Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

Cao Yang is very busy during this time.

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

Alan Mulally, Ford's new president and CEO.

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 $10.2 billion in 2006.

Even with the F150's best-selling, and the cost reduction actions of gearboxes and engines, it is only 2.5 billion U.S. dollars less than the historical loss of 12.7 billion.

With such a loss, Ford must do something.

Li Su is now very confident in Geely Automobile.

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

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

"Since DBR1 won the Le Mans championship and runner-up in 1959, 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."

Obviously, Penrhyn didn't think highly of Aston Martin.

Then slowly sell other brands to make the financial report look better year by year.

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

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

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.

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

"Mr. Cao, a consortium led by Prodrive Chairman David Richards acquired Aston Martin for £475 million, or $848 million."

"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?"

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

In fact, thanks to the sharing of Nanshan engine and Nanshan gearbox, the life of self-owned brand car companies such as Geely, Chery, Great Wall, Changan and BYD is much better than that of the same period in history.

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

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

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

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

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

In this case, the performance of the American market is very important.

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

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

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

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

Li Su has full confidence to make this acquisition a successful case.

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

Chris is also smart.

"Especially at Le Mans, Aston Martin has been doing well."

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

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

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

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.

Even if these cars have the logo of Xingchen Motors, it is possible to make wedding clothes for them.

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

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

"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."

If this brand can be taken down, the strength of Geely Automobile will rise to a big level in one go.

"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."

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.

"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."

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.

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

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

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

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

In particular, Volvo is still a representative company in the local area. Even if Ford Motor is to be sold, it involves many things in all aspects.

Peng Lin gave a relatively pertinent suggestion.

Cao Yang asked tentatively.

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

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

As for the Jaguar...

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

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

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

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

"At the same time, they also took the initiative to increase the advertising investment of Yangwang, blurring the concept of Xingchen Motors, making people think that Xingchen Motors is a sub-brand of Ford Motor Company just like Jaguar Land Rover."

"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."

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

"I'll think about this matter carefully."

After all, Mulally faced excess capacity, inefficient operations, strong competitors, and an average loss of $4,300 per car sold.

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.

After a quick analysis, Zeng Tingting agreed with Cao Yang's point of view.

"Cao, if you're really interested in Land Rover, you'll probably need to pay a relatively high price to make Mulally fall in love with you."

"Mulally's decision is quite timely."

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

Knowing that Cao Yang is very concerned about the sales situation in the United States, Zeng Tingting plans to fly there in person.

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

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

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

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

Along with these decisions, there will definitely be some news coming out.

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

At this time, it is the most valuable to show your efforts in front of the boss.

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.

This operation is completely logical.

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

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

"After all, if buying a sports car is not for performance, is it also for the awkward sitting posture and expensive maintenance costs?"

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

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

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

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

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

The previously established bearing trading company has been operating normally.

Cao Yang wanted to quickly build Yangwang into the first model of Xingchen Automobile with an annual production and sales of 100,000 vehicles.

"Last year, there was a historic loss of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars. Under such circumstances, it is a foolish move to hold so many car brands."

Although Ford Motor's performance last year was very good, such a large company actually lost more than 10 billion U.S. dollars.

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.

It can form a very good complementary relationship with Geely Automobile.

A bunch of compact SUV models were produced, which lowered the Land Rover brand in one fell swoop.

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

Chris has known Cao Yang for many years.

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

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

"Ford's order for us has reached 3,000 per month since May."

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.

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

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

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

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

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

This has successfully thrown off a burden.

"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."

This Chris provided a nice side income.

"However, after Aston Martin is sold, they may not be so anxious to sell Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo."

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

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

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

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.

"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. "

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.

Mulally's first step was to say a lot of rhetoric to the media, giving himself a boost.

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

But it will be trouble next year.

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

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

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

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

"Ford Motor's sales in the United States in the first quarter have been surpassed by Toyota Motor, and there is a high probability that it will lose its second place in the American market this year."

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

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

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

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

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

"The most impressive thing about Aston Martin is the identity of its 007 car. Starting from DB5, Aston Martin has always had a very close relationship with the 007 series of movies."

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

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

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

In this case, the mood is naturally good.

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

"I see!"

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.

As for the newly appointed leaders, the so-called three fires for new officials to take office.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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?