166: Entering the overseas market, Longguo Automobile brings shock!

Several months ago, Peng Lin penned a personal letter, calling on the various eligible branch factories of Changhe Weapons Industry General Factory to develop civilian automobiles and expand their military-to-civilian business.

After several months of development, dozens of branch factories within the Changhe Weapons Industry General Factory, across the country, independently or jointly established nearly ten brand car companies, including Changan, Great Wall, Dynasty, Longteng, Daiyue, Kunlun, Jiuzhou, Mengshi, and Longhua.

Changan, Great Wall, Dynasty, Daiyue, and Kunlun primarily focused on developing economical and comfortable civilian sedans.

Mengshi mainly developed civilian off-road vehicles based on the military Mengshi off-road vehicle.

Longhua, Longteng, and Jiuzhou were premium flagship brand car companies established by Changhe Weapons Industry General Factory in Long Country, representing the nation's image and technological strength in high-end passenger and commercial vehicles!

And today, the production lines of various brands, like steel dragons, were spewing out a torrent of components.

On the final assembly lines of various automobile factories, household sedans began to roll off the line.

These civilian automobiles were not only equipped with Beidou navigation terminals, but their manufacturing process also adopted military-grade quality!

"Forging swords for national defense, paving the way for people's livelihoods!" This was the slogan of every car company!

On this day, these civilian automobiles, branded with Long Country's military-industrial DNA, officially rolled off the production lines and entered the civilian and commercial automobile markets!

However, since Long Country had only just begun its reform and opening-up at this time, there was no civilian market to speak of.

Therefore, the current domestic market for these car companies was primarily government official car procurement.

Through official procurement, this batch of car companies could survive first.

But next, nearly ten car companies, including Changan, Great Wall, Dynasty, Longteng, Daiyue, Kunlun, Jiuzhou, Mengshi, and Longhua, must rely on themselves to expand into overseas markets.

Peng Lin had already built the technology and platforms for them; what came next was the 'raising Gu' tactic!

The international market was not the era of a planned economy; these domestic car brands had to adapt to the brutal competition of the international market!

Peng Lin's hope for them was that at least 3-5 of these nearly ten car companies would survive, and then 1-2 would grow into large international car companies, carrying the banner of Long Country's automobile industry development!

Currently, the annual total automobile production in Island Country is approximately 12 million vehicles, surpassing Pretty Country to officially become the world's number one.

Peng Lin's plan was for Long Country's automobile industry to achieve an annual production target of 3 million vehicles within three years, occupying and solidifying numerous markets such as the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

And with this as a foundation, it would officially advance into the vast Western market.

If Long Country's annual automobile production reaches 3 million vehicles, it will truly become the first engine for Long Country's economic take-off in the 1980s!

In the upstream of the industrial chain, the latest civilian gasoline engine technology and production can drive the transformation of 2,000 supporting factories nationwide.

For example, the Shancheng Gear Factory, producing gearboxes with military-grade precision machine tools, will be able to foster an automobile parts industry belt within a 200-kilometer radius.

In the midstream of the Changhe system, brands like Changan, Great Wall, and Dynasty share a modular platform, with each production line capable of producing a thousand complete vehicles daily, creating millions of industrial worker jobs.

In the downstream sales, Long Country's automobiles, boosted by Beidou navigation and boasting "military-grade quality," swept the Middle East market, generating over 30 billion US dollars in foreign exchange annually.

The steel industry could even experience a revolution due to derivative technologies from automotive armor steel, with annual demand surging by 5 million tons!

The petrochemical industry would expand by 3 times with the application of synthetic rubber and engineering plastics!

Even more far-reaching, the automobile industry will drive a infrastructure boom, leading to the construction of Long Country's 100,000-kilometer road network according to "strategic mobility" standards!

Gas stations and repair points along the way will nourish the county economy like blood vessels!

When millions of families prosper due to the automobile industry, the domestic demand market will also explode, with sales of durable consumer goods like televisions and refrigerators doubling, forming a golden triangle of "military industry feeding back – civilian product upgrading – consumption driving," which could ultimately push Long Country's GDP annual growth rate to over 20%, with industrial output surpassing European powers!

In Peng Lin's far-reaching plan, the entire automobile industry is directly related to whether Long Country's economy can take off ahead of schedule in the 1980s!

And the key to all of this is whether Long Country's military strength can provide the guarantee for Long Country to open up the Middle East and surrounding international markets!

...Meanwhile.

Iraq, Baghdad.

The final assembly production line established by Longhua, Jiuzhou, Mengshi, and several other car companies in conjunction with local Iraqi enterprises also officially announced the successful assembly of the first civilian automobile off the line.

In Iraq, all brand car companies assembling Long Country's exported components share a modular platform.

Various brands share standardized engines, transmissions, and chassis platforms!

This allows a single production line to exceed a daily output of a thousand vehicles, significantly reducing manufacturing costs.

Furthermore, this enables domestic parts factories to specialize in niche areas, such as Shancheng Gear Factory focusing on transmission modules, Baotou Factory concentrating on power trains, and Taiyuan Steel providing lightweight vehicle frames.

This division of labor reduces R&D investment by 40% and lowers the failure rate by 65% compared to traditional car companies.

Additionally, unified technical standards reduce maintenance costs for export models by 50%, with a mean time between failures of 50,000 kilometers, far exceeding European and American competitors, perfectly suited for high-temperature and dusty environments!

December 1st.

Iraq's capital, Baghdad, had entered winter, with an average temperature of around 17 degrees Celsius, and the weather had finally become cool.

And on this day, the Iraqi government held a grand unveiling ceremony in the capital Baghdad to celebrate the market launch of civilian automobiles jointly "produced" by Long Country and Iraq!

In Baghdad's city center square, colorful flags fluttered, and giant banners in Arabic and Chinese read, "Iraq-Long Country Automobile Industry New Era."

President Saddam, dressed in a sharp military uniform, unveiled the first domestically produced "Jiuzhou-Tigris" brand car, covered with the national flag, to the attention of all.

The moment the red silk slipped, the streamlined body immediately drew cheers from the crowd.

Saddam specifically opened the car door to display the Beidou navigation system inside.

When the map could accurately navigate to the coordinates of Khorramshahr on the Iran-Iraq battlefield, the crowd erupted in thunderous applause!

Because that was the glorious place where the Iraqi army, using Long Country's equipment, decisively defeated its enemy!

Under the gaze of the Baghdad populace, Saddam personally signed a presidential executive order on the spot:

"Effective immediately, all government vehicles shall only procure domestically produced automobiles!"

To ignite public support for the Long Country-Iraq joint venture automobiles, Saddam specifically pointed to the rear of the "Jiuzhou-Tigris" brand car.

"Even the protective beam uses the craftsmanship of the Mengshi armored vehicle; this is the steel quality that defends the Shatt al-Arab!"

Saddam said with a smile, introducing it to the crowd.

His words further incited the passionate public to rush towards the exhibition stand!

Due to religious differences, the Iraqi people had always regarded Iran as a mortal enemy, and Iraq's victory in the Iran-Iraq conflict several months ago was seen by the public as the greatest victory!

Moreover, Iran had always prevented Iraq from increasing oil production within OPEC.

So many people believed that Iran was preventing them from living a more prosperous life!

This was also why, after the war victory, even the Iraqi government at the time gave the public ten days off to celebrate "Victory Day"!

At this moment, Saddam's personal praise that this civilian automobile used the craftsmanship of the "Mengshi Protective Assault Vehicle" as the steel quality protecting the Shatt al-Arab, further stirred the crowd!

Subsequently, Saddam even publicly paid out of his own pocket to order one for his personal use!

His action further ignited the enthusiasm of the people.

After Saddam left, many Iraqi oil workers, touching the welded marks of the armored steel on the car doors, all lamented that it was much stronger than the car frames produced in Island Country.

It was even sturdier than cars produced in the West and Pretty Country!

Subsequently, military officers, oil workers, and ordinary citizens alike began to sign orders to purchase!

On that single day, all tens of thousands of pre-assembled cars were sold out!

But even so, several car companies still signed tens of thousands of pre-orders!

There were even many instances of wealthy people buying at a premium!

Long Country's automobiles officially entered the overseas market starting from Iraq, triggering a buying frenzy that caused an uproar internationally!