Chapter 381 Exclusive Interview

Chapter 381 Exclusive Interview

Chapter 381 Exclusive Interview
Amid the stalemate in shorting Mitsubishi, the head of Nissan made an important statement.

This is really welcomed by all media. Not only in China, but also in Europe and the United States, the media are reporting the latest developments in Mitsubishi's fuel consumption scandal.

Ghosn is a well-known business figure in the global automotive industry. In 1996, when he became vice president of French Renault, he led the company to turn losses into profits, earning himself the reputation of "cost killer". When Renault injected capital into Nissan in 1999, he served as CEO of Nissan and carried out drastic reforms, pulling it back from the brink of death.

In 2005, Ghosn became the ninth CEO of Renault, officially becoming the dual CEO of two international automobile companies spanning eight time zones and nearly 2012 kilometers apart. As of August 8, the Renault-Nissan Alliance's sales this year are expected to exceed 800 million vehicles, which may be second only to Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen.

Ghosn's experience has earned him many reputations such as "the contemporary Iacocca", "the eagle-eyed president" and "the cost killer".

It is really surprising that a foreign CEO of Nissan, who is the first of its kind to raise criticisms at the height of the storm, and the resulting impact is almost catalytic.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's investigation has not yet come to a conclusion, but the French Automobile Technical Federation UTAC announced its own test on Mitsubishi's suspected fraudulent engines the day after Ghosn spoke out, becoming the first third-party organization in the world to replicate the data in Shanfeng's research report.

UTAC is the only technical institution in France with full-process testing capabilities, and its results are usually authoritative.

Therefore, when UTAC gave the argument of "Mitsubishi's fuel consumption fraud", the mainstream media quoted it directly without any scruples, but this immediately plunged public opinion in Japan into a world of ice and fire.

Half of it is an angry accusation against Ghosn, and half of it is a reflection on Mitsubishi's fraud.

Just like the obstacles encountered in short selling in the Japanese stock market, the public opinion atmosphere in Japan has a high degree of trust and protection for its own companies. When the vice president of Mitsubishi denied the suspension of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, suddenly the CEO of Nissan appeared...

Japan's well-known media Sankei Shimbun directly reported this incident using the three words "Traitor" as the title!

The difference of opinion over whether to stand on facts or on stance also emerged in the current public debate in Japan, and it quickly became the hottest topic of discussion in Japan.

Perhaps even Ghosn himself did not expect to cause such a huge public outcry. Three days after criticizing Mitsubishi, he accepted an exclusive interview and responded positively to the issue of Mitsubishi's fraud. His main attitude has not changed, and Mitsubishi must still be held responsible for the fraud.

However, this time he brought up something more vested in his interests. Nissan has a contract manufacturing partnership with Mitsubishi, and this fraud scandal will also affect Nissan's reputation in the global automotive industry.

Furthermore, Mitsubishi's 20-year fraud also affects the overall reputation of Japanese cars.

Ghosn has a legitimate reason, and despite the heated public opinion, his attitude remains firm, including the way he responds to reporters.

The Japanese reporter asked a question: "Is it your instruction that UTAC of France is eager to test Mitsubishi Motors?"

Ghosn asked in return: "Did Mitsubishi commit fraud?"

The Japanese reporter asked again: "I heard that Nissan directly asked the authorities to deal with this matter before the international organization had a result. Is that true?"

Ghosn asked in return: "Did Mitsubishi commit fraud?"

The Japanese reporter did not ask any further questions because, based on the current situation, Mitsubishi had indeed committed fraud.

Ghosn's exclusive interview this time is consistent with his usual image of being ruthless and decisive, and it also makes Mitsubishi's fraud almost completely confirmed.

Yu Xing was interviewed by NetEase on the same day in Lingang. He saw Ghosn's morning content in the afternoon. He was particularly amazed when he saw him ask the same question twice in a row.

Hold on to the facts...

Enzi, you shouldn’t be too sharp.

The time for NetEase’s exclusive interview was at two o’clock in the afternoon, and the interviewer was our old acquaintance Fei Jiashu.

While there was still some time, Yu Xing called Liu Wanying to discuss his thoughts on the latest situation.

Liu Wanying has the same idea. It is a good thing. Ghosn’s firm attitude is definitely a good thing.

However, she was also puzzled: "The Tokyo Stock Exchange is obviously trying to help Mitsubishi. It is still very eye-catching for Ghosn to come out like this. Mitsubishi's affairs have not been settled, and Nissan has not suffered any actual losses. He stepped on the sidelines. It is no wonder that Japanese public opinion is boiling."

"This is called the character of a saint." Yu Xing joked, "Compared to Ghosn, I am more curious about the vice president of Mitsubishi who openly denied the fraud. He must have known that this fuel consumption would be verified soon, so how dare he deny it like that?"

Liu Wanying paused for a moment and pointed out a similar situation: "The United States has already tested the frontal offset collision of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, but domestic executives still don't want to admit it, right?"

Yu Xing thought for a moment and said with a smile, "It's a bit like looking for a vertical position. I want to tell the story to those who are willing to believe it."

There was a knock on the office door and NetEase arrived for an interview.

Yu Xing stopped communicating with Tsai Ing-wen, thinking that the deadlock over Mitsubishi had been resolved, but he didn’t know when the stock would resume trading.

Reporter Fei Jiashu shook hands with Mr. Yu and greeted him. After the camera was set up, he couldn't wait to ask questions related to the recent turmoil.

"Mr. Yu, did the inspiration for your 'Car Speaks' review come from the communication with the car manufacturers a while ago?"

“Yes and no.” Yu Xing said succinctly, “You asked something that I haven’t responded to on Weibo. I think the answer to this question is meaningless. It’s better to see whether the evaluation results are useful or not.”

Fei Jiashu slightly adjusted the mood of the interview and asked a question that could easily be ridiculed: "Mr. Yu, you drive a Mercedes-Benz yourself, right? What do you think of it and this brand?"

"Yes." Yu Xing did not deny it. "From my personal perspective, I think Mercedes-Benz is pretty good, but from my personal perspective, it is easy for me to buy and change cars, and due to work needs, I often drive different cars to experience their respective characteristics. This evaluation of Baice is not for me personally, but more to show consumers the most real things. This is what everyone calls 'let the car speak for itself'."

Fei Jiashu immediately asked: "Do you think Mercedes-Benz has a premium? Judging from its price, is its performance exaggerated?"

Yu Xing took a sip of tea and pondered, "What is premium? Many well-known brands, including Mercedes-Benz, do have great brand power, and the emotional value that brands bring to car owners is also an experience in real life. There is no need to deny this, it exists objectively. Whether it is exaggerated depends on the different subjective views of different people."

Fei Jiashu had to ask an answer: "Mr. Yu, from your personal subjective point of view, do you think it has a premium?"

"My personal situation is quite special. My car experience can be reflected in my work. I drive Mercedes-Benz, GL8, Highlander, BYD, and Haval. This is my unique situation, and there are not many similar groups in the auto market." Yu Xing said with a smile, "I want to build cars. Even if I just bought a car and dismantled it before driving it, I can still say that it has no premium. The situation is different, right?"

Fei Jiashu reluctantly accepted this answer and said with a smile: "Mr. Yu, you are more sincere than I thought. I thought you wanted to talk about the premium of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, or the development prospects of domestically produced cars."

Yu Xing calmly replied: "I am just speaking objectively about this. Any car that can be sold on the market is licensed by the state, and there is no forced buying or selling. As for the development of domestically produced cars, no matter others are pessimistic or do not believe in it, it will continue to develop in the same way, and its quality and reputation will be better."

He added: "At the same time, objectively speaking, the better the development of domestically produced cars, the price of imported and joint venture brands will naturally be impacted, and people will have more choices. This is actually very clear."

Fei Jiashu asked, "Mr. Yu, what do you think is the problem that domestic cars cannot occupy a larger market now?" "Industrial development always takes time and progress, just like the strength of the car A-pillar reflected in this evaluation. China did not have 1500Mpa high-strength steel before, which is the world's first-class level, but now it has and is about to be mass-produced." Yu Xing said seriously, "The same material data and the same processing technology, it doesn't make sense that it is better for foreign-funded cars and worse for domestic cars, right?"

He said more on this issue: "I recently found that my stance on car manufacturing is always easy to be noticed, and what I said may be easy to be over-thought. Now let's try to put aside my stance and look at the car brands in different countries around the world. The US market has Ford and Cadillac, the European market has BBA, Japan has Toyota and Nissan, and South Korea has Hyundai. They are all very popular. China is now the world's largest car market, but such a large market does not have a relatively high-end brand. This sounds a bit... I won't say it's regrettable, I'll just say it's strange."

"With the world's largest market and an evolving supply chain, it makes sense that a more well-known car brand should emerge sooner or later. Isn't that logical?"

Fei Jiashu couldn't help but nodded and said with a smile: "So, Mr. Yu, do you think such a brand will be born in Carbon Silicon Group?"

"I am talking about this from a logical point of view. Maybe it will be Silicon Carbon, maybe it will be Great Wall, maybe it will be Geely, maybe it will be BYD, maybe it will be more new brands in the future. I just think the rise of domestic brands is inevitable." Yu Xing said, "As for whether Silicon Carbon can do it, I am the founder, and of course I hope it can."

Fei Jiashu mentioned the current public opinion: "Mr. Yu, since Carbon Silicon Group is working hard on its first model, why do you want to do such a review that is easily criticized?"

Yu Xing replied simply: "I think it can promote the progress of the industry."

Fei Jiashu asked, "Can I?"

Yu Xing replied: "I think it can, and I will do more to promote the progress of the industry."

Fei Jiashu smiled and said, "Mr. Yu, do you want to do more car model reviews?"

"No, I'm not talking about the evaluation." Yu Xing's face flashed with kindness, "In the future, we will open up our patents for free, and hope to promote the progress of the industry together."

Fei Jiashu was surprised and said, "Ah? Open patent? Free? Really?"

Yu Xing confirmed: "Really? Do you think this can promote the progress of the industry?"

Fei Jiashu thinks this is really possible...it's a patent...

He asked again in disbelief: "This will really promote the progress of the industry. Will carbon silicon really be open?"

Yu Xing nodded. It is certain that it can be pushed forward. As for how far it can be pushed, we will see when the time comes.

Tesla has opened up its patents for free, but most of them have been mortgaged, and more are still under protection. Moreover, the conditions for using the open patents are very strict.

Toyota has also done the same thing. Compared with the hundreds of patents opened by Tesla, it opened 2019 hybrid technology patents for free in 2.4. However, it also implies conditions, such as the need to bind technical paths and purchase its expensive supporting planetary gear sets and electronic control systems. In addition, software calibration also relies on Toyota's paid technical services.

The spiritual significance of patent openness is greater than its practical significance. It is not unconditional technology accessibility, but rather a carefully designed business strategy.

Yu Xing also needs a strategy.

But Fei Jiashu was indeed shocked by this strategy.

He was stunned for a moment before praising Mr. Yu for his progressive measures to promote the development of the industry. This sounded so stupid that he almost sounded like a saint!

Fei Jiashu couldn't help but put away the difficult questions in his mind, and then asked: "Mr. Yu, many people say that cars are for driving, not for crashing, and the test of Baice has no practical significance."

Yu Xing smiled and said, "Of course, cars are meant to be driven. No one buys a car to crash, but no one wants their car to be more crash-resistant. More safety redundancy is always good."

Fei Jiashu nodded and asked again: "Mr. Yu, what do you think about Mitsubishi's fraud? I see that you didn't test Mitsubishi's cars at all."

Yu Xing hesitated. How should he answer this?
Fei Jiashu had seen Mr. Yu's rare hesitation since the beginning of the interview. After thinking for a few seconds, he smiled and asked, "Don't you want to step on Mitsubishi again at this juncture?"

Yu Xing spread his hands and remained silent in his answer.

Fei Jiashu secretly sighed, looked at President Yu, and then looked at Mitsubishi that had mocked him before!
Mitsubishi should come out and apologize to Mr. Yu! !

Fei Jiashu continued to ask: "Mr. Yu, what do you think of the attitude of many car companies in the past that 'let the car speak for itself'?"

Yu Xing thought for a moment and took out his phone: "I will @ them back on Weibo right now, starting with @Mitsubishi."

Fei Jiashu said “uh”, well… although Mr. Yu is a saint, he also has a temperament.

He personally witnessed Mr. Yu @ the official account of the previous car brand on Weibo, inviting them to participate in a series of tests, and the main purpose was indeed to make friends through cars.

Fei Jiashu drank tea to moisten his throat, and he still had many questions to ask the founder of Carbon Silicon Group in front of him.

……

This exclusive interview with NetEase received a lot of publicity.

In particular, Yu Xing's statement on open patents received a lot of public support.

As someone who is closely related to this test, Lingang Deputy Director Zhu Zehui was the first to read the interview content.

Then, he asked his secretary who had also watched the interview: "What do you think of Yu Xing?"

The secretary hesitated, but seeing that the leader was waiting for her answer, she had to use a convincing evaluation: "Mr. Yu is a bit straightforward."

It sounds like a compliment, but upon closer inspection it doesn't seem quite right.

Zhu Zehui nodded first and then shook his head: "He is not completely straightforward, he is very straightforward, but there is a difference between being straightforward and being straightforward. Some people are reckless and do not follow methods, but Yu Xing is a person who plans first and then is straightforward, and he chooses to use being straightforward to achieve the effect."

The secretary said tactfully: "Sometimes it just feels a little unacceptable."

Zhu Zehui smiled and said, "If you can't accept it, it means you don't have a high level of ideological awareness. If they stick to the facts and do things, what can you do if you don't accept it?"

The secretary nodded seriously, determined to continue to follow the leader to improve his ideological awareness. Mr. Yu worked hard based on facts, and the leader urged Mr. Yu to do things. Maybe the deputy director would no longer be a deputy in the future.

(End of this chapter)