I asked you to save a bankrupt factory and you became the richest man in the world.

Chapter 436, 174-175: Reactions from friendly competitors! (4000 words)
It’s nowhere near the core components like Hillhouse.

For example, batteries and chips are all produced and sold by ourselves, and for other low-value components, we try to choose cheaper domestic products.

This means that although Hillhouse's products are not as expensive as BBA, the cost of a single vehicle is actually much lower than that of BBA!

This naturally caused James Madeja to worry.

Hillhouse Tang is selling quite well now, but what if their other products catch up and form a product ecosystem matrix?
"This won't work, James!"

"When it comes to Gaoling, we should be prepared for the worst."

"If their off-road vehicle is really made, what will it be like?"

"A large automotive behemoth from AO to top-level large off-road!"

“The key is that their playing styles are very different.”

"Having a very strong technology company means that they are much more familiar with the so-called intelligent direction than we are. Even if the headquarters wants to do targeted research and development in the so-called intelligent direction, it is not enough."

"In Germany, there isn't even a decent internet company, let alone one that's working on so-called artificial intelligence."

"We can't play anymore if we keep going this way."

Emma seemed a little overconfident about the other companies, but after hesitating for a moment, she still said it.

German companies are generally good at mechanized products and are not very interested in innovative products.

The management of most German companies is very similar to that of companies in island countries, like a pyramid. Every employee reports to his superior, and the reports go up layer by layer, with endless delegation, planning and accusations in between.

In such a culture, innovation cannot survive; innovation requires at least some soil for creative spontaneity and autonomy.

Management in German companies suppresses autonomy and seeks “consensus” instead. To achieve consensus, Germans chop opinions into tiny pieces until everyone agrees – often anathema to the bold, independent decisions of innovators.

In this case, Bench is still a large trust-level company with various factions.

You want him to keep up with the decision-making of a company like Hillhouse Capital, where Gao Huaijun has the final say, and enter the extremely unfamiliar field of artificial intelligence. That is really asking too much!
Even in the previous life when Gao Huaijun had not disrupted time and space, Mercedes-Benz only followed up on the development of new energy vehicle models, and was unable to develop the field of artificial intelligence.

Come to think of it, it simply doesn't have this gene, and the vested interests (i.e. fixed parts manufacturers and related company leaders) don't want to continue developing in this direction.

When Hillhouse goes further and further away, how will you follow it?
I can't follow at all!

That's why Emma wanted to take advantage of the moment when Gao Ling was not ready and increase the intensity directly.

Such a hard blow to Hillhouse!
"How do you think we should play?" James Madeja, the president of Benchi China, seemed to be persuaded by him.

But when it comes to telling stories, Mercedes-Benz is the inventor of the car, and it has the longest history among BBA; when it comes to product matrix, it has Mercedes-Benz heavy trucks, Unimog special vehicles, special-purpose vehicles (check if the largest and best hospital ambulance in your city or province has the Mercedes-Benz logo, that car is very easy to drive), and commercial vehicles.

When it comes to high-end and star products, AMG is famous, SLS gull-wing is stunning, and G-Class is well-known...

But although Mercedes-Benz seems to be thriving on the surface, as the president of the China region, he knows that many customers buy Mercedes-Benz just to buy the Mercedes-Benz logo!

The quality of Mercedes-Benz's current machinery is just average.

Moreover, Mercedes-Benz is the brand among the BBA that is most willing to challenge the bottom line of Chinese consumers. It is really playing tricks on the mainland.

You say that Brilliance has fallen into disrepair and Audi has cut its prices, but these are just minor issues. Mercedes-Benz is very powerful now, with price increases across the country and strong brand power, but it already has signs of losing its composure and being seriously ill.

Because Mercedes-Benz has never truly respected the Chinese market!
He knew too much, so he naturally knew that the German board of directors had too strict control over the Chinese side.

Therefore, what he can do as the president of China is actually limited, but that doesn't stop him from trying.

"Nowadays, the 4S stores are going too far in increasing the prices of cars. Many car models are designed to maximize profits."

"Please notify those 4S stores one by one and tell them to only increase the prices of 1-2 models. Do not increase the prices of other models. I need to increase the market share of Mercedes-Benz cars!"

"Just say I said it!"

James Madeja said calmly.

Emma was shocked when she heard this. James Madeja had made a great decision.

To be more specific, 4S stores are authorized dealers of manufacturers.

Simply put, the dealer boss pays a franchise fee and takes agency fees.

Supplied by the manufacturer and requires a series of supporting services.

Manufacturers do not have the right to "punish" dealers, but they can punish them in disguised form by reducing rebates (failure to complete tasks, inadequate service, etc.).

Therefore, the worst case scenario is the cancellation of operating rights.

And what James Madeja just said is actually a disguised way of cleaning up those 4S stores that raise prices arbitrarily and disrupt the market!
At the very least, the price increase trend can be suppressed within a controllable range, and Mercedes-Benz's market share can be expanded while maintaining reasonable profits.

2016 was the year when BBA was at its peak.

If you want to join the network and become a partner of Mercedes-Benz 4S stores, there shouldn’t be too many.

It's just that life is better, and the president of Mercedes-Benz China basically turns a blind eye. Now James Madejia wants to take the lead in defensive actions, and he doesn't want to lie flat, so he must make a move on the 4S system.

Although these guys are somewhat respectful, he is German and performance is more important!

. . . . . . .

It's not just Mercedes-Benz. After hearing Gao Huaijun's statement that he wanted to build a world-class off-road vehicle, many other car manufacturers were inexplicably surprised.

Although Hillhouse Vehicles was established only a few years ago, it has already built a full range of ecological models including Hillhouse Dolphin, Hillhouse Song, Hillhouse Han, Hillhouse Yuan, Hillhouse Qin, Hillhouse Tang, and Hillhouse Ming, covering everything from A0 level to sports cars!
In China, it is difficult to develop so many car models, not to mention a company with only a few years of experience in automobile research and development. Even old-fashioned car companies like Changcheng and Jili can only barely equip some of the best-selling models, and some models are not even fully equipped.

Gao Huaijun's strategy of using electronic technology to supplement the automotive industry can now be considered to have achieved initial success.

But even so, Hillhouse Vehicles is now sprinting towards the core models of BBA and Rolls-Royce.

this. . .

Good guy!
Really good guy!

It also made them feel a little confused.

How much money did Hillhouse transfer from electronic technology that it could carry out such a high-tempo R&D sprint, and most importantly, it could actually produce so many leading high-tech products.

It also aroused heated discussions among friendly companies.

[Gao Ling and Gao Ling are at loggerheads! It's worth watching. It's really worth watching.]

[It is hard to imagine whether this is the limit of Hillhouse. This limit seems too exaggerated.]

[Gao Ling is really different from ordinary car companies. They can actually invest so much money in car research and development. Unlike other car companies, they always think that their prices are lower than yours, and then they will copy your products. Their main purpose is to make money without doing anything.]

【Hi! This company is not an ordinary car company at all, they should be considered an Internet company! The logic of their product development is not the logic of a car company at all, but the logic of making mobile phones. They are very in-depth in their research on consumers and are willing to lower their status. They are not like traditional car companies. The sunroof leakage problem has existed for several years, but they refused to fix it after being reported. According to the people in the head office, they think that after the modification, the whole car will have to go through the process again, which is troublesome! I really admire this group of Bs, they can't even eat shit in time. 】

[Now it's interesting! This is the clarion call to charge at BBA! Among the current off-road vehicles, Cullinan is too high-end, and the G-Class is the representative among the representatives. 】

[It is true. Although consumers talk about BBA and BBA every day, as if there is a big difference, in the minds of consumers, the difference between BBA is not that big. BBA can become substitutes for each other. Those who can afford A can basically buy BB, and those who buy BB can certainly afford A. They are all representatives of high-end German cars. If you buy any of them, you are buying a high-end German car. Volkswagen's market share has decreased, and it is not just Volkswagen that is uncomfortable, because BBA's trade-in has a large number of Volkswagen users, so BBA will also be uncomfortable. ]

[Which company in China last charged towards BBA? Oh, it seems that no company has had this experience. 】

While they marvel at Hillhouse's rapid development, they also can't help but feel nervous.

China's automobile ecosystem has been stable for a long time.

Foreign luxury companies such as BBA and Porsche occupy the first tier and take a bite of the fattest luxury car cake.

Japan's automobile companies such as Honda, Phoenix and Volt, as well as large and medium-sized companies, maintain the second tier, taking A-class cars, most of the B-class cars and city-class SUVs into their pockets.

As for China's local automobile manufacturers, they will only be able to gain a partial market share in A-class cars, A0-class cars and city-class SUVs by relying on their extreme cost-effectiveness.

But if Hillhouse Capital plays its cards right now, it will only drag all automobile manufacturers, especially local automobile manufacturers, into the mix!

At this moment, the person in charge of Guangdong Automobile, who had been under sales pressure earlier than Gao Huaijun, said directly in an interview with a media person: It is not a solution to continue to compete. Enterprises need to make profits and so on. The so-called internal competition in the automobile industry is sad. We must stop this kind of internal competition quickly. He also said in front of the reporter that some friendly competitors should take a long-term view and not compete in the present.

At the same time, unexpectedly, the person in charge of Modou Auto also stood up and said: the "competition" in the automotive industry is not a simple low-level competition, but a necessary stage for the transformation of new and old production momentum and major industrial changes. He called on companies to reasonably protect the rights and interests of employees while adapting to industry competition and avoid excessive internal competition.

What these two people said instantly triggered a discussion within the industry about the term "involution", which came from Hillhouse Capital and was said to have been invented by Gao Huaijun.

Many people think this word is very vivid.

The word "involution" seems to carry the connotation of "struggle", but this connotation carries with it a very unhealthy competition for interests.

In this unhealthy competitive relationship, all efforts seem to be in vain.

In an instant, the word "involution", along with the discussion about involution, spread across the country!
At the same time, everyone found it very interesting that Hillhouse, a new emerging enterprise, actually attracted the attention of Guangdong Automobile and Magic Automobile.

Some people think that if internal circulation is based on squeezing employees' wages, squeezing suppliers, and squeezing overtime, then it means that this industry has no future and the entire industrial chain has not been developed. There are many quality problems with new energy vehicles. For example, a brand that claims to make the best cars under 500 million yuan still has various problems with the cars it produces. Is this a normal industry?
Some people think that those who are truly brave enough to take on challenges and dare to take risks are likely to be the final winners. Those who are worried about taking risks and afraid of taking risks are likely to be eliminated by the market. Just imagine, without Hillhouse Capital's efforts, joint venture auto companies such as Magic Auto and Guangdong Auto would be able to make money easily without any effort. Would they still cut prices?
As the topic became more and more popular due to Gao Huaijun, Gao Huaijun had to come out and make a statement. He said that it would be very interesting to think about it in 10 to 20 years. In fact, "volume" is a kind of competition, which is the essence of the market economy. He said that the core of the market economy is competition, and competition can bring prosperity.

What Gao Huaijun meant by this sentence is: if the technical product strength is not good, then improve the technical product strength; if there is not enough time, work more overtime; if there is not enough manpower, spend money to hire people; if the company is not efficient enough, restructure, clear out the royal relatives, and streamline the structure. Gao Huaijun's words also have another meaning: you should start a business for the second or even third time. It is no longer the era of making money by selling cars while lying down.

That attitude of "if you have the guts, just fight me" instantly caused an uproar!
Gao Huaijun is really brave, if there is any problem, you really have to do it!

If you do this, how will those fuel car manufacturers who make money without doing anything do?
They have no ambition to make progress and just want to make money by doing nothing.

Now if you make your product so good, but the profit is not high, how can you reap the benefits?
The first company to increase prices was Guangdong Auto. After the Accord was produced in China, the 4S store only had high-end models, and you had to add 8 yuan to pick up the car. Later, after the Camry was produced in China, it also had to add 8 yuan.

As soon as the profits dropped a little, they started to throw a tantrum.

Gao Huaijun will not indulge them.

Just be tough!

However, despite their big talk, both Guangdong Auto and Magic Auto have taken a lot of actions.

(End of this chapter)