The Industrial Giant Reborn

After inspecting the workshop with a group of current AMC executives, they returned to the office building. In the conference room, a board secretary gave a detailed introduction to the situation of the entire AMC company, including various technical reserves and model status. and some upcoming models.

After listening to the introduction for more than an hour, Jim Hughes asked with a smile: "Eric, what other requirements do you have for the current AMC company?"

"I won't provide many professional opinions, but in the future AMC car research and development direction, we must focus on the word fuel-efficient. This is my prediction. The future development of the global auto industry is not only due to high oil prices Pressure will also become the core of the entire auto industry in the future." Chen Zhiwen said after a pause.

After the second oil crisis, the price of oil will drop rapidly. Although it is not as good as it was before 1973, it is much cheaper than in recent years. In the mid-1980s, the price of oil was generally below $20. Around 1986, the Middle East In order to cooperate with the United States, it even took the initiative to cut prices on a large scale, detonating the global oil market.

The AMC acquired now, even if it does nothing, will be able to live comfortably for more than ten years in a few years. Only in the year when the third oil crisis broke out, the oil price may rise a lot, but at that time , Many countries also have strategic oil reserves. In addition, the third oil crisis was very short, and the Gulf War was basically over after the end of the Gulf War, and the impact was far worse than the previous two.

And this cool decade is actually the last chance for the American auto industry, because after that, car brands with high fuel consumption basically have no chance anymore.

In particular, the U.S. market is already seriously saturated, and AMC needs to develop overseas markets. In the current overseas markets, except for the Middle East, most other regions are very concerned about fuel consumption, because oil is more important than gold. Yes, even the importance is no less than food.

As for the issue of environmental protection, the main reason is that Western countries will become more and more strict on this aspect in the future. Although the main purpose of these people is to use this moral righteousness to oppress the development of developing countries, this is indeed the trend of future development Although the amount of pollution emitted by automobiles is far less than that of power generation industry, heavy industry or chemical industry, automobiles live in the center of the city and are in contact with human beings every day. Any country will hope that its cities can reduce exhaust gas. After all, there are Special water and food, but no special air.

Of course, the most important thing is the mainland market. In the future of the severe oil shortage in the mainland, fuel economy can be said to be the most important. Japanese cars are not as good as German and American cars in many aspects, but they sell well. The core reason is "fuel economy." , After 2020, electric vehicles are also selling very well. Although some are affected by intelligence, for ordinary people, the most fundamental reason is fuel economy.

Fuel economy is king, at least one of them.

"Fuel saving is now the goal pursued by all car companies in Detroit. AMC has been pursuing this goal for decades, but now the most troublesome enemy is Japanese cars. The gap between us is too big, and many The patents are all registered by Japanese car companies, so it is difficult to get around." Jim Hughes said with a frown.

"The difficulty of the engine and gearbox is too great. With our company's ability, we can do it with proper optimization, but it will take a long time to achieve the same level as Japanese companies, and Japanese brands are constantly optimizing their own. Technology." Another chief technology officer said.

"I know this, so we have to change the direction of research and development. I hope that the future AMC will mainly develop turbocharging technology." Chen Zhiwen said.

In fact, in the United States, AMC is the main route to save fuel, and it has been developed for decades.

A long time ago, the Big Three in the United States firmly controlled 80 to 90% of the U.S. auto market. Other brands survived in the cracks and chose small categories, so as to avoid direct competition with the Big Three.

The direction AMC chooses is the fuel-efficient type for household use. The space is not large, and the car is mainly used for grocery shopping. Many people who live in the city center and have inconvenient parking will buy this type of car, or some families already have a large car. I bought another car as a spare, especially for some female members who are not tall and it is not convenient to drive a large SUV. At this time, it is very nice to have a small car.

Relying on this positioning, AMC has been living well, reaching the fourth place in the country, but Jeep is another matter, it was acquired by AMC in the late 1960s.

Originally, with this market positioning, once the oil price soars, AMC's small and medium-sized cars should be very popular, but Japanese cars have entered the United States on a large scale. AMC's cars may be more fuel-efficient than the Big Three, but they are more technologically advanced and experienced than those of the Big Three. , Japanese cars with lower manufacturing costs were also beaten to pieces. In addition, the acquisition of Jeep was actually AMC’s intention to enter the field of the Big Three, and also wanted to get a share of the large car market, and then encountered the oil crisis. Jeep has also incurred losses for several years, and the ones that lost money almost went bankrupt.

Japanese automobiles, the automobile brands of the entire country, have studied fuel-saving technologies for decades, and the patent barriers and technical barriers are already very high. It is almost impossible to catch up with others on this road. If you can’t do this, then It can only be bypassed, and turbocharging is one of the ways.

The car layout of later generations, before the rise of electric cars, basically consisted of Japanese mild hybrids and German and American turbochargers.

Turbocharging technology appeared in 1905, but it has only been used in automobiles for more than ten years, and it is only used by a small number of automobiles, and many technologies are not yet mature. In this case, everyone's starting line The difference is not very far, and there is still a chance with a high probability.

"Turbo charging? You mean the turbo charging technology on Porsche and Saab?" Jim Hughes asked after thinking for a while.

"Yes, that's the one. Find a way to obtain the most basic underlying technology patents from Europe, and then the company will set up a dedicated technical team to overcome this direction. Although I don't know much about technology, I know its principle. In theory Said, if the turbo is installed, the power will be stronger and the fuel consumption will be reduced, this is the effect I want." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

"I also know that this technology is not very mature yet. If it is to be developed, it will require a lot of funds." Jim Hughes said.

"Don't worry about the funds. I will inject an additional 300 million US dollars for research and development. In addition to the replacement of existing models, the rest will mainly be the development of turbo technology." Chen Zhiwen said.

The automotive industry is very different from other industries. For example, its market value is not high. AMC has a total market value of about 160 million US dollars in the current bad automotive market. Chen Zhiwen spent an extra 56 million on the acquisition, and the total cost $216 million.

But the research and development of a car model requires hundreds of millions of dollars or even more, and the research and development of some important components also start at tens of millions of dollars. It may also be unstoppable.

Therefore, it is not difficult to acquire a car company, but the subsequent investment is the most important. If the car industry itself cannot enter a normal virtuous circle, the speed of burning money will be absolutely jaw-dropping.

Fortunately, AMC currently has no new models to develop. Of course, the previous AMC could not afford to develop them. Without the financial resources, it just optimizes existing models every 5 years, and the money spent is not too much.

As for the three major parts, the gearbox is completely outsourced, and the engine is assembled by itself, but many core components are also outsourced, and the chassis is good. There are some independent production research and development and patents, and some experience in tuning the chassis. After all, among the three major pieces, the chassis is the least difficult.

For a medium-sized automobile company, such a situation is common, because those who are capable of making the three major components are all giant companies, which can be regarded as saving Chen Zhiwen a lot of money. At present, he only needs to spend money to conquer the turbo engine first. Supercharging technology should be expanded first in this field, not to mention being able to become the world's top level, but at least it has some right to speak. After all, there are still not many global car companies developing this technology.

"300 million US dollars?" Everyone's eyes almost turned green when they heard this figure. This amount of money is for the auto giant. Maybe only half a new car can be developed, but for AMC, there is too much research and development that can be done.

"If I have this amount of funds, then I will definitely match the strongest team to develop this technology." Jim Hughes nodded and said, he was not very surprised, because he already knew the financial resources of the new boss, and He also had many exchanges with Gu Dehua, the assistant of the new boss, and knew that the other party would make a large-scale capital injection after taking over.

"Several car companies in Europe are already developing this technology, but they don't necessarily pay much attention to it. Try to recruit teams from there, buy technology patents as much as you can, or recruit talents in this field in the United States." Chen Zhiwen continued. .

"This is not a problem. It's just that the entire U.S. auto market is currently in a downturn. Whether it's the Middle East market or this new technology, it's a relatively distant thing. Therefore, I hope to get a sum of money to carry out research on AMC's cars. It's a big promotion, and the price is reduced appropriately to increase sales." Jim Hughes said.

"Yes, but we need to wait." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said: "There is one more thing, you may not know, I have an agreement with Chrysler CEO Li Iacocca, I will acquire the 330 auto retail stores in Chrysler's hands, The locations of these auto retail stores are very good, and they will also become the main retail points of AMC in the future, and promotions will be carried out in these stores, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone."

"330 retail stores? Boss, you want to make these stores our specialty stores?" Jim Hughes' eyes lit up.

Although there are more than 10,000 auto retail stores in the United States, most of them serve the three major auto giants. Now that Japanese cars are selling well, these stores will also actively sell Japanese cars, while other brands are too difficult. Ignore them, or even if they are introduced, they will not be placed in a good position, nor will they be used as the main force to promote.

It's like all the snacks are sold in a large supermarket chain. Although they are in, but they are not placed in a good place, how many people will buy them?

In order to get more rewards for the terminal channels, these companies have to offer more favorable conditions, such as higher rebates, etc., but their cost itself is not as good as the big-brand cars with higher sales, and they still need to pay for these, The competitiveness is even lower.

Of course, the best is the specialty store. There are only products of this car brand in the specialty store. When customers come, if they like it, they are all their own. However, there are not many such stores in the United States. It is a luxury brand or a giant company.

"This is not good. AMC's current car classification is not enough. However, I will let these sales stores vigorously promote AMC's cars. In this way, it will increase sales more or less. In addition, if you want to advertise, you can also It's not a problem, I can increase the marketing budget." Chen Zhiwen said.

"That's pretty good. In this way, at least the whole company won't have to take vacations too often." Jim Hughes said with a smile.

"One more thing, Costco, you should know about it?" Chen Zhiwen said again.

"Yes, it's also the property of the boss. There's one in Detroit. We go there often, and it's a great deal." Jim Hughes looked at the people around him, said with a smile, and they nodded.

"Costco has a lot of traffic. I will let all Costcos in the United States leave a place at the door to store AMC models, and then you will arrange talking sales in the past. The purpose does not need me Having said that, whether you can sell it depends on your ability." Chen Zhiwen continued.

Although the traffic of Costco is not as good as that of Wal-Mart, its personnel are relatively concentrated, and they are all middle-class people with certain spending power. Among these people, there will definitely be some who intend to change their cars. It is their own business, and naturally they will not be cheap to outsiders. up.

"This is a very good idea." Everyone in the meeting room was shocked. Supermarkets are one of the places with the largest traffic. Costco is now one of the largest supermarkets in the United States, and there is still a lot of potential for development. Big, put your own car at the gate of Costco, the effect is estimated to be stronger than 330 specialty stores.

In fact, this kind of method is not without. Many brands will also send cars to supermarkets for advertising, but the time is not long. After all, the main business of supermarkets is not this, and they need to charge a lot of fees. It is impossible for car companies to lease cars for a long time. The location of the supermarket.

But now, AMC and Costco are the same company, so it naturally has an advantage. After all, for Costco, it’s just a few cars on the open space at the door, but for AMC, it’s almost nothing. Millions or even tens of millions of member users in the future may become its customers.

"First ensure the basic operation. At the capital level, I will find a way to increase the control ability of the terminal. Because of the anti-monopoly law in the United States, I can't invest too much. But overseas, I will plan. If there is a certain amount of sales in exports, Then AMC can also be brought back to life." Chen Zhiwen said.

In the Middle East and Southeast Asia, his influence is not too great at present, but as long as he continues to develop, he will always be able to enter here, especially the existence of Taishan Club. If he attracts the rich and powerful in Southeast Asia, it will have a great impact on his layout in Southeast Asia. big meaning.

"Okay, as long as there is a market, our quality will never be worse than GM." Jim Hughes said with a smile.