Although the Russian diplomatic team has already made plans to buy trucks, the Russian military is also satisfied with the speed of production of trucks.

But for a big business, the negotiation will not be so fast.

Under the leadership of Bentz, the Russian diplomatic delegation visited the tire production workshop, the car body assembly workshop, the vehicle assembly workshop, etc., and even visited the Diesel engine plant next door to the Benz Automobile Plant.

Diesel Engine Works is the official engine supplier for Benz Motors, the largest and most advanced engine manufacturer in Australasia.

It is no exaggeration to say that the various types of engines produced by the Diesel Engine Factory are supplied to shipyards, automobile factories, military factories, machinery factories, airship companies and other large heavy industrial plants, and are the most indispensable enterprises in the power field of Australasia.

The Russian delegates thought that Russia's industry was second only to Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, but when they saw the advanced industrial system of Australasia, they understood Russia's current backwardness.

It is no exaggeration to say that Russia's leading industry compared to Australasia is only in terms of total size.

When the Russian delegates saw the factories in Australasia that made full use of the assembly line, it was impossible not to envy them.

Although a long time has passed since the birth of the assembly line, assembly line production is not new to major European countries.

But in reality, there are not many factories that really popularize assembly line production, and most of them are concentrated in new industrial powers like the United States and Germany.

For an old power like Russia, there are not many factories that use assembly lines for production. Even many factories are still using older technologies, decades behind assembly line production.

But it's not easy to make a difference. After all, there are so many such old factories in Russia, and many capitalists are reluctant to use new technologies.

After all, new technology requires the purchase of new equipment, and new equipment is a huge amount of money, and it is not necessary for those capitalists to spend.

To the surprise and admiration of the Russian delegates, Benz took them on a tour of the entire car factory and then led them back to the conference room.

Now that the inspection has been completed, the next step is to negotiate the specific details of the car order.

After everyone was seated, Benz smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are very optimistic about the cooperation with your country, can you tell us about your country's specific requirements?" ”

"Mr. Bentz, we are satisfied with your production technology and production speed. To be honest, of course, we are willing to cooperate with your factory and quickly sign the purchase order of the car. But you also know that the financial situation of our government is not very good, can your factory have a big concession in terms of the price of trucks? The Russian military was the first to speak up, affirming the advanced production technology of the Benz Automobile Plant, but did not forget to fulfill its duty to keep the price of the truck as low as possible.

The words of the Russian representative relieved Bentz. According to the attitude of the Russian representatives, the order for the purchase of the truck has almost been agreed upon.

As for the Russians' desire to lower the price, Arthur and Benz had long anticipated it. After all, people usually need to bargain for vegetables and meat, not to mention this kind of large share of trade between countries.

A slight cut in the selling price can result in a change in the total price by the thousands.

This is certainly a money-saving opportunity not to be missed for the Russian government, which is currently in a dwarfed financial situation.

"It's natural, Your Excellency. We attach great importance to our cooperation with your country. By order of His Majesty, we will offer you the lowest selling price for Benz trucks, $520 for B1 trucks and $710 for B2 trucks. Compared with the selling price provided by European factories to Britain, France and Germany, this price has been reduced a lot. Bentz's assistant directly stated the price of the car that Arthur had decided in advance.

This price did not deceive the Russians, and compared with the price offered by European factories to Britain, France and Germany, it was generally reduced by tens of Australian dollars.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the per capita income gap between Europe and Australasia is the reason for this phenomenon.

European factories pay more wages to workers, which means that the cost of cars and trucks produced in European factories is higher than that of Australasian factories.

The German factory offered the German government 7,500 marks (£375, 750 A$) per B2 car, about $40 more expensive than Australasia's offer to Russia.

The British factory quoted the British and French at £380 per B2 car, or 760 Australian dollars.

The reason for this disparity is that Britain has a higher per capita income than Germany, and the cost to workers is higher than that of Germany.

In this comparison, Australasia's offer to Russia is already very low, which seems to be a good deal.

You know, the official external price of the B2 truck is as high as 800 Australian dollars, and the price of the European powers is already much cheaper.

After all, the major powers are the largest customers of the automobile factory, and Britain, France and Germany, as several of the most powerful countries in the world, still have to give face.

Although the price offered by the Benz Automobile Plant was already very conscientious, the Russian delegation was obviously not satisfied and wanted to push the price down even more.

"Mr. Bentz, such a price is still too high for our finances. We need a large number of trucks, and we hope that your factory can see the friendly relations between the two countries and lower the price a little lower. The representative of the Russian military said: "If the price is fair, I promise your factory that I will get orders for at least 10,000 trucks from China." And that's not all. If the trucks are really good for the troops, we will also purchase your trucks. ”

"What do you think is the right price?" Benz thought for a moment and asked with a smile.

"In my opinion, the B1 is $450 and the B2 is around $650. If your factory agrees, then we can sign the order immediately. The representative of the Russian military said without hesitation.

This bargaining is not ruthless. On top of what was already the lowest price, both types of trucks were cut for sixty or seventy dollars.

The price of the cut is even close to one-tenth of the selling price of the two trucks, and it is almost at the level of the cost price of the two trucks.

"Your Excellency, General, we cannot accept such a price. We are willing to continue to lower the price on top of the low selling price, but you must know that building a truck is not easy, and the materials and time spent are definitely not comparable to ordinary cars. The price we have given has actually ceded most of the benefits, and we have done so in consideration of the good diplomatic relations between Russia and Australasia. Benz hurriedly spoke up, interrupting the Russian officer's offer of a price.

"As for lowering the price again, I tell your country, Your Excellency. On the basis of guaranteeing that we do not lose too much, the minimum selling price is $500 for the B1 and $690 for the B2. ”

"This is the lowest price that can be given in combination with the current situation of our car factory. We can't really give a lower price, which is close to the cost price of the truck. "It seems that he is afraid that the Russian officers will continue to haggle," Benz added.

For such a price, the Russian officer was already happy in his heart, but on the surface he still pretended not to be surprised, and said with a painful face: "This is indeed not our ideal price, considering the good relationship between us, we can accept such a price." ”

"Mr. Bentz, I wonder when the order for the car will be officially signed? And when will it be delivered to us? The Russian officer continued to ask.

"It depends on the number of trucks your country wants to buy, Your Excellency. But I assure you that even if your country buys 10,000 trucks, we will deliver them to your country within six months. Seeing that the price of the truck was finally finalized, Benz and his subordinates finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said.

In the case of overtime production, it is not difficult to complete the order of 10,000 trucks in half a year.

Even if you add the time of transportation, half a year is completely sufficient.

"That's good, Mr. Bentz. Truth be told, before we came to Australasia, we negotiated the purchase of 5,000 trucks. But I don't think 5,000 trucks will be enough to completely change the status quo of transportation in Russia. I will try my best to go domestically and change the number of orders for trucks to 10,000 units. The Russian officer nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile.

The fact that the truck can be delivered within half a year is good news. Because the truck orders of Britain, France, and Germany are basically delivered in half a year, Russia cannot lag behind in terms of time.

After some more negotiations, the purchase order for trucks from Russia and Australasia was officially signed.

According to the agreement between Benz and the Russian officers, the order for the purchase of taxis was tentatively set at 5,000 units. After the Russian country agreed to increase the number of trucks to be purchased, the number of orders was changed to 10,000 units.

Of these 5,000 trucks, Russia will buy 1,000 B1 trucks and 4,000 B2 trucks.

If the order is in the number of 10,000 vehicles, then the number of both trucks is doubled.

When the order was signed, both the Russian officer and Benz smiled, believing that they had taken advantage of it.

Although it is true that the Russian officers bargained harshly, Benz was able to agree to such a truck price, which means that the car factory will not lose money by selling the truck at such a price.

In fact, it is. Thanks to Australasia's current low labour costs, the production cost of both types of trucks is $450 and $580 respectively.

Even for outrageously low Russian orders, car factories were able to make a profit of $50 and $110 per vehicle, respectively.

Not to mention orders from Britain, France and Germany, which are more expensive, can make hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars in profits from a single order.

3000 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

Today, 10,000 days, it has been more 7000/10000, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

The third shift is after 12 o'clock, and the brothers who can't wait can sleep first and watch it tomorrow.

(End of chapter)