In Huaxia, the boss of any independent brand engaged in automobiles is often very thoughtful.

Whether it is BYD's Wang Fu or Geely's Li Su, this is the case.

As for Cao Yang of Xingchen Automobile, it is even more needless to say.

Last year, Xingchen Automobile acquired Jaguar Land Rover from Ford for the first time, and then successfully turned losses into profits in the first half of this year, making the value of Jaguar Land Rover rise to a new level.

I don't know how many auto companies in China are envious, jealous and hateful about this matter.

However, Jaguar Land Rover has already been taken by Xingchen Motors, and they definitely don't have a chance.

But in addition to Jaguar Land Rover, there are many car brands in this world.

Geely, which has been in contact with Ford for a long time, brought a surprise to China on Teacher's Day on September 10, 2009.

Geely Automobile's official Weibo released heavy news, indicating that the company has officially signed an agreement with Ford Motor to acquire 100% of the other party's Volvo cars.

At the same time, Ford Motor also announced the sale of Volvo cars in the United States.

This point in time is almost half a year earlier than in history.

Although neither Geely nor Ford officially announced the purchase price, news quickly circulated on the Internet.

Geely Automobile borrowed money to buy Volvo Cars for $1.8 billion!

In an instant, the news was on the hot search on Weibo.

And several related news such as Volvo Cars are also at the top of the hot search list.

"Mr. Cao, as far as we know, Geely Automobile and Ford Motor have been in contact since last year, and this time the $1.8 billion acquisition of Volvo is hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper than our acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover, and many netizens think that they are worth it."

"Of course, some people feel that Geely Automobile is a snake swallowing an elephant this time, and it will definitely have indigestion when the time comes."

Mi Ying quickly reported the information she had collected to Cao Yang.

Such a major event will definitely become the most concerned thing in the Huaxia automobile industry in the next period of time.

After all, Volvo Cars still has a certain reputation in the world.

Over the years, it has been known for its high quality, high safety and innovative technology.

"Oh?"

"Why are so many people not optimistic about this acquisition?"

Cao Yang is a person who knows the final result, so he naturally knows that this acquisition of Geely Automobile can be regarded as a success.

Although there is no way to completely control Volvo, this acquisition has contributed to the improvement of Geely Automobile's brand power and some technological improvements.

With this merger and acquisition, Geely Automobile began to firmly follow the internationalization strategy.

Geely has invested heavily in R&D and innovation while maintaining Volvo's independence, and is committed to improving product quality to meet the needs of the global market.

Geely's internationalization strategy also includes the establishment of R&D centers around the world, attracting top international automotive engineers and designers, and promoting technological innovation and product upgrades.

In the end, these are all feeding back to the Geely brand.

However, the current forces are generally not optimistic about this acquisition.

"There are several reasons for this, and it can be summed up like this."

Mi Ying, the secretary, is still very competent, and not long after the news came out, she had already collected a lot of information.

"The first point is that Geely Automobile is too weak at this time, with this year's revenue not exceeding 20 billion yuan, and car sales are estimated to be more than 300,000 units."

"Volvo is already a world-renowned car brand, inventing the three-point seat belt in 1959 and the first rear-facing child safety seat in 1972."

"In 2007, they had revenues of more than $10 billion."

"Although it has been declining in the past two years, it is still several times larger than Geely Automobile."

Mi Ying said as she observed Cao Yang's reaction in order to adjust her words in time.

"The second point is that Geely Automobile has no money, and last year, Geely Automobile's net profit was only about 1 billion."

"This year's situation will be better than last year, but the net profit is not expected to exceed 1.5 billion, how many years of money will be saved to acquire Volvo?"

"The third point is because many people feel that Geely is not alive Volvo, because the global auto giant Ford was also powerless against Volvo at that time, Volvo's annual sales forecast this year is 300,000 units, a year-on-year decline is expected, and it is expected that this year will once again refresh Volvo's sales in the past ten years."

"In this case, few people believe that Geely Automobile can do Volvo well."

"However, Mr. Li let out his words and said to the media categorically: It can't be said that Ford can't do it, Geely can't do it, the Americans can't do it, and the Chinese people can't do it either, this is not necessarily."

"Based on this situation, many people ridiculed Geely's acquisition of Volvo as a snake swallowing an elephant, a toad eating swan meat, and a poor boy marrying Bai Fumei."

Mi Ying's explanation should be a good summary of the views on this matter on the Internet.

Even within Geely Automobile, not everyone is optimistic about this acquisition.

However, Cao Yang feels that as long as Volvo Cars is done well, this matter is actually worth looking forward to.

In 1999, Ford paid $6.45 billion for the acquisition of Volvo.

Geely only needs $1.8 billion to pocket it, which is a discount that couldn't be lower.

To a certain extent, Geely Automobile can be regarded as picking up a big bargain.

Of course, Volvo can now lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and this bargain is not so easy to pick up.

"I think this acquisition is still very valuable for Geely Automobile."

"As long as Volvo's technology can be fully digested and absorbed, Geely Automobile will be able to get rid of the low-end image in the future."

"Of course, in the end, what Geely will do with Volvo depends on Mr. Li's plan."

After Cao Yang roughly understood the situation, he picked up the HONOR 3G in his hand and called Li Su to celebrate.

Li Su must have paid attention to those public opinions on the Internet.

At this time, I sincerely send some blessings to express my optimism, which can be regarded as a good fate.

Business is not about fighting and killing, but about human sophistication.

In Huaxia, even more so.

So when Li Su heard Cao Yang's blessing, his mood was also a lot better.

Of course, he was also a little unsure whether Cao Yang was a sincere blessing or a politeness.

So I couldn't help but ask rhetorically, "Mr. Cao, do you really think this acquisition is a good opportunity for Geely Automobile?" ”

No way, no matter how strong your heart is, sometimes you need encouragement.

After all, what the future will become, no one knows.

Well, except for Cao Yang.

"Of course, that's what I think."

The good things have already been said, so it is natural to implement them.

"I think this acquisition will enable Geely Auto to rapidly expand its business footprint in the global market and enhance its competitiveness by drawing on Volvo's advanced technology and management experience."

"This time, Mr. Li broke the traditional pattern of the international automobile market with his bold and pragmatic actions and created a historic breakthrough."

"This acquisition transaction demonstrates the strength and ambition of Huaxia Automobile Company to the world, and also opens up a new development direction for Huaxia Automobile Industry."

"At the same time, this acquisition is also an important step for Geely to go abroad and go global, which will help enhance the international reputation and competitiveness of Huaxia's automotive industry."

Cao Yang's words entered Li Su's ears and moved him.

Although there is no way to completely tell whether Cao Yang is completely sincere in what he said, at least the attitude of the people is very friendly.

This is completely different from the situation of many netizens and friends.

"I see a lot of potential for Volvo's technology and global reach, so I operate as a whole brand."

"On the basis of maintaining Volvo's excellent safety and product quality, Geely will leverage Geely's manufacturing efficiency and cost management advantages to upgrade existing models for Volvo, and at the same time develop new models and technologies to expand a wider range of product lines and customer bases."

"Mr. Cao, I believe that Geely's acquisition of Volvo in the future will be an important moment for China's automobile industry, just like Xingchen Automobile's acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover."

Li Su, who was in a good mood, rarely communicated his thoughts with Cao Yang.

Geely's acquisition of Volvo Cars is not something that only happens in the past few days, but has been in action since last year.

During this time, Li Su was naturally also thinking about how to operate Volvo Cars after the successful acquisition.

Like Xingchen Automobile, he has no confidence in completely controlling Jaguar Land Rover.

The most important thing is that there is a relatively large gap between Geely's brand power and Xingchen Automobile, so that Volvo remains relatively independent, which is also a correct choice at the current point of view.

Otherwise, Volvo's brand power will decline at that time, which will also be a loss for Geely Automobile.

The two had a good exchange on the matter of Huaxia automobile industry going to the world, which can be regarded as further bringing the relationship closer.

However, not every manufacturer in Huaxia's automobile industry is as optimistic about Geely's action as Cao Yang.

Chery Automobile, which has always been as famous as Geely and even the leader of its own domestic brands, has a different opinion.

"Geely borrowed more than 10 billion yuan from several banks to pay for the acquisition of Volvo."

"It's all playing with fire."

"With Geely's current profitability, it will take ten years to repay this loan."

As the head of Chery's automobile sales department, Wang Ze is naturally very concerned about Geely Automobile's trends.

After all, in Huaxia, Chery and Geely were once representatives of their own brands.

"Mr. Li is more courageous, and it is estimated that he was stimulated by the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover by Xingchen Automobile."

"They don't want to think about it, can Geely Automobile's situation be the same as Xingchen Automobile?"

"At the time of the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover, Xingchen Auto was already a successful luxury car brand, and its influence would not be much smaller than that of Jaguar Land Rover."

"And Nanshan Group itself has a very complete car manufacturing technology, and the engine and gearbox are the world's leading."

"In this case, Jaguar Land Rover is under the management of Xingchen Automobile, even if it wants to resist, there are not many chips."

"I heard that some time ago, the new president of Jaguar Land Rover was already a member of the Xingchen Department, and many key positions in the company were also held by people trusted by Xingchen Automobile."

"Originally, the management of Jaguar Land Rover, which did not support Xingchen Automobile, has been almost cleaned."

"Therefore, Xingchen Automobile's acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover is a very successful acquisition."

"But Geely Cars is different, they don't have the strength of Xingchen Cars at all, and it is impossible to fully control Volvo Cars."

"Even within Volvo Cars, there is a high probability that there will be a group of people who disobey Geely and do not listen to Geely Automobile's instructions."

"After all, equity and management are sometimes two different things."

"Geely Automobile, at most, can let Volvo Huaxia follow its own instructions."

I have to say that Yin Chuan's analysis is still very reasonable.

To a certain extent, this is also the real situation faced by Geely Automobile.

Li Suhui's proposal to let Volvo continue to operate independently also took these circumstances into account.

It's just that Yin Chuan is a little too overestimating the level of Chinese people learning new technologies and fighting against others.

In the end, although Volvo Cars was not completely mastered by Geely Automobile, what Geely Auto wanted to get was basically obtained.

When it is relisted more than ten years later, the market value can soar more than ten times, which can be regarded as a very cost-effective business.

"That's true, but this acquisition has made Geely Automobile famous."

"This may also have a certain effect on their car sales."

"Under the trade-off, I don't know if it will bring some pressure to our sales."

Wang Ze's concern is naturally not unreasonable.

Everyone is an independent brand, and the product positioning is similar.

It is said that it is a competitor, but in fact, there is no problem.

"The growth rate of this year's auto market has exceeded everyone's expectations, and the current market is already a bit in short supply."

"Most of the models, as long as they can be produced, can basically be sold."

"For the time being, the impact on our sales should not be very large."

"But we will continue to see what the long-term impact will be in the future."

Yin Chuan gave his judgment with great certainty.

Chery Automobile's sales this year can definitely set a new record.

He is confident in that.

So even if there are other unexpected circumstances, he is not worried.

……

"Xu Dong, now the news on the Internet about Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo is flying all over the sky."

"Taking this opportunity, Geely Automobile is also vigorously promoting its internationalization strategy."

"I think the negotiations for the acquisition of Saab can also be accelerated?"

Ma Guojian, as the general manager of Didu Automobile Group, is also a little anxious now.

Last year, there was a successful case of Xingchen Automobile's acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover, and now there is Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo.

However, the progress of the acquisition of Saab by Didu Automobile has not been particularly smooth.

Because the overall acquisition of Saab is relatively high, Didu Automobile Group only wants to acquire part of Saab's intellectual property.

Specifically, Saab's three models of the vehicle platform and two series of turbocharged engines, transmission technology ownership and part of the production of manufacturing molds.

At the same time, Imperial Capital Automobile Group hopes that Saab will allow them to use Saab technology to develop and manufacture their own brand models.

This kind of cooperation model is relatively rare, and both sides have some scruples.

So the pace of the negotiations is not very good.

General Motors was short of money and hoped to get rid of Saab in one go, but Imperial Capital couldn't catch it.

"According to the "Automobile Industry Adjustment and Revitalization Plan", the state guides and supports domestic advantageous automobile enterprise groups to participate in international competition and cooperation in accordance with international rules and relevant laws, and improve independent research and development capabilities and the core competitiveness of enterprises."

"I think taking the road of internationalization is an important way for Didu Automobile Group to achieve a leapfrog development strategy."

"We can appropriately raise the price, fully promote the cooperation of this project, and take this opportunity to realize the international synchronization of the research and development of independent brand passenger car products, and reach the domestic leading level."

Xu He really wanted Saab's advanced vehicle technology and powertrain technology.

In this way, they can make the independent brand business of Didu Automobile bigger and stronger.

For a long time, Imperial Capital Automobile has relied on Imperial Mercedes-Benz and Imperial Modern Motors, although the life is very nourishing, but there are not too many political achievements.

This made Xu He more depressed.

At present, the development of independent brands is an absolutely correct thing.

Therefore, it is necessary to use the money earned by Imperial Benz and Imperial Modern to find ways to improve the technical level of independent brands and increase sales.

Although Imperial Capital Automobile Group can also buy powertrain products from Nanshan engine and Nanshan transmission, there are already many companies on this road.

They want to take a different path.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to produce results.

It's just that sometimes you take a different path, just because it's easier to get results.

It is likely that the end result will be that the tuition fees are paid in vain.

"Well, then I'll fly to the United States next week to try to make the difference between the two sides greatly narrow."

"While Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo is still hot, we will also finalize the acquisition of Saab's intellectual property rights as soon as possible, and when the time comes, it will have a better effect when it is publicized in China."

Now everyone has begun to realize the importance of publicity.

So they are trying to find a way to pile up some resources into the field of propaganda.

Imperial Capital Automobile Group is no exception.

Tengzhong Heavy Industries, which did not have any fame before, became famous when it announced that it was going to acquire Hummer Motors, which is owned by General Motors.

That publicity effect made Didu Automobile Group very envious.

After the Olympic Games, China has obviously paid a lot of attention to the acquisition of enterprises overseas.

For example, when Imperial Capital Automobile acquired Saab's intellectual property, Xu He felt that there must be no problem.

However, Huaxia's own brands are now frequently acquiring other brands internationally, posing as if they want to go global.

This has also aroused the vigilance of some enterprises.

For example, Volkswagen Huaxia Branch, here, Vondel is discussing this matter with Strauss.

"I just got the news from the headquarters that the design director of Audi has submitted a resignation application to the company and is ready to jump to BYD Auto as the design director."

"Porsche's design director also jumped to Xingchen Automobile as a design director."

"According to the news of some domestic automobile companies in Huaxia, they have also successively recruited some designers from various automobile giants to serve as the company's design director."

"This is a bad sign, and the pressure on us from these companies in the Chinese market will be even greater in the future."

This year, Volkswagen's development momentum in China is very good.

Consumers are more forgetful.

Things like the previous Passat collision door, the influence is slowly disappearing.

Therefore, although the sales situation of the North and South Volkswagen is not as good as the situation of the original time and space, it also continues to occupy the first position in the market.

However, other companies are catching up quickly, and Volkswagen's advantage is becoming less and less obvious, and it may be surpassed at any time.

That's why Strauss became anxious.

"On the one hand, we poach people from various car companies, and on the other hand, we spend money to buy some brands."

"China's automobile industry is indeed undergoing great changes."

"Especially last year, Xingchen Automobile acquired Jaguar Land Rover and managed them very well."

"Now Geely Automobile has acquired Volvo Cars, and it has achieved a snake swallowing elephant jump."

"It is said that many Chinese car companies are still in contact with companies such as General Motors and Ford Motor to discuss whether they can acquire other car brands or technologies."

"It's a very bad situation for us."

"However, I don't think you need to worry about it."

"Huaxia's car companies have been focusing on China before, lacking enough international experience, and it is unlikely that they will catch up in a short period of time."

Although Vondel is also very anxious, when his subordinates reveal their anxiety to him, he must show confidence.

Otherwise, wouldn't the situation get out of hand?

Besides, compared with Volkswagen's performance in other markets, the results of Volkswagen Huaxia this year are very outstanding.

The next few years are also promising.

If you want to open a little, there are actually not so many things to worry about.

"That's right, on Huaxia's own Internet, there are few people who are optimistic about Geely Automobile's acquisition of Volvo."

"I also think that it is not so easy for the Huaxia automobile industry to go global."

"The competition in the market outside is very fierce, and it is not as high as the annual growth rate of Huaxia."

"At that time, all the money that these companies have worked hard to earn at home will be lost abroad."

After listening to Vondel's words, Strauss was inexplicably much less stressed.

All he had to do was give back his worries.

The boss didn't feel that there was a need to worry, he didn't have to toss so much.

After all, everyone is essentially a worker.

The results are basically enough, continue to get more brilliant, and it seems that there will be no more?

With this mindset in mind, Strauss felt that he was in a much better mood.

Of course, this is also because he has been in Huaxia for so many years, and he has also been hit a lot.

I can't continue to beat myself like that every time.

(End of chapter)