There is such a company in China, along the way to witness the rise, decline and re-emergence of China's national enterprises, from the early days of reform and opening up of 30 million to 2009 officially entered the first camp of domestic automobiles, a hundred years of time, in the pursuit of national self-improvement on the road has always been at the forefront of the times, such a company, in the end, what is the secret of success?
Made in China
01 Predecessor
In 1862, the situation of the Qing government was precarious, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement seriously threatened the rule of the Qing government, this year a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty began to step onto the stage of history, in this year Li Hongzhang formally formed the Huai Army, at the same time Li Hongzhang was also appointed as the inspector of Jiangsu, supervising the shanghai resistance to the attack of the Taiping Army, fortunately, Li Hongzhang personally came to the front line to command, three battles and three victories to defend Shanghai.
In December of that year, another event occurred that seemed to be a small thing at the time, but was a milestone event in the entire modern history of China, when Li Hongzhang founded the first industrial enterprise in Modern Chinese History, the Shanghai Maritime Artillery Bureau, in a temple outside Songjiang City in Shanghai. China's modern industry has since sprouted, and then in 1865, the Jiangnan General Manufacturing Bureau was established in Shanghai, and in 1866, China's earliest privately operated modern industrial enterprise Fachang Machinery Factory was established in Shanghai.
Upper Marine Artillery Bureau
The Shanghai Gun and Artillery Bureau is the national enterprise we want to talk about today, the predecessor of Changan Automobile, which is the first industrial enterprise in China's modern history and the earliest arsenal in China, creating a precedent for China's modern industry. Such a Chinese enterprise, born in a chaotic world, is destined to embark on an extraordinary and arduous road.
In 1863, Li Hongzhang led the Huai Army to attack The Prefecture, inspector Yamen moved to Suzhou, and the personnel and equipment of the Shanghai Ocean Artillery Bureau were also moved to Suzhou, on the basis of which the Suzhou Foreign Artillery Bureau was established, which was the first Western-style arsenal in China. In 1865, Li Hongzhang was promoted to the governor of Liangjiang, and the Shanghai Ocean Artillery Bureau followed him to Nanjing Yuhuatai and expanded to become the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau.
In 1928, it was renamed as Jinling Branch of Shanghai Arsenal, and the following year it was renamed Jinling Arsenal again, and in 1937 the situation of the War of Resistance became more and more difficult, and in the outbreak of the August 13 Shanghai Incident, Jinling Arsenal was bombed several times, in preparation for the War of Resistance, the Arsenal moved west to Chongqing, and in 1938 it was renamed the 21st Arsenal. After the founding of New China in 1951, the 21st Arsenal was renamed the 456Th Factory, continuing to contribute to the construction of the socialist cause, in April 1957, the second factory of the 456th Factory was named the state-owned Chang'an Machine Factory, and in 1994 it merged with the state-owned Jiangling Machinery Factory to form the China Chang'an Machinery Manufacturing Factory.
The imprint of time
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it was the largest ordnance enterprise in China at that time, mainly producing imitation Gatling machine guns, homemade Type II4 heavy machine guns, aircraft bombs, shells, 82 mortars and other weapons and equipment, where 60% of the country's weapons and equipment were provided, including more than 3,000 tons of ammunition, more than 300,000 grenades and about 500,000 guns of various types. At that time, China's industrial base was weak, aircraft, tanks, warships and other heavy equipment could only be purchased, but the enemy faced by the Chinese nation was Japan, which had a strong and advanced industrial system, and in the end, the Chinese nation was able to win the final victory of the War of Resistance.
02 Origins: Domestic jeeps
So, how did such a large-scale arsenal become a well-known car company at home and abroad? Speaking of the relationship between Changan Automobile and automobiles, it can be traced back to 1958, when the founding of New China was less than 10 years, the First Five-Year Plan had just been completed, the country was in ruins to be rebuilt, and for the first time there was a relatively complete industrial foundation in the land that had been sunk for a hundred years.
In 1957, due to the need for war readiness, the state handed over the task of developing and producing jeeps to Chang'an, without manufacturing drawings and experience guidance, to make a perfect answer on a piece of white paper, which was undoubtedly a difficult task, but at that time, the Chinese people always had the courage to brave difficulties and obstacles, and worked hard, and a scientific research team specializing in the development of domestic jeeps was quickly formed.
Time was pressing, and they did not have time to build a factory building, so they set up a tent in the open dam as an office and research and development workshop. There are no drawings, no information, can only get an American military jeep, around it repeatedly pondered, compared, dismantled and loaded, loaded and dismantled, the rabbit's kryptonian god eye launched reverse analysis magic, and finally figured out the structural distribution and circuit lines of the US military jeep.
That year the rabbit: the rabbit's kryptonian god eye
In China in the 1950s, the level of automated machinery was completely in its infancy, and the parts of the vehicle were almost all polished little by little with simple tools such as hammers and a pair of hands. Without a mold, the workers and masters used their brains to dig a large pit in the ground, put the steel plate into the pit, and carefully pounded the mold with a wooden hammer to create various parts of different shapes and large curved arches of the car shell. This kind of shell knocked out by the original method, although the surface is potholed, can be scraped with thick plaster ash, and then brushed with grass green paint, it still looks flat and shiny, and it is purely handmade.
The people of Chang'an held a breath in their hearts, vowing to build China's first jeep as quickly as possible, to present gifts to new China, to raise the backbone of Chinese, how many workers fainted on the construction site because the intensity of the work was too heavy, and the workers poured two mouthfuls of salt water, woke up and continued to dry. Even in such harsh conditions, workers often work from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m., sometimes until the early hours of the next morning. In the process of assembling the chassis of the car, Xu Guangqi lay on his back on the ground and tightened the screws, dried for three days and two nights, and unconsciously fell asleep between the wheels. Greasy and dark-faced, he still clutched a screw-twister in his hand. When the workers saw this scene, they couldn't help but burst into tears. The director of the factory, Jin Lie, scolded with tears: "Hey, Xiao Xu, you are so dangerous!" As soon as the wheels slip, they will crush you!
From the decision to start, to the beginning of the surveying and mapping design, and then after more than half a year of technical preparation, four months of trial production, the relevant staff of Changan Automobile after three months of overloaded work, concerted joint research and development, day and night all-round comparison, and finally in May 1958 Changan produced the first prototype car.
Jeep participating in the 1959 National Day military parade
In just three months, Chang'an built China's first jeep, named the Yangtze River brand. At this time, the Yangtze River brand jeep sample car was tested and found that there were two major problems. One is that its steering machine is not particularly sensitive, and there will be irregular failures. Many of the old drivers and technicians in the factory failed to solve the problem, and finally with the help of Feng Jingyi, the director of the mechanical department of Tsinghua University, the structural diagram was redesigned to solve the problem. Another problem is the brake problem, the quality of the brake pad is unstable, the brake is not dead, this problem is related to the safety of safety, can not be underestimated. These two problems were related to the overall level of equipment production in our country at that time, but in any case, the car was finally produced.
On October 1, the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1959, more than 10 Yangtze River brand 46 jeeps condensed with the painstaking efforts of the Chang'an people served as the guiding vehicles of the National Day military parade team, and in the eyes of the whole world, they slowly drove past the parade platform and accepted the inspection of the motherland and the people.
The National Day Military Parade in 1959
As China's first jeep, the Yangtze River Brand 46 Jeep filled many gaps in the history of China's automobile industry, and by 1963, the Yangtze River Brand 46 Jeep had produced a total of 1390 jeeps, most of which were equipped in the major units of the People's Liberation Army to escort the Chinese army. At the end of 1963, Changan completely delivered the drawings of the model he developed to the Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Plant, which was ready to be built, laying a high starting point for Beijing Jeep to become a generation of famous cars.
In the exhibition hall of the headquarters building of Chang'an Company, there is still an old-fashioned jeep stored, and it is rumored that foreign friends once bid 500,000 US dollars to buy it, but it was rejected by Chang'an Company, because this is China's first jeep, a witness to history, and the crystallization of the wisdom and spirit of Chang'an people!
China's first jeep
03 Entry: Changan Automobile
In 1983, Chang'an actively responded to the call of the state's military to civilian conversion and began to carry out an unprecedented change. Although Chang'an carries the glory of history on its back, there is still a long way to go if you want to turn into civilian use, at this time Chang'an has no technology, no products, three have no experience, and four still carry heavy baggage. The Chang'an people who do not accept defeat in their bones firmly believe that in addition to making military products, they can also produce civilian products.
After market investigation and research, in the 1980s, China's domestic automobile market had a serious lack of weight, lightness, and no nuance, what the country and the people needed, Changan built what, relying on the short car-making experience in the early days of the founding of New China, Changan had a unique vision, chose to enter the field of micro-cars, and has since embarked on the Kangzhuang Avenue of secondary entrepreneurship.
What is less known is that Changan built a micro-car, which began when many people could not even understand the principle of the engine. In November 1981, Changan decided to develop a miniature car, which at that time was almost from scratch. Overtime, day and night, Chang'an people gradually understand the principle of various components. In September 1983, the first engine made by the factory was successfully ignited, and the first prototype was completed in October, and 10 prototypes were installed at the end of the month. In January 1984, the plant conducted a bench test of the engine and other assemblies, and extracted two prototypes for a 30,000-kilometer road test.
In 1984, Changan Automobile officially introduced the key technologies of Japanese Suzuki's microcars and engines, and built a complete production line with an annual output of 30,000 microcars and an annual output of 36,000 engines by using a large number of stock assets of the original military production line. On November 15, 1984, Changan's first batch of micro-cars cut the ribbon and left the factory, marking the beginning of China's automotive micro-car era. Changan Automobile has also truly started its car-making journey.
In the 1980s, Chang'an's first batch of micro-vehicles rolled off the production line
04 Professional, so rest assured
An iron-framed car weighing about 1.5 tons crashed sideways at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour into a brand-new black sedan. At the moment of the collision, the dummy driver's head and airbags under the side were successfully activated. With a bang, the car crashed out about half a meter, the windows shattered, and the glass shards were mostly blocked out of the car.
This is a collision experiment on car safety done by Changan Automobile, which the laboratory will have 3 to 4 times a week, and about 200 cars are destroyed every year. The crash test effectively guaranteed the safety of Changan Automobile.
Because of the professional, so rest assured, and Changan Automobile's professional, is not verbal propaganda, but has experienced the precipitation of history, that is the honor of overcoming difficulties for the country again and again, that is the independent innovation that breaks through the limits again and again, and the trust that is exchanged for zero tolerance for mistakes again and again.
Chang'an new CS75 Blue Whale Edition
As one of the four major automobile enterprises in China, Changan Automobile has always been at the forefront of independent innovation in the automotive field. On June 4, 2019, Changan Automobile held a brand conference with the theme of "China Core Driving the Future" at the Global R&D Center of Chongqing Changan Automobile, officially releasing a new power brand, Blue Whale Power.
The Changan Blue Whale NE power platform released by Changan Automobile can really be described as a long face for China's own brands. While the conventional version of the supercharged direct-injection engine has an average thermal efficiency of 36%, the Blue Whale NE engine increases the thermal efficiency to 40%, almost comparable to hybrid products. According to reports, the Blue Whale Power brand is composed of Blue Whale Engine, Blue Whale Transmission, Blue Whale Oil Electric Hybrid Drive, taking into account strong power and efficient fuel saving, adhering to the leading research and development concept of strength, net and static, which is considered by the industry to be a power technology platform that has not been outdated for 10 years. Changan Automobile's new generation of CS75 Blue Whale version of the car, equipped with Changan Blue Whale NE power platform, with Blue Whale new generation NE1.5T high-pressure direct injection engine, to provide a safe and reliable big heart, is the only choice for our people, as of 2021, there have been 20 million users have chosen Changan Automobile, the test of time has proved that Changan Automobile is safe, reliable, economical and practical. Give Changan Automobile a trust and recognition, and Changan Automobile will give back to consumers is a more relaxed and confident travel experience, mutual encouragement, mutual companionship, 2022 with Changan company, is also a good choice.
Blue Whale NE engine
Standing at the historical inflection point of the new era, looking back on the past, Changan Automobile's 160 years of ups and downs, Changan Automobile has long been deeply bound to China's national fortune, from a poor and white to the world business card of Chinese automobile enterprises, Changan Automobile represents the Chinese nation's hard work, overcome difficulties of the national spirit, no matter how many names have been changed in the past 160 years, the unchanged initial heart will always be the original heart that strives for the rise of the Chinese nation.