Chapter 193: The Tractor
Arthur nodded in satisfaction.
Benz's design was quite reasonable. Taking into account the different transportation environments in cities and suburbs, he designed two types of trucks, one using gasoline engines and the other using diesel engines, and pushed both to the final experimental stage.
Having these two types of trucks would allow for better global sales. Not only could they suit the various transportation environments in Australia, but they could also be sold abroad to generate substantial profits—simply perfect.
As for whether selling these trucks would indirectly increase the strategic transportation capacity of European and American countries, Arthur wasn't too concerned.
Of course, this doesn't mean that the trucks wouldn't enhance the transportation capabilities of Europe and America. In fact, once the major powers acquired these trucks, they would significantly improve their national transportation capabilities. This is undeniable.
But this was also inevitable. Just like with cars, even if Benz One hadn't been developed, Ford's Model T would have taken its place.
Even if these two types of trucks were never created, it was likely that other countries' automobile companies would eventually develop similar vehicles, which would then be accepted and purchased by other nations.
Rather than waste the huge potential market for trucks, it would be better to take advantage of Benz's automobile factory's edge, occupy the market first, and turn it into huge profits.
Though it might impact the transportation capacity of European countries before the war, this was also unavoidable. As long as Australia made substantial profits, it would have the ability to develop other areas further.
Benz knew that Arthur disliked merely talking about things on paper, so the tests for these two trucks began promptly.
The experiment itself was rather simple—mainly to verify whether the data on paper was correct. The data for the two trucks were based on small-scale tests and predictions made during their design, so some slight errors were expected.
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the actual data for these two trucks. If they passed, they would move on to further production. If they didn't meet the standards, improvements would be made.
Although Arthur couldn't make blind guesses before the tests, he had great confidence in Benz and Diesel's abilities.
The results were just as expected. While there were some discrepancies with the paper data, most of the differences were for the better, meaning the data was even better than anticipated.
Based on the joint tests of the ten trucks, both types were able to reach their theoretical maximum cargo capacity—0.8 tons and 1.5 tons, respectively.
In reality, these numbers weren't the absolute limit. But if the trucks were overloaded with too heavy cargo, it could potentially damage their structure and engines.
With that said, the numbers for the maximum cargo capacity were the highest possible without causing damage to the trucks.
As for the speed, Benz's estimate was actually too conservative.
With the maximum load, the small truck and large truck could reach speeds of 44 km/h and 39 km/h, respectively. Given the weight of the cargo, these speeds were already quite impressive.
It should be noted that currently, the most commonly used small cargo vehicles were still horse-drawn carts and ox carts.
However, these vehicles were very slow and heavily dependent on terrain and weather conditions.
Trucks, on the other hand, could operate in almost any weather condition, as long as it wasn't extreme weather. Even on rainy days, they could run without much problem.
Although trucks did have road requirements, trains also needed to run on tracks. Given their excellent performance, these trucks were already extremely appealing.
Naturally, because of the breakthrough in speed, the maximum driving distance of the two trucks was somewhat reduced.
But this was easily solved—simply carry a can of gasoline or diesel with the truck and refill as necessary.
With the increasing popularity of cars around the world, many cities had already built gas stations. Although it wasn't as convenient as it would be in the future, finding a gas station within 300 kilometers was no problem in most parts of Europe and America.
Of course, there would be barren areas like those in central Australia, but who wouldn't carry enough fuel before heading to such areas?
After observing the entire testing process, Arthur was very satisfied with the two existing trucks.
At least for Australia right now, these two types of trucks could solve a significant portion of the transportation problems.
After all, Australia already had a developed road network, and with cars traveling on these flat roads, there would be little issue.
"Mr. Benz, when do you think these two types of trucks will be ready for production? I look forward to seeing them on the roads of Australia. They will be a great transportation tool, comparable to trains," Arthur asked with a smile.
The success of the truck experiments was good news for Arthur. Due to Australia's vast land area, transportation had become a major issue. Before the industrial railroads were fully completed, it could take more than half a month to travel between the east and west coasts of Australia.
Even with a road network connecting major cities, the scarcity of vehicles was a major problem.
Given the current per capita income in Australia, most Australians couldn't afford to buy a car, and this situation wouldn't change in the short term.
Although Australia's per capita income had been rising steadily, it would take over ten years to save enough money to buy a car.
Even after those ten years, who would be willing to spend almost half their life savings on a vehicle?
While the production of trucks wouldn't resolve this problem, Arthur had already thought of a solution—starting a transportation company.
Although it wouldn't solve the problem for private individuals, at least on a national level, it could address some of the transportation needs, including in the military sector.
Once the military had trucks, they could move small units quickly across the entire country of Australia.
Imagine if the Australian military could reach any region within two days—there would be no need to worry about internal stability!
"Your Highness, conservatively speaking, it's possible that these two types of trucks could enter small-scale production in three months. Of course, if everything goes smoothly, I believe it could be ready for small-scale production in two months," Benz answered after thinking for a moment.
After the tests, a relatively complex process remained: constructing a complete truck production line.
However, the previous truck development phase had already prepared for large-scale production, so this step would only take about two to three months to complete.
Of course, the small-scale production Arthur mentioned was also an essential factor. If production were to scale up like Benz One and be sold worldwide, it would likely take several more months of preparation.
Arthur nodded, not surprised by the time frame, and instructed, "Then let's start production on these two types of trucks immediately. Australia will need hundreds or even thousands of vehicles to meet our transportation demands. Once domestic needs are fully met, we can focus on selling abroad."
Not only did the military require a large number of trucks, but various weaponry, large artillery, and strategic materials could all be transported using these trucks.
Considering the various departments in Australia that would need these trucks, it was estimated that the country would need hundreds or even thousands of trucks to initially meet its domestic transportation needs.
"Additionally, there is another special vehicle that requires your research," Arthur said at the end of their conversation, pulling out a design drawing and smiling at Benz and Diesel.
"A special vehicle?" Both of them took the design drawing with curiosity and focused on it.
It was indeed a special vehicle! Both Benz and Diesel thought of the same idea as soon as they saw the design.
Unlike any car concept, this was a tracked vehicle, almost like a locomotive, but powered by a fuel engine instead of a steam engine.
The only characteristic it shared with a car was the presence of a driver's seat, and its size was similar to that of a car.
But was this really a car? What was its purpose?
Benz looked at Arthur in confusion, hoping to hear more explanation.
"I believe you've heard of this before; its real name is a tractor. It can be equipped with farming tools to help us with better agricultural production," Arthur explained, knowing that the design drawing alone didn't reveal much.
"A tractor?" Both Benz and Diesel nodded instinctively.
They had heard of tractors, although they hadn't been mass-produced yet. They knew the concept and had seen pictures of them in the newspapers, but—was this what a tractor looked like?
Seeing their confusion, Arthur didn't elaborate further but instead said seriously, "This design was given to me by a European expert. It's said to be the most advanced tractor concept at present. Although it's not as crucial as cars, it's still an essential machine for Australia's agricultural production. I hope you can begin research and production as soon as possible. It will play a critical role in enhancing Australia's agricultural output."
In fact, Arthur's true motive wasn't entirely about agricultural production. Though Australia's available arable land wasn't vast, it had an extensive land area.
In total, Australia's arable land ranked among the top ten in the world. Combined with its sparse population and highly developed livestock industry, Australia could remain self-sufficient in food and meat products for quite some time.
However, the tractor also played a significant role in Arthur's larger plans, which he preferred to keep secret for now.
In this context, using agriculture as a cover was the best approach Arthur could think of.
(End of Chapter)
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