America: My Time

Chapter 839 Astounding Ambition

Chapter 829 Amazing Ambition
Originally, Bentley Motors' development was largely focused on Europe, given its long history and significant foundation there. However, with the changing situation in the Middle East, Bentley's bulletproof and armored SUVs have been selling exceptionally well, with almost every wealthy household in the region demanding them. Moreover, orders from wealthy individuals have been steadily increasing, creating a supply shortage and contributing to Bentley Motors' current prosperity.

It would be a lie to say we have no interest in the Asian market, given Asia's massive population and the highly attractive Southeast Asian market. By seizing this opportunity and using Taiwan as a springboard, we can make an early move and compete for market share. For Bentley Group to grow and become a major player, it needs a range of mid-to-low-end products; relying solely on South Korea won't be enough.

Of course, John also had his eye on Nissan at this time, but it wasn't the right time yet. In a few years, Nissan would be in trouble. If we were to say which car company was most affected after the bursting of the Japanese economic bubble, Nissan would be one of them. From 1992, Nissan entered seven consecutive years of losses. It can be said that with the end of the bubble era, Nissan was trapped in losses and could not extricate itself. This was the opportunity that John wanted to acquire.

South Korea has already achieved results, as has the United States, not to mention Europe. If Taiwan rises again, the impact on Nissan will naturally be even greater, and Nissan's losses may be even greater. After all, the market share is only so big, and the rise of Bentley Motors means that the market share of other car companies will be impacted.

Soon after, Mary Barra, CEO of Bentley Motors, appeared in Taiwan. The investment opportunities and goodwill from the Taiwanese market appealed to her. While Taiwan's market share might not be significant globally, a strategy centered in Taiwan to expand throughout Southeast Asia would be entirely different. More importantly, success in Taiwan would allow them to compete for market share in Japan. It would be a lie to say that Mary Barra had no ambitions towards the three major Japanese automakers; it's just that Bentley Motors' previous targets were Middle Eastern tycoons and Europe and America, and now it was time to take a step further!

Does Bentley Motors lack money? Not at all. The huge orders from Middle Eastern tycoons have made Bentley Motors incredibly wealthy. Making a new round of investment in Taiwan is not a problem, and the supporting equipment is already in place. Quantum Mining will acquire Taiwan's China Steel Corporation, ensuring the supply of steel and reducing cost pressures.

The reason why South Korea's development was so rapid and could produce results so quickly is because Quantum Mining has its own steel mill there, which can supply raw materials at low prices. Coupled with low labor costs, it was able to quickly gain a foothold in North America and compete with Japan's Big Three automakers for market share.

If Bentley can significantly increase its market share against Japanese cars, it will be crucial for its future strategy. The 1990s were a period of rampant mergers and acquisitions in the automotive industry, and Bentley Motors Group naturally needs to be prepared for such acquisitions if it wants to expand.

"Boss, are you sure Taiwan will offer us the maximum benefits in terms of land and taxes?" Despite such a good deal, Mary Barra still had some concerns. After all, such a large investment couldn't afford to fail, and it also concerned Bentley Motors Group's layout in Southeast Asia, so she had to be even more careful.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems. Not only is Bentley Motors expanding, but Quantum Mining is also expanding, and even shipbuilding is expanding. The investment in Taiwan isn't a decision I made on a whim; it's part of a comprehensive plan. The preferential policies will absolutely not change, and they will do their utmost to help us accelerate our expansion. We must speed up the production of low- and mid-range products, otherwise we'll fall behind Japanese car companies, since they dominate the Southeast Asian market. Go and negotiate with Taiwan quickly; we don't have that much time to waste. The sooner we reach an agreement, the sooner we can train workers and prepare production lines. If the factory construction in Taiwan is fast enough, we can directly transfer the production lines ordered from Mexico to Taiwan to complete our expansion here."

“Relocating the production line is not difficult, but if we do it, it will affect the company’s interests. After all, the expansion in Mexico has already begun, which will affect our market in North America and even the overall business strategy.”

"Such an effort is worthwhile. Our biggest enemy isn't the American auto giants, nor Germany, but Japan. In the top-tier luxury car market, our market share is no weaker than any other automaker, but we're completely outmatched in the mid-to-low-end market. To suppress Japan, we need to impact their market share. Southeast Asia has always been Japan's market territory. If we can get involved, we can affect their market share. Now that Japan's economic bubble has burst, it will have a significant impact on their major companies, which is our opportunity. Among Japan's three major automakers, Nissan is the weakest. If we can intensify our impact on the Japanese auto market, we can push them into serious losses. After a year or two, we'll have the opportunity to acquire them and expand our market share! As for the impact on our North American market share, we can completely offset it with production in South Korea. They now have enough strength to establish themselves in North America, and they can even expand into South America. We have a sufficient cost advantage, which is our confidence!" "Hiss!" Upon hearing her boss's words, Mary Barra couldn't help but gasp. Although she knew her boss had great ambitions and ruthless methods, she hadn't expected that he had already set his sights on Nissan, the Japanese automotive giant, and had done so much analysis. Everyone thought her boss was only analyzing the Japanese economy, but they didn't know that her boss had made much more preparations and plans.

“If we can force Japanese car manufacturers to lose money, or even have the opportunity to acquire Hitachi, this price is really nothing. Moreover, we can easily order another production line, which is not difficult for us!” At this point, Mary Barra also agreed with her boss’s suggestion. As a member of the American automotive industry, she naturally did not want to see Japan expand in the American market.

Time waits for no one. As soon as Mary Barra began her negotiations with Taiwan, the news quickly reached the United States, shocking the American automotive giants. They hadn't expected Bentley Motors to continue increasing its presence in Asia, which was hard for them to understand. In Southeast Asian countries, this could be attributed to the advantage of lower labor costs, but they couldn't see such an advantage in Taiwan. They didn't understand what John was trying to do.

However, Bentley Motors quickly reached an investment agreement with Taiwan, and Taiwan will fully support Bentley Motors. Just when everyone was shocked by this news, new news came that Quantum Mining reached an acquisition agreement with Taiwan to complete the full acquisition of Taiwan's China Steel Group. At the same time, the shipping company acquired Taiwan's Lung Te Shipyard, officially entering Taiwan's shipbuilding industry.

When this news broke, not only the United States was shocked, but South Korea was also shocked. Isn't this just another South Korean strategy? Only John's strategy in Taiwan is more powerful, including the semiconductor industry. It can be said that with this investment, John's strategy in Taiwan has become his second largest investment in Asia, second only to his investment in China.

"Another overseas expansion, and in heavy industry no less. This guy is really crazy. Doesn't he worry about upsetting the White House? No matter how crazy he is, he should at least give the White House some face!" After learning about John's investment in Taiwan, Jimmy couldn't help but sigh. He found this outcome hard to accept.

"He doesn't need to give the White House any more face. His retail investments over this period have already given the White House enough face, creating a lot of jobs. Even the United Auto Workers wouldn't dare to say anything, after all, the United States isn't their domain, and the retail industry has created quite a few jobs. I don't think there's anything wrong with his investments in important areas. The United States is simply not suitable for such investments, given the high labor costs. But is John's investment in resort hotels in Taiwan really necessary? The Mandarin Oriental Group already owns enough resort hotels."

“John sees it as necessary. After all, his company's employees have really enjoyed these kinds of vacations over the years, especially the guys on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley. They really appreciate this kind of vacation, and the investment isn't large. With those employees supporting it, there's no need to worry about losses.” Jimmy is very clear about John's development of resort hotels and resorts. Wall Street colleagues love the Mandarin Oriental Group's resort hotels, so Wall Street is their regular customer base. Compared to luxury hotels, these resort hotels recoup their costs the fastest. Many people in Japan are following suit, but they don't have that many customers!

Jimmy believed that the Mandarin Oriental Group was generating enormous profits from its resort hotel portfolio, and its brand value was highly promising. Unfortunately, the group wasn't a publicly listed company, denying them even investment opportunities. The entire Mandarin Oriental Group was an overseas asset, which deterred even Wall Street investors. In just a few years, the Mandarin Oriental Group's assets had grown exponentially, and the sale of assets in Japan allowed them to further expand their business.

(End of this chapter)