316: Chapter 316 Toyota's Secret Envoy

In June, the air in Shenzhen was damp with the sea breeze.

At Baoan Airport's Terminal 3, the crowd was as dense as a woven fabric.

A man wearing a black mask and a baseball cap emerged from the arrivals gate, blending in with the ordinary passengers.

Dressed in dark gray casual wear and dragging a small suitcase, he looked no different from the thousands of people coming to Shenzhen on business.

No one recognized him.

Tatsuro Ueda, the president of Toyota Motor's China region, was a renowned name in the Japanese automotive industry, but at this moment, he was just a secret envoy who needed to hide his identity.

There was no private car, and no entourage.

He used his phone to call a ride-hailing car, sat in the back, and said three words to the driver: "Four Seasons Hotel."

The car drove out of the airport, speeding toward the city center along the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway.

Tatsuro Ueda watched the scenery flashing by outside the window—brand-new office buildings, vast industrial parks, and overpasses under construction.

He had been in China for ten years, and every time he could see new changes.

But this time, his mood was exceptionally heavy.

Because he was here to discuss "cooperation."

11:30 AM, Presidential Suite, Four Seasons Hotel.

Tatsuro Ueda stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the Shenzhen skyline.

The Ping An Finance Centre shimmered in the sunlight; it was the tallest building in Shenzhen and a symbol of the city.

The phone rang.

It was an encrypted video call from the Tokyo headquarters.

Akio Toyoda's face appeared on the screen.

The sixty-five-year-old Akio Toyoda, the fourth-generation heir of the Toyota family, looked grave at this moment.

"Ueda-kun, remember: our bottom line is that we can make concessions, but it must be more favorable than Honda's terms. Xingchen wants 60%, we can only give 55%, no more."

Tatsuro Ueda smiled bitterly.

"President, it's not about how much we want to give, but whether Xingchen is willing to accept it."

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the screen.

Akio Toyoda's voice became deeper: "Just do your best."

The call ended.

Tatsuro Ueda put down his phone and continued to look out the window.

He remembered ten years ago, when he first came to China, Toyota was the best-selling joint venture brand here.

At that time, Chinese car companies were still imitating Japanese cars and were proud of building a decent engine.

Ten years later, he was standing in Shenzhen, waiting to request a meeting with a company that had been established for less than three years.

2:00 PM, private meeting room at Xingchen Headquarters.

This meeting room was on the 18th floor of Block B, with no windows, only a huge projection screen and a long table.

The soundproofing material on the walls had a dark gray luster, and once the door was closed, the outside world was completely cut off.

When Tatsuro Ueda pushed the door open, Gu Yanting was already waiting inside.

The forty-five-year-old Gu Yanting was wearing a dark blue shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, brewing tea.

Seeing Tatsuro Ueda, he stood up and reached out his hand.

"Mr. Ueda, you've had a long journey."

Tatsuro Ueda shook his hand firmly: "CEO Gu, you should be able to feel Toyota's sincerity."

Gu Yanting smiled and motioned for him to sit down.

"Have some tea. This is Da Hong Pao from Wuyi Mountain, one of the most expensive teas in China."

Tatsuro Ueda picked up the teacup and took a sip.

The aroma of the tea spread in his mouth, but he couldn't taste anything.

He put down the teacup and got straight to the point.

"CEO Gu, Toyota is willing to cooperate with Xingchen. But the terms must be more favorable than Honda's—Xingchen can take a 55% stake, and we only need 45%."

Gu Yanting put down the teacup and looked at him.

"Mr. Ueda, you have misunderstood. Xingchen's cooperation with Honda is not because Honda gave 60%. It is because Honda's technology, channels, and brand are worth Xingchen's cooperation."

He paused.

"The same goes for Toyota. If we cooperate, Xingchen also wants 60%."

Tatsuro Ueda was stunned.

"Doesn't Toyota's sales volume and global influence deserve 45%?"

Gu Yanting shook his head.

"No discounts. Xingchen treats all partners equally. Whatever the terms are for Honda, those are the terms for Toyota. This is a principle."

Tatsuro Ueda was silent.

Three seconds later, he asked: "Then when can we sign?"

Gu Yanting picked up a tablet, pulled up a table, and pushed it in front of Tatsuro Ueda.

"Xingchen Three-Electric System Capacity Plan (2019-2020)"

"Xingchen Own Brand: 300,000 vehicles (2019)"

"Xingchen Honda: 300,000 vehicles (2020 production)"

"Xingchen Nissan: 500,000 vehicles (2020 production)"

"Total: 1.1 million vehicles"

"Remaining allocatable capacity: 0"

Tatsuro Ueda's face changed.

"You mean... Toyota has to wait in line?"

Gu Yanting nodded.

"Xingchen's current capacity plan is already full. Within this year, all production lines are operating at full capacity. In the first half of next year, we need to supply goods for Honda and Nissan. If Toyota wants to cooperate, the earliest we can wait is the second half of 2019."

Tatsuro Ueda put down the tablet and took a deep breath.

"CEO Gu, Toyota is not an ordinary car company. We are the world's number one car company by sales. Waiting in line... This does not befit Toyota's status."

Gu Yanting smiled.

"Mr. Ueda, status cannot be used as production capacity. Xingchen's batteries are manufactured one by one, and it takes time. We cannot push back others' orders just because Toyota is 'number one in the world'. You want semi-solid-state batteries, which cannot be made with ordinary technology. Currently, Spark Power does not sell semi-solid-state batteries externally; only Xingchen has external capacity. You have no choice."

He stood up and walked over to Tatsuro Ueda.

"This is a business rule, not targeting Toyota. If Toyota is willing to wait, we welcome it. If Toyota is unwilling to wait, we also understand."

In the end, no agreement was reached. Tatsuro Ueda returned to the hotel and immediately connected to the Tokyo headquarters.

The moment the video was connected, he saw seven or eight faces on the screen—Akio Toyoda, Moritaka Yoshida, Shigeki Terashi, and several core directors.

Tatsuro Ueda took a deep breath and began his report.

He recounted the negotiation process in detail, and finally added: "Xingchen's capacity is indeed full. They didn't lie to me. Honda and Nissan add up to 800,000 vehicles, and they still need to use some for their own brand. The earliest time we can get is the second half of 2019."

Before he finished speaking, Shigeki Terashi slammed the table and stood up.

"I said we shouldn't go! They are simply humiliating us! Since when does Toyota need to wait in line for someone else's charity?"

The sixty-two-year-old Shigeki Terashi, with a full head of white hair, was a veteran of Toyota's technical faction.

He had worked at Toyota for forty years, rising from a production line worker to an executive vice president, with Toyota's pride flowing in his bones.

Moritaka Yoshida sneered.

The fifty-eight-year-old was a representative of the reform faction, in charge of overseas business, and looked at problems more realistically than Shigeki Terashi.

"Humiliation? When Honda signed the contract, why did no one say it was humiliation? Nissan is signing next week, why does no one say it's humiliation? It is a fact that their capacity is scheduled until next year. We hesitated for a month, who is to blame?"

Shigeki Terashi glared at him: "We can develop semi-solid-state batteries ourselves! Toyota has the strongest R&D team in the world! Thirty thousand engineers, a one trillion yen R&D budget, can't we compare to a company established for three years?"

Moritaka Yoshida's smile grew colder.

"Self-develop? How many years will it take? Three years? Five years? In these three years, the market will be snatched up by Honda and Nissan. By the time our battery is developed, Xingchen's next-generation product will be out. We will never catch up."

Shigeki Terashi still wanted to retort, but Akio Toyoda raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Enough."

The meeting room quieted down.

Akio Toyoda looked at Tatsuro Ueda.

"Ueda-kun, do you think Xingchen is deliberately delaying, or is it really a lack of capacity?"

Tatsuro Ueda thought for a moment and said: "It should be a genuine lack of capacity. Gu Yanting showed me the capacity plan, and every battery is fully scheduled. They have no reason to lie to us."

Akio Toyoda nodded.

"Then we wait. At the same time, the self-development project will not stop. We will walk on two legs."

Shigeki Terashi still wanted to say something, but Akio Toyoda looked directly at him:

"Terashi-kun, do you have a better plan?"

Shigeki Terashi opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.