Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 382 Aston Martin is sold, is Land Rover still far behind?

Cao Yang was very busy during this time.

However, there is one person who is busier than Cao Yang.

That's Ford Motor's newly appointed president and CEO, Alan Mulally.

Mulally, 61, was executive vice president of Boeing and president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and has no experience in the auto industry.

In placing the future of the company in the hands of an outsider, Ford Motor Chairman Bill Ford certainly took a risky move.

But it is no longer possible to play dangerous chess.

Ford Motor lost $2006 billion in 102.

Even with the F150's best-selling, and the cost reduction actions of gearboxes and engines, it is only 127 billion U.S. dollars less than the historical loss of 25 billion.

With such a loss, Ford must do something.

"The group includes American investment banker John Hinds and two Ku/Wei/Tec/companies. The formal agreement was signed yesterday."

"He should also know a lot about some of the company's news."

If the performance is not good, Geely Automobile will not be able to make any fundamental changes after the acquisition.

Knowing that Cao Yang was very concerned about the sales situation in the United States, Zeng Tingting prepared to fly there herself.

Peng Lin gave a relatively pertinent suggestion.

"Aston Martin was founded in March 1913, and the first Aston Martin came out in 3. It was founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in a small car workshop in London in 1915. "

"However, since last year, Aston Martin has been in a state of loss."

The most important thing is that the gap between reputation and joint venture car companies is not that big.

Generally speaking, the acquisition of an automobile company involves a wide range of things, and the results cannot be achieved in a day or two.

But there will be trouble next year.

This has successfully thrown off a burden.

In fact, thanks to the sharing of Nanshan engines and Nanshan gearboxes, the lives of independent brand car companies such as Geely, Chery, Great Wall, Changan and BYD are much better than the same period in history.

Think of it this way, Ford sold Aston Martin in 2007, Jaguar and Land Rover in 2008, and its stake in Mazda, then Volvo between late 2009 and 2010.

Along with these decisions, there will definitely be some movement.

In the end, Land Rover's reputation was ruined in China.

But who knows if there will be any twists and turns.

However, Li Su and Cao Yang did not wait for the news of the sale of the brand they were looking forward to, but they heard the news that Aston Martin was sold first.

And when Zeng Tingting and Cao Yang were chatting about some things about Ford Motor, Geely Automobile, who also got the news, also had some ideas.

"Mr. Cao, we have heard some news that Ford Motor is planning to sell Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and other brands. Among them, Aston Martin is the most resolute and has begun to contact potential buyers. "

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, after receiving a call from Cao Yang, Chris laughed and joked there.

Zeng Tingting reported Ford's move to Cao Yang immediately.

The company that was established before to engage in bearing trading has been operating normally.

"At that time, they will cooperate with the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) to carry out the 25% offset crash test that is most commonly encountered in actual collisions."

Geely Automobile at this time is much better than the same period in history.

"Well, then keep in touch with Ford and see how they react in time."

"Mr. Li, judging from the information we have received so far, the first thing Ford will sell is Aston Martin."

Even if Ford Motor has really made up its mind to sell these miscellaneous brands, in order to obtain the maximum benefit, they will not sell them all at once.

"Next week, I will fly to the United States myself to see how the actual sales of Yangwang are there."

"But if you want to sell it, you won't sell it all at once. You won't be able to get a good price that way."

Obviously, at this time, Li Su is most optimistic about Volvo.

"But I have had a lot of success in designing and building a product that users love."

"There's no way. When Mulally takes office as a new official, he always has to take some actions to explain to the board of directors."

This was the first trump card he used after taking office.

"It should be sold, but their determination to sell Volvo is probably not as firm as that of Aston Martin, and the asking price must be higher."

"Aston Martin is sold, why not just sell Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda as well."

Zeng Tingting reported the news to Cao Yang as soon as she heard the news.

Chris is also smart.

Mulally's first step was to speak a lot of rhetoric to the media and brag about himself.

Even if these cars carry the Xingchen Motors logo, they may have made wedding clothes for others.

As for Aston Martin, it still looks like a loser in the short term.

Although Cao Yang wanted to ask about Land Rover, it was definitely not appropriate to ask if Land Rover was for sale as soon as he made a phone call.

"Since DBR1959 won the Le Mans championship and runner-up in 1, Aston Martin's glorious history of Le Mans began to be written. From the former GT1 group to the later GTE, Aston Martin has a very good record."

"Ford's sales in the United States in the first quarter have been surpassed by Toyota's. There is a high probability that Ford's second place in the U.S. market this year will not be maintained."

"It seems that Mulally is very hopeful that his first quarterly financial report after taking office will have a significant improvement."

"Mulally's decision is quite timely."

Many people don't believe these words, just wait and see the joke.

It's a pity that the selection of domestically produced models later failed a bit.

The more difficult the time, the more Ford Motor will not give up any chance to make money.

"Cao, you called me at this time, I guess it must have something to do with the sale of Aston Martin?"

In this case, the mood is naturally good.

They launched a bunch of compact SUV models, which immediately brought down the Land Rover brand.

In this case, the performance of the U.S. market is important.

After all, regardless of whether it is true or not, Nanshan Group had contacted Ford Motor before and wanted to buy Land Rover.

"I'll give Chris a direct call later to find out, he's now promoted to Vice President of the Purchasing Center."

Although according to normal historical development, Ford will package Jaguar and Land Rover and sell them together next year.

"Besides, now that the financial situation is not so tight, the pressure to sell other brands is not so great."

"It stands to reason that they should know that we are interested in Land Rover, but people from Ford did not take the initiative to contact us. It seems that they will not sell all brands immediately."

You can take a high annual salary with peace of mind.

"Ford's order for us has reached 5 per month since May."

I originally thought that the negotiation to acquire a car company would last for a long time, but I didn't expect it to be so fast.

If you sell Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and other brands in one go, this year's performance will be good.

So as long as it doesn't involve any particularly confidential matters, Chris is still willing to communicate with Cao Yang.

In particular, Volvo is a representative local company. Even if Ford is to be sold, it involves many aspects.

"I understand!"

"Cao, if you are really interested in Land Rover, you will probably need to pay a relatively high price to make Mulally tempted."

At the same time, Mulally reorganized and adjusted within Ford to prepare for the launch of products that meet market demand, thereby achieving a turnaround.

"We gave away so much profit that we basically made a little hard-earned money."

Although the situation of Ford Motor is very serious, the board of directors is quite satisfied with the performance of the procurement center in recent years.

After all, the relationship between them is not only between Party A and Party B.

"And Volvo, those brands are a liability to Ford Motor."

At this time, showing your efforts in front of your boss is the most valuable.

"If it is purely to buy the added value of the brand, it is estimated that consumers are more interested in Ferrari."

In addition, the 9AT supplied by ZF has not been well matched with the Land Rover engine at the back, and various problems have emerged one after another.

Following Chris's words, it is obviously more appropriate to talk about Aston Martin first.

"Chris, Ford seems to be in a hurry to sell Aston Martin this time."

"After selling Aston Martin, he also has more time to raise funds."

Sell ​​a brand first to make the financial report look better.

Cao Yang knew very well that Ford did not sell Jaguar Land Rover until 2008, and Volvo even later.

This is actually very important for the long-term development of the enterprise.

It is absolutely possible to form a very good complementary relationship with Geely Automobile.

It's like selling something. If there are too many choices, buyers will definitely pick and choose, and it will be difficult for you to sell at a price.

Now that Ford Motor has taken action, he naturally wants to report it properly.

Li Su has full confidence in making this acquisition a successful case.

Six days after taking office, he made a decision within Ford Motor to sell Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and other car brands.

"Our Yangwang and Xingkong sports cars are now sold to them. Calculating the time, the first batch of products should have completed the distribution of all channels. Has Ford Motor made any moves?"

But Zeng Tingting is still very confident in Ford's influence in the United States.

It's hard to say, as if it has never been brilliant in China.

How long has Ford Motor's new CEO been in office?

"In this case, if Ford Motor is not actively selling the company, it means that they have no sincerity in cooperation."

Obviously, Peng Lin doesn’t like Aston Martin very much.

"However, their actions should be taken step by step, and they will not immediately make a decision to sell all brands."

"Last year, there was a historic loss of more than 100 billion U.S. dollars. Under such circumstances, it is a foolish move to hold so many car brands."

"This has resulted in its models being uncompetitive in the market."

In this way, even if Mulally, a CEO with no experience in the auto industry, has a firm foothold in Ford Motor, he can have an account with the board of directors.

Chris has known Cao Yang for many years.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with getting in touch in advance.

"Yangwang's sales have also been affected to some extent, but they plan to hold a large-scale event in April."

After all, Mulally faced excess capacity, inefficient operations, strong competitors, and an average loss of $4300 per car sold.

"Combined with these marketing measures, our sales of Yangwang in the United States should grow rapidly."

This Chris provided a nice side income.

"We can keep in touch with them and see if there is an opportunity later."

The products we look up to are strong enough, and with the influence of Ford Motor, it is normal to be popular.

Looking up is in line with the needs of the American auto market, and Ford Motor has no reason to give up this cash cow.

You can't turn a profit in the first year after taking office, and then fall into losses again in the second year, right?

In that case, the position under Mulally's buttocks would be unstable.

Cao Yang put himself into the role of Mulally, and soon he could understand Ford's next move.

"At the same time, they also proactively increased their investment in advertising, blurring the concept of Xingchen Motors and making people think that Xingchen Motors is a sub-brand of Ford Motor Company, just like Jaguar Land Rover."

Li Su is now very confident in Geely Automobile.

Besides, in history, Tata Motors of Tianzhu successfully acquired Jaguar and Land Rover, and successfully achieved profitability in the second year of the acquisition.

This operation is completely logical.

Although Ford performed very well last year, such a large company actually lost more than 100 billion US dollars.

"Many people think that I am a layman in the auto industry and don't understand the car business."

Zeng Tingting quickly analyzed it and agreed with Cao Yang's point of view.

To a certain extent, Chris was able to get promoted and raise his salary, and he still had some relationship with Cao Yang.

As an old man in the workplace, Zeng Tingting is also proficient in this.

"Especially at Le Mans, Aston Martin has always performed well."

Unlike Volvo, it has many unique things of its own.

Among them, the contribution made by the Huaxia market is also indispensable.

After thinking for a while, Cao Yang made a decision.

“After all, if you don’t buy a sports car for performance, why not buy it for the uncomfortable sitting posture and expensive maintenance costs?”

Combined with the information he had obtained before, he also probably knew the purpose of Cao Yang's call.

However, Mulally soon discovered the problem - Ford's capabilities and resources simply could not support eight brands including Ford, Volvo, Mazda, etc.

"It should be to hang potential acquirers to see how to raise the price."

"After getting this news, I contacted the people from Ford again."

"In 1994, Aston Martin became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company."

As for the newly appointed leader, the so-called three things that a new official should do when he takes office.

"They are going to conduct a crash test with the large SUVs of Toyota Motor and Honda Motor, similar to the method we used before."

Zeng Tingting gave a judgment based on the information she had learned.

"Now it seems that after Mulally came to power, he still did not easily overturn some of the previous things."

Cao Yang wanted to quickly build Yangwang into the first model of Xingchen Automobile with an annual production and sales of 10 vehicles.

"It's easy to deal with smart people, and you can save a lot of meaningless words."

Next, we will slowly sell other brands so that the financial report will look better year by year.

When a professional manager manages a company, he will definitely consider his own performance.

"Apart from Aston Martin, will they sell Volvo?"

"Selling must be sold. Ford really doesn't need so many brands."

"I have learned some information about this. Some time ago, due to the new CEO of Ford Motor, the progress of some work has slowed down."

"In the field of racing, Aston Martin can be regarded as having quite a good record."

"What impresses everyone most about Aston Martin is its identity as the 007 car. Starting from DB5, Aston Martin has always had a very close relationship with the 007 series of movies."

"Aston Martin's positioning has always been elegance, it has never cared about absolute performance."

If this brand can be taken down, Geely Automobile's strength will rise to a big level.

Cao Yang asked tentatively.

As for Jaguar…

"Mr. Cao, a consortium led by Prodrive Chairman David Richards acquired Aston Martin for £4.75 million, or $8.48 million."

Mulally also successfully handed over a report card that looked pretty good.

So Chris's personal interests have not been affected in any way, and he even got a promotion and salary increase.

"I will also think about this matter carefully."

"Ford lost so much last year, I believe they will move faster than we think."

Naturally, Zeng Tingting has been following up on relevant matters.

"Their enthusiasm has indeed declined compared to the last time. It seems that they should not have thought of selling the Land Rover within this year."

"In order to implement the recovery plan and deal with the possible large losses in the next two years, Mulally is going to mortgage all the assets of Ford Motor."

"But after Aston Martin was sold, they probably weren't that anxious about selling Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo."

However, Li Su has always revealed that in addition to buying some high-end car brands from international car giants, he also specially asked the sales department to pay attention to the movements of various luxury brands around the world in a timely manner.

"However, if Ford is determined to sell Land Rover, please tell me, Chris."

"Nanshan Group is still very sincere in wanting to buy Land Rover."

After a phone call, Cao Yang basically verified his conjecture.

Let's take a look at what's next.

Anyway, Aston Martin has been sold, is Land Rover still far behind?