Chapter 740 - 713: Favor Greater Than the Sky_2

Now, the main obstacles for new energy vehicles entering the ride-hailing market are the scarcity of supercharging stations and a lack of market confidence, but Chen Jun could definitely see the enormous market that was gestating.

He detailed his analysis and optimistic forecast for the ride-hailing service’s prospects, prompting Lin Ju to nod repeatedly. Then Lin Ju dropped the first bombshell:

"I’m also planning to enter the ride-hailing business, would you be willing to take it on?"

Before the astonished Chen Jun could digest this news, Lin Ju followed up with a second bombshell:

"The ride-hailing service I aim to create will be fully autonomous. I’ll get the road qualifications from higher up, so don’t worry. Just focus on how to operate and make the legal preparations. There are many loopholes we need to consider."

"Mr. Lin..."

The expression on Chen Jun’s face was conflicted. The mere ride-hailing business might not interest him much, but what if it involved fully autonomous driverless cars?

If this were rolled out nationwide, how big would the market be? At least a million vehicles, several millions, tens of millions?

This had gone beyond the realm of traditional automakers; its nature had transformed into that of a super technology company with enormous potential, its reach extending to every corner of the country, controlling the travel needs of hundreds of millions.

It was impossible not to be moved, yet the thought of being in charge of such a colossal behemoth even sparked a sense of panic in him:

The scope of this project was so vast that only state institutions would dare to endorse it. It was simply too much for any one company to handle the consequences.

Even Wang Minjiang, standing nearby, was struck by Lin Ju’s audacity, murmuring:

"Isn’t this step a bit too..."

He vaguely guessed why he was also called over. Lin Ju’s push for autonomous driving would undoubtedly not rely on the traditional electronic systems; it would definitely be an opportunity to promote the Ternary System.

Wang Minjiang, of course, hoped for the swift expansion of the ternary market, but the prospect of venturing into such advanced territory also frightened him.

However, Lin Ju didn’t plan to explain too much:

"Driverless ride-hailing will start with a few pilot projects, beginning with major cities like the Capital and Rong City. As for the policies, don’t worry, I’ll guarantee them for you."

Lin Ju, of course, had full confidence. New Yuan’s status now was far different from before, and as a base executive, Lin Ju was no longer just a simple private enterprise CEO. He also held considerable influence in official circles.

In a sense, New Yuan also had a ’roster’ of its own~

Though he couldn’t make decisions on such huge undertakings alone, securing a small backdoor for a few pilot projects was certainly no problem, as long as the local governments were willing to cooperate.

Perhaps it was the oppressive and intense atmosphere Lin Ju deliberately created, but without having much time to think, Chen Jun quickly weighed his options and said through gritted teeth:

"I’m in, leave it to me, Mr. Lin. But I need full support, in technology and other aspects. Old Wang also needs to work with me."

Wang Minjiang hastily responded:

"We will fully support the decisions of the parent company."

"Very good."

This kind of attitude satisfied Lin Ju, who then threw the third bombshell:

"One last thing, the driverless ride-hailing will start a new production line, right? You’ll set up a subsidiary to manufacture the cars. This batch of vehicles will also need a major overhaul in production. Chen, can Xin’an command the parts factories?"

The question once again shocked them both to the point that they dared not listen further.

Chen Jun swallowed hard and cautiously answered:

"Yes, we either acquire or support the core components factories and battery factories. They all listen to us."

Lin Ju’s expression became serious, and he sat up straight:

"I want to promote the OGAS System. The supply of parts for driverless cars and the final assembly must be fully managed by a computer system, controlled by automated commands to regulate the quantity and structure of production.

Apart from the research and development and the quality management, the production phase of manufacturing parts and assembly for the driverless cars must be as automated as possible. Here’s a new task for you: from the source of the parts to the vehicles rolling off the line, the number of workers involved in the production must not exceed 100 people, with an annual capacity of no less than 50,000 vehicles and in the future, no less than 100,000. It all must be completed entirely through automation!"

Before Chen Jun, the scope of each new proposal seemed more exaggerated than the last. Lin Ju, having not interfered with the subsidiary’s operations for a long time, had arrived with the intention of turning everything upside down.

However, he didn’t dare to argue, just seriously pondering the feasibility:

"Mr. Lin, this would require the entire supply chain system to set up a separate production line to accommodate an automated command system, and the assembly phase would need to add a lot of robots. The cost-performance ratio is too low, the cost would be completely out of control, and it’s very likely to increase several folds."

Can car production be completely unmanned? Of course, it can, you don’t even need a base for that.

In fact, in modern car manufacturing, human participation is essentially limited to the final assembly stage, such as installing doors, interior screws, and emblems. However, replacing these with robots is prohibitively expensive and complicated to set up, and the overall cost-effectiveness is actually lower than manual labor.

As for the OGAS System’s core capacity for overall coordination, he overlooked it. In Chen Jun’s view, the management of modern assembly lines had already reached the pinnacle of efficiency, and he couldn’t imagine the immense power of full system automation control.

"New Yuan will bear these retrofitting costs. I might set up a separate company to handle it because its experimental nature won’t be included in your costs. Once it matures, we’ll share it out. New Yuan will fully subsidize any increased expenses, hmm, perhaps the state will contribute too."

Lin Ju still believed in the national support for new endeavors. He felt he had explained enough and then turned to Wang Minjiang:

"What is the main issue with Yellow River Semiconductor now, design or process?"

"Process, the process is too outdated!"

Wang Minjiang responded immediately, knowing what was to come.

China doesn’t lack talent. The IC design specification base was given completely to the ternary system chip, but the main constraint was still in the process.

"Our main application is still at 28nm, sub-20nm requires extreme ultraviolet EUV lithography machines, which we still can’t produce. Modu Microelectronics is still working on it."

"I’ll provide it."

Lin Ju waved it off casually. There were several hundred billion in the base account now, and projects were as numerous as cow hair. Taking out around 100 billion without drawing attention to focus on tackling some key technologies of EUV lithography machines was feasible.

The source of technology was easy to explain. First, wait for the Enterprise to complete its orbital testing, then present it under the guise of a "Black Stone" reward. This explanation had already been fully accepted by others.

"Get the 14nm process sorted out as quickly as possible, I give you one year. Bring all the problems to me or to Old Ye."

After finishing, he glanced at his watch, it was almost time. Thinking there was nothing left to say, he left directly, leaving two CEOs dumbfounded.

After being silent for a while, Wang Minjiang couldn’t help but exclaim:

"Mr. Lin is trying to change the whole world."

Chen Jun nodded silently, suddenly feeling that what Lin Ju aimed to achieve was even more than this.

...

"Mr. Lin, your grace is greater than heaven!"

Ruan Liang, emotionally overwhelmed, grabbed Lin Ju’s arm and, heedless of the latter’s awkward expression, looked up and shouted vociferously, his emotions nearly causing him to faint.

Zhong Cheng immediately tried to intervene but found himself seized by Ruan Liang as the new target, who then proceeded to tug on his sleeve and shout:

"Great development committee, your quiet grace we will always remember, generation after generation, never to be repaid!"

Lin Ju, having extricated himself with difficulty, wondered if this Annan astronaut in training had been possessed by something strange.

The commotion that Ruan Liang caused was finally calmed down after several staff members pressed him down, and only then did Lin learn the reason:

Tomorrow’s hydrogen bomb explosion would mark the basic end of the Skylight number four mission; the next round would be Skylight number five.

Perhaps to prepare for the future or maybe to win over the other members of the Huayin Treaty, the space administration decided that the subsequent missions of the Dawn project should also align with the Skylight missions, and they planned to send astronauts from other small countries to the Moon!

Five astronauts from small countries had started pre-moon landing adaptability training the day before yesterday. As one of the selected, Ruan Liang was beyond excited and couldn’t contain his emotions upon meeting them.

After learning the truth, Lin Ju rubbed his arm and asked his assistant unconsciously:

"The others aren’t here, are they? Don’t let this scene continue."

"Don’t worry, we’ve already gone to intercept them, but we can’t stop them from doing the same in their own country; I reckon it has already started."

"..."