Lexus is the earliest car brand to talk about ingenuity in China, and even now more and more car brands have begun to talk about ingenuity and craftsmanship. So does Lexus have a craftsman spirit? I don't think so, not at all.
First, let's look at how Lexus promotes its craftsmanship. We refute them one by one.
At present, Lexus has four factories in Japan, one of which is the Kyushu factory, in which the technicians of each process require many years of experience, and to become a master craftsman, it takes at least 15 years of work experience. Since 2000, the Kyushu plant has won the J.D.Power Global Factory Quality "Platinum Award" five times. So Lexus says he has a craftsman spirit.
Photo note: Lexus Kyushu plant
Okay, here's the problem. Lexus currently has factories in Canada, the United States, and India. So are the employees in these factories also 15 years of work experience? Not necessarily. Are the employees in the factories in these countries all veterans sent by Japan for 15 years of work experience? Definitely not. Does that mean that Lexus cars made in Japan are good, but cars made in the United States, India, and Canada are not good? Does that mean that lexus-made cars don't have globally consistent quality. If you emphasize the spirit of craftsmanship, then you learn bentley, Rolls-Royce, the origin of the unified, do not build branches all over the world. Then your craftsman spirit is convincing, but Lexus has so many branches of factories, and talks about the spirit of craftsmanship, it is untenable.
Photo note: Lexus U.S. plant
Lexus also emphasizes its own craftsmanship in design, such as the flagship model LS, which draws a lot of traditional Japanese handicrafts in interior design, such as Tsuruba folding door trim, which is inspired by the traditional Japanese origami art, which can create a variety of three-dimensional shapes with a simple piece of paper. The original texture of the door trim panels is tanned with paper by experienced weaving artists, giving different visual effects in daylight during the day and illuminated by lights at night.
Caption: Lexus LS doors
This is the craftsman spirit promoted by Lexus, and we need to pay attention to the fact that Lexus here is talking about design "inspiration". It is not really the texture of the door trim that someone folded by hand, the door trim is still a designed ready-made mold, and then industrial mass production. Can this be said to be the spirit of craftsmanship? Origami, a traditional japanese handicraft, is definitely a craftsman. It's like the carving of window ledges in ancient China. But later, Geely Automobile used the window ledge pattern as inspiration to design the sound cover, which at best used traditional culture in the design, which can not be regarded as the spirit of craftsmanship!
Note: Geely car stereo covers are inspired by window frames
There are also people who are familiar with automobile production who must know that the four major processes of automobile manufacturing, stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly. As Industry 4.0 continues to be popularized and deepened, industrialization is constantly being subverted by new technologies, and more people are replaced by machines. At present, in the three major processes of stamping, welding, and painting, people are no longer needed, and workers are only responsible for checking whether there are any flaws. Only the final assembly is on, using workers.
Figure note: Automotive final assembly line
The final assembly is to install glass, install the interior, install the seat, install the tire, although there are auxiliary tools, but it is still a physical work. Therefore, most of the workers on the assembly line are young men aged 20 to 30. They are trained to do such a job. If you have 15 years of work experience, it is estimated that you will become a team leader, or a middle level leader. It is also unlikely to work on the final assembly line at all.
Picture note: Automobile assembly line production is almost unmanned
Since Ford invented the Model T, the large-scale industrial assembly line production of automobiles has improved the production efficiency of automobiles and the production process has become simpler. Therefore, industrial assembly line production has replaced the craftsmen and become a new way of automobile production. Now in the manufacturing of cars, unless it is ultra-luxury brands, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and other private customized models. For models with large-scale industrial assembly lines, there can be no existence of craftsmen. If there is no craftsman, then what kind of craftsman spirit is there to talk about. So Lexus talking about the spirit of craftsmanship is a lie!