countries!

In the meeting room.

Wang Ye was passionately explaining, occasionally answering questions from the audience.

At the same time.

Africa, Tanzania, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

Kikwete had received some rumors from various sources that he would be appointed as the fourth deputy minister of defense, which excited him but also made him uneasy.

Although the gas cylinder had brought him enough prestige, it also became his weakness!

Thinking of this, Kikwete suddenly stood up and shouted outside the door:

"Pari, come in!"

Accompanied by Kikwete's voice, the bodyguard outside the door walked in. Kikwete asked:

"How many people can we mobilize under our command at the moment?"

"I have a feeling of unease. The defense force at the factory may not be enough. I feel there may be a problem!"

Hearing Kikwete say this, the bodyguard named Pari didn't hesitate, but with a worried look on his face, nodded and said:

"At present, there are only over a hundred people available for mobilization."

"They are all your bodyguards. Others have already been dispatched to the factory. Now, the guard force at the factory has exceeded five hundred people. There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

"The bodyguard force cannot be reduced any further, or else your safety cannot be guaranteed."

As soon as the bodyguard Pari finished speaking, Kikwete suddenly smiled, shook his head, and said:

"In that case, I'll stay at the factory!"

"This is also the wisdom I learned in Huaxia. Since we can't divide our forces, we should find a way to merge the targets into one!"

"I want to see how brave those people really are!"

"Let's go!"

Faced with Kikwete's command, bodyguard Pari wanted to refuse, but faced with Kikwete's sharp gaze, he finally nodded. Shortly after, Kikwete's convoy, under the protection of the bodyguards, left mightily.

Just as his car had just left and was a few hundred meters away from Kikwete's front gate, inside a building, a person behind the curtains whispered softly while looking through binoculars:

"The plan begins!"