Chung Hwa Group invited Chinese celebrities from Detroit to participate in the independent dinner, the purpose of which was to promote the image of Chung Hwa Group, and to thank the local Chinese people for their support to Chung Hwa Group and maintain the friendship between the two sides. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Han Hao understands why Americans are keen to hold all kinds of banquets and cocktail parties, which is actually a place of communication. Everyone took advantage of this opportunity to expand their personal connections with each other.

Fortunately, Zhou Yi and Zhao Quanfu, the presidents of the Chinese Friendship Association, were on the side to help, otherwise Han Hao would not be able to cope with the celebrities who followed.

As one of the richest people in China, Han Hao sent out a total of 200 invitations to the Chinese dinner held this time. Unexpectedly, the supply exceeded the demand, and many people took the initiative to ask for it, and later added 100 sheets.

Accidentally, the Chinese dinner became a hot spot for celebrities in Detroit, which was originally mainly within the scope of the Chinese circle, and many white figures appeared at the venue.

Many of them are representatives of American auto parts manufacturers, who intend to enter the Chinese market, and take this opportunity to contact Han Hao.

"GM's success in China last year has spurred many auto parts makers to try their luck in China, where costs are too high. But I'm not familiar with China, so I'm looking forward to working with experienced partners. ”

Zhou Yi on the side whispered to Han Hao.

"Does that mean that there will be common interests between us, China's auto parts base is very weak, it is difficult to develop by its own strength, if it can be combined with foreign advanced enterprises, this is a very good way. ”

Han Hao's mind spun quickly, and he grabbed the key part at once.

"Cooperation with Chinese companies will help them reduce risks and costs, but it depends on the terms of negotiation between the two sides. ”

In-depth negotiations will definitely not be possible, and many representatives of manufacturers just hold the purpose of recognizing their faces, and leave their contact information and then visit China for detailed discussions.

But there were other giant crocodiles at the scene, and Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Company, unexpectedly appeared at the banquet.

As the great-grandson of Henry Ford, the automaker who invented the assembly line and produced the Model T to bring cars to thousands of households, Bill Ford is the actual head of Ford Motors.

His appearance made many people's first thought that Ford was eyeing the Zhonghua Group and preparing for a joint venture between the two sides.

While its old rival General Motors has entered China, Ford has been denied entry, and is significantly shorter than GM on the stock market.

Ford was actually ready to enter China very early, as early as the mid-80s, when it smelled the allure of the Chinese market.

In 1984, on the commercial vehicle project of Nanqi, Ford had a very good talk with Nanqi, and Nanqi also wanted to cooperate with Ford, which ranked second in the world at that time with sales of 5.59 million, to introduce Transit.

It's a pity that the cooperation plan that was originally negotiated was successfully disrupted by the Italian Fiat. At that time, Fiat's annual output was only 1.41 million yuan, ranking ninth, but it had a good cooperative relationship with the Chinese government during the construction of the second automobile, and even built a special building for Chinese tractor training personnel who went to Italy in the early days of reform and opening up.

Fiat offered preferential terms for the Iveco project, and the Italian government provided a state loan and agreed to transfer the technology for the subsequent facelift of the Iveco model to the Chinese side. Therefore, with the intervention of the central government, the cooperation between Nanqi and Ford was beaten by the stick, and he was forced to marry Fiat Iveco.

Originally, Ford's chief negotiator had reached a cooperation agreement with NAIC, but was stopped by the Chinese government, so he returned to the United States in a fit of anger and suffered a stroke.

The news that the Nanqi project failed and Ford came to China to seek cooperation was known to the leading leaders of the second automobile at the time. The two sides soon opened secret contacts, and at that time the second automobile had been looking for an opportunity to get into the car, and Ford was undoubtedly a very suitable partner. In order to ensure that the project was successfully approved by the central government, the Second Automobile specially took the lead in creating a "three provinces and five parties" and pulled other provinces and regions to cooperate with Ford.

The negotiations lasted two years, and Ford spent 3 million US dollars to make various feasibility reports, and the central government tacitly agreed that the second automobile could cooperate with Ford.

In 1986, the Second Automobile Company was ready to sign a contract with Ford, and the Ford delegation from the United States had come to the Capital Hotel to sign a contract with the Chinese side for 300,000 cars.

Unexpectedly, fate played tricks on Ford again, and FAW suddenly decided to terminate the cooperation with Ford before signing the contract.

"I really can't imagine that your words don't count for such a big company in China, and you have no business reputation!"

Another of Ford's chief negotiators tearfully expressed his displeasure with the Chinese personnel.

The joint venture strategy was originally good, why did the second automobile suddenly change its hexagram?

Just because the head of the second automobile changed heads, the major decisions made by the previous main leaders were overturned by the successors, and Ford once again fell on the threshold of entering the Chinese market.

The fruits negotiated by Ford were later picked by the French Citroen company, and the second automobile company established Shenlong Fukang.

However, the ill-fated Ford still failed to get out of the doom in the Chinese market.

When SAIC Motor was preparing to introduce a second partner, Ford had to contact SAIC first than GM, or at the introduction of the central leadership, and the Chinese government once revealed its support for Ford's involvement in the SAIC project.

It's a pity that this original cooperation was disrupted by the third party, General Motors. In order to enter China, General Motors desperately lowered prices, and gave many conditions that the Chinese government could not refuse. Helping China establish an internationally competitive automotive industry system, putting the latest products and core components into China, and establishing a joint venture R&D center to train automotive talents for China.

Ford had no choice but to add the same conditions, and almost tore its face with GM in the competition for SAIC. Under the premise that the conditions of the two sides are the same, SAIC can only look at the competitiveness of their respective products. Ford offered the Taurus model, while GM took out the Buick.

After comparison, Buick is more suitable for official car needs than Taurus, and General Motors also wears the crown of the world's No. 1 automobile company.

In this way, Ford has experienced three reversals in China in a row, and can be described as the most miserable foreign auto giant.

Where there is a cause, there is an effect, and feng shui takes turns.

After Ford's SAIC project was discontinued, the Chinese government reintroduced its cooperation with Nanqi in order to compensate Ford. However, Ford didn't like Nanqi, and broke up after a perfunctory conversation. The drinking and hating of the year was out, but Ford has never forgotten it. Later, Ford Transit cooperated with Jiangling Motors and became Iveco's main competitor. Nanqi has also failed to catch up with the world's second largest auto giant, and can only have a small fight with Fiat cars, and now there is no car catalog.

Subsequently, in the late 90s, due to business difficulties, the second automobile once again took the initiative to seek cooperation with Ford Motor. This time, Ford didn't pay too much attention to the second automobile, and the backsliding of the year hurt Ford very much. Therefore, in the negotiations, he did not hesitate to open his mouth to reduce the price, and in fact, he did not want to be too entangled with the second automobile. The second automobile also missed the joint venture partner that could turn it over in advance, and for this reason, it sank in the predicament for many years. Of course, this also gives the Zhonghua Group the opportunity to intervene, if the second automobile is not weak, then private enterprises want to enter the field of cars in a grand way is a dream.

Ford's perseverance continues, and now in China, talks are underway with the Changan Group to jointly produce sedans. However, Ford's intervention has made Suzuki very dissatisfied, and it is now informing China through various channels, including the Japanese government, to block the cooperation between Ford and Changan.

If the negotiation with Changan Group is out again this time, then Ford will really have to find someone to take a good look at Feng Shui.

Although the talks with Chang'an are good now, due to the lessons of the past, as long as the contract is not formally signed for one day, then it cannot be asserted that the cooperation is successful.

"Hello, Mr. Han Hao, I have been looking forward to seeing you as soon as possible, and today I finally have the opportunity, I hope you will not be dissatisfied with my sudden appearance. ”

Three generations of nobles, as the successor of the Ford family, Bill Ford is handsome, received a good education since childhood, and is very comfortable in receiving people and things.

Ford is 50 times larger than Zhonghua Group, with a market value of more than $50 billion, making it the second largest automaker in the world. Having just taken over Jaguar Land Rover, it also annexed Volvo, and actually controls Japan's Mazda Motor with more than 30% of the shares, and Ford is a giant enterprise in Han Hao's view.

"Mr. Bill, your presence is the biggest surprise of the night. Your grandfather, Mr. Ford, was a role model for all those who work in the automotive industry, and I am honored to meet you. ”

Silently, Han Hao responded to the other party politely.

"If you don't mind, I'd suggest we move to a quieter place to talk, and maybe we'll have something together after tonight. ”

Bill Ford's purpose in this visit is very obvious, which is to find another partner for Ford in China.

Originally, Changan Group was considered by Ford Motor to be the most competitive enterprise outside China's three major automobile groups, but it did not expect that in a short period of time, Zhonghua Group has sprung up, and now it has begun to suppress Changan Group in various fields.

The holding of the Chinese dinner tonight just gave Bill Ford a good opportunity to have face-to-face discussions with the head of the China Group.

"If Ford Motor is looking for another partner in China, would your Zhonghua Group be interested in working with us?"

Straight into the knife directly, Bill Ford didn't say too much greetings and threw a hydrangea to Han Hao.

"Aren't you negotiating with Changan Automobile? Wouldn't it be a bit hasty to choose a second partner so quickly?"

Ford's direct play made Han Hao unable to deal with it for a while, so he had to talk first to see what the other party meant.

"The success of General Motors has put a lot of pressure on us, and the Chinese market has shown great potential. If China's home market is launched, it will definitely bring more magical performance. I know from credible sources that the Chinese government is preparing to include family cars as part of its development plan for the next five years. This shows that if you are prepared now, you will be able to gain more in the future.

We had good talks with Chang'an and should be close to signing soon. It's a trade secret, but I'm happy to share it with you, as it will help us in the rest of our conversation. ”

Before coming, Bill Ford had done enough work to convince people like Han Hao that he had to be well prepared.

"The Ford Group has many car brands, in addition to Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Mazda, and even Lincoln. For the time being, our cooperation with Changan is limited to the Ford brand, and there is considerable room for cooperation in other sub-brands.

GM is putting a lot of pressure on us around the world, and even though they entered the Chinese market first, we at Ford hope to catch up and beat them in the Chinese market to defend the honor of being number one in the world. ”

Ford was in a hurry to find a second partner in response to General Motors' attack. Within Ford, Zhonghua Group emerged as another candidate for the best partner in China.

In just a few years, the products of Zhonghua Group have conquered the low-end market in China, showing a strong grasp of the Chinese market. If Ford can cooperate with a local snake like Zhonghua Group, then it will definitely open up the Chinese market soon.

"We have just formed a joint venture with BMW, and if we have a joint venture with you, I am afraid that it will cause them to be dissatisfied. ”

Taking advance as retreat, Han Hao did not directly respond to the other party's remarks.

"As I said earlier, we still have many sub-brands of Ford waiting to enter China, and they will not form a direct competition with BMW. If you insist, BMW probably won't be too careful. Aren't you Chinese the most particular about the balance of yin and yang? Just like SAIC Motor introduced another foreign auto giant in addition to Volkswagen, I have long understood the wisdom of your Chinese balance.

If you cooperate with Ford, the benefits will definitely outweigh the disadvantages for your Zhonghua Group.

Today I'm just here to convey the goodwill of our Ford company, and as for how to negotiate, I still need to figure out how to negotiate. It's your home day, and I can't take up too much of your time as a guest, but the other guests outside will be dissatisfied.

In some time, I will personally visit China and hope to have a satisfactory answer at that time. ”

Appeared unexpectedly and left quietly, Bill Ford gave Han Hao a great surprise.

The dinner went very smoothly, and the reputation of the Chinese Group in Detroit went to another level.

The trip to the United States was a great success, and Chunghwa Group has harvested nearly 150 talents from Detroit, all of whom have practical experience in the field of automotive technology, and will return to China to join the China Automotive Research Institute as a technical backbone, leading domestic R&D personnel to start a journey to catch up with the international mainstream level.

"The flow of talent is a general trend, and in the past, the return of Japanese and Korean automotive talents has led the Chinese talent boom since the beginning of us. Before leaving, I also talked with President Zhou of the Chinese Factory Association, and seeing that our Zhonghua Group has recruited a large number of professionals, it is estimated that other domestic automobile companies should also take action. ”

On the return plane, Zhao Quanfu said to Han Hao.

"If other domestic companies can also recruit foreign elite talents to return to China, it will be a great blessing for China's auto industry. This time, many people did not sign a contract with us because they were afraid that the private sector would not have a strong background in China and could collapse at any time. On the contrary, the state-owned enterprises directly under the state will not sit idly by, so there will be no risk of bankruptcy and bankruptcy, and they hope for a stable working environment when they return to China. ”

After sitting on a long plane for too long, Han Hao stretched and replied that he had been thinking about Ford's proposal just now.

"What do you think of Ford's initiative to seek a joint venture?"

After a while, Han Hao decided to listen to the opinions of industry expert Zhao Quanfu.