a GIANT

Influenced by a close friend, I started to day dream of landing a job in the automotive industry. Once I thought it was rather impossible to land such an exclusive job. Some may question of the exclusitivity of such a job. Unless you heart is there, you will not even consider. So my heart is with cars. Cars are not just any simple tool or machinery build to ease our daily lives. I always thought of it as a wonder of engineering. Not only are they build with precision, well not all, but they are also the result of ones' creativity. Imagine the ideas that birth in the head of a designer is put on paper and later completed in the form of a clay sculpture.

It amazes me at all times whenever I look at a new car. On the other hand, I really loathe people who have the guts to just copy and produce an exact replica of another person's fruits of labour. Chinese car "manufacturers" are very good at doing it. I would love to curse them to bankruptcy. You might ask, "What about Perodua and Proton?". Let me clarify. Perodua has a strategic partnership with Daihatsu and is indirectly link with Toyota. Definately, there is going to be sharing of car platforms and chassis and also engines. On the Myvi, these 3 companies jointly developed it. So they all have rights to the design and technology. Proton used to have Mitsubishi as their strategic partner. That explains the similarity of the Wira to the Lancer, Satria to the Mirage. In an effort to convince you more check Geely, a Chinese car "manufacturer" that produces Mercedes-Benz replicas. Cheap.

The automotive industry probably contributes a larger portion to a country's GDP. As a heavy industry, they are the prime mover of the economy. In Malaysia itself, about 100 000 people are directly and indirectly linked to the industry. If a person earns about RM 1 200 a month on average, that would sum up to a staggering amount of RM 120 000 000 a month. But this only represents the average income people linked would acquire. What about the revenue that each company earns put together? A lot more. This is just a very simple estimation. It is a huge industry. A huge player of the economy. Roughly half a million cars are sold in Malaysia every year. If a car cost around RM 70 000 a piece, 500 000 cars would churn up RM 35 000 000 000. Alright, I am dreaming of that amount already. The point is, this is a huge industry. Malaysia is aiming to hit RM 1 trillion in revenues this year. I think you can imagine how many percent the automotive industry would contribute.

Competition is paramount in this industry. The survival of a company depends on the amount of new products it produces and I must say also the quality of the product produced. Proton is able to survive until today because the government has been protecting them all along. With the free trade agreement now taking place, Proton must do something concrete to survive. A new product in 4-5 years is not going to help. A product in 1-2 years will help ease the burden and pressure that is mounting. Buck up or wind up. Toyota produces so many models that I have difficulty keeping up. Belta, Vitz, 4-Runner...so many. The new Camry has been showcased but the current Camry's design is still fresh. Mercedes-Benz has probably the most variations of a particular model. The E class offers variations from the E-200 to the estate model. They have certainly tapped into every market segments. Bravo.

This is one big and interesting industry to work in. Constant changes. Rapid development of new models and technology. A race that never stops...just like our lives.

Running the race...forgetting what is behind...striving for what is ahead...the prize that awaits us in paradise.