Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 150 Ford Motor’s Innovative Proposal ([-]-in-[-])

When Ji Hua was asking Cao Yang about the situation of Ford Motor Company, a discussion about Nanshan 6AT was also going on at the American Ford headquarters.

Design director Metz and purchasing director Chris were both reporting their ideas to CEO Jacques Nasser.

For general parts procurement, it must be Chris who makes the decision, and there is no need to rise to the CEO level.

But this time Chris had some innovative proposals, so he specially made an appointment with Metz to report to Nasser.

"Metz, are you sure this report does not reverse the information about our own 6AT and Nanshan's 6AT?"

After listening to the report, Nasser's first reaction was whether the people below had made a stupid mistake.

The information on both parties was directly reversed in the information.

There was no way, this information was too strange, beyond his imagination.

Ford spent a lot of manpower and material resources to develop the 6AT gearbox, which is now used in many Ford models.

Now you are telling us that the level of this gearbox is not as good as that produced by a Chinese company?

Hearing what Nasser said, Metz was a little embarrassed.

However, he had heard this report beforehand and had raised some questions, so there was obviously no problem.

"Nasser, although I also hope that the people below accidentally made a mistake, unfortunately, this is actually the correct information."

"Nanshan's 6AT gearbox is better than the 6AT we developed ourselves in terms of transmission efficiency and other aspects."

"Even in terms of fuel consumption, compared with the other party, we can save 2% to 3%."

Embarrassing as it is, the question still needs to be answered.

"And then our price is more than $700 higher than the other party's?"

When Nasser said this, not only Metz felt embarrassed, but Chris also felt a little uncomfortable.

After all, although the cost issue is largely determined by design, procurement is absolutely not free from responsibility.

"Chinese companies have always had advantages in terms of parts production costs."

"For example, their production workers' monthly wages are less than US$200, but our workers' daily wages are more than that."

"In addition, Nanshan itself can produce bearings, gears, bolts and other parts. Even their bearings are better than SKF."

"That's why their 6AT can be made at a much lower cost than ours."

"This is also the reason why we have been expanding the use of components from Huaxia."

When Chris answered this question, he made a decision in his mind.

No matter what, we have to convince various departments of the company to let some of the models use Nanshan 6AT.

In this way, the cost can be reduced a lot.

This is an additional price reduction after completing the price reduction task this year.

"Everyone knows the reason you mentioned."

"But I'm curious, why is it that the 6AT developed by Ford itself can't beat China's cost, but it can't even compare with ZF and Aisin?"

Nasser is also under a lot of pressure this year.

Ford has now begun to enter a downhill stage. If he, the CEO, cannot save the situation, his future will be worrying.

"There are many aspects to this issue."

Mace and Chris looked at each other and chose to stand up and answer the question.

"First of all, in terms of design, Nanshan's 6AT is smaller and lighter than ours, and the related material consumption is lower."

"And their structural design is quite clever, using a relatively simple part structure to complete various tasks such as shifting gears."

"In addition, their various components are basically involved themselves, and they can coordinate to a high degree."

"As for cost, as Chris just said, China's advantage in this aspect is difficult for us to make up for."

After Metz finished speaking, he glanced at Chris again, who immediately stood up and added, "Based on this situation, the procurement center made a bold proposal."

"Can we purchase some components of the transmission from Nanshan, and then have Ford's own transmission factory assemble the 6AT, and finally load it on our models?"

"Of course, the premise must be that Nanshan's 6AT has passed various durability and actual vehicle tests."

Obviously, Metz and Chris made such a report today in order to persuade Nasser to agree to their new plan.

However, this is not all of the new plan.

"Nanshan is not stupid. If you can't sell 6AT properly, do you have to sell the components to us?"

When Nasser said this, Chris immediately said: "You are right, if it is our own 6AT, Nanshan will definitely be happy to provide us with bearings and other parts."

"But if we want to produce Nanshan 6AT, we need authorization from the other party."

Having said this, Nasser thought for a while after hearing this.

Although this situation is a bit embarrassing, the powerful Ford actually wants to find a Chinese manufacturer to license the 6AT technology.

"Can we consider this? We ask Nanshan to purchase a batch of 6AT, and then they share the 6AT technology with us for free. From now on, it will become Ford's 6AT."

"Of course, we also promise that this 6AT will only be used in Ford vehicles and will not be sold to external parties."

"For the 6AT we purchased from Nanshan, the price can be increased appropriately, which is equivalent to charging a technology licensing fee."

As the CEO of Ford Motor Company, Nasser considers issues at a higher level.

The fact that Ford Motor Company paid technology licensing fees to Chinese parts and components companies will not sound good no matter how it spreads.

It's better to pay for it in another way.

"This plan sounds feasible, but it may depend on how many 6ATs we are prepared to purchase from Nanshan and at what price we are prepared to purchase them."

"If we only purchase [-] or [-] units, I guess the other party will not agree."

"But if the purchase quantity is too large, it will be difficult for us to accept it."

"Another thing is that the other party may be worried that after getting the order at one time, Ford will produce 6AT on its own every year in the future, and they will feel it is unfair."

Chris hopes to promote this proposal as soon as possible.

But he needs to consider the interests of both parties, otherwise it will be difficult to agree on this plan, and then the pressure will be on the procurement center.

"I do have a suggestion. Can we agree that 6% to 10% of the 20AT used in Ford vehicles every year will be purchased from Nanshan?"

"In this way, it is equivalent to purchasing about 40 million units from the other party every year. It should be a more sincere number."

Mace made a new suggestion from the side.

About 6% of Ford's current transmissions use its own [-]AT.

In the future, with the increase in automobile production and the increase in used models, this number will increase.

"Metz's proposal is good, but the proportion of Nanshan 6AT directly purchased every year must be reduced as much as possible."

"Otherwise, when the production capacity of our own gearbox factory is vacant, but we are still purchasing gearboxes from outside, it will be difficult for us to explain ourselves when shareholders criticize us."

As a professional manager, Nasser needs to consider more about how to communicate with the board of directors and how to communicate with shareholders.

"Of course, if Nanshan cooperates, we can tilt them appropriately on the bearings and other components of the gearbox, which can be regarded as making up for them."

When Nasser said this, Chris knew something.

This matter can most likely be discussed.

As for whether Nanshan completely disagrees?

The worst case scenario is that you just copy it and get a lawsuit later.

Of course, this is definitely the last resort.

……

The gearbox is the most important part of a car after the engine.

Considering that engines are mostly produced by car companies themselves, the gearbox is the most important part among purchased parts.

For this reason, Chris flew to China to negotiate face-to-face with Cao Yang.

"Cao, your 6AT is still under testing, but judging from the parameters you provided, it is very good."

"Ford Motors is also interested in further expanding cooperation with Nanshan."

As Director of Purchasing at Ford, Chris has a very busy schedule.

So after coming to Yangcheng, he went directly to Nanshan Technology Co., Ltd. and discussed cooperation with Cao Yang straight to the point.

"Chris, last week we specially sent a batch of 6AT to General Motors by airmail for them to start actual vehicle testing."

"Judging from the current situation, the data confirmed by General Motors in the early stage and the information reported by Nanshan at that time are both correct."

"I think everyone has reason to imagine that other information reported by Nanshan at that time is also true and reliable."

"Then we can draw the conclusion that Nanshan's 6AT is the best among all current suppliers."

"I believe Ford is also doing the same work internally to confirm this."

"Chris, Ford is Nanshan's most important customer. We are willing to provide very competitive prices. We may even consider setting up an assembly plant in the United States to assemble Ford vehicles locally."

Cao Yang and Chris are old acquaintances, and they know that the other person doesn't like to beat around the bush.

So I expressed my sincerity from the beginning.

"Cao, you also know that Ford owns 6AT. We can't completely abandon our 6AT and buy it from Nanshan instead."

"This has nothing to do with technology or cost. I believe you understand this, right?"

Chris stared at Cao Yang, trying to see his reaction.

Every move during the negotiation can release some special meaning.

Chris has a lot of experience in this area.

"Of course I understand this truth, but in addition to producing the 6AT by Ford itself, it also recruits Aisin to buy it, right?"

Cao Yang's words were a refutation of what Chris just said.

"That's right, so it's not impossible for Ford to consider purchasing 6AT from Nanshan, but..."

As Chris said this, he was thinking about whether it would be better to just cut the knot quickly.

"But the situation I just mentioned also exists objectively and must be considered."

“能不能福特汽车未来5年从南山采购50万台6AT，但是南山需要把这套6AT的技术无偿的共享给福特汽车，用以我们自己生产6AT。”

Seeing that Cao Yang didn't interrupt him, Chris directly threw out the plan.

Of course, as a veteran negotiator, he couldn't reveal his cards right away.

Hearing Chris propose such a plan, Cao Yang did not immediately refute.

This is the first time I have heard of such a plan.

Although this is certainly not the solution Cao Yang hoped for, it cannot be said that Ford Motor Company does not make any sense.

Just like many times when ordering aircraft or armored vehicles, people will buy part of it directly, and set up factories to produce the other part in their own country, or directly authorize their own production.

So in essence, the solution provided by Ford Motor can be regarded as the solution currently used in some fields.

It's just that Cao Yang has to find a way to maximize his own interests.

"Chris, I am very grateful to Ford for recognizing Nanshan's 6AT. I can also see a certain degree of sincerity in the plan your company has given."

"But you also know that Ford sells almost 700 million cars worldwide a year. Even if only half of the models are equipped with 6AT, that is still 350 million."

"Your company will purchase 50 6AT units from Nanshan in the next few years, which is probably equivalent to giving a few points of annual demand to Nanshan."

"This ratio is very unacceptable."

"Is it possible to consider giving half of the annual demand to Nanshan and having Ford produce the other half?"

When negotiating terms, the lion must open its mouth wide.

So Cao Yang asked for half of the order as soon as he opened his mouth.

On this basis, any technology sharing can be easily discussed.

"impossible!"

"Cao, it's impossible for Ford to leave the production capacity of its own transmission factory idle. Instead, it purchases 6ATs from Nanshan."

Chris's reaction was a bit strong.

This demand is very different from his idea.

"Chris, could you please tell me what the current production capacity of Ford's transmission plant is?"

Cao Yang did not directly continue bargaining with Chris, but changed the question.

Of course, Chris is very smart and naturally knows the meaning behind this question.

If he answered, Cao Yang would definitely say that for needs beyond production capacity, he should look to Nanshan.

This is not a plan that Chris can accept.

Because the number will reach millions of units.

"Cao, this is not the point of the problem. Ford is sincere in cooperating with Nanshan, but I hope you won't be too greedy."

"Otherwise, the final situation will definitely be something no one wants to see."

Although he has a personal relationship with Cao Yang, Chris will definitely not make any concessions during negotiations.

That's related to his KPI.

"Our 6AT is very advanced and will remain competitive even in another 10 years."

"So a total order of 50 units is definitely inappropriate."

"Chris, I also very much hope to cooperate with Ford. If 50% of the annual demand is too high, can you consider giving 30% of the annual demand to Nanshan?"

Cao Yang made a quick calculation in his mind and felt that the negotiation should be as successful as possible.

Otherwise, you may not know whether these Americans will do something bad by then.

That would not be beautiful.