"Mr. Gao, Nanshan Automotive signed a loan agreement with the bank yesterday. As long as they fail to repay on time a year from now, the production license will be ours."
Nanshan Building was the tallest office building in Nancheng, and the headquarters of the Gallure-Rayleigh Automotive Group's China region was located here.
"Great, we can officially start our site selection process now."
In Gao Lei's view, Nanshan Automotive's production license was already in his pocket.
Their model sales were in the triple digits, and they were even selling cars at a loss.
Gao Lei didn't believe that Nanshan Automotive could pay back the loan.
That 300 million was just drinking poison to quench thirst.
"Hmm, the Nancheng Reform Committee has already reached out to us proactively. Tomorrow we can go on-site to investigate."
Chen Liang was in a good mood as well.
Although Rayleigh's sales in China weren't great, the potential of the Chinese market had already been seen by everyone.
As a person who helped establish Rayleigh Group, once the factory was operational, his position would surely rise.
Not to mention the position of general manager, even vice general manager seemed within reach.
"The planning for factory equipment must also proceed promptly. The automotive market in China is changing rapidly. It's nothing like the mature markets in our homeland, so we must act fast."
As a professional manager, Gao Lei, a Nanyang man, could sit as the China president of Rayleigh, which clearly showed he had some guts.
"No problem, I'll immediately set up the factory construction team."
...
"Mr. Lu, Nanshan Automotive has been very firm this time, refusing to pay the advance for the goods. Should we really stop supplying them?"
In the headquarters of the China division of Bosch, Sales Manager Chai Hang expressed concern to Sales Director Lu Weimin about the latest developments.
"Hmph! Does Nanshan Automotive think we're like those factories in China, where they can exploit us however they want? Since we said we'd stop supplying next week, we have to follow through."
As Bosch's Sales Director, Lu Weimin dealt with many clients.
Nanshan Automotive, with its peak annual sales only in the tens of thousands, now even struggling to produce 10,000 cars a year, didn't even warrant his attention.
In the automotive industry, the relationship between suppliers and manufacturers was delicate.
Whoever had more say was the true master.
Clearly, as a global leader in components, Bosch held the dominant position over Nanshan Automotive.
"But if we go through with this, won't it have a bad reputation?"
Chai Hang knew that losing Nanshan Automotive wouldn't impact Bosch's revenue much, but he was concerned about potential ripple effects.
"You're overthinking it. We've already coordinated with Dalu Group and Cai Ai Group beforehand. Even if the supply halt news leaks, it'll be because Nanshan Automotive failed to make the payment on time."
Lu Weimin had already considered the consequences when making the decision.
People in his position weren't without brains.
In fact, many employees at the car manufacturers were not as capable as them.
"You're right, Director Lu. I was worrying for nothing."
Chai Hang forced a smile, suppressing the unease in his heart.
...
"Mr. Pi, if the company lets Mr. Xiao keep making these moves, Nanshan Automotive may not survive this year."
Dai Hanbiao, the head of Nanshan Automotive's production department, was Pi Wei's loyal subordinate.
Seeing that the R&D center had really sent out the design and data to all departments and the procurement department was scrambling to organize supplier quotes and prepare parts, his doubts grew deeper.
"Have you organized people to thoroughly review those design documents? Are they really as mature as Xiao Hui says?"
Pi Wei sat solemnly in his office chair, not revealing his thoughts.
As an old member of Nanshan Automotive, he hoped the company would develop well.
But he didn't believe that Xiao Hui could lead the company to success.
A company this size should be led by someone with more experience to have a chance.
"I've looked over part of it. So far, I haven't found any problems. The dimensions on the drawings are very clearly marked. I don't see any issues."
"But I find it strange. When did the R&D center start preparing these design documents? I heard they already have data for molds, jigs, and inspection tools. Didn't suppliers usually handle this?"
Dai Hanbiao was clearly no fool to become the head of the production department.
"Unless an automotive company provides the complete set of design data for a model that is either already in production or had been produced before, it's impossible to have direct production-ready design data."
"This time, Xiao Hui is trying to pull a fast one on everyone by promising a big deal. Let's see how he ends up."
Pi Wei didn't believe the design data sent by the R&D center was without issues.
According to his normal understanding, his thoughts were reasonable.
But he didn't know Xiao Hui had the system.
This was like when the elite cavalry of the Bianzi Dynasty charged against a machine gun position, always thinking victory was guaranteed.
In the end, they realized the joke was on them.
"Although the company belongs to the Xiao family, if the project fails, they'll bear the greatest loss. But the company belongs to all of us. If it goes bankrupt, our situation will worsen too."
Dai Hanbiao's face didn't look good.
An employee from a company that was thriving moving to another job was very different from one whose company was on the verge of bankruptcy. HR's attitude would be totally different.
Not only would opportunities decrease, but the benefits they offered would also drop significantly.
These losses were real money.
It was no wonder Dai Hanbiao was feeling so bad.
"No pain, no gain. If Xiao Hui doesn't force things, Nanshan Automotive might not survive. By speeding up the situation, it might not be such a bad thing."
"I heard Gallure-Rayleigh is very interested in Nanshan Automotive. If they can take both the production license and the factory, they'll be thrilled."
Pi Wei's words were somewhat cryptic, and Dai Hanbiao didn't fully grasp their meaning at first.
"So... what do we do now?"
"Don't do anything. Just watch the show. Wait for Xiao Hui to make a fool of himself."
"No, we can't do nothing. The tasks assigned by the company need to be carried out properly."