Chapter 486 Legacy
After listening to Takao Nakamura's report, Shirakawa Kaede probably already knew the problems Subaru is facing now.
"Because the North American market, which Subaru has long relied on, has been hit hard, while other markets and the home country have been neglected.
So now Subaru is facing a global sales crisis and factories are running at less than 40% of capacity? "
"Hai" Although the situation is ugly, Takao Nakamura has to admit that this is the fact.
"Tell me about your short-term plans." Baichuan Feng did not give his opinion directly, but was prepared to listen to Subaru's own plans first.
Before acquiring Fuji Heavy Industries, he knew that some people within the company had already come up with short-term plans.
For example, Mr. Nakamura in front of him, he strongly advocated using the Japanese domestic market as a fulcrum to improve Fuji Heavy Industries' operating conditions in a short period of time.
It was precisely because of his plan that Shirakawa Kaede chose him as the current president of Subaru.
When the company is in trouble, it needs a strong person with clear goals to lead everyone forward.
Hearing what Shirakawa Kaede said, Nakamura Takao sat up straight and cheered up, and began to explain his short-term reform plan.
"Because the situation in North America is related to the appreciation of the Japanese yen, and the appreciation of the Japanese yen is an uncontrollable factor.
So my suggestion is that instead of waiting for the North American market to return to normal, it is better to focus on the Japanese local market.
Although Fuji Heavy Industries initially shifted its main operating market to North America, Subaru also has its own cooperative dealers in Japan.
After all, it is a Japanese car company. Even though it relies on sales in North America, Fuji Heavy Industries also invested a lot of resources in its home country before the 1980s.
Currently, there are 48 dealers cooperating with Subaru in Japan's 43 prefectures.
Subaru has a stake in 34 of these stores, which is also considered one of its current assets.
As a relatively small car company, it is not a small number for it to have so many dealers, or 4S stores.
Therefore, Takao Nakamura believes that by utilizing these local resources and deepening its presence in the Japanese market, Subaru may be able to turn losses into profits.
“According to our market research, the demand for mid- to high-end models in Japan has greatly increased.
Nissan's luxury car CIMA, launched this year, is expected to sell more than 35,000 units. Honda's third-generation coupe Prelude is also developed for this market, and its sales this year may even exceed 100,000 units.
Toyota is also rumored to be developing the Celsior luxury sedan, and there are also rumors about Mazda's Cosmo.
The series of actions taken by these major automakers are the best proof of the market trend.”
Neon is now at the peak of its bubble era and people have no shortage of money.
So, luxury cars that used to cost more than 3 million yen have now become ordinary consumer models that are affordable to the general public in Japan.
Haven’t you seen that Nissan CIMA’s lowest configuration is 4.5 million yen, and the high configuration is 5.6 million yen, and it’s still selling well in Japan?
Once everyone's desire to consume is aroused, this market frenzy will continue until the building collapses.
Seeing the actions of its competitors and the huge profits they are making from luxury car models, how could Subaru not be tempted, especially at this critical juncture when it is in a business crisis.
"So what preparations has Subaru made now? Has it carried out any preliminary development for this market?"
Shirakawa Kaede also had a personal experience of the madness of Japan at this time, and he personally agreed with Nakamura Takao's desire to enter Japan's domestic luxury car market.
If you don't take advantage of these times to sell some high-profit luxury goods, you won't have such opportunities in the future.
When Nakamura Takao heard Shirakawa Kaede asking about the specific plan, his eyes lit up.
It seems that Shirakawa-san is also inclined towards this plan. I have to say that this is good news for him.
“We also have our own luxury model plan targeting the high-end market in Japan, with the internal code name 44B.
This model abandons all previous Subaru design foundations and adopts a completely new platform.
In terms of styling design, 4BB takes current fashion as reference and adopts a simple wedge-shaped body and a low waistline design.
At the same time, in order to highlight Subaru Industries' aviation industry background, the A/B/C pillars are made as slim as possible while ensuring the rigidity of the body.
Moreover, the outer shell is designed in full color to emphasize the overall sense, trying to make users feel like they are in the cockpit of an airplane.
However, 4BB is an internal code name, and the model that will be released to the public will be called Legacy. "
Legacy, in English, means legacy or bequest. There is no doubt that this name carries a certain tragic meaning.
Before he became president, Fuji Heavy Industries introduced a management system in which development directors had full responsibility in order to cope with crises.
Takao Nakamura, who was in charge of the emergency response at the time, was the head of the planning department and also the person in charge of the development of new models.
The car was named Legacy, and it has to be said that Fuji Heavy Industries was determined to make it the last model.
If you don’t succeed, you will die. If Legacy fails, there is a high probability that Fuji Heavy Industries will go bankrupt.
Although the entry of Shirakawa Holdings has solved the bankruptcy crisis of Fuji Heavy Industries, Takao Nakamura still retained the name.
Legacy (legacy, bequest), it has to be said to have a very European flavor.
It can also be understood as meaning "a gift worth passing on to future generations", which can be regarded as inheriting the spirit of the Subaru brand.
"Legacy?" Baichuan Feng murmured, feeling it was okay.
The photo of this car was placed in front of Shirakawa Kaede. It was a prototype car that had been made before. Just looking at the shape, it seemed that the proportions were indeed very harmonious.
As for Legacy, it is also very suitable as the name of a luxury car, and this name can be directly used in North America.
"So what stage is Legacy at now, and when is it expected to be launched on the market?"
It is better to make money early, because the bubble will only last for a few years. If you don't take advantage of the last chance to make a fortune, Subaru's problems will be more difficult to solve.
Hearing Shirakawa Kaede's question, not only Nakamura Takao, but also Sugimoto Kiyoshi, who had been responsible for explaining the technology beside him, showed joy.
Why? Because if Shirakawa Kaede asks this, doesn’t that mean that Legacy can be mass-produced?
Even though Takao Nakamura and his team have completed the design work of the Legacy, there were actually some disagreements within Fuji Heavy Industries regarding this model.
After all, it is a luxury car, and once it goes into production, the funds required will not be a small amount.
At that time, Fuji Heavy Industries was already facing a huge financial deficit, and if Legacy failed, it could indeed be a disaster for it.
So even though the car was designed, there was constant debate within Fuji Heavy Industries about whether to mass-produce it.
But now listening to what Baichuan Feng said, it seems that this does not need to be considered at all?
Nakamura Takao replied quickly with an expectant look on his face, "Legacy has already produced three prototypes, and they are currently undergoing a 100,000-kilometer endurance driving test at the Arizona Test Center in the United States."
“When is the verification expected to be completed?”
"About November."
"If it is put on the market on a large scale, when will the factory in Gunma Prefecture be able to deliver the products at the earliest?"
"January or February next year," Takao Nakamura answered fluently, and it was obvious that he had thought about these issues a long time ago.
"January or February next year?" Baichuan Feng frowned slightly. If he remembered correctly, this was not a good time.
"Eh? Shirakawa-san, do you have any other instructions?"
Seeing Shirakawa Kaede frowning, Nakamura Takao and the technical team behind him became nervous again.
Could it be that there will be another setback in the production of Legacy?
However, Baichuan Feng's re-opening surprised and delighted them.
“Starting from next month, the promotion and marketing of Legacy can start in advance.
Horizontally opposed engine, full-time four-wheel drive, and extremely high safety design, these three points are the three axes of Legacy's publicity and promotion.
Of course, there is no need to use so many professional terms, and it is best to be concise and clear. Just let people know that Subaru cars are easy to drive, safe and luxurious.
The promotion will be mainly in Japan, followed by North America. The total promotion cost is set at 50 million US dollars, 20 million in Japan and 30 million overseas. "
Shirakawa Kaede's series of words made Nakamura Takao and others tremble with fear.
5,000 US dollars, 6 billion yen~! When has Subaru ever fought such a rich battle in marketing ?
In the past, being able to run an advertisement with a budget of tens of millions of yen on a Japanese TV station was considered a big deal.
20 million US dollars, 2.4 billion yen, Takao Nakamura and others didn't even know how to spend so much money.
"Mr. Shirakawa, isn't this...the promotion and marketing budget a bit too high?" Although more money is a good thing, out of a responsible attitude, Nakamura Takao still secretly reminded him.
Baichuan Feng smiled indifferently at his cautiousness and said, "Mr. Nakamura, if Subaru wants to become a mass-market brand, it is far from enough to just study design.
If Subaru wants to change its niche market, publicity and promotion are of utmost importance. Please do not worry about this.
In the subsequent promotion of Legacy, Shirakawa Holdings will dispatch a dedicated publicity and promotion team to support Subaru's promotion."
Shirakawa Holdings is an expert in this area. The advertising of so many of its subsidiaries over the years is not in vain, and there are plenty of relevant talents.
"But instead of worrying about the high cost of publicity and promotion, Mr. Nakamura should be concerned about the next issue."
"Huh?" Nakamura Takao looked puzzled.
"We will not release Legacy in January or February next year. We will move it forward to early December this year."
Why did Shirakawa Kaede want to advance the release date? Because if he remembered correctly, Akihito's father was going to meet his Amaterasu at that time.
According to the tradition of Xiaoshidai at that time , the Japanese government would most likely impose relatively large restrictions on entertainment and advertising .
So in order to avoid this pitfall, Shirakawa Kaede decided to advance the release date of Legacy.
However, two months earlier than the original listing plan, the pressure came to Takao Nakamura.
"Shirakawa-san, may I ask why Legacy has to start early?"
This is also what confuses everyone here at Subaru. I have never heard of any competitors releasing similar models at the same time.
"From what I know, the situation of the one in the palace may not be very optimistic. Nissan's advertisement encountered such a problem some time ago."
After Baichuan Feng's explanation, everyone looked enlightened.
It is well known that licking the emperor's body is not a good thing. Previously, Nissan created a happy atmosphere on TV in order to advertise its own cars.
As a result, news came that Licking Emperor's condition had worsened, so Nissan's advertisement was stopped after only two days.
With this precedent, everyone understood why Shirakawa Kaede wanted to release Legacy in advance.
If Subaru's Legacy is released at the same time as this incident, I don't know if it will have any impact, but it is definitely not a good sign.
So regarding the early release, Takao Nakamura and his colleagues thought about it for a while and nodded in agreement.
"In that case, we won't wait for the results of the Arizona test. The factory in Gunma will start preparing materials and debugging the production line in advance."
Takao Nakamura is still somewhat confident about the design of his department, and there will definitely be no problem with reliability.
Moreover, one of the three test cars has already completed the test, with an average speed of 223.345km/h throughout the entire process, so there is no problem in completing 100,000 kilometers.
This is Subaru's specialty, and the technical team all approved of Takao Nakamura's decision on this point.
However, Legacy is only Subaru's short-term plan. If it wants to reform it, it will require major actions.
