My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 769 The higher you stand, the farther you can see.
That's right, for Rang Weidong, that one-dollar production line is really not important.

Do capitalists really give away production lines for free out of kindness?
The Cherokee's past mistakes serve as a stark warning.

They just want to keep making money by selling various auto parts.

These white devils are so cunning; once they sell the engine, they might demand a high price for the production line. Damn it, the price of spare parts won't be cheap in the future either!
Therefore, Wei Dong didn't listen to what the other party was saying at all; he only wanted the contact information of the other party.

“As the vice president of Cherokee, I have contact with officials from the National Automotive Industry Corporation and the Ministry of Automotive Industry. I need to get the firsthand, real information from them. Come on, who is it?”

They had no choice but to give it to him.

The one who tied the knot must untie it; this is an issue that cannot be avoided.

But what Wei Dong never expected was that he would end up with the business card of that person from the Economic Commission!

In front of these people, they made international calls to the Economic Commission via the telephone lines they had brought in.

It even went through the secretary, whom Wei Dong had dealt with many times, who joked that he rarely reported on his work proactively, and that he was up so early today.

Wei Dong was taken aback when he realized there was a time difference. He could already hear voices on the other end: "Wei Dong, what's the matter so early?"

This is an office phone; the person must have been busy at work all night. I've heard that economic and financial departments habitually stay up all night to keep track of the US stock market and even political developments.

Wei Dong immediately cut to the chase: "I was in California for Apple's sales launch event, and the situation was excellent, generating about 20 billion US dollars in sales. So the production capacity allocated to the Shanghai plant will probably generate several billion US dollars in foreign exchange annually..."

Overjoyed, the person on the other end said, "You go first..."

Let Wei Dong skip over the details: "Then, didn't the Cherokee's parent company approach the Wanmad Hotel Group for cooperation in mainland China? This time, knowing I was coming, the hotel group again connected me with Chrysler to discuss matters. I just arrived, and they said that you canceled the introduction of the car production line with them."

There was a silence for about half a second on the other end: "What a humiliation, Weidong. We started working with them last year and agreed to sell the production line. They insisted on squeezing every last penny out of us. And now that I think about it, they deliberately sold us the engine line first, and then when I arrived in Detroit with my people, they raised the price on the spot. They are cunning and have absolutely no business ethics."

Wei Dong asked, "What kind of morality do capitalists have, and then they say they gave the project to Hans Audi?"

So, regarding arrogance, the other party was completely unprepared to translate.

They couldn't understand what Wei Dong was saying on the phone with a smile on his face.

So everyone turned their gaze toward Qin Yuye.

Let your wife show a sweet and dignified smile.

Play dumb.

The voice on the other end of the phone said earnestly, "Isn't Volkswagen cooperating with Shanghai? They promised to use all the profits from the mainland market to build supporting parts factories. This time, they also mentioned that the Chrysler engine is originally Audi technology and can be matched with their models, so we naturally chose Audi. We just signed the contract. What's their response?"

Wei Dong laughed: "So now they're panicking and offering to sell the line for one dollar, just like they did with the Cherokee."

The person on the other end chuckled and said, "What are your thoughts on recognizing the true nature of things?"

Wei Dong actually thought about it and said, "Adults want it all. Do you think this is possible? I mean, I'm currently in talks with them about using Apple computers as an example. An Apple computer whose entire supply chain is almost entirely in mainland China, if we manufacture it and then ship it back to Citibank for sale, would have a significant cost advantage. If they can help me with the entire supply chain of this car, and I can help them sell it back to Citibank, wouldn't that avoid the foreign exchange issues like with the Cherokee and make it a completely foreign exchange-generating industrial project for us?"

They started contacting each other two years ago at the economic work conference and have exchanged ideas many times.

The person on the other end immediately laughed: "I think it's a good idea. No one has ever thought of this method before. Is it because you got the inspiration from your recent involvement with the docks and ocean-going freighters with Elder Fang?"

Rang Weidong hummed: "Pretty much. As long as the ship is big enough, the cost of sea freight can be reduced to a very, very low level. Selling cars is more profitable than selling textiles. If all else fails, we can sell to Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. I'll try to persuade them..."

He was clearly in a great mood early in the morning, laughing a few times: "Let me make this clear first, if we can bring back the entire industry chain, I hope to place it in Shanghai. Hmm, there's a bit of a reshuffling here, so I might have to go over there to fully support this project."

Unexpectedly, Wei Dong resisted again: "Ah...please, can you let Jiangzhou go? Jiangzhou is also a heavy industrial city, and it also hopes to be driven by the automobile industry. Besides, it's still going to be exported from Jiangzhou to Shanghai by cargo ship. Shanghai will also benefit. I don't care if I don't make money, I can subsidize this section of the Yangtze River shipping. This is very important for the industry in the southwest region."

The other side laughed even louder: "You have a better grasp of the big picture than I do! Okay, I support you. Private enterprises should definitely try joint venture car companies. I hope you can make this a success. I will fully support you!"

Normally, at this level, such a clear statement wouldn't be made.

But Wei Dong's expression was far too clear.

After offering two words of support and a few more words of advice, he hung up the phone.

Wei Dong felt no pressure: "So, regarding the complete automotive industry chain transfer I just mentioned, can you make up your mind? Not just this vehicle assembly line, but truly starting production from scratch without needing to purchase parts. I will assist Chrysler in establishing a low-cost production base and help Chrysler's products sell worldwide, just like we did with Apple."

Qin Yuye proudly translated it.

She had heard the tone in which Wei Dong had asked someone for help.

At this moment, trends like environmental protection and charity are already sweeping through Hong Kong, but look at what this man is doing.

Unparalleled. He still wanted his share: "How did your discussion go? Is there any possibility of canceling the Audi production line...?"

Wei Dong laughed and said, "You call people to Detroit before trying to raise prices. This is a disgusting and humiliating trick. If it weren't for business, I would have left long ago. Now you want to encourage them to overturn the signed agreement. How shameless do you have? If you want to talk, then talk; if not, then shut up."

After saying that, he simply got up.

He doesn't act impulsively here; he's all about calculation.

Sure enough, Chrysler executives, who had already sold engines, were preparing to sell outdated production lines, and might even have planned for future models, and were eyeing the mainland market, quickly gestured for them to sit down and talk.

In fact, the initiative was in Weidong's hands from the moment they offered to sell the assembly line for one dollar.

If you don't ask for anything, how could it possibly drop to one dollar?

Perhaps out of national dignity or for other reasons, the State Economic Commission is unlikely to go back to its old ways.

If Wei Dong is a businessman, then nothing is impossible for a businessman who won't act without profit.

“I don’t even want this production line that Citibank is already planning to phase out. You should be thinking about new models… Yes, two years ago we helped Steve get back to selling Macs at computer launch events. The results last year and this year are obvious to all. Now we can also help Chrysler sell cars in the North American market. How many cars did you sell this year?”

I definitely wouldn't be used to it here.

They'd never seen a mainland businessman like this before.

Slick, confident, and damn domineering...

Someone was about to confidently boast: "Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep sold two million vehicles in the past twelve months!"

Wei Dong chuckled and asked, "How much did you earn?"

Actually, I was thinking, "Holy crap, Dodge is yours too?"
He bought a Dodge Caravan minivan in Hong Kong.

But as a security guard who has worked in parking lots for forty years, he knows very well that MPVs, as commercial vans, have never had a large market share; he remembers it being less than one-tenth of the market.

The biggest categories of family cars will always be inexpensive sedans and SUVs.

The other party remained arrogant: "We have an annual profit of 23 billion..."

This is actually quite remarkable.

A few years ago, Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy, and now it is being robbed of market share by Japanese automakers.

It's truly remarkable that they can still make billions in profit.

Wei Dong could hold up one finger: "More than five million Apple computers, with a profit of no less than this amount per unit."

Even if he doesn't say it's one dollar, ten dollars, a hundred dollars, or a thousand dollars.

At this moment, everyone couldn't help but gasp.

At this time, a regular sedan in the Citibank market costs over ten thousand US dollars.

The total amount was also two or three hundred billion, but the computer company made more than double that!
So Wei Dong got up and left: "I know you may have dealt with state capital and state-owned factories before, but I'm different. I'm a private enterprise with private capital. You can contact the American CEO of the Cherokee joint venture and ask me, or ask the chairman of the Wanmade Hotel Group about his experience doing business with me. I'm not interested in building an assembly plant; I want the entire industry chain. I can help you build the world's most affordable and high-quality car contract manufacturer. Of course, I can also invest a portion, or I can build large ocean-going transport vessels. You can consider it. I'll be looking at various places in Detroit these next few days."

Of course, he also took the opportunity to inspect basketball courts in several surrounding cities.

But to other people, if you're planning to invest in the automotive industry and are visiting the automotive city, you must be looking at other car companies.

This is the headquarters of Citigroup's three major automakers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler!

Each of its subsidiaries has multiple brands; you're like someone who's having trouble in one area but succeeding in another, trying to make things happen even when there are no opportunities.

There are other backup options.

How could I possibly let you succeed in cooperating with another company?

The man in the middle gave a quick nod, while the man who had been arrogant at first but became obsequious immediately jumped up to accompany them on the tour. "Let's first take a look at all the car models Chrysler currently has."

Wei Dong found it laughable; he was the CEO of Cherokee's joint venture.

I was actually taken to inspect various Jeep product lines.

But after actually seeing it, he did change some of his previous stereotypes.

(End of this chapter)