Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 764 The pedal door comes to an end, the final event of 2012

"Chaihang, do you think we need to appeal to the relevant departments regarding antitrust penalties?"

Li Zailin looked at the penalty notice received by the company, his face uncertain.

This is the first antitrust fine Samsung has received in China.

Although several manufacturers were fined along with Samsung, it was still difficult for Li Zailin to accept it.

Especially on the same day when this penalty was announced, relevant Chinese departments also launched an antitrust investigation against photoresist manufacturers such as JSR.

The purpose of this investigation and its background are all very clear to those in the industry.

The conflicts between Samsung, Nanshan Semiconductor and Honor Technology are also no secret in the industry.

As a result, relevant Chinese departments stepped on Samsung while supporting Nanshan Semiconductor.

This made Li Zailin even more unhappy.

"President, because of the anti-monopoly investigation, several customers from China are now questioning us with comparative data between the sales price in the United States and China's sales price, saying that we were overpriced before and asked for a price reduction."

"Otherwise, it will be very troublesome then."

"But the price we sold to Intel was only 70% of what we sold to Chinese manufacturers."

Obviously, JSR has no intention of giving up easily.

In his opinion, this policy harms the interests of JSR.

But this approach is very common in Li Zailin's opinion, and many companies have done similar things.

JSR on the Japanese side was even more depressed at this time.

"The national conditions in China are very different from those in Korea and the United States. If we do not accept the punishment from the relevant departments and instead put forward a lot of opinions, we are likely to usher in more stringent supervision and review."

Saitomon felt a little embarrassed.

"Mr. Li, I think it's better not to complain."

"Mr. Li, admitting this mistake will not have much impact on the development of our company."

Chai Hang carefully explained there.

"The key is to ensure that our high-end products such as EUV photoresist are not produced by Nanshan Chemical."

Why did you finally take out the LCD panel to talk about it?

Chai Hang was afraid that if Li Zailin continued to mess with him, the situation would probably be difficult to deal with.

If you can do it without bothering, don’t bother with it.

"Chinese consumers will never stop buying our products just because we are subject to antitrust penalties."

“So if you admit your mistake, you admit it, and it’s nothing more than losing part of the fine.”

Li Zailin was silent for a long time, and finally he could only accept this fact.

"It can even illustrate to a certain extent our company's technical strength in this field."

"Then do we just admit our mistakes?"

Otherwise, there will definitely be no good fruit to eat by then.

Although Samsung is indeed in tandem with other manufacturers in terms of LCD panels, everyone should not sell them at low prices in the Chinese market.

"Some high-end brands are even twice as expensive."

"The key is that they somehow got some evidence, and they can see that the grades of our photoresists are exactly the same."

However, people from Samsung China are definitely not the only ones who are equally depressed.

Li Zailin looked at Chai Hang with some reluctance.

"How do we respond to people?"

It’s not a good feeling to feel like you’ve tricked someone else, only to be found out.

"Each customer's photoresist products are not exactly the same, so the price will naturally be different."

Saitomon had a sad look on his face. He had always had opinions on Nanshan Semiconductor's photoresist sales restrictions this time.

But he definitely has no say in this matter.

Even China has launched an antitrust investigation.

"What's so weird about this?"

Because of these measures, Samsung has also made a lot more money.

Kawahashi curled his lips in conviction and didn't take it seriously.

"Don't take the questioning of those Chinese semiconductor experts seriously, it's not a big problem."

"It's likely that the penalties will become even greater at that time."

As a Chinese, Chai Hang must be more aware of some of the work styles here than Li Zailin.

"Compared to the profits we gained, this part of the fine is actually acceptable."

Kawahashi was convinced that he had obviously grasped the key point of the problem at once.

If China cannot produce the corresponding photoresist, it will not be afraid no matter how it conducts an antitrust investigation.

At worst, I'll just pretend that I won't sell to Chinese companies. Maybe someone will come over and beg me right away.

But if China produces all the photoresists needed on the market, and the cost plummets, then JSR will be in real trouble.

"Now we can't do anything except closely follow the situation in China."

"China first set up a large fund of 100 billion yuan to support the development of the semiconductor industry, and then launched an anti-monopoly investigation, all in order to support the development of Nanshan Semiconductor."

"Originally, this matter did not have much impact on us, but with Nanshan Semiconductor having a sister company like Nanshan Chemical, it has a great impact on us."

"Once Nanshan Chemical makes a breakthrough, not only Nanshan Semiconductor will no longer buy photoresist from us in the future, but also other Chinese companies will probably turn around and invest in Nanshan Chemical."

Saitomen's speculation is obviously not unreasonable at all.

He knows exactly how much photoresist actually costs to produce.

After China, the actual production cost can be reduced by at least 30%.

As a result, business will be difficult to do in the future.

Unless JSR also goes to China to set up a factory to produce photoresist.

However, for the sake of technical confidentiality, the JSR board of directors did not consider this.

"Let's communicate with Shin-Etsu Chemical and several other companies to see how they can deal with the situation in China."

"Whether it's an antitrust investigation, future market share allocation, or discussing how to deal with competition from Nanshan Chemical."

Kawahashi, who was not sure what to do, was convinced and prepared to discuss it with several colleagues.

After all, we have to find a way to get over this hurdle.

……

While the various competitors were thinking about how to deal with China's tactics, some people on the Chinese side felt that an opportunity had come.

"Mr. Cao, are Nanshan Chemical interested in building a factory in Chang'an Province?"

"We can provide a series of preferential investment conditions here, and we will find another piece of land for Nanshan Chemical near Nanshan Carbon Fiber."

Liu Tianwu has already gone to Chang'an Province to take office.

He can naturally see the news that has been buzzing on the Internet these days.

To say that he had no idea at all would be a lie.

As the head of Chang'an Province, he has many things to consider.

If he can't make some achievements in a short period of time, he will definitely be under a lot of pressure.

After all, he was transferred from Yangcheng City and was promoted.

In the original Chang'an Province, his promotion must have affected the promotion of some people.

This kind of promotion often has a series of impacts.

For example, if the deputy person in charge is promoted to the person in charge, then someone can be promoted from each city below.

Similarly, if a high-level position is moved in the city, people at every level below will have an opportunity to move up.

This is something that many people care about very much.

Now Chang'an Province has parachuted a person in charge, which means that all those changes have disappeared.

Even if there were, it didn't happen in Chang'an Province.

"The output of Nanshan Chemical's various products is not very high yet."

"We have no need to build large-scale chemical plants for the time being."

Although everyone is an old acquaintance, there is obviously nothing Cao Yang has planned to do.

After all, setting up a factory in a different place means that a new management team needs to be formed there.

This aspect of work is actually not that easy to do.

"Then if we want to expand production in the future, Mr. Cao remembers to consider our Chang'an Province."

"And Nanshan Semiconductor has now completed the layout of the Imperial Capital, Magic Capital and Yangcheng. Can we also consider setting up a factory in Chang'an City?"

"In this way, you have formed a layout of southeast, northwest and northwest, which is relatively perfect."

Liu Tianwu obviously would not give up so easily.

He is very optimistic about the future of Nanshan Group.

Now Chang'an City is already a city where Nanshan Group has developed more in the country. It would be a pity not to seize the opportunity for further development.

"If the production capacity of our expanded factory this year is fully utilized after it is put into operation, then Nanshan Semiconductor can consider moving to Chang'an City for its next factory."

Cao Yang thought for a moment and agreed with Liu Tianwu's statement.

As the most important city in the northwest region, it is not impossible to build a semiconductor factory in Chang'an.

After all, the human resources there are actually quite good.

"No problem. I believe that the domestic chip market is far from entering the stage of oversupply."

"I will arrange for people to prepare suitable land first. Once Nanshan Semiconductor decides to build a factory, it can complete the introduction of factory equipment as quickly as possible."

Liu Tianwu's approach was risky to a certain extent.

After all, Nanshan Semiconductor hadn't decided to invest yet, so he started arranging people to prepare the land. The procedures and investment involved were a bit troublesome.

However, I have to say that this approach can indeed save Nanshan Semiconductor time.

To a certain extent, this can be regarded as reflecting the sincerity of Chang'an Province.

Of course, Cao Yang must also be polite and remind the other party of the related risks.

It's just that these reminders have no practical meaning.

...Just after Cao Yang ended the call with Liu Tianwu, Mi Ying came over to report a piece of news.

"Mr. Cao, just last night, Toyota's settlement plan for the 'pedalgate' incident was approved by the court in the United States."

"Toyota will pay $11 billion to repair or compensate owners of 1600 million Toyota vehicles."

"This 'step door' that has been going on for several years has officially come to an end."

As Cao Yang's secretary, Mi Ying is very aware of the origin of Toyota pedal doors.

Nanshan Automobile Group also played a certain role in promoting this.

Of course, this cannot be admitted.

"Is Toyota finally willing to spend money to solve this problem?"

Although knowing that under the pressure of relevant departments in the United States, Toyota does not have many choices.

But in the end, Cao Yang admitted his mistake and paid a fine of US$11 billion, which was a bit unexpected.

According to his understanding, the most he can do is admit that there is indeed a problem with his pedal design, and then recall the relevant models.

As for compensation, it certainly cannot be given lightly.

"Yes, Toyota's global performance this year is not very good, especially in China where there has been a decline."

"I guess they hope to get rid of those controversial matters as soon as possible, and then go all out to regain the world's number one position next year."

Mi Ying's analysis made Cao Yang feel that it made some sense.

Although dragging it on is also a way, it is impossible to drag it on like Huaxia and it will be fine.

Besides, the United States is Toyota's largest market in the world.

Therefore, it is not unreasonable for Toyota to choose to compromise.

"No one seems to have mentioned Toyota's issue with the 'pedal door' issue in China. No one is paying attention to it, right?"

Many Toyota models are designed globally. The "pedal door" issue is theoretically the same in the United States and China.

So Cao Yang immediately thought about how Toyota would respond to the situation in China.

In my impression, Toyota has never lost money to consumers in China.

"They are preparing to recall certain models, but basically there has been no movement."

"I think their solution is double standards."

"Due to the island problem, the sales of Japanese car companies dropped significantly in the middle of the year, and Toyota was no exception."

"But in the last two months, their sales have rebounded somewhat."

"I think we can make good use of Toyota's dual standards for American consumers and Chinese consumers to suppress the rebound in sales of Japanese car companies?"

Mi Ying follows Cao Yang every day, so she has seen a lot.

Such an obvious double standard approach can certainly be used to make a fuss about it.

At that time, even if Toyota cannot be compensated for US$11 billion, it will still disgust them and make them less popular with passers-by.

For car companies, popularity is sometimes the cornerstone of sales.

If one day everyone's reputation for a certain brand becomes very bad, then the possibility that its sales will still be very good is very low.

"This is a good idea. The domestic auto market is now dominated by German, Japanese, American and other foreign giants, which account for nearly half of the market."

"Now the growth of the overall auto market has slowed down, and everyone's competition has become fierce."

"Most independent brands can maintain growth this year. The main reason is that Japanese car companies and Korean car companies have freed up some market share."

"Then the performance of the public in the north and south was not satisfactory."

"If the sales of Japanese car companies recover next year, and the sales of Volkswagen, General Motors and other car companies are also increasing, then the pressure on independent brands will be even greater."

Cao Yang will definitely continue to support the suppression of Japanese car companies.

This time Toyota took the initiative to bring its handle to everyone. It would be a pity not to make good use of it.

Soon, Cao Yang asked Mi Ying to inform Zeng Tingting to arrange relevant publicity plans and start a public opinion offensive first.

Then go further.

[Why is Toyota, a dual-standard car, unwilling to compensate Chinese consumers even a penny? 】

[Toyota Motors paid approximately RMB 80 billion in compensation for the 'pedal door' incident in the United States! 】

[Resist double standards, Toyota will lose money! 】

……

Related articles soon appeared on websites such as Autohome and NetEase Auto, and related topics were also discussed on many forums.

There are pictures, truth, and official news released by relevant websites in the United States. Toyota has no way to deny this matter.

Spring City Toyota and Yangcheng Toyota, which suffered heavy losses due to the public opinion offensive this year, naturally noticed the news immediately.

"Mr. Chen, a lot of news related to 'Pedal Door' suddenly appeared on the Internet. I feel like someone is organizing and promoting this matter behind the scenes."

"The company's sales this year have dropped by double digits compared to last year, and profits have dropped significantly."

"Under this circumstance, if the situation is allowed to worsen, then we will have no chance of achieving our sales target for next year."

Miyazaki Himasa came to Chen Wenzhan's office as soon as he got to work and discussed countermeasures with him.

Spring City Toyota was once the Toyota branch with the highest profit margin in the world, with net profits of more than ten or even twenty points at every turn, which really subverted many people's perceptions.

But now it is very difficult to maintain double-digit profits.

In this situation, Miyazaki Himasa must be very anxious.

"Mr. Miyazaki, this matter is a bit troublesome."

"Why does Toyota have to pay a huge sum of US$11 billion in compensation in the United States?"

"If the United States does not pay compensation, I think this matter will not be over in China."

"Now that there is such a big gap, some consumers must feel unbalanced. And with someone pushing behind the scenes, public opinion will rise."

Chen Wenzhan also looked at the problem very thoroughly, and he could see the ins and outs of the matter at once.

The "pedal door" thing happened several years ago, and many other quality problems have also appeared in the Chinese automobile market in recent years.

So many people have almost forgotten about the "pedal door".

Toyota's current solution in the United States is equivalent to hyping up the topic of "pedal door" in China again.

This is probably something Toyota itself did not expect.

"We definitely don't want compensation, but the situation in the United States is different from that in China."

"It is not just our Toyota cars that have incurred large amounts of compensation due to quality problems."

Miyazaki Himasa's answer can be regarded as an explanation based on the actual situation.

But Chen Wenzhan knows very well that if Spring City Toyota explains this on its official Weibo, it will definitely be scolded.

This confirms the accusation of double standards.

This will definitely be very detrimental to Toyota's future sales.

"Chinese consumers will not accept this reason. We have to find a way to make consumers not so angry, otherwise it will be very detrimental to our sales."

When Chen Wenzhan said this, Miyazaki Himasa couldn't help but sigh.

Of course he understood the situation.

But he knew that the headquarters would never agree to Spring City Toyota losing money in China. No car company in China would lose money to consumers like this.

If Toyota takes this initiative, other auto giants will definitely hate them. .

After all, Toyota is not the only one making a living in the Chinese market.

Toyota will definitely not do this kind of thing that harms others but does not benefit oneself.

As for consumers' dissatisfaction, Miyazaki Nisei believes that it can be solved through other methods.

"Now the company's sales have begun to show some signs of rebound, which means that the previous preferential plan has had a relatively obvious effect."

"In this case, we will continue to increase the discounts and increase sales to normal levels first."

"Then we will take advantage of the opportunity of model upgrades to slowly return the price to normal levels."

"I think for Chinese consumers, few people really care about compensation, because there is no practice of compensation in the Chinese market."

"What they want most is a discount. If an old customer complains, we will provide a free maintenance."

"For new customers, we can just give certain new discounts on the sales price of the model."

Miyazaki Himasa proposed his own plan.

"Price reductions are definitely needed, but it's hard to say yet whether price reductions will necessarily be effective."

"The most troublesome thing is that our brand strength is declining, and some models are not easy to sell even if the price is reduced."

Chen Wenzhan is not as optimistic as Miyazaki Himasa imagined.

In his opinion, the current situation is already the most difficult time since Toyota entered China.

The impact of the island conflict has not completely disappeared. Each independent brand is trying to carve up the cake of Japan. Even Spring City Automobile Group is focusing its attention on Nanshan Hongqi.

The attention paid to Spring City Toyota has dropped significantly.

In this case, simply lowering the price will have limited effect.

But Toyota would certainly not be willing to cut the price significantly and sell the car at a loss.

Spring City Automobile Group will also not agree.

After all, for Spring City Automobile Group, the biggest purpose of Spring City Toyota's existence is to make money.

If it no longer makes money, then Spring City Toyota will have no meaning in existence.

Under this situation, Chen Wenzhan is really not very optimistic about the plan proposed by Miyazaki Himasa.

"On the one hand, it is to reduce prices, and on the other hand, it is to increase the investment in sales funds, so that more advertising companies can help produce better advertisements and put them on TV and Internet platforms."

"I believe that Toyota Motor's competitiveness has always been there, and now it is just a temporary trough."

Miyazaki Himasa further added his views and planned to make some new moves in marketing.

As long as he has money and is willing to invest relevant resources, he does not believe that these actions have no effect at all.

However, the situation was not as good as he imagined.

Not to mention that peers such as Volkswagen and General Motors hope that Toyota will be unlucky, but the siege from China's independent brands has made Toyota's life difficult.

In particular, Toyota has just announced a 1 yuan price cut for all models, and several car companies such as Chery and Geely have also lowered the prices of their own models.

A war seems to be heating up the end of 2012.

(End of this chapter)