After a 10-hour flight, Li Mu was only two hours away from Dearborn in the morning. The plane's estimated landing time was 11 am local time.
When Li Mu arrived, the plane's departure time in Beijing was 10 am local time.
The awkward thing about flying across the ocean was that no matter what time you took off from Hua Xia, it would be the same time when you landed.
If it was an ordinary economy class trip, a 12-13 hour flight would be enough to make people fall apart. Because the economy class was relatively crowded and it was difficult to get a good rest, most people were not only exhausted after getting off the plane, but even their clothes were wrinkled and dirty. They were also deeply troubled by jet lag, and it would take at least two or three days to recover.
However, when executives of the world's top 500 companies went overseas on business trips, they often put on neat suits as soon as the plane landed and went straight to work in high spirits. The reason was that even if they didn't take a private plane, they were at least in the first-class cabin where they could lie down and sleep all the way.
Li Mu also slept all the way, and he even took a shower in the bathroom before landing. It was morning in the United States, and he felt no different from the morning in Hua Xia. He was full of energy and didn't feel tired at all.
Chen Ze also slept soundly all the way. With noise-canceling headphones on, he couldn't even hear the sound of the plane's engine. In addition, the plane flew smoothly, and he almost didn't feel any bumps.
When the flight attendant served breakfast to everyone, the captain said through the cabin broadcast, "Mr. Lee, Mr. Chen, we will land at Detroit International Airport in two hours."
"Detroit?" Chen Ze, who was about to eat breakfast, looked at Li Mu in surprise and asked, "Old Li, didn't you say you were going to Dearborn? Why are you going to Detroit? "
Li Mu said, "Dearborn is a satellite town of Detroit. You can think of it as a district of Detroit."
"I see." Chen Ze nodded and said excitedly, "Detroit is a good place. It's the cradle of the American automobile industry. Why did you think of taking me to Detroit?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "Guess."
Chen Ze thought for a moment and said, "It can't be something as boring as buying a car."
After that, he thought for a moment 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. I'm sure you won't come to play. "
Then, Chen Ze looked at Li Mu and said, "I really can't guess."
Li Mu said, "Hold on for another two hours. You will know when you land.
Seeing that Li Mu was deliberately keeping him in suspense and had no intention of revealing the truth in advance, Chen Ze could only give up on beating around the bush.
However, he was also wondering what Li Mu was doing in Detroit. He was in the Internet and high-tech industry. When he came to the US, he would usually go to Silicon Valley. At most, he would go to New York to do some capital business. Detroit was an old industrial city. Other than industry, there was nothing else, and it had declined a lot in recent years. It was no different from Hua Xia's northeastern region. Li Mu couldn't possibly come here to do business, right?
Besides, what else could they do here besides selling cars?
Thinking of this, Chen Ze's heart skipped a beat. Good lord, could it be that Li Mu was going to discuss a collaboration with General Motors or Ford? Was he going to be their distributor? General Motors and Ford still have many models that have not been launched in China, and their online stores are not very big. If they are optimistic about the future of American cars in Hua Xia, it is still possible to plan ahead.
For example, Benz's registered distributor in Hong Kong had a large store and was very influential. It could already influence Benz.
Li Mu had previously targeted Maserati, which was preparing to enter the Hua Xia market. Now, Maserati's domestic distributor was in his hands. However, Maserati was a niche product, and it was not easy to do so. Also, the brand positioning was high, so it would not be easy to increase sales.
However, American cars were more popular family cars. They were cheap and had high sales. For example, Buick had always been selling well in Hua Xia. If Li Mu could really get one or two brands from General Motors or Ford, even if it was only in Hua Xia, it would be a very big deal.
Chen Ze had basically confirmed his guess, and he was suddenly excited.
If this matter could be settled, then in the future, he could fight for some automobile resources for everyone. This would not only bring in profits, but it would also bring benefits to the racing track and the team.
…
At 10: 50 in the morning, the Gulfstream G550 landed smoothly at the Detroit International Airport.
The plane drove to the business jet hangar, and then Li Mu, Chen Ze, Li Ziwei, and Wang Yuanlang got off the plane together.
The airport ferry took them to the customs. After completing the immigration procedures, they came out of the customs and saw Elon Musk waiting there.
Li Mu introduced Elon Musk to Chen Ze. However, the famous Iron Man of Silicon Valley in the future was not very famous at this time, and Chen Ze knew nothing about him.
After the introduction, Li Mu said to Chen Ze, "I invested in an alternative energy car company with Elon. It is currently in the product development stage."
Chen Ze asked curiously, "Alternative energy car? What does that mean? "
Li Mu said, "It's an electric car, purely electric."
Chen Ze said with a look of disdain, "What's the point of an electric car? Can that thing compare to a gasoline car? "
Li Mu smiled and said, "That depends on what they're competing in."
"In terms of power!" Chen Ze asked, "Can it compare?"
Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "For a mass-produced car, the estimated maximum power should be more than 600 horsepower."
"Bullsh * t!" Chen Ze curled his lips and said, "600 horsepower for an electric car? Nuclear power? "
Li Mu smiled and said, "Not nuclear power, but lithium."
Chen Ze was even more puzzled. "Lithium batteries?"
"Yes." Li Mu said, "With lithium batteries as power, not only is it powerful, but it also accelerates quickly. In the future, mass-produced cars should be able to accelerate 100 kilometers per hour in less than four seconds."
Chen Ze was speechless and couldn't help but ask, "How far can a car like this go when fully charged?"
Li Mu said, "About 400 kilometers, normal driving."
"It's that bad * ss?" Chen Ze was even more surprised.
Li Mu smiled and said, "You'll know soon enough."
He turned his head and asked Elon Musk, "What time did you meet with the Ford people?"
"At 3: 30 in the afternoon." Elon Musk said, "We'll go to the hotel to eat first, and I'll introduce my team members to you. Then, we'll have a meeting in your presidential suite to discuss the situation."
Li Mu nodded and remembered the US Department of Commerce. He couldn't help but ask, "If I finish discussing the details of the cooperation with Ford, will the US Department of Commerce stop us?"
The US Department of Commerce often did some things. For example, they would forcibly split a large company into several under the guise of anti-trust. They also often interfered with the acquisition and being acquired between companies. They either refused to sell or refused to buy. Either way, they owed a lot to the US Department of Commerce.
Elon Musk said seriously, "The US Department of Commerce probably won't interfere with the project we're talking about. They basically don't have any restrictions on the civil automobile industry."
Li Mu nodded and said, "I have to go to New York in a few days. I have to attend Google's bell ringing event on the day of its IPO. This Ford matter has to be settled as soon as possible."
"Okay!"
Chen Ze was a bit confused and asked Li Mu, "You just told Musk that you want to cooperate with Ford?"
"Yes." Li Mu nodded and said, "Dearborn is Ford's headquarters. Their headquarters is here, and a few of Ford's own production lines are also here."
Chen Ze said with surprise, "Ford's classic F150 should be produced in Detroit."
Li Mu immediately thought of the huge pickup truck. This truck was imported into Hua Xia a few years later. However, Hua Xia didn't have a culture of pickup trucks. This thing was directly classified as a truck. It had words on the door and reflective strips on the back. Many cities didn't allow pickup trucks to enter the city, so it didn't become popular.
For Li Mu, he didn't really like that kind of huge pickup truck. He always felt that it was still too big and too wasteful. Every 100 kilometers in the urban area would cost at least 20 MPG, so it was really not very suitable for domestic urban residents.
Chen Ze said, "I got an F150 two years ago and drove it to Sichuan-Tibet. That car was very powerful, and it sold very well in the US."
Li Mu smiled and said, "Then we might as well sell it in China."
Chen Ze waved his hand and said, "It's a good car, but it won't be able to adapt to the climate in China."
Li Mu asked him, "If we want to take something away from Ford, what do you think we should get?"
Chen Ze thought about it and said seriously, "Land Rover! Classic off-road vehicles. They just entered the Hua Xia market last year, and there hasn't been much development yet. However, this car is really good. It's like playing with old palms. Although it's not as sturdy as the Toyota Land Rover, the British design is still more luxurious. It's a lot more high-profile than the Land Rover. "
Li Mu nodded thoughtfully and said, "What you said makes sense. Then why don't we talk to Ford about Land Rover cooperation?"
Chen Ze said subconsciously, "They seem to be in the Hua Xia market now. If we can get a regional agent, it's still possible."
Li Mu nodded slightly and didn't say anything.
Although he didn't say anything on the surface, Li Mu couldn't help but despise Chen Ze in his heart.
Get a regional agent? Chen Ze, is that all you've got? Can't we just buy the Land Rover?
Also, we're not only going to buy the Land Rover, but we're also going to buy the Jaguar and the Volvo.
We'll strive to make the Range Rover and the Guardian in two or three years.
Walking out of the airport, everyone got into the business car arranged by Elon Musk and went straight to a star hotel in Dearborn.
Dearborn was almost Ford's own small city. Ford's logo and advertisements could be seen everywhere.
When they arrived at the hotel, Li Mu met Elon Musk's team. Everyone sat down at the wide long table in the banquet hall. Elon Musk said to Li Mu, "Li Zong, let me introduce you to the members of our acquisition team."
Chen Ze asked in surprise, "Acquisition? Acquisition of what? "
Elon Musk smiled and asked, "Mr. Chen, you don't know?"
Chen Ze shook his head with a dumbfounded expression.
Elon Musk looked at Li Mu. Seeing Li Mu nod with a smile, he said to Chen Ze, "We're negotiating with Ford. We want to acquire Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo from them."
Chen Ze felt like he had been struck by lightning. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. He murmured, "What kind of joke is this …"
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