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Kai Sieber, Daimler's director of commercial vehicle design, attended the press conference. Before the questions were asked, first of all, please take a look at the short video that Mr. Sieber brought to you. Mr. Sieber will briefly introduce the design and development of the Mercedes-Benz models.
“The biggest feature of Mercedes-Benz is the emphasis on technology, which is why Mercedes-Benz has become a leading brand for commercial vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz is a very successful brand. As a Mercedes-Benz designer, we are obliged to maintain our brand and to give all its models a more uniform design, including cars and commercial vehicles. Our goal is to create models that will last forever, now and in the future, through aesthetic construction and the simplest lines. “
Ladies and gentlemen, everyone, I very much welcome everyone to the press conference today. I am also very happy to have this opportunity to communicate with you. We have just broadcast a short video of Unimog's R&D process for everyone. I believe everyone at the booth outside of us also saw the Unimog Show, which is a major example of our commercial vehicle design.
Someone once asked me if commercial vehicles need to be designed? Is it necessary to design? In fact, when people buy a car, they will decide whether to buy it based on the design of the car. On commercial vehicles, people value quality more. But the quality of the product is manifested by the appearance design, which is a transformation process. The key implications of technology leadership need to be communicated through the final design of the product. For example, the leading technical characteristics of the Unimog concept car are reflected through material selection and appearance lines. High quality is demonstrated through surface work and some gap processing. Complete functions are evident in material selection and layout.
In the initial design process of the Unimog concept car, we can freely play unrestrained, do not consider the specific location of the door and other configurations, free sketches. Four months later, we began to build prototype cars. Here we can see our initial sketch of the framework. At the time, I thought that the oval shape was better and more malleable. Then how to design the steering wheel in the cab is a kind of circle. It is attached to the main axis of the steering wheel with iron sheet, and at the same time, the leather interior is added for the touch feeling. In fact, I personally do not recommend the use of steel. It is enough to keep the cortex. It's simple and good-looking.
Daimler has a long history and product credibility whether it is a small car or a commercial vehicle. Daimler's earliest commercial vehicle was produced in 1896 and continued to develop on this basis. By the 1950s, we started to produce commercial vehicles in India and Brazil. At that time we had already gone out. At the time, our trucks had begun to look for inspiration from cars and gradually increased, so in the early stages our trucks and cars were very similar in appearance. In the 60's and 70's, a block-type cab appeared, and trucks began to carry radiators for sports performance models. Now they are transitioning to Actros. Regardless of special vehicles, trucks, light commercial vehicles and passenger cars, all of our models have three-pointed stars at the front, which is a common feature of our brand models.
The car design is mainly led by Mr. Gulpen Robert. I am personally responsible for the design of commercial vehicles. However, we are adhering to the same design language. Regardless of the product, customers can find the mark of the Trident. Relatively speaking, the appearance of the car line is more smooth and soothing, while commercial vehicles are more angular.
In the next picture, we use the graph to look directly at the development of our design style. The horizontal axis represents our model, and the vertical axis is time. We can observe the continuous evolution of the appearance of our family model. As I explained earlier, we hope to express our product quality through appearance design. At the same time, the interior design also adheres to this principle, cooperates with exquisite workmanship, and strives to create a home-like driving environment for the driver.
In this picture, we can see that the products that belong to the same family are often distinguished by their size. This farther away is a model that is suitable for highway driving. This one is smaller in size. The leftmost model is mainly used for delivery operations.
In addition, the Actros and Antos on the outside booth are equivalent to a set of building blocks, which can be assembled and assembled according to requirements. The common parts can provide the assembly of new models quickly and easily. We also use universal components on the interior, which can be applied to different models.
Let's talk about aerodynamics again. We conducted more than 2,000 hours of wind tunnel experiments on Actros and analyzed the airflow at different positions above and below, including the direction of the airflow on the exterior rearview mirror.
At the same time, the cab is mainly divided into two areas. The front driving area/work area is designed according to ergonomics, and the rear rest area can be set up to provide the driver with a home-like layout.
Our products of different eras have different characteristics but are unified under the same design language. For example, in the Brazilian market, when new and old products are sold at the same time, customers can find that the new generation of products tend to make slight changes in the design, but still maintain a general brand style.
Our production and marketing network is all over the world. In addition to its headquarters in Germany, we have an interior design in Como, northern Italy, and an advanced design center in California. These are the design departments of Mercedes-Benz. The Daimler truck network is even bigger. Japanese Fusang, Brazilian factories, North American, Frina, West Star, etc. We cooperate with each other on a broad network basis to create synergies, share experiences and technologies, and promote the production of general parts. And development.
In addition, we have also established a design center in the main sales market, adapting to local conditions and producing products that meet the requirements of local customers. As you can see from the pictures, Mercedes-Benz trucks are European-style, while the United States is a typical North American-style truck. Japanese Fuso brand shows typical Asian characteristics.
Next, you are welcome to ask questions.
The media: Zetros has obvious military characteristics. What adjustments need to be made in the design from military transformation to civilian use?
Kai Sieber: Zetros is not a military vehicle. It is widely used in various industries such as mining and firefighting. Military is only one of the applications. We produce and configure the product according to the customer's specific operating requirements. If the vehicle needs to be used in the military field, the vehicle must be able to be loaded into a helicopter and be able to go up and down through the ropes while having special requirements on the overall structure. But from Zetros's design point of view, it is very solid and reliable, and it has a long service life. It is not known whether such an answer is satisfactory.
Media: When will the Unimog concept car on display be put into production?
A: First, this product was designed to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Unimog brand. Someone once asked me if there is a future for the Unimog brand. In fact, this concept car with a futuristic design has already answered this question. As a model of the European VI standard, we have a certain change in the appearance of the three-pointed star emblem with a pair of wings, all future European and European models will have this mark. In addition, we will introduce the design concept of the car into the Unimog design to make its appearance more fluid and beautiful.
The concept car will not be produced, but some of these elements will be applied to future models.
Media: Does the exterior design of the truck directly affect the customer's purchase?
A: It should be said that customers and designers do not have the same understanding of quality. We say that the quality will generally be specific to the surface quality, such as narrowing the gap and reducing the gap through cross misalignment. It's like there is a seam in the middle of a human finger, but we can make it through the dislocation so that the gap can't be noticed by the naked eye. The visiting technician will notice this and it also reflects the high quality of our products. However, from the customer's point of view, they can not find these characteristics, nor do they know exactly how detailed the work is, but they just feel that they do a good job. The customer often starts from the feeling and impression given to him by the entire appearance, and thinks that it is good or bad.
Media: Which truck's life cycle is longer than a car?
A: First of all, the truck's R&D and manufacturing cycle is much longer than that of a car. It is usually 7 or 8 years. The Actros cycle on the stand is 15 years, Antos takes 7 years, and the car R&D cycle usually takes only 3-4 years.
About the evaluation of medium-sized heavy truck design in China. The rapid development of Chinese trucks can be described as incredible. The Auman brand is a very good example. Quality is very successful through appearance. At present, China has a lot of different truck brands. After that, it will gradually adopt the competition to survive the fittest and eventually have a unified Chinese truck feature, but this may take a decade or even 15 years to complete.
Media: You were previously engaged in the design of passenger vehicles. After the commercial vehicle design was transferred, what happened to the work?
A: First answer the first question. Well said that when I first started to join Daimler, I was engaged in the design of passenger cars and later I moved to the design of commercial vehicles. But in fact there is no special change in the content of the work, but the object is different. Basically, the process is still the first to design the car model and then to 1:1 model, the same surface treatment, the same emphasis on quality. If you have to tell the difference, it is probably a change in the importance of the design. The design of passenger cars often determines whether the customers purchase or not, while commercial vehicles pay more attention to functionality, and design is only the expression of quality.
On the second question. Our Mercedes-Benz products are designed according to local conditions and can adapt to the target market environment. For example, a small distribution vehicle is sold in Europe and Brazil, but because of the different road conditions in the two markets, the configuration is not the same. Brazilian vehicles need a stronger chassis to adapt to off-road conditions in the region. For another example, the majority of drivers in the United States are taller, and Thai drivers are relatively thin, so the cab size in the two market models is not the same. Collect this information through local market staff to share and adjust. In common parts, we also try to provide more different combinations and put them on the market at competitive prices.
Media: How can Mercedes-Benz trucks improve wind resistance?
There is no way to improve wind resistance. It is only by conducting tests in the wind tunnel. Our trucks have been tested hundreds of times in the wind tunnel to find out where they can improve wind resistance, such as the position of rearview mirrors, the tilt angle of windshields, etc. We found the best design through numerous wind tunnel tests.
Media: Why do you make such a design choice when you use long heads in North America and flat heads in Europe?
This is due to the requirements of laws and regulations. In the United States, the length of the cab is not included in the length of the vehicle, so long cabs can be used, and the design is very large and comfortable; but in Europe, the length of the cab must be included in the length of the vehicle, so it must be shortened as much as possible The cab, while maintaining the function and comfort of the cab.
Media: What methods can be used to improve the wind resistance of trucks to achieve the same level as the cars?
The wind resistance of a car can be improved by the design of the tail, but the truck is more difficult because the truck does not have a tail. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz trucks only sell their vehicles and do not sell trailers. Therefore, they can only work with trailer manufacturers to reduce the wind resistance of the entire truck. The aerodynamic trailer that we launched at the auto show this time is just such an example. By working with trailer manufacturers to improve the aerodynamics of the trailer, the aerodynamic performance of the entire Mercedes truck has been greatly improved.
The media: If reducing the wind resistance of trailers means that the load must be reduced, which means the increase in customer costs. How do we balance the relationship between the two?
When the price of oil is very low, customers do not attach much importance to the aerodynamic index. However, once the price of oil rises to a certain critical point, the aerodynamic index of the trailer becomes very important. Trailer manufacturers will pay attention to this point. I think the current price of oil has reached this critical point, which is why when we told the trailer manufacturers that we wanted to work with them to make an aerodynamic trailer, the trailer manufacturer responded very positively to us. In quick cooperation with us, we launched the aerodynamic semi-trailer tractor shown outside.