Chapter 702: Rover's Question

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"You've been reading Rover's information, haven't you?"

"Tell me a little bit. ”

Bo Ruituo nodded, after organizing the language, "In 1994, after BMW acquired Rover, it invested more than 3 billion US dollars before and after to transform its production line and R&D system, although it failed to reverse Rover's predicament in the end, but its stamping, welding, painting, final assembly, and engine and chassis production lines are the world's top, R & D capabilities and technical reserves are also very good, K series engines are very balanced in terms of durability, fuel economy and noise, and are one of the top ten engines in Ward." ”

"In terms of assets, Rover's 580 acres of industrial land at two sites, six production lines and two engine lines, as well as an office in Birmingham, are valued at approximately $2.5 billion. In terms of technology, the Rover 25, 45, 75, 75 Tourer models, as well as the MGZR, ZS, ZT, ZT-T and the UK's best-selling MGTF sports car, the entire technical value of the XPOVER road race car is around $400 million. In addition, we also need the Austin brand, but after losing the mini, we can only develop it from scratch if we want to enter the mini car field. To sum up, the assets of Rover Motors are now about $3.2 billion. ”

"In terms of debt, Rover defaulted on bank loans, institutional financing of $3.94 billion, suppliers owed $780 million, and workers owed $130 million, for a total accumulated debt of $4.85 billion. The largest of these was a £427 million interest-free loan from BMW AG in 2000. ”

Guo Shouyun nodded and said: "I am more concerned than debt, why did Rover fall to the point where it is now? Even the BMW Group did not save them." ”

"I'm afraid it has to start at the root. … The birthplace of the modern industrial revolution was Britain, but the British were conservative and had a lot of doubts about this new thing from the moment the automobile was first named. Not long after the invention of the automobile, the European continent adopted an enlightened policy towards the production and use of automobiles, while the United Kingdom, on the contrary, began to implement the 'Red Flag Law'. ”

The law, which was heavily lobbied by Britain's powerful railway conglomerate, forbade cars from speeding faster than walking, and had a red flag signalman in front of them when driving in town. The implementation of the law has become a serious obstacle to the popularization of automobiles. In 1896, this unpopular law was repealed, and the British automobile industry, which relied on strong economic strength and excellent talents, ushered in a golden age, and famous car brands such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley emerged. ”

But after the end of the Second World War, the British government began to impose tariff protection on the country's auto industry, and for this reason, Britain's efforts to join the European Community were repeatedly frustrated. Eventually, the British government made a compromise and removed tariff barriers. The British auto industry, although not facing a quaint wavering, is beginning to face competition from foreign products. ”

In addition, since 1952, Britain began to implement the policy of installment credit sales, but the United Kingdom is an importing country, and in order to improve the balance of payments, the British government often adopts policies to reduce the rate of domestic economic growth, limit domestic demand, and encourage exports. Between 1952 and 1973, the installment bill was amended 18 times, resulting in fluctuations in domestic demand. British automakers are afraid to increase production because they can't feel the pulse of domestic demand. For example, in 1961, the production capacity of British car factories was 3 million vehicles, but only 1 million vehicles were actually produced. At a time when British cars were turning to exports, the British government introduced a policy to protect the pound at the end of the 60s of the 20th century, which made British car exports unprofitable. ”

"In the case of weak domestic and external demand, the production and sales of the British car industry can only remain at a low level, which affects the innovation ability of the British car industry and further exacerbates the backwardness of the British car industry. ”

"The ups and downs of the British policy over the past hundred years have resulted in British cars never entering real mass production. So, whether it's Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Rover, Jaguar, or Aston Martin or Austin, they are all high-end luxury cars that strive for excellence, led by stubborn and conservative Britons, like a conservative old aristocrat, who never designs cars from the user's point of view. What they want is to design cars that they think are good and for the market to accept them. Therefore, the British car has always been a royal car, a noble car, a tempered art, not a means of transportation for people to travel. ”

"Under this kind of ideological guidance, the performance and comfort of British cars are certainly satisfactory. However, compared with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Toyota and other peers, they are slow to update and iterate, do not adapt to the real market demand, and have low advertising and marketing strategies, and even cope with the degree, which will naturally be eliminated by the market. ”

"As for why BMW lost nearly $3 billion after buying Rover. In fact, many research agencies have different conclusions, but in summary, it is still BMW's positioning problem at the beginning. BMW's acquisition of Rover is intended to take advantage of the popularity, technology, and products of the luxury cars that Rover has accumulated over the past 100 years to improve its own car lineup. Therefore, he updated Rover's production plant and developed the Rover 75 sedan, which was popular in the market, but did not fundamentally change Rover's organizational structure, management methods, reward and punishment system, corporate culture and marketing model. ”

"Rover is still the same Rover, although it has become a subsidiary of BMW, it has not changed its core. Naturally, losses don't change easily. Therefore, if we acquire Rover, in addition to using its technology to improve our new car development, we will also use its brand and channels to open up international markets, especially the European market. But the first thing to do is to carry out an all-round and thorough transformation of its management, marketing, and especially corporate culture from top to bottom. If not, the outcome of our acquisition of Rover will not be much different from that of BMW. ”

"In addition, the transformation of corporate culture is not something that can be achieved overnight, and it may take us several years, or even more than ten years. Coupled with the current atmosphere of the automotive industry in the UK, our transformation may not be successful. ”

Guo Shouyun nodded, and after a moment of silence, "Bo Ruituo, I believe in your ability." So how to transform Rover, how to develop the Red Star Automobile Group, you can rest assured and boldly follow your ideas on the basis of the advice I provided, you can find the best managers, R&D personnel and sales talents in the world, and I will provide you with sufficient funds. If BMW can bring Rolls-Royce back to life, and Volkswagen can bring Bentley back to life, there's no reason we can't. I always believe that things are done by man, and man will win the day!"

Guo Shouyun's words were full of confidence, with a strong contagion, which made Bo Ruituo, who was sitting next to him, also feel broken for a while.

"With such an imaginative and prolific genius designer as the boss in terms of car shape, interior, aerodynamics, etc., I believe that it is not a dream to revitalize Rover and make Red Star Automobile Group become the world's top automobile manufacturer!"

Now I think of the exquisite and beautiful car design drawings that Guo Shouyun has shown me, and I am still excited. This is where his greatest confidence lies in reversing Rover's decline.

"I also believe that Red Star Automobile Group will have such a future!" Guo Shouyun took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and handed them over.

"What is this?"

"In the future, you may have to run between China and the United Kingdom, so I ordered a Boeing business jet for your use, take it!"

Looking at the medicine spoon handed to him, Bo Ruituo showed a look of surprise on his face. The Brecco investment company he worked for before had never been treated like this.

"This... Is it appropriate?"

"While I agree with Lehman's frugal and efficient approach to corporate management and culture, I don't think it's right to let executives waste their valuable time waiting and transiting. That's why every company that has a lot of international business will have a business jet for senior management to travel. So you're not alone, and you don't have to excuse yourself!"

Hearing this, Bo Ruituo breathed a sigh of relief and took the medicine spoon. He has worked for many years in Brecco Investment Company, the predecessor of 3G Capital, and has become accustomed to its frugality towards high-ranking officials, and now it has suddenly changed, and it is really a little uncomfortable.

"Alright, you've just flown from the magic capital to London, so let's get some rest. Tomorrow morning we go to Birmingham Long Bridge. ”

"Yes!"

"I'll go first!"

After Guo Shouyun waved his hand, he turned around and left the hotel where Bo Ruituo was staying.