America: My Time

Chapter 976 Cooperation or Scheme?

Chapter 946 Cooperation or Scheme?
The Japanese were filled with regret. They had been instrumental in the development of Quantum Mining's iron ore mines in Australia, and John remembered their kindness and was willing to cooperate with them further. However, driven by their own greed, they insisted on acquiring a stake in Quantum Mining, which John refused. Subsequently, they repeatedly reduced their cooperation with John, causing their relationship to deteriorate. Moreover, these guys thought that by acquiring stakes in iron ore giants like BHP Billiton and Vale, they could guarantee a stable supply. But now they finally realized how wrong they had been!

"Mr. John, we can start discussing now. Everyone is waiting for you!" Soon, a staff member came to invite John, and the bigwigs of the car companies were also waiting for John. These guys didn't want to pay any price and only wanted to get a bargain. They were overthinking it. John couldn't say anything to these guys.

John appeared before the group with the staff. After sitting down, John smiled calmly and said, "Gentlemen, I understand your feelings, but as I have told Mr. Toyota, the situation is very complicated. It is not something I can decide alone. I understand your difficulties, but I am also in a difficult position. Global Navigation Satellite System is also in a difficult position. We can't just ask Global Navigation Satellite System to give up the European market in order to help you. That doesn't make sense!"

John cut to the chase, speaking his mind. While what he said seemed true, there were other ways to help the Japanese, but he didn't want to. He believed the only way to get what he wanted was to plunge them into even greater hardship. With just one blow, the Bentley Motors acquisition failed, making John realize that these bastards wouldn't agree to be acquired unless he pushed them to the brink.

“Mr. John, we would like to know how many products you can prepare for us. You also know how large the quantity of products we need is. If possible, we hope you can treat us the same as Toyota, instead of treating us differently.”

"I can't do that. My cooperation with you all isn't very close, while our cooperation with Toyota has never been affected. Even when Toyota was facing its own difficulties, they didn't reduce their cooperation with us. I naturally respect such 'friends' and will do my best to help them. But I can't do that with you. I can only guarantee that your situation is better than in Europe. If production capacity increases, we will meet your needs as soon as possible. In fact, if you can accept lower-end products, you can have a good future. After all, mid-to-low-end brands are your focus, which is completely different from Bentley Motors Group, where we mainly focus on luxury car brands. With the current production capacity of our factories in China, we can meet most of your needs, so whether you can accept it or not is up to your own decision!"

As soon as John finished speaking, everyone frowned. Although John had made a promise to them out of respect for the Japanese government, this promise was tainted. As time went by and the actual situation in the United States became clear, John realized that his previous plan was flawed. He had underestimated the needs of the United States. They had very little demand for low-end products. In contrast, it was the Europeans who needed low-end products. What the United States needed more was mid-to-high-end navigation devices.

At this point, John also understood why the American navigation company positioned its products as high-end. It was because these guys had done more market research, and he had underestimated them. Now, John also needed to adjust his plans and his plans for Japan based on the market, which was why he made such a promise to them.

If these guys agree to John's offer, it means their products will be positioned as mid-to-low-end, all their previous efforts will be wasted, their high-end brand will be affected, and they won't be able to expand their market share in the mid-to-low-end segment. After all, Bentley Motors Group is prepared for this. If it really comes to that, these guys will have to choose between the North American market and the European market, and some markets in Southeast Asia will also need to be changed. This is Bentley Motors Group's opportunity!
Seeing the hesitation among the crowd, John smiled calmly and said, "There's no need for you to rush to answer. I have time to wait for your decision in Tokyo. To be honest, this was my mistake. I underestimated the reaction from the US and their fondness for high-end navigation devices, which is why this has happened. Now, even if we wanted to change things, it's too late. As for your promises, this is still a delay in supplying goods to the orders of those transportation companies in the US and Europe."

“Mr. John, isn’t there any other way? You know our current situation; we simply can’t afford to wait. If possible, we would prefer a better collaboration!”

Upon hearing this, John's expression hardened. After a moment of thought, he said in a deep voice, "It's not that there aren't other ways, but it's very difficult to do. To be honest, if we could, we wouldn't want to produce low-end products in China either. After all, low-end products don't make money; the most profitable are high-end products. However, there is resistance in the United States. If you are all willing to step forward, perhaps we can change everything by working together. If we succeed, the demand in Japan will improve, at least enough to meet most of your needs. You should know that China has an absolute cost advantage and a production capacity advantage."

Yes, John wanted to use Japan's influence to pressure the US into allowing him to produce state-of-the-art navigation devices in China. However, success was uncertain. John wasn't wrong about low-end products; he did intend to abandon them because the market wasn't as large as he'd imagined. He was wrong on this point. Mid-range products were far more suitable. However, there was resistance in China; the Americans and Europeans were the biggest problem! For a moment, the Japanese were dumbfounded. They hadn't expected John to make such a request—to have them jointly persuade the US to allow production at their Chinese factories. If that happened, all the pressure would disappear. They weren't unaware of the difference between low-end and mid-range products and high-end products; it was mainly a performance gap. Moreover, the market prospects for low-end products weren't that good, which was why they were unwilling to accept John's previous promises!

"Mr. John, if we work together, what are our chances of success?" At this moment, Tatsuro Toyoda was prompted by the Japanese authorities and had no choice but to ask, even though he was unwilling to speak.

"The chances are very high. As you all know, this is an election year. If you all work together, with your capabilities in the United States and the pressure from the factories, you can completely force the White House to compromise. After all, Bentley Motors alone is not enough."

At this moment, Tatsuro Toyoda harbored some doubts. This was completely different from what John had said before, and he seriously questioned its feasibility. However, seeing the gazes of the other Japanese automotive group leaders, Toyoda couldn't refuse. If he objected or refused now, he would be on the opposite side of everyone, especially since John had already agreed and come up with this solution. The pressure was now entirely on Toyoda; it depended on whether he was willing to accept it!

Will it succeed? This left many people with doubts, after all, it sounded too incredible. The most advanced technology is not something that can be achieved simply by getting approval. Most importantly, John actually wanted to abandon the low-end product, which they couldn't understand and thought was a bit crazy. Research and development requires costs, but the low-end product had only been on the market for a short time.

Where did the low-end products go? To the Middle East, and they were all pickup trucks. The reasons are open to interpretation, and who paid for them is unclear to many. However, Chinese factories certainly made a considerable profit. But subsequent orders for these low-end products weren't very large, falling far short of expectations. After some comparison, they decided to abandon the low-end products and focus on producing mid-range goods.

Although none of this had taken place when John arrived in Tokyo, Japan, nothing would change. Now it just depends on whether the Japanese are willing to lend him a hand. The pressure is on the Japanese. If they are willing to cooperate with him and put pressure on the United States, then everything is fine. If they are not, then there is nothing that can be done!

“Mr. John, we can give it a try, but can’t Taiwan increase its production capacity? After all, they started production earliest there!” It was clear that these guys in Japan were still unwilling to do this. Their intentions were sinister; they didn’t want to see such advanced technology enter China, because the guy who spoke was a Japanese official!

"There's no way around it. High-end products require complex processes. Although Taiwan has already entered mass production, the skill level of its workers still needs improvement, and there is a serious shortage of workers there. As for China, we don't have this problem. At least we can significantly reduce our personnel costs."

Even with the help of those Japanese guys, John wasn't confident. After all, Americans weren't exactly good people. Producing a low-to-mid-range product was already his limit. Even if those Japanese guys stepped in, it wouldn't change anything. It would just make those bastards give up and stop bothering him.

(End of this chapter)