373: Chapter 373 Price Station in the Lithography Machine Industry?

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

The Sales President slammed the table as well.

"If we don't lower prices, all our customers will run off. If we lower prices, we sell at a loss. Pick one."

The conference room was in an uproar, but Wennink remained silent.

He stared at the specifications for the Morning Star Lithography Machine on the screen for a long time.

He couldn't wrap his head around it.

In his impression, China's semiconductor equipment had always been stuck at the stage of being usable but not good to use.

Northern Huachuang and AMEC had indeed made rapid progress over the years.

But Lithography Machines… that was a different story.

The Lithography Machine is the crown jewel of semiconductor manufacturing. Although the 193 dry machine isn't as pinnacle-reaching as immersion DUV and the EUV they are currently developing, it is still a masterpiece integrating countless optics, precision machinery, and control systems.

How did Transsion manage to complete a path that ASML took 20 years to traverse, and do it in such a short time using a completely different method?

He dug up some more information:

Their background mainly involves Transsion Technology, the Changchun Institute, Modu Wei Electronics, and the Department of Precision Instruments at Tsinghua University…

And of course, those engineers who joined China—those traitors!

"Yes! Traitors!"

"Have you checked the source of the technology?"

The Legal Director nodded. "We checked.

They started filing patents intensively three years ago. Currently, there are over 200 public patent items, and they have basically bypassed our core patents.

Moreover, everything they could apply for consists of unimportant patents; they have hidden the real patents very tightly.

For example, regarding the fixed light source and projection objective lens, they took a completely different route. We are using mercury lamps, while they are using some variant of a PP light source, and they have solved the power stability issue.

As for exactly how they solved it… there is currently no public information."

"No infringement?"

"As it stands, no infringement.

Their patent lawyers are very skilled; the design-around was done very cleanly."

Wennink closed his eyes again.

This was the part that terrified him the most. If Morning Star had started by plagiarizing, he could have used patent litigation to drag them out for a few years.

But they bypassed it—not only did they bypass it, but they also created something better.

This was no longer the old narrative of Chinese plagiarism, but a true technological revolution that subverted the opponent from the underlying logic.

"120 million."

As soon as Wennink spoke, everyone's attention immediately shifted to him.

"Lower the XT:1450 to 120 million."

The Financial Director panicked instantly. "Peter, at this price, we would be selling at a loss on mature processes…"

"I said 120 million." Wennink looked at him, his face full of anger. "Do you think you're the only one who can do the math?

If we lower it to 120 million, how much do we lose per unit?"

"...About 4 million euros," the Financial Director said, head bowed.

"Then have you thought about what the consequences of not lowering the price would be?"

Everyone in the conference room lowered their heads.

If they didn't lower the price, the 20 units for TSMC were just the beginning. Later, they would add 30, 50… until all dry machines were replaced by Morning Star.

Once Samsung and NVIDIA confirmed that Morning Star's equipment was reliable, wouldn't they switch orders without hesitation?

By then, ASML wouldn't even have the chance to lower prices.

Because by then, Morning Star's production capacity would have ramped up, and their costs would have dropped even further.

ASML's machines wouldn't be used by customers even if they were given away for free…

And those machines they were currently manufacturing would be completely stuck in their hands.

After realizing this, no one raised any further objections.

"Furthermore," Wennink gritted his teeth and said something that deepened everyone's fear, "120 million is not enough."

The Financial Director even thought he had misheard. "What? Peter, you…"

"We need to lower it further." Wennink gritted his teeth again. "China's real trump card is not the 8,000-yuan selling price, but their public commitment.

The cost of consumables during the warranty period is 40% lower than ASML's.

Customers aren't calculating the price of the machine; they are calculating the TCO, the total cost of ownership.

Even if we lower the machine to 120 million, the total cost including subsequent maintenance and consumables would still be much higher than Morning Star's. Customers aren't stupid."

"Then you mean…"

"110 million." Wennink nodded this time. "110 million for the machine, and at the same time, reduce maintenance fees by 30%. This plan is good."

The Financial Director immediately turned off his microphone, but his liver-colored face already said it all.

Crazy! Everyone's crazy!

The Sales President took the opportunity to ask another question: "What about the immersion machines?"

"Don't touch them!" Wennink regained his previous domineering air. "No matter how much technology they are hiding, as long as they haven't brought it out, we are the ones leading in technology.

Since we are leading, there is no need to be submissive.

It's just that in the field of Lithography Machines, our say is not as great as it used to be."

The meeting was finally declared over amidst their sighs.

Less than half an hour later, the relevant official price reduction news was released.

"To give back to our global customers, effective immediately, we are lowering the suggested global price of the T-series dry Lithography Machine to 110 million Chinese yuan."

Everyone could see the embarrassment behind this announcement.

"Give back? Hilarious. When they raised prices every year for the past few years, why didn't they talk about giving back?"

"Gold Medal Translator: They've been hurt by Morning Star."

"I heard Samsung even purchased some?"

"To the person above, your news is already outdated. NVIDIA has purchased some, and they are much bolder than Samsung—they bought 15 units directly.

But I'm curious, when these devices are delivered to the United States, what will they think about it? [Dog head]"

"I imported what I banned from being exported [Dog head]"

Of course, Digital Chat Station wasn't idle either; he posted a Weibo update overnight.

"A certain company's 8-year-old machine, selling for more and more, but the moment domestic equipment came out, they started 'giving back' to global customers. This speed of giving back is way too fast.

That's 40 million right there!

It's not a small amount. But since they've already lowered the price, why not go all the way? A dull knife cutting flesh is the most painful."

"By the way, maybe they should do some promotions for other situations too?"

This very unusual post from Digital Chat Station actually made quite a few viewers expectant. After all, when things are abnormal, there must be something fishy. Could there be other breakthroughs?

"Station Brother, are there any more advanced machines?"

"Absolutely! But I'm curious about the C model—is it exclusive to Transsion or can it be sold externally?"

"Stop worrying about whether it's for sale or not. Just think about it: the original 150 million machine, and the moment domestic equipment came out, they gave up 40 million in profit?

What is a monopoly? This is a monopoly!

How much unjust money have our domestic manufacturers paid? Fortunately, we've made a breakthrough."

"To the person above, ASML didn't lower the price; they just redefined the price."