The Rise of Australasia

Although the Russian diplomatic team had already made plans to purchase trucks, and the Russian military was satisfied with their speed of production.

However, for such a large deal, negotiations would not be so quick.

Under Benz's guidance, the Russian diplomatic visiting group visited tire production workshops, body assembly workshops, vehicle final assembly workshops, etc., and even visited the Diesel Engine Factory next to the Benz Automobile Factory.

The Diesel Engine Factory is the designated engine supplier of Benz automobiles and the largest and most advanced engine manufacturer in Australasia.

It is no exaggeration to say that the various types of engines produced by the Diesel Engine Factory are indispensable for shipyards, car factories, military factories, machinery factories, airship companies, and other large heavy industrial factories in Australasia.

The Russian representatives thought that their industry was second only to Britain-France-Germany-US, but when they saw the advanced industrial system in Australasia, they realized the backward situation of Russia Nation.

It is no exaggeration to say that, compared with Australasia, Russia Nation's industry is only ahead in overall scale.

When the Russian representatives saw the assembly line production in Australasia, there was no way they could not be envious.

Although assembly line production has been around for a long time and is not unfamiliar to major European countries.

However, in reality, factories adopting assembly line production are not widespread and are mostly concentrated in emerging industrial powers like the United States and Germany.

In old powers like Russia Nation, there are not many factories using assembly line production. Moreover, many factories still use outdated technologies, which have been lagging behind assembly line production for decades.

But achieving change is not easy. After all, there are too many old-fashioned factories in Russia Nation, and many capitalists are unwilling to use new technologies.

After all, new technologies require the purchase of new equipment, and new equipment is a huge investment, which is an unnecessary expense for the capitalists.

Impressed and praised by the Russian representatives, Benz showed them the entire automobile factory and then led them back to the meeting room.

All the inspections had been completed, and now it was time to discuss the specific details of the automobile orders.

After everyone has taken their seats, Benz smiles and says, "Gentlemen, we are very optimistic about the cooperation with your country. Can you tell us your specific requirements?"

"Mr. Benz, we are satisfied with your factory's production technology and speed. Frankly, we are of course willing to cooperate with your factory and quickly sign the automobile purchase order. However, as you know, our government's financial situation is not too good.

Can your factory offer a larger concession on the price for the trucks?" The Russian military representative praised the advanced production technology of the Benz Automobile Factory, but did not forget his duty to try to lower the price of trucks as much as possible.

The Russian representative's words relieved Benz. Judging by the Russian representative's attitude, half of this truck purchase order has been basically reached.

That the Russian people want to lower the price is something that Arthur and Benz had already expected. After all, people usually bargain when buying vegetables and meats, let alone such large-scale trade between countries.

By slightly cutting the price, the total price could be reduced by tens of thousands.

This is undoubtedly a money-saving opportunity for the current financially embattled Russian government that they cannot miss.

"Of course, Your Excellency the General. We attach great importance to the cooperation with your country. According to His Majesty's order, we will provide our lowest price for Benz trucks to your side, 520 Australian dollars for B1 type trucks, and 710 Australian dollars for B2 type trucks.

Compared with the prices offered by European factories to Britain-France-Germany, this price has been greatly reduced." Benz's assistant directly stated the car prices decided by Arthur in advance.

This price does not really cheat the Russians. Compared with the prices offered by European factories to Britain-France-Germany, it is generally reduced by several tens of Australian dollars.

Of course, it is also not ruled out that the average income gap between Europe and Australasia has caused this phenomenon.

European factories have to pay more wages to workers, which means that the cost of cars and trucks produced by European factories is higher than those produced in Australasia.

The price offered by the German factory to the German government is 7,500 marks (375 pounds, 750 Australian dollars) for each B2 type car, which is about 40 Australian dollars more expensive than the price offered by Australasia to Russia.

And the price offered by the British factory to Britain and France is 380 pounds (760 Australian dollars) for each B2 type car.

The reason for this difference is that the British have higher average incomes and higher costs incurred by workers than Germany.

Upon comparison, the price offered to Russia by Australasia is already quite low, and it seems like a very profitable deal.

It should be known that the official sales price of the B2 type truck is as high as 800 Australian dollars, which is much cheaper for the European powers.

After all, the major powers are the biggest customers of the car factory, and the United Kingdom, France, and Germany are some of the strongest countries in the world, so they deserve the necessary respect.

Although the price offered by the Benz Car Factory is very reasonable, the Russian delegation is clearly not satisfied and wants to further lower the price.

"Mr. Benz, such a price is still too high for our finances. We need a larger number of trucks, and we hope that your factory can lower the price further, considering the friendly relations between our two countries," said a representative of the Russian military. "If the price is reasonable, I promise your factory at least 10,000 truck orders from within our country. And this 10,000 is not the end.

If the trucks are indeed effective in equipping the troops, we will continue to purchase your factory's trucks."

"What price would you find appropriate?" Benz asked with a smile after some consideration.

"In my opinion, B1 type trucks should be priced at 450 Australian dollars and B2 type trucks should be priced around 650 Australian dollars. If your factory agrees, we can sign the orders immediately," said the Russian military representative without hesitation.

This was a ruthless bargain. On top of the already lowest prices, both types of trucks were slashed by 60 to 70 Australian dollars.

The discounted prices were almost close to one-tenth of the sales price of the two types of trucks, almost reaching their cost level.

"Your Excellency the General, we cannot accept such a price. We are willing to continue lowering the price based on the low sales price, but you have to know that building a truck is not easy, and the materials and time spent are not comparable to ordinary cars.

The price we offer has actually let go of most of the profits, and we have only done so considering the good diplomatic relations between Russia and Australasia," Benz hurriedly spoke, interrupting the Russian officer's proposal on the price.

"As for lowering the price again, I'll give you a bottom line, Your Excellency the General. On the basis of not incurring too much loss, the lowest sales price for B1 type trucks is 500 Australian dollars, and the lowest sales price for B2 type trucks is 690 Australian dollars."

"This is the lowest price that can be given considering the current situation of our car factory. We cannot offer a lower price; this is already close to the cost of the trucks." Benz added, seemingly afraid that the Russian officer would continue to bargain.

As for such prices, the Russian officer was already overjoyed internally, but on the surface, he appeared calm and said with a pained expression, "Indeed, this is not our ideal price, but considering our good relations, we can accept this price."

"Mr. Benz, may I know when we can officially sign the car order and when can we receive the delivery?" The Russian officer continued to inquire.

"It depends on the number of trucks your country wants to purchase, Your Excellency the General. However, I assure you that even if your country purchases 10,000 trucks, we will deliver them to your country within six months," Benz and his subordinates finally breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly said.

It is not difficult to complete an order for 10,000 trucks within six months at an accelerated production pace.

Even accounting for transportation time, six months is more than sufficient.

"That's good, Mr. Benz. To be honest, we planned to buy 5,000 trucks before coming to Australasia. But I believe that 5,000 trucks are not enough to fundamentally change the transportation situation in Russia. I will try my best to get the order quantity increased to 10,000 trucks from within our country," said the Russian officer with satisfaction, nodding and smiling.

Being able to receive the trucks within half a year is good news. After all, truck orders from Britain, France, and Germany are all delivered within half a year, and Russia cannot lag behind in terms of time.

After discussing for a while longer, the truck purchase orders between Russia and Australasia were finally signed officially.

According to the agreement between Benz and the Russian officer, the truck order is temporarily set at 5,000 units. Once Russia agrees to increase the number of trucks to be purchased, the order quantity will be changed to 10,000 units.

Among these 5,000 trucks, Russia will purchase 1,000 B1 type trucks and 4,000 B2 type trucks.

If the order quantity is 10,000, the number of both types of trucks will be doubled.

At the time of signing the order, both the Russian officer and Benz showed smiles, believing they had taken advantage of the situation.

Although the Russian officer negotiated a ruthless bargain, Benz's agreement to such truck prices means that the car factory will not lose money by selling trucks at these prices.

It is indeed true. Thanks to the low labor costs in Australasia, the production costs of the two types of trucks are 450 Australian dollars and 580 Australian dollars.

Even with the already outlandishly low Russian orders, the car factory can still achieve a profit of 50 Australian dollars and 110 Australian dollars for each truck.

Let alone higher-priced orders from Britain, France, and Germany, any single order's profit could reach hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars.

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