1. Major Findings
The Taiwan automobile manufacturers depend too much on Japanese firms, which are the main corporation partners for providing technical support. Of all the current six manufacturers, expect for the corporation between Ford, United States, and Sanyang with Hyundai, Korea, the rest of these firms are in some degree of corporation or joint venture with Japanese firms. As for the foreign technical corporation partners for parts and component suppliers, most of these firms are also Japanese firms. This has weakened the Taiwanese manufacture’s incentives to spend more on Research and Development with hope to build their own technology. It also has significant effects on the costs of Taiwan made cars whose major parts and components are imported from Japan.
Automobile industry is a very competitive industry; the characteristics in Taiwan enable the total costs of the supply chains are lower compared to other countries.
However, most of the managers are still eager to looking for the opportunities to improve their values and to reduce their costs in the same time.
As increase in personal income, there will be increased demand for new car; in economics there is a ratio that indicates the relative size of firms in relation to their industry as a whole. Concentration ratios have been often used to see whether the industry has competition or not, in Taiwan automobile industry the concentration ratio is high that would indicate lesser competition among the firms. After, comes from the Herfindhal index to indicate the firm size, the greater the firm size is, the bigger the
market power. The large firm of Kuozui in automobile industry becomes the dominant firm, which set the price as leader, then other five small firms as price taker.
Due to join the WTO, it was agreed that local content rules would be eliminates entirely, and the Taiwanese government has not protected its automobile industry as it promised, this cause lots of manufacturers lose confidence toward government, and become near sighted than looking at a long run development. Nowadays, the growing importance of information technology becomes the main of Research and Development; with information technology Taiwanese automobile manufacturers start to reverse the situation, the awareness of Research and Development in Taiwanese automobile industry, each firm has strongly inputted a lot of resources doing this field.
2. Suggestions
Electro mobility will be a central part of future powertrain design across both developed and emerging markets, with great potential in the BRICs and especially in China. The biggest challenge will be to identify the most promising technology.
According to the survey, fuel cell technology has not yet realized its full potential, although Daimler, Hyundai/Kia, Toyota and GM are already very active in this area.
The industry has to move from vehicle-oriented to human-oriented urban design and mobility concepts. Among the more progressive OEMs are Volkswagen with its
car-sharing concept Quicar and the Audi Urban Future Initiative. BMW also combines car sharing and urban design with Drive Now and its sub-brand BMWi.
Manufacturers cannot manage everything alone. Many advances in technology and services have flowed from other industries. For example, the mobility services concept is very different from the traditional OEM model. Collaboration is the obvious way to manage such change and brings a number of additional benefits, including joint R&D spending, access to new technologies and products, new business models and the potential to pool risk and investments.
3. Future Study
PMG’s 2012 global survey shows that the automotive industry continues to face environmental challenges, growing urbanization and shifting customer behavior, which calls for radical new approaches to future mobility. And these issues are becoming universal; with three quarters (75 percent) of respondents believing that emerging and mature markets will converge by 2025.
The analysis of car demand evolution offers rich information on economic development, consumer habits, life-style, and policy impacts in a given economy.
Spain is a latecomer among the highly motorized societies where policy incentives and public infrastructure investments played a prominent role in developing the automobile market. The structure of the car demand in Spain experiences fundamental
changes, which from a mixture of long-term trends and the impact of the economic crisis since 2008.
The concept of a two-tier global industry is rapidly becoming redundant. The vast majority of respondents believe that by 2025, the emerging and mature markets will converge in terms of customer requirements for quality, safety, and reliability, as well as for vehicle segment shares between low-cost and premium.
This study, which will be investigated in more detail in future research, may provide the basis for a model of demand for cars.
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