Other car makers

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SEAT (Spain)

 
Owned by Volkswagen  (Germany) - managed under Audi
Introduction Volkswagen received the troublesome Spanish car maker from Fiat in the mid-80s. In the Fiat-era, SEAT was using its cheap labour to produce low price cars with poor build quality even worse than Fiat. Volkswagen spent many years and money into SEAT to upgrade its build quality and image. After struggling for more than a decade, SEAT has eventually started to shine. SEAT wants to establish a young and exciting image like Alfa Romeo. This is helped by the service of ex-Alfa design boss Walter de Silva, who shaped 156. The beautiful new Altea and Leon Mk2 show a bright future for SEAT.

However, it must be pointed out that under Volkswagen's strict platform sharing policy SEAT (as well as Skoda) has very limited space for developing its cars. Most R&D works are done in Germany by Volkswagen or Audi’s engineers. That’s not bad, as SEAT has never shown any engineering talent. But the downside is the lack of its own driving character.

Altea
Sales figure 2006 sales: 430,000 units
2005 sales: 415,000 units
2004 sales: 442,000 units
2003 sales: 460,000 units

2005 production by models:
Ibiza: 168,645 units 
Leon: 98,130 units
Altea: 65,174 units
Cordoba: 37,568 units
Toledo: 20,600 units
Alhambra: 14,902 units
Location Barcelona, Spain.
Famous models Nil

Skoda (Czech)

 
Owned by Volkswagen (Germany)
Introduction Skoda is one of the four brands under Volkswagen group. Its cars are based on VW’s platforms and are mostly developed in Germany. Benefited by the lower labour cost, its cars are usually seen as cut-price Volkswagen, with leaner trim and options of course but the build quality nearly matches the German brand. This help Skoda establishing a reputation of good value for money. However, VW said it want Skoda to compete with Volvo instead of Ford / Opel etc. in the future. Without more individuality, I’m afraid that could be hardly achieved.

Octavia - the re-packaged VW Golf
Sales figure 2006 sales: 555,000 units
2005 sales: 504,000 units
2004 sales: 451,674 units
2003 sales: 449,758 units

2005 production by models:

 Octavia: 246,781 units
Fabia: 226,164 units
Superb: 21,182 units
Location Mlada Boleslav, Czech.
Brief History It could be surprising to hear that Skoda is one of the oldest car makers. It was established in the late 19 Century by Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement as a bicycle and motorcycle maker. The first car was produced in 1905 and became a best seller in Czech, carrying the brand name L & K which was named after the founders. The merger with Skoda company in 1925 changed the name to Skoda. 

After WWII, Czech fell into the administration of the Communist Party, so Skoda was nationalised. As the planned economy assigned it as the sole volume car maker in the country, Skoda enjoyed 40 years of monopoly the domestic market. Also because of lack of competition, technology had been leaving behind the Western.  

Since the collapse of the Berlin wall, Skoda was privatised and eventually sold to Volkswagen group in 1991. The German giant revised the existing Felica, then built a new plant for assembling the Octavia, which is the first new car developed in the VW-era.
Famous models Nil

Holden (Australia)

 
Owned by General Motors  (USA)
Subsidiary HSV (Holden Special Vehicle) - tuner for Holden's car
Introduction Holden started involving vehicle production in 1913 as a motorcycle sidecar maker (like Jaguar). A few years later it also built car bodies and began supplying to GM’s cars. The merge with GM Australia in 1931 formed the Holden we know today, formally assembling complete cars. Although it launched the first Australian-manufactured car in 1948, design and technology was copied from other GM’s models. Later, the company gradually (slowly) developed its own R&D ability beside of its manufacturing ability, thus deviated its models more and more from GM’s. The VT Commodore of 1997 could be said as the first Holden with chassis designed by itself, although the styling mirrors Opel Omega and powered by the Detroit’s power trains. However, most other Holden models are actually rebadged Opels and Daewoos.

Holden has been mostly a local car maker protected by Australia's heavy import tariff. However, as the country is going to reduce tariff under free trade agreement with other countries, it is pushing itself to be a global player. The Monaro coupe is exported to USA and UK in the badge of Pontiac GTO and Vauxhall Monaro respectively. Holden has also developed a world-class V6 for use in many GM brands. Moreover, it is now developing a new generation rear-wheel-drive platform for the next Commodore, which could be used by GM in the North America too.

The arch-rival is always Ford Australia, which produces the Falcon to compete with Commodore. Their rivalry arises countless of debate among Australian car lovers. However, Toyota has now overtaken it in Australian market.
Sales figure Domestic sales:
2005: 174,464 units (66,794 Commodores)
2004: 178,027 units(79,170 Commodores)

Production:
2005: 152,749 units
2004: 165,252 units
Location Headquarters and R&D: Port Melbourne, Victoria
Production plants: Elizabeth (cars), Port Melbourne (engines)
Famous models Nil

Proton (Malaysia)

 
Subsidiary
Introduction Proton (Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad) was founded in 1983 under the direction of Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. With the help of minority share holder Mitsubishi, it started producing Mitsubishi's cars in 1985. The company continued relying on Mitsubishi (plus some Citroen) technologies until 1996, when it acquired Lotus. A specialized facility was setup at Norfolk (Lotus' site) to design and engineer cars for Proton. In 2001, the first so-called "self-developed car" (actually Lotus developed), Waja, was born. In 2004, Gen.2 also introduced a Lotus-designed, locally-made Campro engine.

Proton used to dominate the Malaysian market, accounting for more than 60% cars. However, this is due to the government's protection instead of its competitiveness. In the Mahathir-era, Malaysia government took heavy tariffs for imported cars. After the ex-Prime Minister stepped down, the tariffs is going to fall as Malaysia signed free trade agreement with other ASEAN countries.

Without national protection, the future of Proton is really in threat. While Lotus injected attractive styling and world-class engineering, the Malaysian plant and local suppliers are still lack of quality conscious. Therefore Proton is searching for alliance.
Sales figure FY2004/05:
Production: 201,237 units
Malaysia sales: 182,924 units (market share 44%)
Location New plant: Proton City, Tanjung Malim, near Kular Lumpar.
Old plant: Shah Alam.
An R&D project center at Lotus which employs 150 people.
Famous models Nil

Avtovaz (Lada) (Russia)

Introduction Avtovaz was founded in 1966 as a state-owned company but it is now privatised. It is by far the largest car maker in Russia and being the only car maker there to export considerable amount to the West. In Europe, its cars are badged as "Lada". In home country, it is simply called as "VAZ". 

Lada cars are not quite up to the world standards because of the lack of fund, just like most of the Russian industrial products. However, it has independent development ability, although the Western consultants such as Porsche gave some help.
Sales figure Production:
2005: 721,492 units
2004: 717,981 units
2003: 699,889 units
2002: 708,835 units
2001: 767,313 units
Location Togliatti, Russia.
Famous models Nil
Copyright© 1997-2006 by Mark Wan
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