Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

When the domestic auto parts industry was in an uproar due to the failure of electric fuel pumps, which led to several car companies recalling problematic vehicles in large quantities, Cao Yang and Dai Hanbiao flew to Las Vegas, United States, to participate in Auto Parts Show this year.

Compared with auto shows, parts shows receive very little attention from ordinary consumers.

However, the Las Vegas Auto Parts Show is actually the world's largest professional parts exhibition and has a very different influence in the auto parts industry.

As the most effective trade exhibition in the auto parts industry in North America, it can reach many powerful buyers in the global auto parts industry; it is the fastest and most convenient way to enter the world's largest auto parts and after-sales service market. way.

"Mr. Cao, the North American market is the world's largest demand market for auto parts. The market capacity of auto parts products in the United States alone is US$60 billion, and more than half of it relies on imports."

"According to statistics, the annual sales of the American market account for one-sixth of the global market."

"The United States is a major importer of auto parts, and auto parts in the after-sales market are mainly imported."

"With China's accession to the WTO, domestic automobile and motorcycle parts companies are focusing more and more on the development of foreign markets while strengthening domestic market development."

"In the American market, where the auto parts industry is among the world's leading, professional buyers are increasingly paying attention to China's affordable and high-quality auto parts products."

"In recent years, in addition to our Nanshan Auto Parts, many domestic companies are also actively participating in the Las Vegas Auto Parts Exhibition."

Zeng Tingting sat next to Cao Yang and introduced him to the exhibition.

Dai Hanbiao made some additional explanations from time to time.

"Traditional automobile companies have their own relatively mature supply chains."

"For example, General Motors, Ford Motor and DaimlerChrysler, their supply chains should be relatively complete."

"Even if you go to a parts show, it's more about understanding the situation in the industry. You may not necessarily have any real purchase demand, right?"

"Even if they understand the industry situation, they don't need to go to the parts show. Each supplier will use all its skills to find the contact information of each other's purchasing personnel and visit them, right?"

Although Cao Yang is considered a professional in the automobile industry, he actually does not attach much importance to auto parts exhibitions.

This can be regarded as a kind of thinking inertia.

After all, among domestic OEMs, few manufacturers find new suppliers by attending parts exhibitions, right?

There are so many suppliers on the initiative, so who needs to find potential suppliers by yourself?

This should be the reason why domestic auto parts exhibitions have not been launched.

Even if there is, it will mainly be done in conjunction with the Shanghai Auto Show, the Imperial Auto Show and the Yangcheng Auto Show.

But in the American market, the situation is obviously different.

"Mr. Cao, it is indeed the same as what you said in China, but in the United States, the situation is a little different."

"Because labor costs are relatively high, many times in the United States, after a car breaks down, they have to repair it themselves."

"Even if you go to a car repair shop to repair your car, there is a high probability that the other party will not use original parts."

"Given the huge car ownership in the United States, the market for this kind of aftermarket parts is huge."

"In many cases, this market has nothing to do with original equipment suppliers, at least it is not restricted by original equipment suppliers."

"Many parts companies from all over the world come to the Las Vegas Auto Parts Show, and what they see is not the mass production and supply opportunities of large car companies such as General Motors and Ford, but the opportunities in the after-sales market."

"The larger auto repair companies or some local parts sales dealers from all over North America will come to participate in this auto parts show."

"As long as they gain their approval, it will be enough for many parts companies that are not very large to survive."

"For example, in Yangcheng, there is a manufacturer that makes corrugated pipes for exhaust pipes. 90% of their business relies on export business."

"A corrugated pipe costs more than 100 yuan from the original supplier, but their export business may only cost 50 yuan."

"If the quantity is relatively large, it may be further reduced to thirty or forty yuan."

"Although there may be some differences in part specifications, as long as the functions can meet the requirements, those dealers will be interested."

"After all, for the American after-sales market, they have no special pursuit of original accessories. In many cases, as long as the functions can meet the requirements, it is enough."

Dai Hanbiao carefully explained the significance of the Las Vegas Auto Parts Show and the different situations of the Chinese and American markets.

“In addition to the aftermarket, the modified market is also a focus of the Auto Parts Show in Las Vegas.”

"There are many car modification manufacturers in the United States, and they all need to order some special parts."

"These specially customized parts are often very expensive if they are produced in the United States."

"So many companies have set their sights on overseas spare parts suppliers. Our Chinese manufacturers have also begun to enter their field of vision in recent years."

Zeng Tingting also brought out the content of a subdivision that she is more concerned about.

Modified cars are still in their infancy in China, but Zeng Tingting feels that this may be a promising industry.

In particular, Xingchen Automobile produces high-end luxury models, and many consumers have some modification needs.

The profit margins in this part of the market are very high.

For example, the production cost of a spoiler may be a few hundred yuan, but the selling price can be several thousand yuan.

If it is a carbon fiber spoiler, the production cost may be several thousand yuan, but the selling price is tens of thousands yuan, so you can earn more.

"The expansion of export business relies solely on mass production support. It is difficult to continuously expand the market."

"Unless we can build factories in places such as the United States and Europe and provide local support."

"However, the after-sales and modified vehicle markets do not have particularly large demand for localized supporting equipment."

"This may be our next market breakthrough point."

Dai Hanbiao further explained why he attaches great importance to this exhibition.

The development of Nanshan Auto Parts in China is relatively smooth.

As long as the sales of independent brand car companies can continue to increase, their business will also expand.

But in overseas markets, except for orders from General Motors and Ford, there are not many orders from other car companies.

Dai Hanbiao does not want Nanshan Auto Parts to be too dependent on General Motors and Ford, which will easily be affected by each other's sales.

At this time, it is very important to open up a market that can compete with the mass production facilities of General Motors and Ford Motors.

Just equipping a BMW car with a stabilizer bar can cause such a big impact, and it is also because of this special background.

In addition to General Motors and Ford, it is gradually supplying some parts to other OEMs around the world.

Even if this share is not very high, it can continue to put eggs in more baskets.

Continuously improve the risk resistance capabilities of Nanshan Auto Parts.

Otherwise, it feels great when it feels good, and it feels painful when it hurts.

…

Smith is the president of AutoZone.

AutoZone is America's largest aftermarket auto parts retailer.

This company, which most Chinese people have never heard of, was founded in 1979. It has 6,168 stores in 50 states in the United States, and thousands of stores in other parts of the Americas.

Each AutoZone store carries an extensive product line for cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, including new and refurbished automotive hardware parts, maintenance supplies, accessories and non-automotive products.

Many stores also offer commercial sales programs that provide products such as commercial credit and timely delivery of parts to local, regional and national repair shops, dealers, petrol stations and public sector customers.

It can be said that at the Las Vegas Auto Parts Show every year, AutoZone is a major customer that many parts companies look forward to.

However, as the president of the largest auto parts retailer in the United States, Smith also has a relatively high vision.

For general auto parts, they have already found relatively mature suppliers.

For things like small brackets and small plastic parts, Smith has no intention of continuing to develop new suppliers.

At least there are no thoughts on this in the short term.

However, there is still a lot of room for expansion in some functional parts with relatively high technical difficulty.

The threshold for these parts is generally relatively high, and they cannot be produced by just any manufacturer.

Because of this, the prices of these parts are relatively high.

But for after-sales maintenance, these functional parts have the most impressive profit margins.

Smith came to Las Vegas today with James, the purchasing director, just to see if he could make some breakthroughs in functional parts.

"Smith, judging from our experience in the past few years, the prices of parts produced by Chinese parts manufacturers are the most competitive."

“Overall, the quality is passable.”

"And China's automobile industry has developed rapidly in recent years, and the corresponding parts business has also developed relatively rapidly."

"I think if there is any unexpected gain today, it will most likely happen to the Chinese exhibitors."

James started introducing Smith as soon as he entered the exhibition.

"The organizer should have sent you the information about the participating suppliers before, right?"

"Have you identified any potential targets?"

Smith is very smart, and he can infer a lot of things from James' words.

"Really, haven't we always wanted to find new suppliers of functional parts such as high-pressure oil pumps, fuel pumps, oil pumps, water pumps and starter motors?"

"I really found a manufacturer that may be more in line with our expectations, and it can produce this series of parts."

When James said this, Smith immediately frowned and said: "The only parts that can make these parts are manufacturers such as Bosch, Valeo and Denso. Their prices have always been relatively expensive."

“It’s not like we’re not looking for them to buy parts now.”

Smith's view should represent the thoughts of many auto parts sales manufacturers.

Auto parts are not that easy to make.

Especially for those functional parts, the threshold is even higher.

It wouldn't be surprising if you could make one of the water pumps or something.

But if this series of difficult parts can be produced, it will not be an ordinary manufacturer.

"I was a little surprised at first, but after a thorough investigation, I found that this company may be a perfect match for our needs."

James looked at his boss with clear eyes.

He has not received a single dollar of benefit from the other party. He has screened potential suppliers solely with an objective and professional attitude.

In this case, he was very confident in speaking.

"Is there really such a manufacturer?"

"What's its name?"

Smith knows James relatively well.

Although this guy should make some small moves from time to time and get some benefits from his work.

But where are the tigers that don’t eat meat?

"Nanshan Auto Parts, this is a Chinese supplier!"

"They supply Ford Motor and General Motors, and are the largest auto parts company in China."

When James said this, Smith immediately couldn't help but said: "Is it the Nanshan Auto Parts Company that belongs to the same Nanshan Group as Nanshan Engine and Nanshan Transmission?"

Obviously, Nanshan Group still has some influence in the American auto parts market.

After all, it is a bit difficult to ignore the famous names of Nanshan engine and Nanshan gearbox.

Not to mention that Ford and General Motors still have many parts supplied by Nanshan Group.

Parts manufacturers such as AutoZone definitely need to have some understanding of the original manufacturers of parts from each OEM.

Otherwise, if you don't know who is the real Li Kui and who is the fake Li Kui, you will definitely be in a passive state when negotiating the price.

"Yes, it's Nanshan Auto Parts."

"Their high-pressure oil pumps, fuel pumps and other parts are all very good. All the products produced by Nanshan Engine are turbocharged products, and the high-pressure oil pump is one of the key parts."

Seeing that Smith probably knew something about Nanshan Auto Parts, James breathed a sigh of relief.

Waiting a bit should save you a lot of time.

"If it is it, it can technically meet our requirements, and I can basically believe it."

"But companies that can technically meet our requirements often have no cost advantage."

"If it weren't for the high prices of Delphi, Bosch and Denso, we wouldn't have the need to develop new manufacturers."

"As the largest auto parts company in China, Nanshan Auto Parts probably won't be much cheaper, right?"

When Smith said this, James couldn't help but retort, saying: "The current situation is that no matter what it is, as long as the Chinese can produce it, the price will be much lower than before."

"It's a similar story with auto parts."

"For example, the ESP system used to cost four to five hundred dollars to install, but now it has been reduced to less than two hundred dollars."

"A few years ago, this would have been unimaginable."

"But after Nanshan Auto Parts localizes ESP, Bosch's ESP price will have to be greatly reduced."

"The conditions of parts such as high-pressure oil pumps are similar."

"For example, a high-pressure oil pump from Bosch costs more than a hundred dollars, but as far as I know, Nanshan Auto Parts can make it for about fifty dollars."

"As a part of a car that often needs to be replaced and often suffers from oil leakage failures, it would be of great significance if the cost could be reduced by half."

"The situation of other starter motors is similar."

"The main market for Nanshan Auto Parts was in China. They should be eager to explore the American market."

"We just happen to want to import suppliers from China to reduce procurement costs. Everyone's needs are the same, and we can perfectly connect them."

When James said this, Smith became interested.

Soon, under the leadership of James, he went directly to the Nanshan Auto Parts booth.

Compared with the nearby parts manufacturers, the booth area of ​​Nanshan Auto Parts is several times larger.

There is no way, Nanshan Auto Parts has a lot of exhibiting products, and if the booth area is small, there will be no space at all.

“AutoZone, O’Reilly, Advance Auto Parts, and NAPA are the four largest companies in the American auto parts market. Each of them has thousands of stores across the United States.”

“The successful experiences of the four giants in the American auto parts aftermarket all come from building their own warehousing and logistics systems, such as the number of front-end warehouse outlets, stocking rates, offline systems, delivery times, data and systems, and the diversification of procurement and supply chains. culture, private brand share and other aspects.”

"If we can become an AutoZone supplier, we will officially open the American auto parts market."

When Smith and James arrived at the Nanshan Auto Parts booth and had a brief exchange, Dai Hanbiao quickly introduced them to Cao Yang in a low voice.

Cao Yang realized that the foreigner in front of him was a big customer.

When dealing with big customers, you must naturally have the attitude of a big customer.

Cao Yang soon went into battle in person and communicated with Smith.

"During the installation of the high-pressure oil pump, all holes in the components should be covered to prevent debris from falling into the machine."

"Place the components on the foundation with embedded anchor bolts, and use pairs of wedge pads between the base and the foundation for correction."

"Correct the concentricity of the pump shaft and the motor shaft. The allowable deviation is 0.1 mm above the outer circle of the coupling road."

"The gap between the two coupling planes should be ensured to be 2 to 4 mm, and the gap should be uniform, with a tolerance of 0.3 mm."

"After connecting the pipeline and determining the direction of motor rotation, connect the coupling and check the concentricity of the shaft again."

"As long as the correct installation method is adopted, our high-pressure oil pump can guarantee that there will be no problems for at least 100,000 kilometers, and even the entire life cycle will not need to be replaced."

Cao Yang personally participated in the design of the high-pressure oil pump of Nanshan Auto Parts, and is very familiar with many of the requirements.

Don't look at the part on the car engine, which is the size of a fist, but every part inside is important.

Take it apart and every part looks familiar.

But for such a part, domestic parts companies, except for Nanshan Auto Parts, are unable to produce qualified mass products.

The entire market was basically monopolized by Bosch, Delphi, Valeo, Hitachi, and Denso.

It is normal for a fist-sized high-pressure oil pump to cost you seven to eight hundred yuan.

If it is imported from abroad, the price will directly reach more than 1,000 yuan.

But in fact, the pure production cost of this part is less than 200 yuan.

Nanshan auto parts can be sold at a price of three to four hundred yuan, and they can make a lot of money.

"Our high-pressure oil pump can provide output pressures ranging from 15MPA to 30MPA, which can fully meet the needs of all direct injection engines on the market."

“And in addition to producing high-pressure oil pumps used on gasoline engines, we can also produce high-pressure oil pumps and high-pressure common rail systems used on diesel engines.”

"As long as customers need parts, we at Nanshan Auto Parts can produce them."

Humility is not popular in front of Americans.

If you are too humble, people will take you seriously.

Just like saying "sorry" is not popular among Americans, many times you have to do as the Romans do.

If you always say "sorry", then people will look down on you.

Similarly, when introducing your own technology, you must be fully confident.

Let people think that I am the best in the world!

In fact, it is not a big problem to say that the high-pressure oil pump of Nanshan Auto Parts is the best in the world.

Especially when Smith learned that the price of Nanshan Auto Parts' high-pressure oil pumps can be more than 30% cheaper than that of Bosch and other manufacturers, his interest became even greater.

A glimpse of the leopard in the tube!

A high-pressure oil pump can be so competitive.

Then various other fuel pumps, water pumps, oil pumps and other parts are obviously worth looking forward to.

This is something AutoZone is very much looking forward to.

Soon, Smith, James and Cao Yang each held a cup of coffee and sat in the corner to communicate in detail.

Smith spent the entire first day of the Las Vegas Auto Parts Show at the Nanshan Auto Parts booth.

He learned about the various parts of Nanshan Auto Parts in detail, and then finally made the decision to sign a huge order.

Of course, there is a prerequisite for this large order, which is that Nanshan Auto Parts cannot sell parts to O’Reilly, Advance Auto Parts and NAPA, the three main competitors of AutoZone.

Cao Yang thought for a moment and agreed to this request.

Nanshan's auto parts export business can be launched not only in the United States, but also in Europe and other places.

It is acceptable to have one major partner in one country and some small customers as support.