Chapter 164: 159: The Concept of Cargo Cars
But after all, it’s a global synchronized sale, especially concentrated in the most developed and prosperous areas such as the United States and Europe.
This has also led people to have certain expectations of the sales volume of the Benz One, which is reasonably priced and performs well. It is expected that its market share will not be low.
Remember, at the time, the “bicycle” invented by Benz sold more than two thousand units in Germany alone.
This “bicycle” was a reduced version of the car previously invented by Benz and hand-manufactured, which did not reduce the price but still sold two to three thousand units. Therefore, the upgraded performance and lower price of the Benz One naturally generated more anticipation.
On February 25th, 1903, in Sydney, Australia, at the Benz Car Factory.
After a day-long report and statistics, the sales data from the previous week had finally been delivered back to the headquarters, which was the Benz Car Factory in Australia.
Inside the car factory at this moment, Arthur, Benz, and Disel were eagerly awaiting the final statistical results and observing the new inventions of Benz and Disel.
After quite some time, the conversation between the three was interrupted by a staff member from the car factory, which meant that the sales data for the first week of the Benz One had finally been sorted out.
Arthur was the first to receive the data and he naturally directly started to flip through it.
The global synchronized sale of the Benz One involved nine sales locations: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Australia, with a total of thirty- two thousand cars pre-produced.
The sales performance of the nine locations was mixed, but overall, it was decent.
The location with most car sales in the first week was situated in New York, USA.
This location had the most pre-produced cars. Most cars made in the Australian Benz Car Factory were transported to the United States for sale.
The New York location in the United States didn’t disappoint. In the first week, they made a good start, selling 630 units.
The location with the second most sales was in London, in the British Empire. Car sales in the British Empire were almost the same as in the United States, also achieving over six hundred units.
Next was the sales location in Berlin, the capital of the German Empire. The Germans contributed five hundred and twenty sales to the Benz One.
France was closely behind with nearly four hundred cars sold.
The sales volume from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, and Spain was not high; the sales share of these countries combined just slightly surpassed that of the United States.
Globally, the Benz One’s first-week sales reached twenty-seven hundred units, making it one of the best-selling car models.
Yes, the sale of just twenty-seven hundred units was enough to make the Benz One one of the best-selling car models. It is also indicative of the biggest problem that the car market had previously faced.
“Your Highness, we’ve succeeded!” Both Benz and Disel had seen the completed data and said jubilantly to Arthur.
The reason they were willing to travel all the way from Germany to Australia was to leverage the substantial research funding that Arthur had promised them. They wanted to stamp their mark on the entire industry with their efforts in the field of cars and engines.
Judging from the current situation, they have successfully made the first step. The Benz One has made a name for itself in the car market, and becoming the world’s best-selling car is just around the corner.
“Yes, nicely done, Mr. Benz, Mr. Disel. The first week is just about market development for the Benz One and the entire car industry. I believe our car sales will keep increasing. I will keep my promise; ten percent of the profits from this car factory and engine factory are yours,” Arthur said, smiling.
Although the sales in the first week may not seem many, in reality, it is already quite a significant income.
Based on the current production costs of various factories, the profit of a car is roughly between forty and fifty pounds.
Although it doesn’t match the 1-to-i cost-profit ratio of the Australian factories, it is still an impressive figure.
The sale of 2,700 units in the first week represented a pure profit of at least 120,000 pounds. Although this profit needs to be shared with partners in Britain and Germany, Benz’s Car Factory can at least earn a pure profit of fifty to sixty thousand pounds.
A weekly profit of fifty to sixty thousand pounds amounts to at least 200,000 pounds a month, and the annual profit could potentially reach a staggering figure of over 2.4 million pounds or more.
This is not a small number; it’s enough to build two Brunswick-class battleships.
Moreover, the sales volume in the first week is undoubtedly less than that of the future weeks, as there are many who are attracted but are still watching, waiting to see the feedback from those who have already purchased their cars.
If the feedback is good, they will turn their interest into action and become Benz One customers.
This time can vary, but it usually requires either several weeks or even a few months.
This indicates that in the car industry, there is still a vast market waiting for the Benz One to conquer. The market and sales volume that are now revealing are only the tip of the iceberg.
“Thankyou, Your Highness!” Benz and Disel immediately thanked him.
A ten percent share is a significant income for them. This money, when accumulated, is enough to make them world-class billionaires.
Although in their eyes, research is greater than anything else, but under the premise of not hindering research, who would refuse a gratuitous income?
“Since the sales of the Benz One meet expectations, it is time to develop a new series of cars.” Arthur gave a mysterious smile, took a blueprint from a royal guard’s hand, and handed it to them.
“Your Highness, what is this?” The two took the blueprint and were immediately attracted by the car shape drawn on it.
This was a design completely different from current cars. The rear half of the car body is a large carriage, which means the new series of cars is intended for cargo transportation rather than carrying people.
“This is a whimsical idea I had. If a horse carriage can carry both people and goods, why can’t our cars do the same? This blueprint is my conception. You guys take a look and see if it’s feasible to produce and initially create it,” said Arthur, smiling.
Currently, the cars are only small ones for carrying people. Large cargo cars have not yet been born.
Of course, that is because current car engines and car technologies are not mature enough.
Even small passenger cars cannot be fully commercialized, not to mention large cargo cars that are more demanding in terms of stability.