Empire Rising: Spain

Carlo was quite satisfied with the test results of the new car and decided to officially launch its commercialization.

Although the current car still has various flaws, considering everything, it can already replace carriages in certain situations and is more efficient than them.

With the push of assembly line production, the cost of cars will also be reduced step by step. Currently, cars are not affordable for common people, but who can guarantee that in the next decade, car prices won’t drop to a range that commoners can afford?

After all, the car’s price before and after the release of the Model T was worlds apart. The sale of over 15 million units also proves that the Model T wasn’t just a vehicle that nobles and capitalists could afford.

Although most commoners can’t afford them, some higher-income citizens can still save up to buy one.

Especially those who transport goods and passengers; using a car for these purposes theoretically earns more money than doing so with a carriage.

Although cars consume fuel, carriages consume fodder as well. Moreover, in this era, fuel prices are not high, and the main lighting method used by the public is oil lamps, which use kerosene refined from petroleum.

However, before launching the car for sale, the car company needs to make even more thorough preparations.

Carlo’s goal is to sell cars simultaneously in the capitals or major cities of all major countries in Europe, which means that the car company’s production capacity must keep up.

Given the current cost of a car is 12,600 Pesseta, the final price will be at least over 15,000 Pesseta.

Even if assembly line production reduces the car’s cost to below 10,000 Pesseta, the final sale price will not be less than 12,000 Pesseta.

This pricing model only considers the domestic market in Spain and does not account for the shipping and tariff costs of international transportation.

While a car sells for 15,000 Pesseta in Spain, its price abroad might reach as high as 18,000 or even 20,000 Pesseta.

After all, the car factory needs to make a profit, so the costs from shipping and tariffs can only be spread across each car, making every buyer bear them.

In any case, the users who can afford cars at this time are either wealthy or noble, and to them, an additional few thousand Pesseta in costs per car is negligible and entirely acceptable.

As long as Spanish cars can demonstrate excellent speed, safety, and stability, they can easily occupy half of the current car market.

Other car companies without government backing, relying on handmade cars, can’t compare to the Spanish car company, let alone the fact that the Spanish engine laboratory is developing newer engines yearly to improve stability and efficiency.

Based on the current price and profit of cars, selling 10,000 cars can yield Benz’s car company several tens of millions of Pesseta in pure profit.

As the largest shareholder of the car company, Carlo can also earn tens of millions of Pesseta in returns.

It’s important to note that, until now, Carlo has invested less than 15 million Pesseta in the car company, and the annual investment in the car company and engine laboratory’s research is just above 1 million Pesseta on average.

As long as 10,000 cars are sold, Carlo can ensure a return on investment in both the car and engine sectors, along with a small profit.

On this basis, the more cars sold, the more Carlo profits.

This is also why making money in this era seems so easy. There are many industries like the automobile sector where a little investment can bring huge returns, and as long as the capital is strong, such investments are virtually risk-free.

As a transmigrator, Carlo naturally knows which industries are ripe for investment. Coupled with the immense power he wields as King, Carlo’s investments become very straightforward, with each one bringing significant revenue back to the Royal Family.

Although the Spanish Royal Family’s wealth currently does not compare to families who have accumulated wealth over centuries, considering Carlo has only been King of Spain for about a decade, possessing such an enormous asset is quite astonishing.

In another decade or so, the Spanish Royal Family might very well become the wealthiest royal family in Europe, or even the richest in the world.

After watching the entire car testing process, a very satisfied Carlo walked out of the car factory. Before leaving, he reminded Benz to maintain quality and quantity while promoting assembly line production, as the quality and stability of cars are crucial.

To increase car popularity and let the public know about a transportation tool called the car, which now exceeds the efficiency and speed of carriages, Carlo decided to hold an Automobile Expo in Spain, similar to the previous Tram Expo, to promote cars as products.

Of course, how best to present their products at the Automobile Expo is a matter for Benz to consider.

Carlo generally doesn’t interfere with the car’s subsequent sales situation and only occasionally reviews the sales reports submitted by the car company to see how much money his company has made.