Billionaire Lu Guanqiu, a former blacksmith's apprentice who built China's biggest auto parts company, says he has an edge over a rival bid for bankrupt US plug-in hybrid carmaker Fisker Automotive, and would welcome ties with Tesla Motors Inc, another US electric carmaker.
"We have support from Fisker's creditors, we have support from the local government, and we have a track record of 20 years of responsible investment in the United States," Lu said in an interview at the headquarters of his Wanxiang Group in Hangzhou. "These are our advantages. The bid is not just about who pays more."
Wanxiang America will square off with Richard Li, a son of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, at a February 12 auction for Fisker, a failed rival to Tesla in electric cars. California-based Fisker, backed by US taxpayer money, stopped making its sleek, Karma sports car in 2012 and filed for bankruptcy protection in November last year.
Last month, just days before Fisker was to be sold to Hybrid Tech Holdings, an affiliate of Li's, Wanxiang made a surprise bid, prompting a US bankruptcy judge to call for an open auction.
Lu, 69, said Wanxiang, which owns A123 Systems Inc, a maker of batteries for Fisker's cars, is better placed to restart and expand production at Fisker, and would shift production from Finland to the US, creating American jobs.
But Lu said he would walk away if the Fisker price is too high - Hybrid Tech has said its initial bid would be worth US$55 million - and seek opportunities elsewhere, adding that he's open to cooperation with other electric carmakers, including Tesla.
"Of course we want to pocket Fisker. But we will bid rationally," he said. "Whatever the result, nothing can stop us from making electric cars."
"We have been in frequent touch with Tesla. We supply Tesla, and recently I asked our American unit how (we could) deepen our connection with Tesla. I want to use whatever resources in the world we can use, unite whatever force we can unite, ally with whichever partner we can find."
"We will cooperate with whoever is best ...as long as they choose us as well. It cannot be merely unrequited love."
Wanxiang America, headed by Lu's son-in-law, said it had no relationship with Tesla. A spokesperson for Tesla in Asia declined to comment.
Since the global financial crisis, Chinese firms have been buying troubled assets of Western automakers as they look to expand globally and secure advanced technologies. In 2010, Zhejiang Geely Holding bought Sweden's Volvo Car from Ford Motor Co, and Dongfeng Motor Group Co is in talks to invest in struggling French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen.
For Lu, Wanxiang's interest in Fisker reflects a 30-year ambition to have his company grow from making parts for cars to making cars themselves. "As long as Wanxiang exists, we will pursue our dream to make electric cars, whatever the obstacles," he said.
While China's industrial policymakers won't want to see yet another company making gasoline-fueled cars - they are looking to consolidate a fragmented industry of over 70 registered automakers - they are encouraging the production of greener cars, particularly those with electric car technology. By pushing electrification, China hopes its carmakers can leapfrog global rivals that dominate China's auto market, the world's biggest.
