Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

March 12, 2006.

When the domestic Internet market was full of turmoil due to the rise of Weibo, and several portal websites began to launch their own Weibo one after another, Cao Yang flew to the United States with Ji Hua, Zeng Tingting, Mi Ying and others.

This business trip is not just for a few days.

Ziweixing will also be launched in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

Cao Yang, the general manager who also serves as the design director, must have a look.

After such a big circle, the business trip plan was directly scheduled for a month later.

"Chris, long time no see."

Cao Yang first came to Ford Motor to find purchasing director Chris.

Although Ford's situation is stronger than that of General Motors, it also lost hundreds of millions of dollars.

It stands to reason that Changan Ford is still making money, and its financial business is also very good.

In this case, the entire company is losing money. It can only be said that the American market is not strong.

"Cao, you bring me good luck every time I see you. Is there any good news this time?"

Chris was a little haggard.

Ford at this time is slightly better than in history, which is the additional influence brought by Nanshan Group.

But it's just a little bit better, and the one who should lose is still losing.

As the procurement director, Chris is obviously under a lot of pressure.

"I heard that Toyota, Honda and Nissan have performed exceptionally well in the American market, and have achieved positive sales growth for several consecutive years."

"They can have such a growth rate, and the engine is more fuel-efficient is one of the big reasons."

"However, the performance of the 1.5T turbocharged engine produced by Nanshan Engine is more fuel-efficient than their products of the same level."

"Chris, if Ford considers using the combination of Nanshan's 1.5T engine + 6AT directly for some models, it may be a pleasant surprise."

"For example, Mondeo, with this combination, the fuel consumption will definitely not be worse than Accord and Camry."

Ford has its own engine factory, so naturally it will not easily use Nanshan engine products.

Cao Yang also has a very clear understanding of this.

However, after falling into desperation, who knows if people will make any different choices?

If Nanshan Engine can really supply Ford Motor, the significance will be extraordinary.

This is also of great benefit to promoting Nanshan Engine's further expansion of the domestic market in China.

"The 2.0L engine and 2.5L V6 engine used by Mondeo are also very classic, but many consumers don't know the goods."

Hitting people is not slapping the face, Cao Yang directly said that Ford's engine is not good, Chris's face must be ugly.

"Ford's advantages in large-displacement engines are certainly not comparable to those of Dongying Motors."

"However, in terms of mid-size cars and economical cars with the largest sales volume at present, Dongying's 1.5L, 2.0L, 2.4L and even 3.0L and 3.5L engines have better fuel consumption performance than local American companies."

"This is also an important reason why American consumers choose them."

"Chris, why don't you consider choosing the Mondeo as a pilot model, and see how the market reacts when it is equipped with Nanshan engine 1.5T and 2.0T engines?"

"I'm not bragging. The performance parameters of our 1.5T engine surpass your 2.0L engine, and it's not even much different from your 2.5L engine."

"The performance of the 2.0T engine is far from comparable to your 2.5L naturally aspirated engine."

"American consumers like powerful models, but they care about fuel consumption."

"The combination provided by our Nanshan Group can perfectly meet the market demand."

"And this platform is being mass-produced. You only need to make some simple adjustments to the corresponding mounting bracket lamp parts on Mondeo, and you can directly mass-produce it."

"Your company can definitely launch a facelifted Mondeo with a new power version in the second half of this year."

The more Cao Yang said, the more excited he became, as if the Mondeo would sell well after using Nanshan's engine.

This made Chris start to feel excited too.

Of course, it is definitely not up to him, a purchasing director, to replace the engine.

But as an unconventional cost reduction plan, it can obviously be thrown out in the company.

"Cao, can your 1.5T and 2.0T engines be 20% cheaper than our 2.0L and 2.5L engines?"

"If possible, I will formally propose this plan within the company tomorrow."

Chris looked at Cao Yang with flickering eyes, eager to know the answer immediately.

"It depends on how much your engine costs."

"I can't guarantee 20%, but there is definitely a 10% advantage."

"In fact, if your company can purchase more engine parts from Nanshan Auto Parts, then even if the engine is not replaced, the cost can be reduced by at least 5%."

For Ford Motor, the biggest pressure now is high cost and poor sales.

As the procurement director, it is most meaningful to talk to Chris about the cost.

For a long time, the key products exported by Nanshan Group to Ford Motor have been gearboxes and parts such as bearings, gears and bolts used in gearboxes.

Except for the nut plate and bearings, there are very few other parts.

It's not that Nanshan Group's other parts are not competitive, but that Ford Motor doesn't want Nanshan Group's purchase share to be so high.

However, Ford is now in the red.

Some things can be changed naturally.

What's wrong with buying more parts from Nanshan Group?

As long as the price has an advantage, no one can say anything.

The parts provided by those suppliers in the United States are really too expensive.

Chris is also very clear about this.

"Our 2.0L engine, if it does not include engine accessories such as starter, generator, air-conditioning compressor, etc., if it is just a bare machine, it will cost about 3,000 US dollars."

"If other engine accessories are included, the cost of the entire engine system will be more than 4,000 US dollars."

"Cao, this is the secret of our Ford Motor Company, you must not disclose it to the outside world."

"If the bare metal 1.5T engine provided by your group can cost US$2,400, then I have 70% confidence in convincing the company to launch a 1.5T version on the Mondeo model."

"If you can do it for $2,100, then 90% of me will do it."

Chris really didn't know about the situation of Nanshan Engine before.

Ford's engines have always been relatively good, especially in various large-displacement engines.

So it was never considered to purchase the engine from outside before.

It's just that things have changed now.

"Chris, frankly speaking, for Nanshan Engine, the most important thing is the opportunity to supply Ford Motor, and making money is not the most important thing."

"So as long as the annual supply of 1.5T engines reaches 100,000 units, I can now agree to a price of $2,400."

"If Ford buys more than 200,000 1.5T engines, then I will directly adjust the price to $2,100."

Cao Yang quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

The price Chris said was higher than what Nanshan Engine sold to domestic OEMs.

Even if it is 2,100 US dollars, it is actually higher than that in China.

Although various effects such as import and export tariffs, freight, and insurance must be taken into account, it is also profitable to calculate.

Even this profit is not low.

So without any hesitation, he agreed.

Of course, in order to show his attitude of working hard and expressing his pressure, he proposed a sales threshold.

Chris didn't bother about it.

A lean camel is bigger than a horse.

Ford also sold almost 7 million vehicles last year.

There is no pressure at all to free up the share of 200,000 vehicles.

Anyway, inside Ford, models with the same platform as Mondeo can easily replace the engine.

"Cao, I heard that Nanshan Group has established a car company and launched a coupe, which has attracted some attention."

"I heard earlier that you want to use some of Ford's dealership channels to sell this model."

"If I can make this project a success for you, then can your 1.5T engine be the same as the 6AT, and cooperate deeply with our Ford Motor?"

Chris has a big appetite.

At once, the cooperation has been promoted to the transfer of engine technology.

Cao Yang hadn't considered this before.

So he didn't answer right away, but quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

After Ford Motor has the 1.5T engine technology, it will definitely not be sold to the outside world. He is still confident in this point.

That is to say, authorizing Ford to use the 1.5T or even 2.0T technology of Nanshan engine will not have a big impact on Nanshan's domestic engine sales.

In the international market, except for Ford Motor, which has a very close cooperation and a relationship of trust between the two parties, other manufacturers will most likely not have such a close cooperation with Nanshan Engine.

Not even General Motors.

In this case, if it is possible to sell a certain number of complete engines and a large number of engine parts every year like the 6AT, it seems that it is not impossible?

Anyway, as long as it can make money and improve the reputation of Nanshan Group, this matter can be done.

"Chris, for this cooperation, I actually have another plan to communicate with you."

Cao Yang did not directly answer Chris' question.

Hang him first, maybe there will be better conditions at that time.

Besides, I still have cards to play.

How could the negotiations end like this?

"What plan?"

Chris looked at Cao Yang curiously.

"Ford's current predicament is largely due to the impact of Dongying's rapid development in the United States."

"The market is relatively fixed. The more cakes are cut away by others, the less will be left for Ford."

"Including GM's plight, partly because of that."

"So if we can find some way to suppress the brand image of Dongying Motors in the United States, then to a certain extent, it can affect the sales of the other party."

When Cao Yang said this, Chris immediately became interested.

Cao Yang took the initiative to provide some information and suggestions to Ford Motor behind the "brake door" and "anti-monopoly investigation" of Toyota Motor.

Now this scene, he felt a little familiar.

"Cao, have you seized the handle of Dongying Automobile Company again?"

"Tell me, which car company is the problem?"

Chris said impatiently.

"Chris, the news I got may not be 100% accurate, but it's certainly not groundless."

"How to use it depends on the means of Ford Motor."

Before officially throwing out his trump card, Cao Yang cleared himself of all responsibilities.

Anyway, for this kind of thing, he hides behind his back and comes up with ideas.

The matter of charging into battle is left to Ford Motors.

"You talk about it first, and then I will judge how to deal with this matter."

"We've worked together with General Motors and DaimlerChrysler before, and if a similar approach is appropriate this time around, it should be fine."

Although Chris is only the person in charge of the purchasing center, he is very familiar with the sales director.

In dealing with Dongying Automobile Enterprises, everyone has the same goal.

"According to the information I have inquired, many parts companies in Dongying have data falsification or parts defects."

"For example, some aluminum and copper parts of Kobe Steel have tampered with quality data in order to pass relevant verifications."

"Dawn of making brake discs also has some data falsification problems."

"For the Mitsubishi cars on the market, you can buy a few and go back to test the fuel consumption. Maybe there are fakes."

"In addition, I heard that there have been cases in the American market where Toyota or Honda models equipped with Takata airbags have caused the death of the driver in a car accident. I think the reasons for this can be properly investigated."

"Takata is the largest airbag parts company in Japan, and many car companies around the world are using it."

"If they can grasp their problems, it should still have a certain impact on the reputation of Dongying Automobile."

"In addition, I heard that some models of Toyota have certain situations where the fuel tank cannot supply fuel and cause the engine to stall. I think you can also arrange professional technicians to investigate."

"At that time, we can coordinate some media or judicial organs to participate, which is enough for Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other Japanese companies to drink a pot."

Accompanied by Cao Yang's words, Chris felt a little cold in his heart.

In the future, I should not easily offend the Nanshan Group. No one knows whether the other party has a whip from me or Ford.

If he is dealt with by the same means at that time, he probably will become a scapegoat.

"Cao, don't worry!"

"I will immediately coordinate resources within the company to advance these clues."

"However, none of these estimates can fundamentally change the market share of Japanese companies. It is fundamental that Ford needs to improve its competitiveness."

"Do you think we can talk about the engine technology transfer I just mentioned?"

Chris is still awake.

All kinds of conspiracies and tricks can be used, but in the end you have to be strong yourself.