Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 541 China’s automobile industry goes global

In China, the bosses of any independent car brand are often very thoughtful.

This is true whether it is BYD's Wang Fu or Geely's Li Su.

As for Cao Yang of Xingchen Automobile, it goes without saying.

Last year, Xingchen Motors acquired Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motor Company for the first time, and then successfully turned losses into profits in the first half of this year, raising the value of Jaguar Land Rover to a higher level.

This matter has made many Chinese automobile companies envious and jealous.

However, Jaguar Land Rover has been taken over by Xingchen Motors, and they definitely have no chance.

But besides Jaguar Land Rover, there are many car brands in the world.

Geely, which has been in contact with Ford Motor for a long time, brought a surprise to China on Teacher's Day, September 2009, 9.

Geely Automobile released big news on its official Weibo, indicating that the company has officially signed an agreement with Ford Motor to acquire 100% of the other party's Volvo Cars.

At the same time, Ford also announced the sale of Volvo cars in the United States.

This point in time is almost half a year earlier than in history.

Although neither Geely nor Ford officially announced the acquisition price, relevant news quickly circulated on the Internet.

Geely Auto borrows debt to acquire Volvo Cars for US$18 billion!

In an instant, the news was trending on Weibo.

In addition, several related news such as Volvo Cars are also at the top of the hot search list.

"Mr. Cao, as far as we know, Geely Automobile has been in contact with Ford Motor Co. since last year. This time, it purchased Volvo for US$18 billion, which is hundreds of millions of US dollars cheaper than our purchase of Jaguar Land Rover. Many netizens think that their purchase is worth it. "

"Of course, some people think that Geely Automobile is like a snake swallowing an elephant this time, and it will definitely suffer from indigestion."

Mi Ying quickly reported the information she collected to Cao Yang.

Such a major event will definitely become the most watched thing in China's automobile industry in the next period of time.

After all, Volvo Cars still has a certain reputation around the world.

Over the years, it has been known for its high quality, high safety and innovative technology.

"Oh?"

"Why are many people not optimistic about this acquisition?"

Cao Yang is the one who knows the final result, so he naturally knows that Geely Automobile's acquisition is considered a success.

Although there is no way to completely control Volvo, this acquisition has made a contribution to enhancing Geely Automobile's brand power and improving some technologies.

With this acquisition, Geely Automobile began to firmly pursue its internationalization strategy.

While maintaining Volvo's independent operations, Geely invests heavily in R&D and innovation, and is committed to improving product quality and meeting the needs of the global market.

Geely's internationalization strategy also includes establishing R&D centers around the world, attracting top international automotive engineers and designers, and promoting technological innovation and product upgrades.

These will ultimately have a certain feedback effect on the Geely brand.

However, all parties are now generally not optimistic about this acquisition.

"There are several reasons for this, and they can be summed up like this."

Mi Ying is a very competent secretary. Not long after the news came out, she had already collected a lot of information.

"First point, Geely Auto is too weak at this time. This year's revenue does not exceed 200 billion yuan, and its car sales are estimated to be only more than 30 vehicles."

"Volvo is already a world-renowned car brand. It invented the three-point safety belt in 1959 and the first rear-facing child safety seat in 1972."

"In 2007, their revenue exceeded US$100 billion."

"Although it has been declining in the past two years, it is still several times larger than Geely Automobile."

Mi Ying said while observing Cao Yang's reaction in order to adjust her words in time.

"The second point is that Geely Automobile has no money. Last year, Geely Automobile's net profit was only about 10 billion."

"This year's situation will be better than last year, but the net profit is not expected to exceed 15 billion. How many years will it take to save money to buy Volvo?"

"The third point is that many people feel that Geely cannot revive Volvo, because Ford, the global automobile giant, was unable to do anything to Volvo at that time. Volvo's full-year sales forecast for this year is 30 units, which is expected to decline year-on-year, and it is expected to happen again this year It sets a new low for Volvo’s sales in the past ten years.”

"Under such circumstances, few people believe that Geely Automobile can take care of Volvo."

"However, Mr. Li did speak out and categorically told the media: We cannot say that if Ford can't do well, Geely can't do well. If Americans can't do well, Chinese people can't do well either. This is not necessarily the case."

"Based on this situation, many people mocked Geely's acquisition of Volvo as a snake swallowing an elephant, a toad eating swan meat, and a poor boy marrying a rich and beautiful woman."

Mi Ying's explanation should be a good summary of the online views on this matter.

Even within Geely Automobile, not everyone is optimistic about this acquisition.

However, Cao Yang feels that as long as Volvo Cars is done well, this matter is actually worth looking forward to.

In 1999, Ford paid $64.5 billion to acquire Volvo.

Geely only needs US$18 billion to acquire it, and this discount cannot be lower.

To a certain extent, Geely Automobile can be considered a big bargain.

Of course, Volvo is currently losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year, so this bargain is not that easy to pick up.

"I think this acquisition is still very valuable for Geely Automobile."

"As long as it can fully digest and absorb Volvo's technology, Geely Automobile will be able to get rid of its low-end image in the future."

"Of course, how Geely will manage Volvo in the end depends on Mr. Li's plan."

After Cao Yang had a rough understanding of the situation, he picked up the HONOR 3G in his hand and called Li Su to celebrate.

Li Su must have paid attention to the public opinions on the Internet.

At this time, if you sincerely send some blessings to express your optimism, it can be regarded as forming a good relationship.

Business is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships.

In China, even more so.

So when Li Su heard Cao Yang's blessing, his mood improved a lot.

Of course, he was also a little unsure whether Cao Yang was sincerely blessing him or just being polite.

So I couldn't help but ask back, "Mr. Cao, do you really think this acquisition is a good opportunity for Geely Automobile?"

There is no way, no matter how strong your heart is, sometimes you still need encouragement.

After all, no one knows what the future will look like.

Well, except Cao Yang.

"Of course, I think so."

The good words have been said, so naturally we must implement them.

"I think this acquisition enables Geely Automobile to quickly expand its business footprint in the global market and enhance its competitiveness by drawing on Volvo's advanced technology and management experience."

"This time, Mr. Li broke the traditional pattern of the international automobile market and created a historic breakthrough with his bold and pragmatic actions."

"This acquisition demonstrates the strength and ambition of China Automobile Enterprises to the world, and also opens up a new development direction for China Automobile Industry."

"At the same time, this acquisition is also an important step for Geely to go abroad and become globalized. It will help enhance the international reputation and competitiveness of China's automobile industry."

Cao Yang's words reached Li Su's ears and moved him deeply.

Although there was no way to tell whether Cao Yang was completely sincere when he said this, at least his attitude was very friendly.

This point is completely different from the situation of many netizens and businessmen.

"I think Volvo's technology and global reach have huge potential, so treat Volvo as a whole brand."

"On the basis of maintaining Volvo's excellent safety and product quality, Geely will leverage Geely's manufacturing efficiency and cost management advantages to upgrade existing models for Volvo, while developing new models and technologies to expand a wider product line and customer base."

"Mr. Cao, I believe that Geely's acquisition of Volvo in the future will be an important moment for China's automobile industry, just like Xingchen Automobile's acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover."

Li Su, who was in a good mood, rarely exchanged his thoughts with Cao Yang.

Geely's acquisition of Volvo Cars is not just something that happened in the past few days, but has been in action since last year.

During this period, Li Su was naturally considering how Volvo Cars should be operated after the acquisition was successful.

He has no confidence in fully controlling Jaguar Land Rover like Xingchen Motors.

The most important thing is that there is a big gap between Geely's brand power and Xingchen Motors, so keeping Volvo relatively independent is a right choice at this point.

Otherwise, Volvo's brand power will decline, which will also be a loss for Geely Automobile.

The two had a good exchange on the matter of China's automobile industry going global, which further brought the relationship closer.

However, not every manufacturer in China's automobile industry is as optimistic about Geely's move as Cao Yang.

Chery Automobile, which has always been as famous as Geely and even the leader of domestic independent brands, has a different view.

"Geely found several banks and borrowed more than 100 billion yuan to have the money to pay for the acquisition of Volvo."

"This is totally playing with fire."

"With Geely's current profitability, it will take ten years to repay this loan."

As the head of Chery Automobile's sales department, Wang Ze is naturally very concerned about Geely Automobile's trends.

After all, in China, Chery and Geely were once representatives of independent brands.

"Mr. Li is quite courageous in doing things. He may have been stimulated by Xingchen Motors' acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover."

"They don't even think about it. Can the situation of Geely Automobile be the same as that of Xingchen Automobile?"

"When it acquired Jaguar Land Rover, Xingchen Motors was already a successful luxury car brand, and its influence will not be much smaller than that of Jaguar Land Rover."

"And Nanshan Group itself has very complete vehicle manufacturing technology, and its engines and gearboxes are world leaders."

"Under this situation, Jaguar Land Rover is under the management of Xingchen Motors. Even if it wants to resist, it doesn't have much leverage."

"I heard that some time ago, the new president of Jaguar Land Rover is already a member of the Xingchen system. Many key positions in the company are also held by people trusted by Xingchen Motors."

"The management within Jaguar Land Rover that was not very supportive of Xingchen Motors has been almost completely purged."

"So Xingchen Motors' acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover can be considered a very successful acquisition."

"But Geely Automobile is different. They simply don't have the strength of Xingchen Automobile and cannot completely control Volvo Cars." "Even within Volvo Cars, there is a high probability that there will be a group of people who work in secret and do not listen to Geely Automobile's instructions."

"After all, equity and management rights are sometimes two different things."

"The best Geely Auto can do is make Volvo China follow its instructions."

I have to say that Yin Chuan's analysis is still very reasonable.

To a certain extent, this is also the real situation faced by Geely Automobile.

Li Suhui also took these circumstances into consideration when he proposed that Volvo continue to operate independently.

It's just that Yin Chuan overestimated the Chinese people's ability to learn new technologies and fight against others.

In the end, although Volvo Cars was not completely controlled by Geely Automobile, Geely Automobile basically got everything it wanted.

When it is re-listed more than ten years later, the market value will soar more than ten times, which can be regarded as a very cost-effective business.

"That's true, but this acquisition has made Geely Automobile famous."

"This may also have a certain promotion effect on their car sales."

"With the ebb and flow, I don't know if it will put some pressure on our sales."

Wang Ze's concern is naturally not unreasonable.

They are all independent brands and their product positioning is similar.

It's okay to say they are competitors.

"This year's auto market growth rate has exceeded everyone's expectations, and the current market is already in a state of oversupply."

"Most of the models can basically be sold as long as they can be produced."

"For the time being, the impact on our sales should not be great."

"But we have to continue to observe what the long-term impact will be in the future."

Yin Chuan gave his own judgment with certainty.

Chery Automobile's sales this year will definitely set a new record.

He was very confident about this.

So even if there are other unexpected situations, he is not worried.

……

"Director Xu, news about Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo is flying all over the Internet."

"Taking this opportunity, Geely Automobile is also vigorously promoting its international strategy."

"I think the negotiations to acquire Saab can also be accelerated?"

As the general manager of Imperial Automobile Group, Ma Guojian is a little anxious now.

Last year, there was the successful case of Xingchen Automobile's acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover, and now there is Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo.

However, the progress of Teitu Automobile's acquisition of Saab has not been particularly smooth.

Because the cost of acquiring Saab as a whole is relatively high, Teitu Automobile Group only wants to acquire part of Saab's intellectual property rights.

Specifically, it is Saab's vehicle platform for three models and two series of turbocharged engines, technical ownership of the gearbox and some production and manufacturing molds.

At the same time, Didu Auto Group hopes that Saab will allow them to use Saab technology to develop and manufacture their own brand models.

This kind of cooperation model is relatively rare, and both parties have concerns.

So the progress of the negotiations is not very ideal.

General Motors was short of money and hoped to get rid of Saab completely in one fell swoop, but Teitu Motors couldn't catch it.

"According to the "Automotive Industry Adjustment and Revitalization Plan", the state guides and supports domestic superior automobile enterprise groups to participate in international competition and cooperation in accordance with international rules and relevant laws, and improve independent research and development capabilities and the core competitiveness of enterprises."

“I feel that taking the road of internationalization is an important way for Didu Automobile Group to achieve its leap-forward development strategy.”

"We can increase the price appropriately, fully promote the cooperation on this project, and use this as an opportunity to synchronize the research and development of independent brand passenger car products with the international level and reach the leading domestic level."

Xu He really wanted Saab's advanced vehicle technology and powertrain technology.

In this way, they can make Didu Auto's independent brand business bigger and stronger.

For a long time, Teitu Automobile relied on Tedu Benz and Tedu Hyundai. Although its life was very comfortable, it did not have many outstanding political achievements.

This made Xu He quite depressed.

At the moment, developing your own brand is absolutely the right thing to do.

Therefore, it is necessary to use the money earned by Tedu Benz and Tedu Hyundai to find ways to improve the technical level of independent brands and increase sales.

Although Didu Automobile Group can also buy powertrain products from Nanshan Engine and Nanshan Transmission, many companies are already taking this road.

They wanted to take a different path.

Otherwise it will be difficult to achieve results.

It's just that sometimes you take a different path, it doesn't mean it's easier to get results.

It is very likely that the final result is that tuition fees are paid in vain.

"Well, then I will personally fly to the United States next week to try to significantly reduce the differences between the two sides."

"While the enthusiasm for Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo is still high, we will finalize the acquisition of Saab's intellectual property rights as soon as possible. When the time comes, we can achieve better results in domestic publicity."

Now everyone has begun to realize the importance of publicity.

So they are all trying to find ways to accumulate some resources in the field of publicity.

Imperial Automobile Group is naturally no exception.

Tengzhong Heavy Industry, which had no reputation before, became famous immediately when it announced that it would acquire Hummer, a subsidiary of General Motors.

That publicity effect made the Imperial Automobile Group very envious.

After the Olympics, China has obviously paid a lot of attention to overseas acquisitions by enterprises.

For example, Xu He felt that there would be no problem with the acquisition of Saab's intellectual property rights by Imperial Automobile.

However, China's own brands are now frequently acquiring other brands internationally, pretending to go global.

This has also aroused the vigilance of some companies.

For example, at the Volkswagen China Branch, Vondel was discussing this matter with Strauss.

"I just received news from the headquarters that Audi's design director has submitted a resignation application to the company and is preparing to switch jobs to BYD Auto as design director."

"Porsche's design director also switched jobs to Xingchen Automobile as the design director."

"According to news from some domestic automobile companies in China, they have also successively hired some designers from various automobile giants to serve as the company's design directors."

"This is a bad sign. In the future, these companies will bring greater pressure to us in the Chinese market."

Volkswagen's development momentum in China this year is very good.

Consumers are relatively forgetful.

The influence of previous Passat collision doors and other things is slowly disappearing.

Therefore, although the sales situation of North and South Volkswagen is not as good as the situation in the original time and space, it still continues to occupy the first position in the market.

However, other companies are catching up quickly, and Volkswagen's advantages are becoming less and less obvious, and it may be surpassed at any time.

So Strauss became anxious.

"On the one hand, we are poaching people from various car companies, and on the other hand, we are spending money to acquire some brands."

"China's automobile industry is indeed undergoing great changes."

"Especially last year, Xingchen Motors acquired Jaguar Land Rover and managed them very well."

"Now Geely Automobile has acquired Volvo Cars, achieving a leap like a snake swallowing an elephant."

"It is said that many Chinese car companies are in contact with companies such as General Motors and Ford Motor Company to discuss whether they can acquire other car brands or technologies."

"This situation is very unfavorable for us."

"However, I don't think everyone needs to be particularly worried."

"Chinese car companies have previously focused on China and lacked sufficient international experience. It is impossible to catch up in a short period of time."

Although Fondel is also very anxious, when his subordinates reveal their anxiety to him, he must show confidence.

Otherwise, wouldn't the situation get out of control?

Besides, compared with Volkswagen's performance in other markets, the results of Volkswagen China Branch this year are very outstanding.

The coming years are also full of promise.

If you think about it more openly, there are actually not that many things to worry about.

"That's true. On China's own Internet, few people are optimistic about Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo."

"I also feel that it is not that easy for China's automobile industry to go global."

"The market competition outside is very fierce, and it's not like China has such a high growth rate every year."

"At that time, all the money these companies have worked so hard to earn at home will be lost abroad."

After listening to Vondel's words, Strauss felt a lot less pressure.

All he has to do is express his concerns.

The boss thinks there is no need to worry, so he doesn’t have to worry so much.

After all, essentially everyone is just a wage earner.

The results are basically enough. If you continue to become more outstanding, it seems that you will not get more?
With this mentality, Strauss felt that he was in a much better mood.

Of course, this is also because he has been hit many times in China for so many years.

I can't continue to give myself chicken blood every time.

(End of this chapter)