#Historical Cold Stories##Those Things of the Republic of China##抗日战争 #
Life in the Republic of China III:
During the Republic of China period, because the automobile industry was monopolized by foreigners, the price of automobiles was very high. At that time, the cheapest car was 1100 oceans, the ordinary Ford T-car 2700 oceans, and the truck 4000-5000 oceans.
But one thing that actually needs to be pointed out is that the price of foreign cars at that time was actually not high. In the United States on the other side of the ocean, family cars have actually spread to ordinary families. China's cars are so expensive, purely because of the increase in costs caused by the long distance across the ocean, and the increase in the price of the Foreign compradors.
First, the price of foreign cars in that year was actually not high
At that time, only a few rich people in China could buy cars, and in foreign countries, especially in the United States, on the other side of the ocean, it has actually become a daily household item. At that time, family cars in the United States were not expensive, and many working people could afford them. The main reason for this is the result of the assembly line industrial mass production of the automobile industry. One of the revolutionary models is the cheap Ford Model T.
When it comes to the Ford Model T, friends who understand the history of automobile development are certainly not unfamiliar, this is a lightweight family car that the Ford Motor Company began mass-producing in 1908, and it is also the world's first car to use assembly line assembly. It is precisely because the new technology has greatly reduced the cost of production, resulting in its extremely cheap price and extremely low cost of use. Its revolutionary significance is actually no less than today's new energy vehicles.
1. The Ford Model T is very cheap
At the beginning of production in 1913, the initial price of the Model T was 850 US dollars, which was compared to the price of 2000-3000 US dollars of competing models in the same period, which can be said to be really cheap and cheap, so it quickly seized a lot of market. And this is not the end, with the large-scale mass production, the power of the assembly line is gradually reflected.
By the 1920s, due to increased productivity and capacity expansion, the production cost of the car had dropped to $300, and the final price was reduced to $525! This price advantage is only a quarter of the competitors, and that is subversive. By 1925, Ford had subversively reduced the price of the Model T to $260! This price allowed ordinary American working families at that time to basically afford to buy a car. The best-selling affordable family model in the UK during the same period was priced at £165 at the time, about $803, three times the price of the Ford Model T! Such a price advantage, as a consumer, naturally knows how to choose.
2. The Ford Model T is very fuel efficient
And the most critical thing is that as the cheapest car, ford T, not only cheap but also good, its fuel consumption is very small, in the 1930s to achieve a hundred kilometers of fuel consumption of seven or eight liters! This fuel consumption control is certainly not surprising today, but half a century ago, it could crush all competitors in terms of energy consumption. The Citroën sedan, which was shipped in 1930, had an average fuel consumption of more than a dozen liters per 100 kilometers, twice that of the Ford T model – and this was a very fuel-efficient model of the year.
According to the memories at that time, the average car in Shanghai at that time, plus one gallon of gasoline (1 US gallon = 3.785011355034 liters), could only drive more than ten kilometers in downtown Shanghai. Of course, this is due to the large number of pedestrians and rickshaws in the urban area, the narrow roads, and the traffic congestion and slow traffic. But this hundred kilometers of more than 30 oil, the rich people also hurt to use it. The Ford T, which consumes only seven or eight fuels, is naturally the best choice for car owners.
3. Ford T production is huge
Consumers voted with their feet, and Ford quickly became the most popular, popular, easiest to buy, and most easily recognized brand of the year. In the 1920s, With an annual sales volume of 170,000 units, Ford became the first car company in the world to sell more than 100,000 vehicles a year.
Ford also strives for excellence, constantly improving the T model product, in the 20-year production cycle, a total of 15 million Model T cars have been produced and sold, which is still the peak sales of a single model car. From this point of view, the new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles, which are currently making a lot of noise, are still just a toddler baby in terms of price and output.
The products of Ford Company at that time were not expensive, and the business philosophy of doing a good job, doing fine and strengthening one thing with one mind was also very worthy of our learning.
Second, the number of cars in the United States that year
During the term of President Coolidge after World War I (1923-1929), it was really a dream society of drunken gold fans and extravagant wealth, so it was also called "Coolidge Prosperity". At that time, the United States had eaten enough of the Dividends of World War I, the economy was developing rapidly, and the average income of Americans was very high.
At that time, the average wage of ordinary workers was $200 --- $400 per year, and Ford workers even reached a weekly salary of $30, with an annual income of 120 * 12 = $1440. At that time, the income of high-income classes such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers even reached 3,000-5,000 US dollars.
Among other things, the level at which a single worker can buy a car on a year's income is something that many countries have not yet achieved. And since car prices were so low that year, car ownership in the United States grew rapidly from then until the Great Depression of 1929. According to the statistics of the Oriental Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 1, 1924:
According to a recent survey, there are about 14,347,468 cars in the world. The United States accounted for 83.8 per cent of the total of 12,364,377 units, while the rest of the countries combined accounted for only 2,379,091 units. The number of cars on each continent is shown as follows:
North and South America......... 13,078,297 vehicles (713,902 in the Americas except the United States)
Europe.................. 1,302,153 vehicles
Asia.................. 144,479 vehicles
Oceania............... 147,189 vehicles
Africa.................. 71,368 vehicles.
Judging from these data, more than 80% of the cars at that time were concentrated in the United States, reaching 173 thousand people, equivalent to the level of China at the end of 2018. In the same period, the number of cars in Asia was only 144,479, accounting for only a little bit of a few percent. In 1929, the United States produced 5.358 million cars, compared with 120 million people in the United States. According to the per capita level, it has reached 219 vehicles per 1,000 people, and most families have at least one car, and the initial popularization of automobiles has been completed. Until 2020, China's car ownership has just reached 193, still less than the level of the United States in 1929.
The gap exists objectively, and acknowledging that the gap is the right way to catch up. However, we do not have to be arrogant, because in addition to the special case of the United States, the traditional European powers on the other side of the ocean, including the British Empire, which has the highest income and is known as the "sun never sets", have not completed the popularization of automobiles. And soon after, the capitalist world experienced the great economic crisis of 1929, and this false prosperity of "eating grain" soon tasted the evil consequences.
Third, cheap Ford cars are very expensive in China
However, although the car is very cheap in the United States, the Ford Model T is even only $260, but after shipping to China, due to the increase in transportation costs and costs, coupled with the layers of price increases by foreign compradors, the price will roll up. The Ford Model T is priced at 2700 oceans in China, while the price of the car in the United States is only equivalent to 260 * 3.3 = 858 oceans, and the price in China has tripled! At that time, the luxury tariff stipulated by the Republic of China was only 20%. A large amount of excess profits in this are actually earned by foreigners and compradors.
At that time, the income of the Chinese people was low, the normal white-collar income was only 15-20 silver dollars, and the senior management was only 40-60 silver dollars, which was only enough to make a living, and it was only a few tenths of the average American worker. Coupled with the price of three times the price in the United States, ordinary people in the Republic of China, even ordinary landlords and petty capitalists, cannot afford to buy a car.
However, the wealth of the Republic of China is concentrated in the hands of a few people, and the spending power of these rich and powerful people is very high. Therefore, at the same time that the people at the bottom are not happy, the rich and high-ranking officials and nobles in the Republic of China are vigorously purchasing cars in a comparable manner. At that time, there were nearly 10,000 cars in the Shanghai Concession alone. And the most chosen by everyone is undoubtedly the most affordable Ford car. At that time, the university scholar Hu Shi, the Sichuan landlord Liu Wencai, the chairman of Guizhou Province Zhou Xicheng and other celebrities bought Ford cars.
In Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and other big cities, because there are models in various countries, some drivers are on the left and some are on the right, resulting in chaotic traffic order, and traffic jams are often done. Therefore, people with hearts now can actually depict two Republics: one is the Republic of China, which is a petty bourgeois Republic of China with traffic and sideburns. The other is the bottom republic of China, which is hungry and the people are not happy.
Fourth, the level of Chinese and Japanese automobiles in the same period
Under various factors, the number of cars in China at that time was not low, and by the time of the Northern Expedition in 1927, the total number of cars had increased from 294 in 1912 to 18,677. In the same year, the number of road cars in Japan was only 50,000, and in 1929 it increased to 80,000, and the main automobile production was also in the hands of foreign giants. Although there is a gap between China and Japan, in fact, in developed areas, the average level of both sides is similar.
In 1929, Japan was hit hard by the great economic crisis, not only the people's livelihood was poor, but also directly hit the local industry, and the japanese automobile factories closed down one after another. At that time, only three local factories were left in Japan, namely Tokyo Gas and Electric, Ishikawajima Motors and DAT Motor Vehicles.
However, the economic crisis has little impact on China, which has a strong ability to self-circulation and adopts a silver-based precious metal currency, and after the end of the warlord melee, China's economy has recovered, and there has been a prosperous scene in developed regions. Around 1931, we, who had completed nominal reunification, were actually in the most rare period of recovery and development since the Sino-Japanese War.
In northeast China, General Zhang Xueliang has even begun to build his own Shenyang "Minsheng Automobile Factory", producing Chinese his own cars. It is expected that soon, China's earliest motorized artillery towed by cars will appear on the northeast land. Under these circumstances, the Japanese deliberately launched the September 18 Incident, seizing northeast China and interrupting our industrialization process. After the successful annexation of the rich three eastern provinces, the Japanese also successfully survived the economic crisis by relying on the dividends of aggression.
Throughout modern history, we will find a cautionary fact: every time we are at an important historical juncture, to achieve reunification or rapid development opportunities, the so-called "one cloth and water" neighbor will show its green fangs, directly pounce on us to interrupt us and mess us up.
This was the case during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894!
This was the case when the Gengzi State changed in 1900!
This was the case when Shandong was invaded in 1914!
This was the case in 1928 when the Jinan Incident occurred!
The same was true of the September 18 Incident in 1931!
By 1937, this evil wolf had brazenly launched an all-out war of aggression against China!
The past is not forgotten, the teacher of the future. With such a sinister neighbor, you must be vigilant!
Resources:
History of the 918 Kingdoms
History of China's Automobile Industry
"The Legend of Yan Xishan"
History of the Shanghai Working Class Movement
"Middle Class Ledger of the Republic of China"
A History of Life in the Silver Dollar Era