The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 198: Chapter 192: Tractor

Arthur nodded in satisfaction.

Benz’s design was remarkably sensible, considering both urban and suburban transport environments. He designed two types of trucks, one equipped with a gasoline engine and the other with a diesel engine, pushing both types into the final experimental phase.

Having two types of trucks also allows us to market them more effectively worldwide.

They not only meet various transportation needs in Australia but are also capable of generating a significant profit from international sales. It’s perfect.

As for the question of whether selling these trucks abroad might inadvertently increase the strategic transport capabilities of European and American nations, Arthur was not concerned.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that these trucks won’t bolster the transportation capabilities of Europe and America. Indeed, once these powerful nations acquire these trucks, their transport capacities will undoubtedly increase significantly. That is undeniable.

But this is also unavoidable. Just like cars, if Benz One wasn’t invented, Ford Company’s Model T would have emerged instead.

Even if these two kinds of trucks hadn’t been born now, other nations’ car companies would have researched and developed them for adoption and procurement by other countries in the future.

Rather than waste the truck’s enormous potential market, it would be better to leverage the advantages of the Benz Car Factory, seize it first, and turn it into a tremendous profit.

Although this could potentially impact the transport capabilities of European countries before a war, such a situation is unavoidable.

As long as Australia can reap substantial profits from this, it will have sufficient capacity to stimulate even greater development in various aspects of Australia.

Benz knew that Arthur disliked idle speculation, hence the rapid start to the tests of the two types of trucks.

The experiment was fairly straightforward, mainly to verify if the data on paper was correct. The data of these two kinds of trucks came from small-scale testing and design predictions, and there might well be some differences compared to the actual situation.

The purpose of the experiment was to confirm the concrete data for these two types of trucks. If they pass, then they’re ready for further production. If not, improvements will be made on the areas that didn’t meet the standards.

Although guesses cannot be made blindly before testing, Arthur had a lot of faith in the abilities of both Benz and Disel.

The experimental results were as expected. Although there were some deviations from the data on paper, most discrepancies were in a better direction, meaning the actual performance data was even better.

According to the combined tests of ten vehicles of both types, both types of trucks reach their theoretical maximum load capacity, which is 0.8 tons and 1.5 tons respectively.

In reality, these figures aren’t their maximum load capacities. But if the load exceeds them, it is very likely to cause damage to the truck’s structure and engine.

Given the premise that there would be no damage to the trucks, these two figures represent the maximum load capacities of the two types of trucks.

Regarding speed, Benz’s estimates were too conservative.

When loaded with their maximum cargo, the small truck and the large truck can reach speeds of 44 kilometers per hour and 39 kilometers per hour, respectively.

Considering the weight of the cargo they carry, this is quite remarkable.

Presently, the most widely used small cargo vehicles are still horse carriages and ox carts.

But these vehicles travel extremely slowly and are heavily affected by terrain and climate.

Trucks, on the other hand, function differently. They can operate normally even in the rain, provided the weather isn’t too extreme.

Although they too require good roads, trains must run on rails. Trucks with these excellent performances are already attractive enough.

Of course, it was precisely because of the breakthrough in speed that the maximum driving distance of the two types of vehicles was slightly reduced.

But this is the easiest problem to solve, the most straightforward solution is to carry a barrel of gasoline or diesel in the vehicle and refill when needed.

And with the widespread use of cars around the world, a lot of cities have built gas stations. Although it is not as convenient as it will be in the future, in most areas of Europe and America, finding a gas station within 300 kilometers isn’t an issue.

Of course, there are places just as barren as the central region of Australia in these parts, but who would venture to such areas without carrying enough fuel in their vehicle?

After watching the entire testing process, Arthur was thrilled with the two types of trucks currently in development.

For now, at least, these two types of trucks can solve a considerable portion of Australia’s transportation problems.

After all, Australia already has developed highways, and vehicles flying down these flat roads will hardly have any significant issues.

“Mr. Benz, when can these two types of trucks go into production? I look forward to seeing these trucks on Australia’s highways. They will be a tremendous transportation tool, on par with trains,” Arthur asked, smiling.

The successful experimentation of the truck was good news for Arthur. Due to Australia’s massive land area, transportation had become a major issue.

Before the complete establishment of the industrial railway, transportation between the east and west coasts of Australia could take over half a month.

Even with the existence of highways connecting major cities, the small number of cars remained a very distressing issue.

Considering the current average income in Australia, most Australians cannot afford a car, and this situation is not expected to change in a short period.

Although the average income in Australia has been continuously growing, it would still take more than a decade to save enough money to buy a car.

The question is, even after more than a decade, having saved enough money to buy a car, who would be willing to spend half of their lifetime savings on a vehicle?

Even though producing trucks will not solve this issue, Arthur had thought of a solution: to start a transportation company.

Although it can’t resolve the people’s problem, at least it can solve some of the transportation issues at the national level, including the military.

Once the military is equipped with trucks, small-scale forces can quickly transport within Australia.

Imagine, if the Australian military could reach any area across the country within two days, would we still worry about domestic stability?

“Your Highness, if we estimate conservatively, could possibly start small-scale production of these two types of trucks in three months. Of course, if everything goes well, I believe it is possible to start small-scale production in two months.” Benz thought a bit before replying.

After passing the tests, a rather complicated process is needed, which is to build a complete truck production line.

However, preparations for future mass production had been done during the truck development stage, therefore, this process is expected to take only two to three months to complete.

Of course, the small-scale production mentioned by Arthur is also a very important factor. If it were to scale production like Benz One and sell worldwide, the preparation time may need to be extended by several months.

Arthur nodded, not surprised at this timeline, and ordered, “Let’s immediately start the operation of producing these two types of trucks. Across Australia, we at least need hundreds or even thousands of trucks to meet our transportation needs. Once we completely meet domestic demand, we can start selling overseas.”

Not only does the military’s transportation require a lot of trucks, various weapons and equipment, even large firearms and strategic supplies can all be transported using these trucks.

Moreover, taking into account the diverse needs of various Australian departments for these trucks, a conservative estimate suggests that Australia’s national level needs at least hundreds to thousands of trucks to initially meet the country’s various transportation needs.

“In addition, there is another special vehicle that requires your research.” At the end of the conversation, Arthur pulled out a blueprint and smilingly said to Benz and Disel.

“A special vehicle?” Both of them took the blueprint with some bewilderment and began studying it intently.

This indeed is a special vehicle! Whether it’s Benz or Disel, they both had this thought as soon as they saw the blueprint.

Unlike the usual vehicle concept, this is a tracked vehicle that resembled a train engine, except it used a fuel engine instead of a steam engine.

The only characteristic that could be called car-like was that, like a car, it had a driver’s seat, and its size was about the same as a car’s.

But is this really a car? What is its purpose?

Benz looked at Arthur with uncertainty, hoping for more explanation.

“I believe you guys have heard of this, it’s really called a tractor, which can attach farm tools to help us improve agricultural production,” Arthur knew that the blueprint alone couldn’t describe much, so he explained.

“A tractor?” Benz and Disel instinctively nodded.

Speaking of tractors, they understood a bit. Although this machine hadn’t really gone into production, it was in the development cycle for many years.

Both had heard of the tractor’s concept and once curiously viewed pictures of tractors in newspapers. But—does a tractor really look like this?

Seeing their confusion, Arthur didn’t further explain, but rather solemnly ordered, “This is a blueprint brought by a European expert, and it reportedly is the most advanced concept of a tractor. Although it’s not as important as a car, it is a vital machine related to Australian agricultural production. I hope you guys can research as soon as possible and start production. This will play a crucial role in improving Australian agricultural production.”

Actually, Arthur’s ultimate goal wasn’t about agricultural production. Although Australia’s arable land wasn’t extensive, the country had a vast area of land.

Overall, Australia’s arable land was even ranked in the world’s top ten. Coupled with its sparse population and extremely developed animal husbandry.

It can be said that until Australia had a population of 20 million, there would be no shortage of grain and meat products.

But this tractor was related to Arthur’s significant objective, and it would be better if fewer people knew about it.

Under these circumstances, using agriculture as a cover was the best solution Arthur could think of.