We are all reborn, who wants to be the richest man?

Chapter 351 Piech
SAIC-Nissan went on strike over car production standards, and a car company in Germany also had many internal problems.

On the flight from West Germany to Paris, a strange-looking man who did not conform to Chinese aesthetics looked at the report in his hand and remained silent for a long time.

After reading the entire report, it took a long time for a slightly angry voice to appear in the man's mouth.

"North America is suffering serious losses, and Nissan has a hand in Asia's bridgehead strategy. What does this have to do with us? Why should we bear these?"

"Boss, you know, we have always been the outcasts of the public, otherwise such words would not be spread in Germany."

Yes, it’s not Mercedes-Benz and BMW that hate Audi, but Audi’s boss Volkswagen Group.

This saying that is widely circulated in the German industry is a portrayal of Audi now, and this man is the future godfather of Volkswagen and current Audi R&D director Piëch.

His trip to Paris was to secretly meet with Luo Nianzhong, who was also chosen by Luo Nianzhong to be the head of Far East Motors for the next twenty years.

As for how to impress this arrogant guy, Luo Nianzhong has too many ways.

Fernand Piech was a controversial figure.

Most of the controversy is in his life. In the workplace, this man's ability is beyond reproach.

Without him, there would be no Audi, and without him, Volkswagen would still be a second-rate car company.

"Boss, I think this is an opportunity.

A bigger platform, more voice and broader prospects.”

The assistant obviously knew the purpose of Piech's trip.

"Let's talk about it after we meet."

Piëch did not reply directly, and threw aside the document issued by Volkswagen asking Audi to reduce R&D expenditures like waste paper.

"Bring me the information on Far East Motors and I'll take a look."

The meeting place chosen by Luo Nianzhong and Piech was in a town called Bois-Colombes in Nanterre, the capital of the Hautes-Seine department, west of Paris.

This town of less than 30,000 people has many multinational companies, among which Colgate has its headquarters here.

It is very close to Luo Nianzhong's manor, the security is very good and it is secluded enough.

The reason why the two were so careful about their meeting was not because Luo Nianzhong was afraid of obstacles to the acquisition of Audi Volkswagen. He was worried that the Porsche family would have ideas.

If one of the most important families in the world's automotive history really wants to cause damage, then Luo Nianzhong's idea of ​​acquiring Audi will definitely be blocked or even failed.

So this requires Piëch to make concessions in front of the Porsche family, otherwise it will be like the takeover war between Porsche and Volkswagen in the future, with both sides not wanting to kill each other all the time.

To talk about the feud between Porsche and Piech, we have to start with Piech’s wonderful growth history.

The founder of Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche, had two children, a boy and a girl. The daughter was married to an Austrian lawyer, Piech's father, Anton Piech.

At this point, Porsche was divided into the Porsche faction and the Piech faction.

Piech was very talented and could be said to have inherited Ferdinand Porsche's talents in the field of mechanical manufacturing. At the same time, he had no resistance to sports cars and hot girls.

During his college years, Piëch drove a sports car around the city every day. Before he graduated, his first wife Marina gave birth to three children for him at a rate of one a year.

After graduation, Piech entered the family business and became the head of the engine R&D department in just two years.

But it was also at this time that his cousin Alexander Porsche designed the famous Porsche 911. This car made Alexander famous throughout Europe.

Piech took a look, is this okay? I am the proud son of the family, and Piëch's warlike desire was suddenly aroused.

He decided to design a sports car that surpassed the Porsche 911 and named it the Porsche 917. It was the research on this car that caused a rift between Piëch and members of the Porsche family.

Piëch is an absolute genius in the field of research and development, but as far as leadership is concerned, he is not really a good leader that his subordinates like.

He forced R&D staff to work overtime, ridiculed those who were lazy, and finally fired many R&D staff who he felt were useless in the newspaper.

Regardless of whether there were factors that weakened the power of the Porsche faction, Piech's actions made the Porsche family members who were not informed in advance furious.

Because according to Ferdinand Porsche's will, the Porsche family is in charge of research and development. If you fire one or two people, forget it. What does it mean to fire so many people at once?
The two sides have formed a feud since then, which also set up the flames for a series of subsequent confrontations.

Piech's Porsche 917 project was successful. The Porsche 5.8 accelerated to 917 kilometers in only seconds and broke many records. However, this also caused his relationship with the Porsche family to continue to deteriorate.

It was not that the Porsche family was jealous of his talent, but that Piëch pushed the Porsche 917 onto the track in order to catch up with the Le Mans event at that time without letting the Porsche complete the test.

There is no use taking chances. A car that has not been tested is bound to have an accident sooner or later.

At the 1969 Le Mans Rally, a Porsche 917 and its driver crashed and killed one person. This had a great impact on Porsche's reputation and made the conflict between the two parties even more acute.

As Porsche's president Felipe gets older, who will become the next head of Porsche becomes a top priority.

At this time, Peter Porsche was the first to speak out. In addition to volunteering to be the next head of Porsche, he also said that he could not work with the arrogant and prejudiced Piëch.

It is said that Piëch only cares about his own reputation and does not care about the Porsche brand. The Porsche 917 is the best proof. Anyway, Piëch is said to be useless, just like a rat crossing the street.

The Piech family is no longer involved, and the battle for the next head of Porsche has begun.

In the end, no one ended up well. The two major families withdrew from Porsche's management at the same time, and Piech also left Porsche.

What’s interesting is that the biggest reaction to Piech’s departure was not the members of the Piech family or himself, but the daughter-in-law of Gerhard, the second son of the Porsche family. This woman asked for a divorce from Gerhard because she fell in love with Piëch. She also said that the two had been in love for many years and that they could not help themselves.

After this incident was revealed, the Porsche family exploded, because Gerhard was a well-known good old man and the only person who did not participate in Porsche company positions.

There are no disputes of interest and he has voting rights, so he is naturally the target of all parties to win over, and he has a good relationship with all members of the Porsche family.

The most unbearable thing is that Gerhard loved his wife very much and even gave this woman the shares of Porsche and most of his property.

Now this woman is going to throw one-eighth of Porsche's property into Piech's arms. It's surprising that the Porsche family can tolerate it.

It was this incident that caused the Porsche family and the Piëch family to completely go to war, forming an ever-lasting feud.

Regardless of what they say, the whole of Europe knows that both sides want to drive each other out of Porsche completely.

If Luo Nianzhong contacts Piëch openly at this time, the Porsche family will definitely be suspicious of Luo Nianzhong's purpose.

After all, Piech is now just the R&D director of an underappreciated brand. Even if he wants to poach people, there is no need for Luo Niazhong to do it himself.

Luo Nianzhong’s financial resources plus Piëch’s shares in Porsche. Regardless of whether Luo Nianzhong has any intention of targeting Porsche, the Porsche family will make it difficult for Luo Nianzhong’s actions in the German automobile industry. No one knows about these two seemingly unrelated things. Could it be the future layout of this technology tycoon?

Although Luo Nianzhong did not insist on acquiring Porsche, he did not resist getting involved at all.

"Mr. Luo, it's really hard to believe when I see you.

I always thought that I was the kind of person who is proud of God, but I never expected that you could achieve such a career at your age."

Luo chuckled at Piech's compliment, "This is different from the Ferdinand Piech I know. He is stubborn and arrogant. I have often heard these words used to describe you."

"Haha, that's just the jealousy of ordinary people.

I believe we are the same people, and ability is the most important in our eyes."

Ability, this guy is indeed extremely capable.

As soon as I joined Audi, I solved the technical problems of Audi 80 and Audi 100, and developed the quattro four-wheel drive and longitudinal five-cylinder TDI diesel engine that made Audi known as the god of four-wheel drive by countless car fans.

"I heard that you have some concerns and want to meet with me. Let's talk about it. I hope I can give you the results you want."

"I want to know why I want to help Far East Automobile acquire German car companies. You should know that Far East Automobile's acquisition of Audi will definitely have a certain impact within Germany."

Influence? It's nothing more than Audi's sales decline in Germany, which may even affect the entire European market.

Not just Audi, if serious, it may affect the entire Far East Automobile brand.

That's not what Piëch is worried about. What he is concerned about is whether Far East Motor will sacrifice its business for the European market. He needs protection, not the promise of Audi's president.

"I can't guarantee it, it depends on your ability."

Luo Nianzhong ignored Piëch's increasingly gloomy expression and continued.

"As you said, ability is the most important thing.

I am optimistic about you. Audi cannot bring out your full capabilities for you, which is why I am willing to meet you in person today.

But before that, you need to prove to me whether my choice today is correct."

Luo Nianzhong is drawing a pie for Piech, but whether he can make this piece of pie come true and eat this piece of pie depends on this person's ability.

It is already clear that Audi cannot bring out all of Piëch's abilities. This means that Luo Nianzhong's promise to open the door to Piëch as president of Far East Automobile. As for whether he can take that position, it depends on Piëch's own ability. .

At the same time, he was also telling Piëch that he valued ability more. Those who are capable will definitely have ways to make Far East Automobile better and better in the European market.

"This is not enough. I can be successful among the public. I am convinced of this."

“But you won’t get the same support from Far East Motors at Volkswagen, and the future will definitely not be as bright as that from Far East Motors.

The protection you want is not your position in Far East Auto, but the worry that once Far East Auto kicks you out, you will have to start all over again, delaying your revenge plan, right? "

Hearing this, Piëch's eyes widened and contracted, and his eyes were fierce, as if the secret in his heart had been peeked into.

Luo Nianzhong was not affected by Piëch's fierce gaze and said with a smile, "I said, I can't guarantee you. The height you can reach depends on your ability.

However, I am very generous to loyal and capable subordinates. You should know this.

Sometimes the affairs of my subordinates are my business. Besides, there is nothing wrong with Porsche changing his surname to Piech. You are all the blood of Ferdinand Porsche."

Luo Nianzhong used his trump card and told Piëch that as long as she had the ability to acquire Porsche, she would definitely support him in the future, but the premise for this was that he had the ability.

Others don't know whether Piëch knew that Audi had no chance to bear the humiliation. He had no chance with Mercedes-Benz and BMW, so Volkswagen became his best choice.

This guy said before his death that what he was most proud of at Volkswagen was Volkswagen's counter-acquisition of Porsche, which finally made the brand fall into his hands.

Although the Porsche family became one of Volkswagen's major shareholders, Piech proved that he was the most suitable leader of Porsche.

A battle for Porsche president in the 70s made Piech fight for his whole life, which shows why everyone rated him as stubborn.

Otherwise, real geniuses are all madmen.

(End of this chapter)