Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 431 Earth-shattering, Hongqi Car’s bold plan

During this period, various actions of Nanshan Group were very frequent.

Especially the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover cars, related topics have always dominated the hot searches on Weibo.

Nanshan Group didn't even need to exert its own efforts. Countless netizens helped popularize the past and present lives of Jaguar and Land Rover.

Not only has the popularity of Xingchen Motors risen several levels, it has also made more people aware of the two brands Jaguar and Land Rover.

Netizens have even started to play with some memes about "Tiger Leopard Star".

This situation has made Volkswagen anxious.

After all, the Audi brand has always been the luxury model with the highest market share in China.

Before last year, Audi's sales had always been far ahead.

But this year, Xingchen Automobile's sales in China have almost surpassed Audi's.

Even if it continues to develop at the current pace, by the end of the year, Xingchen Auto's domestic sales will definitely be more than Audi's.

If you add the sales of Jaguar and Land Rover, it will be even more.

It's no wonder that Vondel is so anxious.

"Strauss, do you think it is necessary to import all models of the Audi brand to China for sale?"

Apart from introducing more new models to compete with Xingchen Motors, Vondel can't think of many other ways.

"If it's just to deal with Xingchen Automobile, then I think this idea is good."

"But Jaguar and Land Rover have higher brand positioning than us, and they have now been acquired by Xingchen Motors."

"In the future, the three brands will attack the Chinese market together. If we rely solely on introducing more models, the effect may not be very good."

"After all, we have already introduced the Audi brand's models with relatively good sales into the Chinese market."

Strauss's words made Vondel feel even worse.

This doesn't work either, that doesn't work either.

Do you just have to watch Xingchen Automobile trample Audi under its feet?

"Then do you have any other ideas?"

"I think it is necessary to localize more models in China and produce them in joint venture factories."

"So far, the sales of the A6L and A4L produced in our joint venture factory are relatively stable."

"But the sales of other directly imported models are generally declining."

"There are many factors involved."

"The first is the price. There is at least a few hundred thousand difference between imported cars and domestic cars. For many consumers, this is also very critical."

“The second is support from partners.”

"If we achieve domestic production, then the sales of these cars will be closely related to Spring City Automobile Group. They must also hope that the sales of domestically produced models can increase."

"The most important thing is that after domestic production, we can further enhance consumers' recognition of the Audi brand through some marketing measures, and we can also increase local government support for us."

As soon as Strauss's proposal came out, Vondel was a little confused.

According to the information he had learned before, Chinese consumers, especially those who buy luxury cars, often have a soft spot for imported cars.

If Audi produces most of its models in China, will it affect its brand power?

In recent years, ABB has finally become a presence in China, overwhelming both Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

If something changes after a few years, he will definitely not be willing to accept it.

"Vondel, various SUVs are becoming more and more popular in the Chinese market. I think Xingchen Motors will choose to acquire Jaguar Land Rover. One of the reasons is because of the value of Land Rover's SUVs."

"So I think it is necessary to bring the Audi Q5 and Q7 to China for production."

"We can even consider asking the headquarters to develop a smaller SUV based on the Q5."

Seeing that Vondel was silent, Strauss couldn't help but add his specific views again.

"You may not know yet, but I heard the news a few days ago that the headquarters has started the development of the Audi Q3, which is a smaller SUV you mentioned based on the Q5."

Vondel glanced at Strauss and revealed the latest news.

"Q3 has been started?"

"Vondel, if this is the case, then I suggest that the headquarters directly introduce the Q3 model in China simultaneously."

"The market share of China's independent brand companies has been increasing in recent years."

"One of the very important reasons is that they have launched a variety of SUV models."

"Now if we look at the SUV market alone, the market share of China's own brands is far higher than that of joint ventures."

"I think whether it is Q3, Q5, or Q7, it is necessary to localize it in the Chinese market as soon as possible and bring down the selling price while ensuring our profits."

"In this way, we can greatly expand the number of potential consumers, which is very beneficial to our sales."

As the person in charge of the Audi brand in China, what Strauss cares about most is Audi's sales.

As long as the sales volume increases, his achievements will be achieved.

At that time, there is hope for promotion and return to China.

Therefore, he is more motivated than anyone else to import more models into China for localization.

He is even ready to take the initiative to find Spring City Automobile Group, so that the other party can put pressure on Volkswagen through its own channels and introduce more models for localization.

"The localization of Q3 and Q5 is indeed worth looking forward to. However, the sales volume of Q7 is relatively low. The necessity of localization still needs to be carefully reviewed."

"You can arrange for someone to work out the relevant localization plan in detail, as well as the price changes and market changes before and after localization."

"We will report to the headquarters as soon as possible and see if we can get the headquarters to agree to our proposal."

"However, even if the Q5, which is already in mass production, is promoted locally, it will definitely not be until 2010 at the earliest. There is still no way to solve the dilemma we are facing now."

When Vondel said this, Strauss didn't know what to do.

Basically, they are already using all available measures.

But judging from the current situation, the effect is not very good.

"Vondel, how about we hand over the sales initiative of the Audi brand to Spring City Motors in the future?"

"But also set some preconditions for them to force Spring City Automobile Group to vigorously sell Audi cars?"

I have always been looking forward to Strauss's influence on Spring City Automobile Group.

This is the first automobile company in China and the largest automobile company in China.

There are countless talents who have come out of Spring City Automobile Group.

"Headquarters will definitely not agree to this decision easily."

"We'd better think about other ways first, and then consider these things before we have no better ideas."

Vondel did not dare to agree casually with what Strauss said.

What we had fought so hard for in the past could only be given away so easily.

Then the position below his buttocks will be unstable.

The headquarters might think that Vondel was bought by Spring City Automobile Group.

While Vondel and Strauss were talking about Spring City Automobile Group, Spring City Automobile Group was also worried about a similar situation.

"Mr. Zhu, before Xingchen Motors only had one sedan, a coupe. It actually has no competition with our Dahongqi."

"But now that Jaguar has been acquired, the situation is completely different."

"When Jaguar's various sedans work together, it is likely to put huge pressure on Dahongqi."

"In England, Jaguar cars have always been used by many princes and nobles as travel cars, and their high-end and elegant image has been deeply rooted in people's hearts."

"In the past, in the Chinese market, their marketing capabilities were not very strong, and not many people knew about Jaguar."

“Brand recognition also needs to be improved.”

"But this time Xingchen Motors acquired Jaguar, the situation is completely different."

"During this period, the number of people in China who know Jaguar cars has increased at least ten times compared to before."

"In the future, combined with Nanshan Group's strong marketing capabilities and technical strength, Jaguar's performance in China will definitely usher in a blowout development."

"In the past, Jaguar could not sell 5000 units a year in China. In the future, it may have to add zero."

Tao Wen felt a little anxious.

Originally, everyone was just enjoying themselves, watching Xingchen Automobile make big news for everyone.

But slowly, they realized that this big news was not a good thing for Spring City Motors.

"I really didn't expect Xingchen Motors to be able to buy the two luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford."

"A one-time payment of US$23 billion in cash is a historical record for acquisitions in the domestic automobile industry, right?"

Zhu Zhengfeng's mood was also a little heavy.

He naturally understood what Tao Wen said.

But there is very little he can do about this matter.

Spring City Automobile Group is still asking Xingchen Automobile to assist in the development of the bulletproof version of Dahongqi.

In this case, what else can they do?

"Yes, even if companies such as Nanjing Automobile and other companies acquired other brands in the past, the movement was definitely not as big as that of Xingchen Motors this time."

"The most important thing is that the popularity and luxury of Land Rover and Jaguar are not comparable to other brands."

"Now that we are joining forces with Xingchen Automobile, it's hard to say what kind of changes it will bring."

"But no matter what it ends up being, it's definitely not a good thing for Dahongqi."

"It's not even a good thing for Audi, which is owned by Spring City Volkswagen."

Tao Wen gave his own judgment with certainty.

After Zhu Zhengfeng was silent for a moment, he said: "Is it possible for Hongqi Car to form a joint venture with Jaguar or Land Rover and localize each other's models in Spring City?"

Naturally, it was impossible for Zhu Zhengfeng not to think of a plan that everyone else had already thought of.

There is no way. In recent years, too many joint venture car companies have appeared.

Almost all of the mainstream international car companies have found partners in China.

There are not many car companies such as Jaguar Land Rover that have certain sales volume but have not yet set up joint ventures in China.

As for car companies such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, they are quite well-known.

However, everyone knows about the joint venture factories and should not take advantage of these companies.

That's basically wasted effort.

"If Jaguar and Land Rover were not acquired by Xingchen Motors, your proposal would still be very feasible."

"But now it is a subsidiary of Xingchen Automobile. Even if we want to set up a factory in China in the future, we will definitely give priority to cooperation with Xingchen Automobile."

"Unless we can offer something that the other party can't refuse, I'm afraid there's little hope."

Tao Wen and Zhu Zhengfeng are relatively familiar.

So I said whatever came to my mind directly.

According to her speculation, Spring City Motors is definitely not the only company in China that is considering a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover.

But even if there is one family, there is probably no hope of success.

<divclass="contentadv">After much thought, she couldn't think of anything other car companies could come up with to attract them.

"If there is no hope of joint ventures with Jaguar and Land Rover, then take out the Hongqi sedan and form a joint venture with Xingchen Motors. Do you think it is possible?"

Zhu Zhengfeng's thinking further diverged.

This idea must have been something no one would dare to bring up casually before.

After all, Hongqi sedan has a very different meaning to Spring City Automobile Group.

But as China's own brand, Xingchen Motors has now made a name for itself in the world.

Therefore, if the target of Hongqi Car's joint venture integration is Xingchen Motors, he feels that the obstacles will be very small.

After all, despite the changes, it is still a Chinese enterprise and does not involve foreign investment.

It will be much easier for everyone to accept emotionally.

The most important thing is that Xingchen Automobile is so impressive that even if others want to gossip, they can't.

"If we simply set up a new joint venture with Xingchen Motors, the other party may not be interested."

"But if all the tangible and intangible assets of Hongqi Cars are taken out and Xingchen Motors forms a joint venture with technology shares, then Mr. Cao may be interested."

"But the other party already has three car brands. Whether they are really willing to establish a joint venture with us may require further communication."

Tao Wen also quickly thought about Zhu Zhengfeng's proposal.

This plan is very novel.

It sounds at least somewhat reliable.

"Except for the car logo, our Dahongqi is our own, and most of the other things are provided by Nanshan Group."

"The current Bulletproof Edition of Dahongqi is in the same situation."

"This matter is not a secret in the industry. There is no point in us hiding it."

"It's better to take this opportunity to cooperate with Xingchen Automobile."

"When the time comes, we can improve the brand power of Hongqi sedan and make this brand with special significance bigger and stronger. Maybe it will be of greater significance."

The more Zhu Zhengfeng talked about it, the more he felt that this plan was very feasible.

He doesn't expect to really turn Hongqi sedan into something like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. As long as the sales volume goes up, that will be enough.

In terms of models, in addition to the Dahongqi, he does not plan to take the high-end route for some other models, but plans to enter the mid-range market.

It is slightly higher level than models such as Chery and Geely, but it is positioned slightly lower than joint venture car companies.

He thinks such a market is worth looking forward to.

"Nanshan Group is currently focusing on luxury cars. If it is just a joint venture with Dahongqi, I guess there will be no interest."

"If it is an all-round cooperation to run Hongqi sedan into a company like Toyota and Honda, I think Mr. Cao would be interested."

"After all, Nanshan Group's parts such as engines and gearboxes also need a more volume platform to sell."

Tao Wen slowly felt that Zhu Zhengfeng's proposal seemed really good.

"We don't need to think about it ourselves. I'll call Mr. Cao directly and bring up this topic and let them discuss it first and see what they think."

"Competition in the domestic automobile market is becoming increasingly fierce, and we must implement this matter as soon as possible."

Zhu Zhengfeng did as he said, picked up his cell phone and called Cao Yang.

Cao Yang, who was in a meeting to discuss how to hand over Jaguar Land Rover and how to market it in the future, suddenly heard Zhu Zhengfeng's proposal and was stunned for a moment.

"Mr. Zhu, are you serious?"

"Do you really plan to spin off all Hongqi cars from Spring City Automobile Group and establish a joint venture with us?"

If we look at the brand power of domestic independent brands, the special brand Hongqi still has some appeal to Cao Yang.

Now that Zhu Zhengfeng suddenly proposed such a cooperation plan, he really didn't expect that the other party would be so charming.

Hongqi sedan.

For many people, this has special meaning.

As long as it is managed well, the charm of this brand alone can bring a considerable boost to sales.

It's just that the people at Spring City Automobile Group have been dissatisfied over the years, and such a good brand has been ruined.

"That's right, if you don't break it, you won't build it!"

"Instead of hanging there like this, it's better to cooperate with you directly and use the profound heritage of Hongqi Cars and the technology and marketing of Xingchen Motors to make Hongqi Cars bigger and stronger."

"For example, Dahongqi and Xingchen cars are not very suitable for official vehicles."

"But other models of Hongqi sedan are different."

"I hope to turn Hongqi into China's Volkswagen and China's Toyota."

"By then, various models ranging from 10 to 30 yuan will be launched, and the official car market alone will allow Hongqi sedans to continue to develop steadily."

When Zhu Zhengfeng said this, Cao Yang really became interested.

Until now, Nanshan Group really lacks a mid-to-low-end brand.

But if you do it yourself, it will be equivalent to grabbing the market from customers such as Chery, Geely, and Great Wall, which will have a huge impact.

So even if there were some internal voices, they were suppressed by Cao Yang.

But working with Hongqi Car is different.

Nanshan Group will provide technical and marketing plans, and Hongqi Car will provide various existing assets and the special influence of Spring City Automobile to cooperate.

The prospects of this joint venture seem to be worth looking forward to.

"Mr. Zhu, your proposal is very constructive."

"But this matter is a bit big, and we still need to discuss it within our company."

Although Cao Yang was a little moved, he did not directly agree.

Zhu Zhengfeng contacted him so actively, which showed that this cooperation was beneficial to them.

But whether it was a good thing for Nanshan Group, Cao Yang felt it was necessary to discuss it with the executives within the company.

Fortunately, Zhu Zhengfeng did not expect Cao Yang to agree immediately.

It is normal for such an important cooperation to take several months or even one or two years to negotiate.

So the two of them hung up the phone after briefly chatting for a while.

"Mr. Cao, Spring City Motor wants to set up a joint venture with us with its Hongqi sedan?"

Zeng Tingting next to her had just listened to the conversation between Cao Yang and Zhu Zhengfeng.

So as soon as Cao Yang hung up the phone, she couldn't help but ask.

There is no way, this matter will definitely have a greater impact on the sales department.

She had to find out in advance to see what she would do next.

"Yes, Mr. Zhu's proposal is simply groundbreaking."

"The Hongqi sedan definitely has a very special meaning to Spring City Automobile Group."

"Now they are actually willing to use the entire company to establish a joint venture with us."

"Although Spring City Automobile Group will definitely take the majority share in terms of shares, this move is considered very courageous for Mr. Zhu."

"It seems that our acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover this time has brought a lot of excitement to everyone."

Although the chat between Zhu Zhengfeng and Cao Yang today did not involve much about Jaguar and Land Rover.

But Cao Yang felt that Zhu Zhengfeng's sudden suggestion must be related to what happened during this period.

"Mr. Cao, if they really use all the resources of Hongqi Car, I think we can consider cooperation."

"Anyway, we now sell engines, gearboxes, and various parts. In fact, we are already cooperating with others."

"In the future, the most we can do is further expand cooperation in model design and marketing."

"Even if we can really build Hongqi sedan into the largest sales car company in China, it will be of great significance to our group."

Zeng Tingting is obviously supportive of this cooperation.

In her opinion, Nanshan Group does not need to produce much, but the potential benefits are huge.

"Mr. Cao, Spring City Automobile Group's level is quite high, and the Hongqi sedan is very special."

"If we, a private enterprise, enter into a joint venture with them, our voice in the joint venture in the future may not be very high."

"If we don't have much say and continue to leave the joint venture to the people from Spring City Automobile, it is very likely that our brand will be ruined in the end."

Pan Jinxing's view is a little different from Zeng Tingting's.

He has worked in the "Arhat" of the machine tool industry for many years, and he has a relatively good understanding of the working methods of an enterprise like Spring City Automobile.

In his opinion, people from Spring City Motors and people from Nanshan Group often have completely different ideas for doing things.

For example, if Volkswagen and Toyota cooperate with Spring City Motors, they may be able to use their status as foreign investors to suppress each other, so that everyone can barely achieve equal treatment.

But if Nanshan Group cooperates with the other party, the situation will be completely different.

Even though the Nanshan Group is already much stronger than Spring City Motors, the mentality of many people is probably still high.

Some people may even choose to give in when confronting people from Volkswagen or Toyota, but when in conflict with the Nanshan Group, they may behave very strongly.

Pan Jinxing feels that these impacts must be considered.

"Mr. Pan's concerns are not unreasonable, unless the relevant things are fully agreed upon in the joint venture contract."

"Otherwise, the management of the joint venture will be a big problem by then."

Ji Hua graduated from a university and has cooperated with many state-owned enterprises on projects before. He also has a deep understanding of what Pan Jinxing said.

"The concerns of Mr. Pan and Mr. Ji are quite reasonable, but if we can make it clear that the management rights of the joint venture are entrusted to us, we should be able to avoid many problems."

Rao Yongxiang also tends to support cooperation with Spring City Automobile Group.

That way their research institute would have a lot more room to play.

In the future, many of the fastest cars in China will be designed and produced by Nanshan Group. This scene is still very attractive to car designers.

"This question may not necessarily have an answer today."

"Everyone will think carefully about the pros and cons of cooperation and see how to talk to each other."

Cao Yang did not directly express his attitude.

Anyway, there is no need to reply to Zhu Zhengfeng today.

Let’s discuss it carefully first.

If you agree too quickly, you may not be able to cherish it, and the conditions may not be easy to negotiate.

Moreover, he still has many important things to do next.