After a ten-hour flight, Li Mu was only two hours away from Dearborn in the morning American time. The expected landing time of the plane was 11 a.m. local time.
When Li Mu arrived, the departure time of the plane from Yanjing was ten o'clock in the morning Yanjing time.
The awkward thing about flying across the ocean is that when you take off from China, it happens to be the local time when you land.
If you travel in an ordinary economy class, a 12 to 13-hour flight is enough to make people feel exhausted. Since the economy class is relatively crowded and it is difficult to get a good rest, most people are not only exhausted after getting off the plane, but even their clothes are worn out. Wrinkled and dirty, and suffering from jet lag, I couldn't get over it for two or three days.
However, when executives of Fortune 500 companies go on business trips overseas, they often put on crisp suits as soon as the plane lands and go straight to work in high spirits. The reason is because they are not flying on private planes. , at least it’s a first-class cabin where you can lie flat and sleep all the way.
Li Mu also slept all the way and took a shower in the bathroom before landing. It was the morning in the United States time. He felt no different from the morning in China. He was full of energy and not tired at all.
Chen Ze slept soundly all the way. With the noise-canceling headphones on, he couldn't even hear the sound of the plane's engine. In addition, the plane flew smoothly, and he could hardly feel any bumps.
When the flight attendant served breakfast to everyone, the captain said through the cabin announcement: "Mr. Li, Mr. Chen, we have two hours to land at Detroit International Airport."
"Detroit?" Chen Ze, who was about to have breakfast, looked at Li Mu in surprise and asked, "Old Li, didn't you say you were going to Dearborn? Why did you end up in Detroit?"
Li Mu said: "Dearborn is a satellite city of Detroit. You can understand it as a district of Detroit."
"I see." Chen Ze nodded and said excitedly: "Detroit is a great place, the cradle of the American automobile industry. Why do you think of dragging me to Detroit?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "Guess what."
Chen Ze held his chin and thought for a moment, then said, "It can't be as boring as buying a car."
After saying that, he thought about it again and said: "It can't be just for fun, right? I won't say how busy I am. You are much busier than me, and your time is more precious than mine. You will definitely not come over to play. .”
Immediately, Chen Ze looked at Li Mu and said, "I really can't guess it."
Li Mu said: "If you persist for two more hours, you will know after landing."
Seeing that Li Mu was deliberately selling things off and had no intention of revealing the mystery in advance, Chen Ze had no choice but to give up making insinuations.
But he was also thinking, what is Li Mu doing in Detroit? He works in the Internet and high-tech industries. When he comes to the United States, he usually goes to Silicon Valley. It’s not a big deal to go to New York to do capital work. An old industrial city like Detroit has nothing but industry, and it has declined a lot in recent years. Compared with China’s There is no difference in the Northeast. Li Mu can’t come here to do business, right
What's more, apart from car sales, what else can be done here
Thinking of this, Chen Ze was shocked. Good guy, is Li Mu planning to discuss cooperation with GM or Ford? Do you want to be their dealer? There are still many models of General Motors and Ford that have not been launched in China, and the sales network is not very large. If you are optimistic about the future development of American cars in China, there is still room for early layout.
For example, a Mercedes-Benz dealer registered in Hong Kong has a huge stall and is very influential. It can already influence Mercedes-Benz itself in the opposite direction.
Li Mu has previously targeted Maserati, which is preparing to enter the Chinese market. Now he has the domestic general distribution of Maserati. However, after all, Maserati is a niche market. It is not easy to do it all at once, and the brand positioning is high, so he wants to Making sales is not easy either.
However, most American cars are more popular family cars with low prices and high sales. For example, Buick has been selling well in China. If Li Mu can really get one or two brands from General Motors or Ford, even if Just being an agent in North China is a very big deal.
Chen Ze had basically confirmed his guess at this time, and he suddenly became excited.
If this matter can be solved, we can get some automotive resources for everyone in the future, which will not only bring profits, but also bring benefits to the entire racing circuit and the team.
…
At 10:50 in the morning, the Gulfstream G550 landed smoothly at Detroit International Airport.
The plane arrived at the business jet hangar, and then Li Mu, Chen Ze, Li Ziwei and Wang Yuanlang got off the plane together.
The airport shuttle bus took them to the customs. After completing the immigration procedures, everyone saw Elon Musk waiting here as soon as they came out of the customs.
Li Mu introduced Elon Musk to Chen Ze, but this later-famous Silicon Valley Iron Man was not very famous at this time, and Chen Ze knew nothing about him.
After introducing the two to each other, Li Mucai said to Chen Ze: "Elon and I have invested in a new energy vehicle company, which is still in the product development stage."
Chen Ze asked curiously: "New energy vehicle? What do you mean?"
Li Mu said: "It is an electric vehicle, driven by pure electricity."
Chen Ze said with a look of disgust: "What's the point of electric cars? Can they be compared with gasoline cars?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "Then you have to see what's going on."
"Comparing power!" Chen Ze asked: "Can it be compared?"
Li Mu thought for a while and said, "For a mass-produced car, the maximum power is expected to be more than 600 horsepower."
"Blow it!" Chen Ze curled his lips and said, "An electric car with 600 horsepower? Is it powered by nuclear power?"
Li Mu smiled and said: "Nuclear power is not the same as lithium power."
Chen Ze was even more puzzled: "Lithium battery?"
"Yes." Li Mu said: "Using lithium batteries as power not only has strong power, but also accelerates quickly. In the future, mass-produced high-end vehicles should be able to accelerate from 100 kilometers to 100 kilometers within 4 seconds."
Chen Ze was stunned when he heard this and couldn't help but ask: "How far can such a car run when fully charged?"
Li Mu said: "About 400 kilometers, normal driving."
"So awesome?" Chen Ze was even more surprised.
Li Mu smiled and said, "It won't take long for you to know."
As he said that, he turned around and asked Elon Musk: "What time did you make the appointment with Ford's people?"
"At 3:30 in the afternoon," Elon Musk said, "Let's go to the hotel for dinner first, introduce you to my team members, and then have a meeting in your presidential suite conference room to discuss the situation."
Li Mu hummed, remembering the usual irritability of the U.S. Commerce Department, and couldn't help but ask: "If I negotiate the details of cooperation with Ford, will the U.S. Commerce Department come out to stop it?"
The U.S. commerce department often engages in some cunning operations, such as breaking up a large enterprise into several companies at every turn, euphemistically calling it antitrust; it also often interferes in the acquisitions and acquisitions between enterprises, either refusing to sell them or refusing to sell them. You are not allowed to buy it even if you live or die, because you owe a lot anyway.
Elon Musk said seriously: "The U.S. commerce department should not interfere with the projects we are talking about. They basically have no restrictions on the civilian automobile industry."
Li Mu nodded and said, "I'm going to New York in a few days. On the day Google goes public, I have to attend their bell-ringing event. This matter with Ford needs to be settled as soon as possible."
"good!"
Chen Ze was a little puzzled and asked Li Mu: "Did you just tell that Musk that you wanted to discuss cooperation with Ford?"
"Yes." Li Mu nodded and said, "Dearborn is Ford's headquarters. Their head office is here, and several of Ford's own production lines are also here."
Chen Ze said in surprise: "Ford's classic F150 should be produced in Detroit."
Li Mu immediately thought of the huge pickup truck. It took several years for this truck to enter China through parallel import. However, China does not have a pickup truck culture. This thing was directly classified as a truck when it arrived. The door sprayed There are emblems and reflective strips on the rear of the car, and many cities do not allow pickup trucks to enter urban areas, so it has not become popular.
For Li Mu, he doesn't like the huge pickup truck too much. He always feels that it is still too big and too wasteful. In urban areas, it often starts with more than 20 fuels per 100 kilometers. It is indeed not suitable for domestic urban residents.
Chen Ze said: "I got an F150 two years ago and drove it to Sichuan and Tibet. The car was very powerful, and its sales in the United States were excellent."
Li Mu smiled and said, "Then let's just sell it in China."
Chen Ze waved his hand: "The car is a good car, but it will not adapt to the local conditions in China."
Li Mu asked him: "What do you think is more appropriate if we want to take something away from Ford?"
Chen Ze thought for a while and said seriously: "Land Rover! The classic off-road vehicle just entered the Chinese market last year. There is not much development yet, but the car is really good. Walking in Laozhanggou is like playing, although there is no Toyota Land Cruiser. The leather is so solid, but the things designed by the British are still relatively luxurious, much more high-profile than the Land Cruiser."
Li Mu nodded thoughtfully and said, "What you said makes sense. Why don't we talk about Land Rover cooperation with Ford?"
Chen Ze said subconsciously: "They seem to be dealing with the Chinese market now. If we can get a regional agent, we can still do it."
Li Mu nodded slightly, without comment.
Although he didn't say anything on his face, Li Mu couldn't help but despise Chen Ze in his heart.
Get an agent? Is this how you, Chen Ze, have achieved success? Can't we buy the Land Rover back
Moreover, we not only want to buy Land Rover, but also Jaguar and Volvo.
We will strive to make the two cars Range Rover and Defender domestically produced in two or three years.
After walking out of the airport, everyone got into the commercial vehicle arranged by Elon Musk and went straight to a star hotel in Dearborn.
Dearborn is almost Ford's own small city, and Ford logos and advertisements can be seen everywhere.
When they arrived at the hotel, Li Mu met with Elon Musk’s team. Everyone sat down at the large long table in the banquet hall. Elon Musk said to Li Mu: “Mr. Li, let me introduce to you our team this time. Member of the acquisition team.”
Chen Ze on the side asked in surprise: "Acquisition? Acquisition of what?"
Elon Musk smiled slightly and asked: "Mr. Chen, don't you know?"
Chen Ze shook his head in confusion.
Elon Musk looked at Li Mu and saw Li Mu nodding with a smile, and said to Chen Ze: "We are negotiating with Ford and want to fully acquire the three car brands Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo from them."
Chen Ze felt as if he had been struck by lightning. It took him a long time to come back to his senses and murmured: "What international joke are you kidding..."
(End of chapter)