Turin is the automobile manufacturing center of Italy and Europe. Cars manufactured in Turin account for 40% of Europe's total production.
Turin has the status of a car manufacturing center, and it also comes from Fiat, the dominant European car manufacturer.
Although European countries are also supporting their own automobile manufacturing companies, Fiat's first-mover advantage and large-scale manufacturing still allow it to occupy the majority of the European automobile market.
Although in the passenger car market, car manufacturers from various countries continue to close the distance with Fiat, they can still occupy 50% of the market share due to their reputation and rich styles. Fiat is still the king of the European passenger car market.
A target for other automakers to catch up.
If manufacturers in other countries in the passenger car market still have the idea of challenging their position, then Fiat is unattainable in another area, that is the European truck market. Trucks are different from passenger cars.
What needs to be considered is more practicality. What is the load capacity, whether the failure rate is low, whether it can be easily repaired, whether the fuel consumption is high, etc. are all very practical issues.
As long as a truck is excellent in these aspects, buyers will give priority to buying it even if it is more expensive.
Fiat's years of deployment in trucks and accumulation of technology have made Fiat the undisputed dominant player in the truck market. The United States, which has a prosperous automobile industry, has also purchased Fiat trucks.
It can be said that seven out of every ten trucks in the world are from Fiat.
Fiat has not been immersed in the glory of the truck market. Under the leadership of President Giovanni Agnelli, they have always invested heavily in the research and development of automobiles. New axles, frames, suspensions, engines, etc.
components, we strive to develop better ones.
It is this spirit that makes Fiat grow bigger and stronger, with more and more orders.
Especially now that the situation in Europe is becoming increasingly tense, trucks are increasingly used as a means of transportation, so more orders are coming.
Of course, when it comes to orders, the more Fiat does, the better.
And some orders must be treated with caution by Fiat, as is the case today.
As the president of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli stood at the door of the company today. Behind him, the company's top executives gathered together as if they were waiting for someone.
In the Italian economic world, Giovanni Agnelli is also considered a man of the hour, and his every move is always followed by people. But today, the president was waiting at the door in person, which made Fiat employees secretly whisper, is there some big shot coming?
As for the murmurings of private employees, of course Fiat's senior executives don't care. Although the people here today are not big people, they play a decisive role in the development of the company. Because the German military delegation that is coming today is their purpose for coming to Fiat.
Come and inspect the Fiat F75 truck.
This truck is a new model truck recently produced by Fiat. The truck has a total length of 9.1 meters, a width of 2.1 meters, and a height of 1.8 meters. It is driven by a rear axle and weighs 3100 kg when empty. It is equipped with an in-line water-cooled 6-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine.
, the maximum power is 75 horsepower, the maximum speed is 65 kilometers per hour. The standard load capacity is three tons, and it can tow a 3-ton trailer.
This vehicle is the culmination of Fiat's achievements over the years. It is among the top trucks in terms of performance, reliability, and ease of maintenance. The Italian Army has used this vehicle for testing before, whether it is a muddy road or a winding road.
On mountain roads or easy roads with bumpy roads, this truck performs well and becomes a symbol of reliability.
The car's performance caused a sensation as soon as it was released, and orders came in like snowflakes. Fiat also deployed enough manpower to ensure that the production line of this model is at maximum rotation.
In addition to arousing enthusiasm among the people, the F75 truck also attracted the attention of the military of various countries. The Italian military ordered a thousand units for its own use. What is even more rare is that the Austro-Hungarian military also
Fifteen hundred vehicles were ordered.
In addition to itself and the Austrians, the German military is also very interested in this. Due to the previous failure in the development of the 75mm rapid-fire gun, the German military can only choose the caliber to win, so there are currently a large number of 105, 120, and 150 in the German army.
artillery.
Although the performance of these artillery is powerful, it brings about a serious problem, that is, each one is very heavy. Each one weighs more than one ton, and many can reach the level of two or three tons.
In fact, when artillery reaches more than one ton, it is not a simple matter to transport it. Take the 105mm Type 09 light howitzer currently equipped in large quantities by the German army as an example. Its combat weight is 1225kg and its marching weight is 2320kg. If you want to transport it,
to
At least 18 horses are needed. You must know that horses are actually very delicate. If the transportation distance is too long, the horses are very easy to die in large numbers. Not to mention the heavier cannon, which weighs more than three tons. As for the larger caliber 120 mm,
Guns such as 150 mm are also heavy in weight.
Historically, Germany was able to carry these heavy artillery through Belgium and was once close to Paris. This was all due to its good pre-war planning. How many kilometers each unit needed to march every day was already marked. But to attack Paris quickly, the cost
It was because a large number of horses in the German army were exhausted to death,
That's why they were blocked by the British and French forces at the Marne River. This was due to the inability to transport personnel and supplies from the rear, which led to the overuse of troops. As a result, the German soldiers were squeezed to the extreme and could no longer hold back, leading to the defeat of the Marne River. Later, Germany again
There is no way to break through the Marne River.
The German Army thought of many ways to deal with these big guys in the army, but due to cost or other reasons, it finally chose to use more horses to transport them. In fact, Germany had purchased a lot of trucks before, but the performance of the trucks was not good at the time.
It can drag more than a ton of artillery, and its performance on complex roads is not very good. Therefore, the German Army does not have many equipment, only more than a thousand vehicles.
As for now, the ideal transport vehicle in the eyes of the German army has appeared. A transport vehicle that can tow three tons has appeared. The Fiat F75 truck is definitely a surprise for Germany.
For this reason, the German army has purchased several vehicles for testing before. It can tow most of the German artillery, which is excellent news for simplifying the logistics of the German army. Not to mention that it can adapt to most road conditions. For military trucks
Generally speaking, trucks that can adapt to various road conditions are absolutely
Yes, it is the most popular. Because there are no good roads on the battlefield, they are basically dirt roads that have been crushed countless times and are muddy and have craters. In this environment, the reliability of the Fiat F75 truck is also higher than that of previous trucks.
.And the reliability is pretty good. If you don’t choose it, who would you choose?
Since this vehicle is so in line with the needs of the German army, how can there be no choice? Although there are some generals in the government who have objections to the army's large-scale purchase of foreign trucks, but at the request of General Moltke, in the end, it was
It's settled.
Some people may ask, doesn’t Germany have an automobile industry?
Yes, German cars perform well in passenger cars, but in trucks they are completely different from Fiat. The German Army also gave them a chance before, but the truck samples produced by each car manufacturer were
It did not pass the Army's test. Not to mention compared with the new Fiat F75, it is not as good as the old truck. This also quenched the desire of most generals in the Army to use domestic trucks.
Only then did the German delegation arrive. Although Fiat didn't know it very well, it had heard about it, and then there was a scene where President Giovanni Agnelli led a group of senior executives to greet them at the door.
He wanted to improve his relationship with the German military so that there would be more sales for the F75 truck.
After all, the focus of military vehicles is different from that of civilian vehicles, and the Germans are so sincere this time. The luxury order of 10,000 vehicles allowed Fiat to see the wealth of the Germans.
