AUTOMOTIVE • Jun 06, 2020
The wrong reason to build cars...
The purpose of one buying a car is seldom taking Him/her from point A to point B. Anything from a Taxi to the Metro train can do that. People buy automobiles for a sense of freedom, for social prestige or even as an expression of themselves, and for some people, it’s even a lifetime ambition. It is one of the most personal purchases a person ever does in his lifetime.
A quote from the movie RUSH captures emotion between cars and people.
“Men Love Women, but even more than that Men love Cars”
And there was a time when auto manufacturers equally loved their cars and that love can be felt in their cars. Now it feels like, it’s all about making money for them.
Let me explain how the Industry works right now
All they wanted to do is a really simple job…
Just fill in this tabular column as much as possible.
For example, let’s look at the tabular columns of the company I despise... Hyundai.
All Hyundai is doing now is trying to fill the table with completely uninspired and unoriginal products with gaudy styling. The sole purpose of developing all of these cars to take its spot in the tabular column. As if all this seems not enough, they are following the preposterous KUV100 and trying to bring their own absurd micro-SUVs.
Almost every single company is complicit in this. From Mercedes Benz to Tata Motors. All are creating products just for the sake of filling the gaps.
The Auto-market now has an almost merry-go-round feel to it. If a company brings a decent product that resonates with the customers, All the other companies follow suit and come with their own versions of that product in desperate hopes of getting at least a tiny chunk of the pie. Then someone else comes up with another idea and everyone else follows them. This is happening to a point to which every other car company basically has the same products. Even the motorcycle companies are also equally complicit in this.
Is there a better way for doing this?
Yes, everyone sticks to what they do best and what they are renowned for and stick to the price bracket where their company is relevant. In other words, FOCUS.
This is what every company did until the 1980s (Maybe except for the American Big 3) and It is the single reason why almost all of the companies are alive today. No company tried to pretend like the other company. Every company produced their own unique cars which had their idiosyncrasies and It’s what made every one of them special. That's when Mercedes just produced the world's best luxury sedans, BMW produced the best luxury sports sedans, Porsche produced the just the best sports coupes, VW produced just the best hatches and even Maruti produced just the awesome original Maruti 800.
There used to be a time in which every Auto manufacturer stood for something and they are forgetting it now. In the modern-day, there is practically no real need to buy a car in a city except for the feel of it. If all those companies now want is to make money, then they should better make them quick. If this trend is to continue, it doesn’t take a lot of time for the already plateauing sales to plummet. And, to be honest, I am praying for this to happen.