The Industrial Giant Reborn

On February 1, a week before the Spring Festival, AMC's vice president Gu Dehua came to Hong Kong.

"Chen Sheng, the mainland contacted me through a friend of mine more than a month ago, and I also had several conversations with their people. At present, they are very interested in introducing AMC models." Came to Xinghe Building After Chen Zhiwen's office, Gu Dehua reported.

"That's good. Let's continue the discussion. Your professional team will be responsible for technology, cost, patents, and quality to maximize the benefits. But you don't need to go too extreme. At least you must ensure that there will be no problems in the mainland. Losses, especially losses in foreign exchange." Chen Zhiwen said after listening.

In fact, this is not a surprise. It is expected. At present, China has a strong intention to cooperate with overseas industrial giants. It is true that the current domestic industrial level is too far behind that of foreign countries. It is too difficult to catch up. Even if the mainland government pays, It can also only participate in some of the most basic heavy industry infrastructure projects, such as steel, basic chemicals, petroleum refining, fertilizers, etc., and there are thousands of other projects, so we can only rely on the market.

Automobiles are not only the crown of industry, but also drive the development of hundreds of thousands of industries and create jobs for countless people. At the same time, because of domestic demand, if cars can be built in the country, it will save a lot of foreign exchange. If they can be exported , then more profitable.

It’s just that the current auto giants, except Volkswagen, disdain the mainland market. This gives AMC a chance. Although AMC is not as good as those giant companies, it has survived in the US market for decades. And the quality has also been recognized by the American market.

In shopping mall negotiations, the profits and benefits that should be strived for are naturally to be strived for. However, the best way to cooperate is always a win-win situation. Only when both parties can make long-term profits can the basis of long-term cooperation be established. In this way, everyone's benefits will be higher. On this basis, try to get more benefits for yourself.

The auto giants in the 1980s, except for Volkswagen, were too greedy. Relying on their own technology, they wanted to earn all the domestic foreign exchange. In the end, none of them were negotiated. The success of Volkswagen later proved that as long as you take care of your partners , then huge profits can be obtained.

Of course, the current internal struggle among VW is also fierce, and whether to cooperate with China or not is also vacillating from left to right.

"Okay, that's no problem. In fact, AMC has excess production capacity. If we cooperate with China, some old production lines can also be sent to China for production, and we can gain access to the mainland market." Gu Dehua said.

"Then you have negotiated, have you planned to introduce any models?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

Gu Dehua replied: "The mainland team wants to introduce the Jeep CJ series, which is our current main model. This car has a good off-road capability and is the favorite of many off-roaders. I probably know the road conditions in China. Some are quite suitable.

But they have one condition. Yanjing Automobile Factory also has a jeep called BJ212. They hope that we can provide technical assistance to improve the technology of this car, but this will usher in a problem. If we use it With the improvement of the technology, the CJ series may not be easy to sell in China. "

"Then can they be merged as a whole and put this BJ212 in the joint venture company?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"It's also been discussed, but they haven't responded yet." Gu Dehua said.

"Well, I will go to Yanjing next year. I will go to the relevant departments of Yanjing City to discuss these matters involving large investments." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

He doesn't know much about technology, but he is still in charge of investment matters. Tens of millions of dollars are nothing to him, but to AMC, it is a lot of money.

"There is one more thing. The mainland team proposed to cooperate with our R\u0026D department to develop new models in China. AMC's internal opposition to this matter is quite strong. Boss, what do you think?" Gu Dehua asked again.

From the perspective of my company, this matter must not be allowed, but my boss's attitude is hard to say.

"If we develop together, will the patents of the developed models belong to the joint venture company?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"Yes, it's this logic, so the Yankees at AMC disagree." Gu Dehua said.

"It's right to disagree. The current domestic research and development capabilities are basically non-existent. In fact, this cooperation must be mainly due to our contribution. Patent sharing is too bad, and according to the joint venture method in the mainland, they still hold the majority of shares." Chen Zhiwen nodded. Said: "Cooperation still needs to cooperate, not to change the way, let me think about it."

The introduction of foreign-funded car companies in China, in addition to increasing domestic industrial capabilities, naturally wants to obtain various technologies and R\u0026D capabilities, etc. This is a normal situation, and it is normal from the perspective of any country that wants to develop industries.

There are also a lot of talents in the mainland, many of which are lacking in the world. It is no problem to help the country increase its research and development capabilities. Dominance, that is definitely not possible.

Unless one day, the country has enough capacity and has to rely on it, then such cooperation can be discussed.

"There are still some other disputes, but the issues are not very big. It will take some time to settle them. I will record them all in this book. Boss, you can read them if you have time." After Gu Dehua finished speaking, he handed over a copy notebook.

"Okay, I'll take care of you for the hard work, and I need to take this matter more seriously." Chen Zhiwen took the notebook and roughly flipped through it. It was indeed some minor problems, not much money involved, or some technical cooperation issues. , but as professional managers, they need to deal with these things because they need to get the maximum benefit for their company. The boss, Chen Zhiwen, only needs to know about these things and know the final result.

What's more, it's just a cooperation intention at the moment, and a lot of real conflicts will probably appear after the two sides decide to cooperate. You know, Volkswagen has been talking with the mainland for nearly 6 years. Even if the boss Chen Zhiwen pushes it, many problems still need to be resolved Talk about it before the cooperation, otherwise, there will be problems after the cooperation, and there will be endless troubles.

"This is what I should do." Gu Dehua nodded and said.

"Have you bought the technology you want from Chrysler?" Chen Zhiwen closed his notebook and asked again. The affairs in the mainland are very important, but Gu Dehua's visit to Hong Kong this time is not just to report on the cooperation in the mainland. He needs to know something about the surrounding situation.

He has known AMC's car sales and financial data every quarter for a long time, and some internal affairs will also be reported by fax. However, before the Internet mailbox technology appeared, the efficiency of these things was very low. Therefore, it is best to have someone to report specifically.

"We applied to Chrysler for the purchase of 5,000 different patents, and they only agreed to 2,800, most of which were ordinary patents, and a few were useful and could help us, especially the chassis," Gu Dehua said.

"That's okay. If it involves the engine and gearbox, even if they sell it, it is unlikely to be very important. This is normal. If Chrysler's funds are not tight now, it is estimated that they will not be able to buy 50 patents." Chen Zhiwen said with a light smile.

"That's true. If we want to develop, we still rely on ourselves." Gu Dehua said: "We have interviewed many teams in Europe involved in turbocharging technology, and some of them have agreed to work in the United States and join AMC. In a few months, we can officially start research and development."

"Okay, in terms of technology, you can guarantee that I will come to the market." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, "When you have almost negotiated with Chrysler, I will take over Chrysler's 330 car dealerships, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. , I have already started to deploy in Malaysia, but it will take at least a few years for this area to be effective.”

"It's a surprise to be able to open up overseas markets. We have actually started cooperation with Costco. 73 Costco stores have our cars on the doorstep. Just last month, we also sold them through this channel. More than 2,000 vehicles, the data is quite surprising." Gu Dehua said with a smile, AMC's monthly sales volume is about 30,000 to 50,000, an increase of 5-8%, which is already a very amazing increase, but this is still not enough for Costco If there are more and no publicity, if we get 330 sales stores and some overseas markets in the future, AMC's sales will increase on a large scale.

As for cars, it is actually a matter of fighting for sales. The higher the sales, the more cost-effective it can be, and then the price can be reduced to promote, and a larger market can be obtained. The stronger the stronger, this is the principle of this market.

"I'll tell you another piece of good news. Costco will have a large-scale expansion plan in the next few years, and it is possible to double the number of stores." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. It’s really delicious to master the terminal sales channels and then use them to promote your own products. In fact, this logic is a bit like the Internet. Supermarkets are actually traffic. Unfortunately, Costco’s business model is membership-based. The driving effect will be even more amazing.

"That couldn't be better." Gu Dehua said with a smile. When the boss of his company has a lot of resources in other areas and there is no shortage of funds, the life of professional managers like them is very comfortable, but the disadvantage is that I can't show my ability.

"That's it for now, Lao Gu, you can spend a few days in Hong Kong and stay at the Hilton Hotel. That's my hotel. When you go back before the Chinese New Year, you can book your ticket first." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"Okay, thank you boss." Gu Dehua said politely.