On the fifth day in Yanjing City, Chen Zhiwen finally met the person he wanted to wait for most - Rao Bing, the director of the First Machinery Department.
"Hello, Director Rao." This was an arranged meeting. The location was in the courtyard house where Chen Zhiwen was. It was really because the weather was too cold. Otherwise, we would have been drinking tea on the pavilion outside and looking at the water. There are various goldfish at the bottom of the garden. Watching and chatting at the same time is a more artistic conception.
In the history of the development of the entire domestic automobile industry, it is not an exaggeration to say that Rao Bing is the first person. He built the foundation of the entire automobile industry. He also promoted and succeeded the SAIC Volkswagen project.
"Hello, Mr. Chen." Rao Bing said with a smile after entering the door: "This is Deputy Director Jin Qiwen Jin of our First Machinery Department, who is in charge of the civilian vehicle project."
"Hello, Director Jin." Chen Zhiwen also shook hands and said. The First Machinery Department is currently the department responsible for all automobile fields in China. Cars, trucks, buses, tractors and even agricultural machinery are all manufactured under the First Machinery Department. Naturally, there will be There is a separate department responsible for passenger cars, that is, the domestic automobile industry is currently underdeveloped. If such a person appears in a few decades, it is estimated that the CEOs of several major automobile giants will also have to be polite.
"Don't you two brothers come in? It's so cold outside." Chen Zhiwen looked at Rao Bing and Jin Qiwen, who did not come in but stood outside.
"They are drivers and guards. They usually don't come in. Is there any other room here where Mr. Chen can let them stay for a while?" Rao Bing said.
"There's a room on the right, and there's heating in it," Chen Zhiwen said.
"Okay, I'll make arrangements." Jin Qiwen said, and then walked out.
"Mr. Chen, don't mind. The things we are going to talk about may affect the domestic automobile policy and the economic impact of hundreds of millions of dollars. It may also affect our negotiations with Volkswagen in Germany. Therefore, many things must be kept confidential, and only a few People can know that before this, we have learned a lot of lessons in other fields." Rao Bing explained.
"Understood." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. It may not be the war period decades ago, but economic penetration is also very important. Large-scale cooperation similar to domestic talks with foreign investors can have a huge impact to a certain extent. If someone If the secret is leaked, the consequence will be that the country may spend a lot of money in vain.
Given the current situation of novices in domestic business, they will definitely suffer losses. Only by suffering losses can we grow. I don’t know which project is losing money. However, as far as Chen Zhiwen knows personally, the Baosteel project introduced into the country has been taken over by Xiaori. A big bargain.
After a while, Director Jin Qiwen came back and the guards had been arranged.
Afterwards, Chen Zhiwen made tea himself. There is also a tea making table here like the one in Hong Kong, which was imported from Hong Kong.
After taking a sip of tea, Rao Bing first broke the silence and said: "Mr. Chen, you should be very clear about our purpose. There is a big gap between China and foreign brands in the automotive field, so we want to introduce advanced foreign technology." , join a joint venture to produce cars. In return, these cars will be sold domestically, and foreign parties will also gain access to the market.
Now that you have become the boss of the fourth largest automobile company in the United States, it will be much more convenient for us to cooperate. What do you think? "
"From my personal perspective, I am naturally willing to cooperate with the country. I probably know some of AMC's contacts with the country in the past two months. Since Director Rao is here today, we can discuss several major issues. , regardless of whether we can reach an agreement, but we also need to know the ideas of both sides." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, this time he came to Yanjing, ostensibly to inspect Midea's home appliance factory and highway project in Yanjing, but in fact, The fundamental purpose is to talk to the bosses of the domestic automobile department. In fact, the first two will not have any big problems at all, they just need to get to know each other.
"Mr. Chen, if you have any questions, you can ask first." Director Rao said with a smile.
"I have only had the problem of roughly understanding the progress of the project. Director Rao should know better than me. Let's talk about it. You and I can basically represent both sides today. I think it is not a matter of principle, and it should be able to be solved. "Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
This is a big advantage for AMC or itself. As the boss, as long as they don’t make any outrageous demands, people at AMC will basically not object. In China, Rao Bing is also the largest leader in the automobile industry. What people decide basically determines the direction, which is much better than the public or universal.
Listed companies, especially those without a controlling family, have too many internal factions and too many opposing voices. Even if a project has 99 benefits, as long as it is a little bad, it will be infinitely amplified by people with good intentions, eventually leading to the entire decision-making process. The layer efficiency is extremely low. Not to mention the cooperation with the mainland, it is the future of Kodak or Nokia. Everyone knows that if they do not transform, they will die. But in the end, these two large companies that were among the top 50 in the world at the time watched themselves die step by step, just because of internal Fight, it’s too serious.
"Well, I have a few issues here that I need to discuss with Mr. Chen." Rao Bing nodded and said, "The first issue is that after we communicated with AMC, the AMC team insisted on producing Jeeps in China. CJ series, we have no problem with this, but we actually have a jeep similar to the BJ212 in China, but it lacks relevant technology in many aspects, so we need to purchase some technical patents and equipment from AMC to improve the quality of the BJ212, but this The request was rejected by AMC, so I hope Mr. Chen can release these technology patents."
"From a business point of view, no company will agree to do this. This has nothing to do with domestic cooperation. If an automobile company purchases a competing technology patent with another automobile company, it will absolutely not be done. If it succeeds, even if both companies are American companies, it won't work." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said: "If the patents, equipment or quality control methods are given to you, wouldn't it just increase the strength of your competitors? This is For example, before World War II, Germany gave up its tank technology to France. Do you think it was possible?"
"Is it really impossible?" Rao Bing said with a frown.
"Actually, it's not impossible. If the BJ212 production line and brand are jointly established with us, it would be fine. In this case, we also have part of the shares of BJ212, and it would be very reasonable to provide technical support." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"We have also thought about this issue, but BJ212 is our domestic military and vehicle, and it also has many special uses. If part of the rights and interests are sold, there will be no small difficulties on the domestic side." Rao Bing said.
"I've heard about this too, but you can think of it this way. After we provide some technologies, BJ212 can get stronger power, more stable quality, and better driving experience. Whether it is used for military vehicles or some special occasions, no matter Do they all have better results? As far as I know, in the past two years, the country has also imported some military vehicles from overseas, right? All the foreign exchange has been spent, isn't it a pity?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Based on the basic principle of domestically protecting its own industry, both Volkswagen and AMC will sell very high prices. Therefore, initial sales will not be very high. Although supply will exceed demand, the fundamental reason is insufficient initial production capacity. In 1988, Santana's production capacity is only 8,000 vehicles. After the 1990s, after the nationalization of parts and components, production capacity will be fully released.
As for the domestically produced BJ212, the current annual sales volume is basically around 20,000 units, and the price is relatively cheap, 20,000 yuan per unit. However, I cannot praise the quality. Chen Zhiwen has also sent people to find out whether it is Yanjing. The car is still a Shanghai car, with very high power and problem rate. What’s even more outrageous is that because the engine technology is not good and the gearbox matching is not good, the fuel consumption is super high. This is one of the reasons why China hopes to introduce overseas brand cars. The fuel consumption is too high. It is also a long-term consumption of foreign exchange. Sometimes, in some situations where cars are frequently used, it may be more cost-effective to use imported cars because they save fuel in the long run.
If technology is provided, models like the BJ212 will still have great potential, at least in the 1980s. It may not be possible in the 1990s, because various foreign-funded car companies have begun to produce domestically, and the country’s foreign exchange is no longer available. Nervous, then the BJ212 with poor foundation may be eliminated unless a major design change is carried out.
This is more in line with Chen Zhiwen's plan for the automotive field. He will first take root in the country and build the brand's reputation, and then when the domestic economy takes off, his own products will naturally take off. At the same time, it also occupies an absolute leading position, because the number of domestic car brands introduced in the early stage of reform is limited. Once the basic domestic needs are met, the introduction of new car companies will no longer be considered. They will only wait until the mid-1990s. Entry restrictions for foreign car brands will be liberalized in large numbers.
"It makes sense to say this, but if we take this path, it will take a long time for the domestic side to make a decision." Rao Bing said.
"It doesn't matter, I can still wait for a while. This is the best way to cooperate for mutual benefit. Only in this way can it last long." Chen Zhiwen continued. Historically, AMC and China reached a cooperation agreement in 1983, which also included BJ212 model, this shows that this proposal can definitely be passed in China, and even the former Yankee team thinks so of this proposal, which is enough to prove its correctness.
"Okay, if cooperation can be achieved in this way, I will promote this matter domestically." Rao Bing nodded and said, although it is a bit difficult, it is normal. Both parties need to bring benefits to foreign and domestic cooperation. , foreign countries have provided technology patents and US dollars, and China naturally needs to provide some existing things, and this matter, compared to the requirements put forward by the German public, is child's play, relatively speaking, it is much easier to solve.
"Then what technical support you need can be prepared in advance so that everyone can negotiate." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. AMC's technology is far behind that of giants like General Motors, but it is much better than domestic ones. Whether it is The technical reserves, production design experience, processing capabilities, etc. are much stronger.
"Mr. Chen, we actually want to prepare this information as soon as possible, but we don't know much about overseas technology and cars. In many cases, we have no way to start. I wonder if you can support some technical personnel?" Rao Bing asked cautiously. This request was actually a bit taboo. If he said this to other foreign car companies and brands, he would definitely be rejected. However, now that the other party was Chinese and had good investment relationships with the country, he asked tentatively.
"Yes, after I acquired AMC, I arranged to recruit many Chinese engineers. They can speak Mandarin or Cantonese. I can arrange for these people to come to Yanjing, so that it will be much easier for you to communicate." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, Recruiting Chinese engineers in the United States is for this purpose, in order to facilitate more convenient communication with the country.
"That's great." Rao Bing said with a happy face.
"Then the cooperation method is probably like this. AMC will provide funds, drawings and technology of Jeep CJ models and other information, and the domestic side will provide land, factories, and the BJ212 brand. In the future, the joint venture will also use its own technology to improve the BJ212. The joint venture ratio is 51:49 stipulated by domestic law. As for the price, how about it be calculated by professional financial personnel?" Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, in fact, Chen Zhiwen doesn't care about many issues that big companies care about. What he needs is to establish the brand in the country first, and then solve the problems if they arise later in the operation.
He doesn't even care about some regulatory issues. Volkswagen has not reached an agreement with the country over the years. In addition to funding issues, the biggest one is asking the country to amend some commercial laws. Although they are reasonable demands, there are basically no disputes in the country. Big, but even simple legal changes require a long process, which is very time-consuming.
Anyway, with the public pushing forward, Chen Zhiwen can just sit back and enjoy his achievements. As a person from the future, he knows that the reform route will continue, the domestic economy will get better and better, and the automobile market will begin to explode in about ten years. Therefore, , he needs to enter the market early and prepare early. After all, cars are not small household appliances. It is an industry that requires a lot of verification and accumulation of experience. AMC also needs to run in with the domestic market for a long time to achieve perfect cooperation.
"This is not a problem. As long as the cooperation intention is reached, we will soon invite AMC to visit the Yanjing Automobile Factory, and we will also look for a suitable factory site." Rao Bing said.
"It's fine if it's in Yanjing City, as long as the transportation is good." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. When investing in other factories, he would still care about the location. Of course, if he can choose a good one, he should try to choose a better one. This is not to occupy land. Cheap, but since we know the future and have choices, we naturally choose a better location.
But the car factory is different. This will be a long-term project and is unlikely to be demolished in the future. Therefore, it does not make much sense to consider the real estate value. Doing a good job in your own business is the most important thing.
"In terms of transportation, we will definitely choose the best location, with priority being placed next to the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Expressway." Rao Bing nodded and said: "If this is the case for the time being in terms of cooperation, the second issue is the localization of parts."
PS: My son suddenly had a fever yesterday afternoon, and the temperature was above 39 degrees intermittently. It is probably the new coronavirus or the flu. Because I have to take care of him, and the disease may be contagious, I am also worried that I will be infected, so I only The minimum amount of updates (4000+ words) can be maintained, otherwise it will be troublesome to stop updating later.
(End of chapter)
