How important is the automotive industry to the Chinese government?

The following set of simple data is enough to explain why China Group's investment in the United States should be discussed at the national center level.

In 2009, the number of automobile-related employees in China was close to 40 million, accounting for more than 10% of the country's urban employment population, paying more than 800 billion yuan for the state, reaching 11% of the national tax revenue, second only to the real estate industry and slightly higher than another special industry, tobacco.

As a leading enterprise in China's automobile industry and a seed player expected to break the monopoly of international giants, it is not surprising that Zhonghua Group's every move is enough to involve national economic security, and it is not surprising that it has received great attention from the top management.

Fortunately, the materials submitted by the Chunghwa Group convinced the top government officials, and Han Hao's personal influence played an important role in this.

"If it weren't for a people's entrepreneur like Han Hao, if someone else came forward, the chances of the investment plan being rejected were a certainty.

We all think that this business activity is very risky, but on Han Hao, it is enough to offset the unknown risks.

To use a common saying, that is: he does things, the country can rest assured!"

A person who participated in the high-level national live discussion revealed the details on the condition of anonymity.

However, before the country officially stated its position, the news of Zhonghua Group's multinational investment and construction of factories in the United States was disclosed by the media, which immediately caused an uproar, and the scope of the impact was not only hotly discussed in China but also detonated in foreign media circles.

At the beginning, after the annexation of Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo, the Chung Hwa Group became a sensation in the global business circle. In less than two years, they can't wait to announce that they will invest and build factories in North America, and such a big step has made many media question whether the Chinese are too inflated and dizzy.

China's automobile industry has made great progress, especially the Zhonghua Group, which has made great contributions, which can be said to have single-handedly pulled China's automobile industry to the international leading level. There are achievements, but to admit that Chinese can face direct competition with foreign auto giants, especially to enter the ironclad American market, to be honest, everyone is not yet mentally prepared.

Even though China's total economic output is second only to that of the United States, the heart of the entire Chinese nation has not yet matched its actual status, and the spirit of a great country like the Han and Tang Dynasties and the mentality of the Celestial Empire have not yet recovered.

Because of the long-term propaganda and reality, we Chinese have become accustomed to looking at foreign countries with low heads, and the imprint of excessive modesty on our bodies cannot be removed for a while.

Change takes strength, but it also takes time.

As a result, when Zhonghua Group announced its investment in the United States, many domestic media believed that now was not the best time and kindly reminded Han Hao not to be hot-headed.

"Overseas investment is not a trick, and China's successful experience may not be applicable abroad. Economic development and scientific and technological progress have their own laws, and the promotion of seedlings and blind arrogance will have an immeasurable negative impact on a newly successful enterprise.

It took more than 20 years for Japanese and South Korean cars to enter the United States. At this time, if Chinese cars want to enter the mature and saturated American market, they need to cultivate their internal skills first, and then land after they really have the corresponding strength.

Chinese cars definitely have the strength to break into the United States, but it should not be now, and the timing in 5 years is more appropriate. ”

A domestic media that has repeatedly sung praises for the China Group has changed its camp this time and intends to urge Han Hao to cancel this radical investment trip.

The "China Economic Daily", which has not spoken for a long time, has insisted on singing against Han Hao since the establishment of the Zhonghua Group, and it has become their politically correct orientation to provoke thorns for the Zhonghua Group.

They used three special topics in a row to make negative reports on the China Group's investment in the United States, and did not hesitate to conduct public opinion surveys to conduct anonymous research from three aspects: the industry, the public, and even the employees within the China Group.

"We sent out 300 questionnaires in the automotive industry, involving professionals at all levels. A total of 262 valid questionnaires were collected, among which 81% of people were not optimistic about the success of Zhonghua Group's investment in the United States, 16% were uncertain, and only 3% were supportive.

The sample size of the public was even larger, with 76 percent of the 1,000 surveys sent out clearly disfavoring them, while less than 8 percent supported them. In the secret ballot on the official website of this magazine, more than 30,000 netizens participated, and more than 68% chose not to be optimistic about the option, and less than 5% believed that Zhonghua Group could succeed.

What is even more surprising is that more than 200 employees of China Group participated in the survey, of which only 17% believed that the company's investment was correct, more than 52% said that it was not accurate, and the remaining 31% voted against.

Three samples, almost identical poll results. The numbers don't lie, and behind the cold numbers is a ruthless truth: the prospect of China Group's investment in the United States is not good, and it may be destined to be a typical failure with a cost of billions of dollars. ”

It can be said that the "China Economic Daily" has spent a lot of manpower this time, and the final conclusion is not only the bias that the newspaper has always had, but also objectively reflects the real public opinion.

This wind of skepticism is not only echoing at home, but also blowing abroad, especially the target country, the United States.

"If the Chinese can successfully integrate the Land Rover and Volvo brands before entering the North American car market, we will think this is a smart move."

But if you have already eaten two large burgers in your stomach and ordered another pizza without digesting it, it is an act of self-indulgence.

For North American consumers, Chinese automobiles are a blank slate and have no influence! In terms of technology and brand, Chinese automobiles have not reached the world's first-class level, let alone can compete directly with American, Japanese, European, and Korean automobiles. From a professional point of view, the failure rate of Chinese factories is more than 90% if they are really put into production within 5 years. ”

Experts in the automotive industry invited by the FOX news channel vowed to express their extreme disapproval of Chinese investment and construction of factories in the United States.

"The Chinese are really here!"

The protagonist of the "wolf" story that he had been shouting for a long time finally couldn't help but take the stage, and the major giants of the American auto market reacted differently.

I used to think that "the Chinese are coming" is just that they used Land Rover and Volvo to perform on stage, after all, they have just acquired Land Rover and Volvo in Sunset West Mountain, and reviving both is the top priority. But I didn't expect the Chinese to have too much appetite, not only Land Rover and Volvo opened the way, they also brought their own car brands to the stage.

"While I admire Han's courage very much, I would say that Chinese brands still have a long way to go if they want to squeeze into the door of the U.S. auto market!

Ford is not worried that his former allies will turn their guns on him, because they are not yet qualified to enter the same battlefield.

The 'One Ford' strategy has already paid off, and we aim to return to the top three in the world, and how well Chinese cars are performing is not a question we should be concerned about." ”

Ford CEO Murali, a person close to the Chung Hwa Group, gave an understatement to the news within the company.

After slimming down, Ford has regained its vitality, and their enemies are only Japanese brands, and of course the old rival General Motors will not be absent.

The North American auto market was already struggling, and now there are new competitors, which makes Volkswagen, which has been unable to open the American market for a long time, feel a little threatened, but things are still under control, and it also gives them new opportunities.

"Volkswagen will not abandon the North American market, and although we have been slow to meet our expectations, it is enough to show the level of competition in the region.

Even our Volkswagen can't get into the territory, if Chinese cars want to be new to the new and successful, it is basically a fantasy.

But the Chinese have also sounded a wake-up call that if we don't work hard, they will catch up one day, and we must run faster.

China Group's investment in the United States will definitely involve a lot of energy, and this is a rare opportunity for us.

In the future, we will increase investment in the Chinese market and strive to regain our hegemony, the US market is very important, but the Chinese market is of more strategic importance. ”

Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn's chessboard includes the global market, and he is looking for an opportunity to regain his strength in China's auto market and try to pull the Chunghwa Group down.

Hyundai-Kia Group, the representative of South Korean automobiles, has developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the U.S. market, which has made Korean brands change their reputation for poor quality in the past and now become the preferred target for cost performance.

This time, Chinese cars will land in North America, and it is believed that the most affected is the Korean cars with similar positioning.

Confirming the news of the imminent landing of the Chinese, Hyundai-Kia Group held a high-level meeting to make a specific analysis of the Chung Hwa Group.

"Although China's automobiles are developing rapidly, they still have a 3-5 year technology gap compared with our company. Especially in the field of AT transmissions and engines, the Chinese are still studying hard.

It has been more than 20 years since we entered the U.S. market to achieve today's position, and even if the Chinese work hard and produce excellent products, it will take them at least 10 years to catch up with us.

In the field of new energy vehicles, although the Chinese are ahead, they will not become mainstream in the next 10 years, their advantages will not turn into victory, and we have enough time to catch up and surpass them.

Therefore, although Chinese cars are worth paying attention to, our biggest opponent is still Japanese brands, as long as we can maintain the advantage of Japanese cars, then the Chinese naturally have nothing to fear. ”

Although Hyundai-Kia Group has a certain degree of vigilance against the China Group, it is not ranked in terms of the degree of attention, because they know how difficult the American car market is, and Chinese still have a lot of tuition to pay.

Among the many auto giants, Toyota Motor attaches the most importance to the strategy of Zhonghua Group, which is inseparable from their head Akio Toyoda.

"The Chinese are a terrible people, and in the long history of mankind, only they have maintained thousands of years of cultural inheritance without interruption.

All countries and forces that underestimate the Chinese have suffered a lot, and their spirit of unremitting self-improvement is admirable. The Chinese used to be our long-term teachers, and even if we have briefly swapped identities with them in recent times, they still have more potential and more powerful than us in the macro sense.

Although Toyota has become the world's hegemon as it wished, one of the objects that worries me the most is Volkswagen, which is strictly German, and it is the vigorous Zhonghua Group. If the Chinese are allowed to gain a foothold in the United States, then sooner or later they will be our henchmen.

Of course, this time course may be 10 years, or it may be the next 20 years or more, but I believe that this day will come.

In the future, in the global market, we should list the Chunghwa Group as a category of competitors, and do not let them develop and grow, and raise tigers to become the second Korean Hyundai Kia. ”

Han Hao didn't expect that Zhonghua Group's move would cause such a big storm, and he had to respond to many doubts, and he soon ushered in a good opportunity.