Chapter 881: Gearing up for a New War

The Spring Festival is a very important festival for China.

Unless it is extremely urgent, all companies will definitely take a holiday.

Nanshan Group's companies are no exception.

However, Chinese people celebrate the Spring Festival, but many countries do not.

Their Christmas and New Year holidays have already passed.

Even in Japan, although they also have the Spring Festival, the concept of the Spring Festival has changed, and it is celebrated together with New Year's Day.

So when China celebrates the Spring Festival, they have already gone to work normally.

January 2014 has passed, but for Japan, they are used to taking April to March of the following year as a fiscal year.

So in early February, they were busy preparing for various plans for the next fiscal year.

As the champion of global car sales in 2013, Toyota is naturally discussing how to keep this position.

"President, the North American market may be in trouble this year."

"GM has lost its No. 1 position in the market, so there will definitely be some actions."

"But GM's sales in China this year are basically going to be zero. With a loss of more than one million shares, they will definitely want to find it back through other means."

"From the situation in the past few months, GM and Ford both hope to exert their strength in the American domestic market and suppress the living space of our Japanese car companies."

As the vice president of Toyota Motor, Kobayashi Tetsuaki once served as the head of the North American headquarters, and he has a better understanding of the situation in the American market.

The more so, the more he knows some of the ideas of those American car companies.

In the past, the situation had not reached the point where GM lost its position as the industry leader, and GM might have endured it.

But after GM began to lose its No. 1 position in the industry, there were many more actions.

Especially in recent months, the situation in this regard has become more and more obvious.

Kobayashi Tetsuaki is worried that GM and other American domestic companies will use more means to deal with them.

This is obviously not a good thing for Toyota.

The domestic market in Japan is only a few million vehicles, but there are a lot of car companies such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Suzuki, Daihatsu, Subaru, etc. to share.

Relying on the domestic market alone, Toyota will definitely not be the world's number one.

It can be said that Japanese car companies are the biggest beneficiaries of globalization.

Now that the United States is starting to target Japanese car companies, Toyota will definitely be hit the hardest.

The American market is Toyota's largest market. If it loses it, Toyota will not be the world's number one, and it will not even be in the top three.

"In the Chinese market, Nanshan Automobile Group has been suppressing us with its own brands for the past two years."

"This year, I guess there will be no small moves in this regard."

"In the United States, General Motors and Ford Motors are suppressing us with their local companies, and their moves are getting bigger and bigger."

"It's obviously a fight between General Motors, Ford Motors and Nanshan Automobile Group, but they both pointed their spearheads at us. This is too much."

Katsuaki Watanabe felt very depressed.

He felt like he was shot while lying down.

Obviously, Toyota did nothing wrong and did not provoke anyone, so why did the leading companies in the United States and China, the first and second largest markets in the world, take the lead in suppressing themselves?

Where is the fair competition environment promised?

Is it all done for show?

This is not the attitude when attracting investment.

Even some states in the United States are still trying hard to encourage Toyota to build new factories.

But the actions of General Motors and Ford Motors do not look like welcoming Toyota to build new factories.

"They have driven each other out of their markets, and their sales have been affected to a certain extent."

"In this case, they naturally hope to make up for this part of the loss from other places."

"But our performance in these two markets is still good, so it is easy to become a thorn in the eyes of others."

"President, I think if this major development strategy does not change, our days in China and America will probably be difficult."

Kobayashi Tetsuaki has basically anticipated that this year it is estimated that there is no way to continue to sit in the first place in the world.

General Motors and Ford are sharpening their knives and are preparing to take action against Toyota.

In this case, if the market share does not change at all, the other party will definitely not give up.

Thinking of this, he felt even more depressed.

"I will communicate with the cabinet to see if we can start from the top level to improve the relationship between Japan, China and America."

"Otherwise, it would be difficult to dispel some of the ideas of General Motors and Nanshan Automobile Group."

As an industrial enterprise with a pivotal position in Japan, Toyota naturally has some backers in the cabinet.

At the critical moment, they wanted to start from this aspect.

There is actually no problem in this direction.

But things are naturally impossible to develop as they hope to see.

Just when Toyota was trying hard to change its unfavorable situation, the CEOs of General Motors and Ford Motors gathered together to discuss the next means to deal with Japanese and Korean car companies.

"Mulally, Ford Motor was once the world's number one, but now it has no chance to enter the top three."

"This is the result of Japanese and Korean car companies grabbing market share."

"For the development of American industry, I think no matter what means, they can be considered."

Exxon will not be soft-hearted when dealing with Japanese and Korean car companies.

The relationship between these two places and the United States is originally quite special.

When Americans go to these two places, everyone feels superior.

Even if they say that everyone is equal, they know what is going on in reality.

Now, for their own interests and the interests of America, it is natural for Exxon to sacrifice the interests of the car companies in these two countries. There is no mercy.

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Last year, the market share of Japanese car companies in the United States reached 38%, and the cumulative sales of Korean car companies in 2013 also broke the highest record set in 2012, reaching 720,000 vehicles. Basically, the share of these two companies has reached 43%."

"This is completely unacceptable."

"Our market share in Japan and Korea is less than 10% combined."

"This situation must be changed."

Mulally naturally fully agrees with Exxon's opinion.

He is already gearing up to suppress Japanese and Korean car companies.

As long as this task can be completed, both GM and Ford will be able to achieve an increase in sales in 2014.

The impact of losing the Chinese market will be minimal.

You know, the stock prices of both companies fell sharply some time ago because investors felt that the two companies were going to lose the Chinese market, which would have a huge impact on the future.

Although they immediately took some actions and began to grab the market from Japanese and Korean car companies, they recovered the stock price to a certain extent.

But so far, the stock price has not recovered to the high point of 2013.

This is obviously not the situation that Mulally and Exxon want to see.

As the CEO of the company, a large part of their income actually comes from stocks.

If the stock price becomes lower, it means that their income is also declining.

Cutting off someone's money is like killing their parents.

This kind of hatred must be very big.

In this situation, they must want to recover.

If they can't deal with Nanshan Automobile Group, then look for other soft persimmons to squeeze.

Obviously, various Japanese car companies and Hyundai Kia Motors in Korea are the soft persimmons chosen by General Motors and Ford.

"Our trade deficit is getting bigger every year, which is something that many departments cannot tolerate."

"Among the trade deficits with Japan, 70% are caused by cars and auto parts."

"As long as this information is used well, and the relevant departments are asked to impose an additional 25% or even 30% tariff on cars and auto parts produced in Japan, the cost advantage of Japanese cars can be greatly reduced immediately."

"Especially for models such as Lexus that rely entirely on imports, the cost will directly increase in the same proportion after the tariff increase."

As the president of General Motors, Exxon is now pulling Ford Motor to take action together, and he will definitely not make a small move.

Since he is ready to take action this time, he must make a big one.

It is best to solve the problem once and for all.

Things like tariff increases involve the entire United States and Japan. Although it will be difficult to increase them, it is also very difficult to cancel them once they are increased.

"This is a good idea, and we don't need to propose it so bluntly, but let the relevant departments ask Japan to come up with a plan to eliminate the trade deficit."

"If the other party can't come up with a plan within the limited time, we will immediately implement the plan of increasing tariffs."

"We can also use the same plan to deal with Korea."

"At that time, just this move will make Japanese and Korean car companies feel huge pressure."

Mulally will not sympathize with Japan and Korea. He was the vice president of Boeing.

As the military-industrial complex of the United States, Boeing has done a lot of things to pit its allies.

Otherwise, how can it ensure that its products have a high profit margin?

Now as the CEO of Ford Motor, the situation is not as good as Boeing.

In this case, as long as it can improve the situation of Ford Motor, he is absolutely willing to do anything.

Besides, the plan proposed by Exxon is good for the whole of America.

The trade deficit problem is a big problem for the entire American society.

General Motors and Ford Motors have raised this topic and will definitely get more support.

Those companies that want to increase the export share of their products, especially those that want to enter the markets of Japan and Korea, definitely want to implement this matter as soon as possible.

For example, American beef, they have always wanted to sell it to Japan and Korea, but the other party always uses this and that method to prevent cheap American beef from entering their market.

They would rather let their people buy so-called domestic beef at a high price than import or increase imports.

In China, many people think that domestic products are of average quality, while imported products are of good quality.

Whether it is in the field of materials, equipment, or other fields, many people have this impression in their minds.

However, in Japan and Korea, domestic beef and vegetables are both of good quality, while imported products are of poor quality.

This situation is completely opposite to that in China.

"Well, bring up this topic as soon as possible, otherwise, if you keep dragging it out, one quarter of this year will have passed."

"By then, it will be much more difficult for us to ensure that our total sales do not drop compared to last year."

Exxon knows that GM's sales in China this year are basically zero.

At least in the past month, this has been the case.

Although Shanghai GM has not completely given up on promoting the supply of alternative parts to resume production, fewer and fewer people are confident that Shanghai GM can resume production.

Even some alternative suppliers have begun to require Shanghai GM to pay the mold fee before they are willing to prepare parts.

The situation at Changan Ford is similar.

Exxon and Mulally reached a consensus very quickly.

Then each exerted their own influence, and the situation began to change soon.

After all, General Motors and Ford Motor still have a great influence in the United States.

Various media are reporting on the trade deficit, and the relevant departments have proposed to impose at least 25% additional tariffs on imported cars and auto parts.

Although many car companies sell their products in the American market, they have more or less business involving imports.

However, as the Japanese car company with the largest market share, it is naturally at the forefront of this incident.

"President, I inquired about it. The request for additional tariffs on imported cars and auto parts in the United States was proposed by local car companies such as General Motors and Ford."

"We have to ask the relevant departments to come up with a plan as soon as possible, otherwise it will be particularly unfavorable to our situation."

Kobayashi Tetsuaki did not expect that the United States would make such a big move.

If this tax increase plan is really implemented, the impact on Toyota will definitely be the greatest.

It is hard to say whether Toyota can still maintain its position as the world's number one by then.

Although it is not the first time that the United States has proposed a similar plan, it is still very rare when the force is so strong.

"Do you think the United States is bluffing this time to gain other benefits through this matter, or does it really want to impose tariffs?"

Katsuaki Watanabe felt a little uneasy.

In the past, when the United States wanted Japan to relax regulations or reduce tariffs on specific products, it also mentioned some similar means.

But that was just a means, not an end.

This time he did think that the other party wanted to impose tariffs on Japanese car companies, which was the end, not the means.

That would be a bit troublesome.

"If there hadn't been a fight between Nanshan Automotive Group and GM and Ford, then America's move this time would have been a bluff, a preparation for other purposes."

"But since October last year, the world's No. 1 and No. 2 Chinese markets and the American market have been fighting each other to the point of killing each other."

"In this case, if GM and Ford want to maintain their position, they need to make up for their sales losses from other places."

"Our Japanese auto companies occupy a large part of the American auto market, so they are definitely the most direct target."

"Then there's Korea, which won't have a good harvest this time."

Although Kobayashi Tetsuaki didn't want to see this situation, he knew that if he didn't tell the truth at this time, it would delay time.

If Watanabe Jiezhao made a misjudgment, Kobayashi Tetsuaki might have to take the blame.

"I will immediately go to the relevant departments to communicate, and you can also communicate with Honda and Nissan to see what solutions everyone can think of to deal with this situation."

Time waits for no one. This time, the United States has very strongly demanded that Japan and Korea give a reply plan within a week, otherwise it will promote the imposition of tariffs to start next month.

So the time left for Japanese and Korean car companies is actually very short.

Normally, it is normal for both sides to argue for several months or even years when it comes to such a big thing.

Unlike this time, it is directly limited to one week.

In other words, Japan and Korea have a very special relationship with the United States, and they can use plans unscrupulously.

But Japan and Korea dare not resist, and can only desperately look for solutions.

While Japan and Korea were trying to deal with this situation, various car companies in Germany also felt the pressure.

Although the United States is mainly targeting Japanese and Korean car companies this time, Germany also has a lot of similar businesses.

As long as the relevant departments of the United States lower their guns a little, these German car companies will also be affected.

This is definitely not the situation that car companies such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW want to see.

"Phillips, the United States is preparing to impose additional tariffs on cars and parts imported from Korea and Japan this time. What do you think about this?"

As the CEO of BMW, Kruger felt the crisis from this matter.

In 1992, BMW built a factory in the United States in order to seize the market share in the United States.

However, building a factory does not mean that all parts are purchased from the United States.

In addition, not all BMW models are produced in this factory. Some models are exported to the United States after being produced in Germany.

Although in terms of total number, BMW exports far fewer models to the United States than Toyota.

But Kruger is worried that this move by the United States will lead to other markets following suit, which will have a particularly big impact on the development of BMW.

In particular, he probably knows that this move by the United States is related to the competition between American and Chinese car companies.

If China follows suit, it will be very troublesome.

"Kruger, I think this matter needs proper attention, but there is no need to worry too much for the time being."

"America's actions this time are so swift and responsive. It is said that local automakers such as General Motors and Ford are pushing it hard behind the scenes."

"According to some media reports, they will make such a big move because they don't want global sales to decline this year."

"After all, both of them are in a state of disappearance in the Chinese market this year, and this part of the sales must be compensated."

"Otherwise, General Motors and Ford will fall in the global sales rankings this year."

As the president of BMW Asia Pacific, Phillips is relatively clear about the struggle between Nanshan Automobile Group and General Motors and Ford.

Combined with his understanding of the situation in China, Japan, America and other countries, he quickly made his own judgment.

However, Kruger's pressure has not been reduced much.

"The automobile industry is the most important industry in Germany. More than half of the cars produced in our country are exported."

"So we don't want to see any major automobile market impose tariffs on imported cars."

"Do you think the United States will really impose tariffs on cars and parts from Japan and Korea this time?"

This question is not only what Kruger wants to know, but also many other car companies want to know.

Although no one dares to say what the final result will be before the matter is finally settled.

But it is definitely necessary to discuss it in advance.

"I think the possibility is very high."

"Especially combined with the background of the United States throwing out this plan this time, the possibility of it finally landing is infinitely greater."

"I even think that the time of final landing will be faster than we thought."

Phillips's words shocked Kruger.

Such a major thing will be implemented soon?

This is not in line with the American style of doing things.

Especially the two objects involved are still America's younger brothers.

However, thinking of the situation faced by General Motors and Ford Motor Company mentioned by Phillips just now, he felt that what Phillips said was not impossible.

"The Chinese market, the American market and the Japanese market are the first, second and third largest automobile markets in the world respectively."

"The actions between these parties this time will more or less have an impact on the global automotive industry."

"You should pay more attention to the relevant situation and report any information to me in time."

Although the incident has not yet affected BMW, Kruger feels that a new war in the automotive industry is about to begin.