before the Berlin wall fell in 1989, Eastern Bloc countries churned out cars and trucks that were largely lousy. Skodas were the very best of the bunch, however still crude. Factory-fresh Dacias drove/broke down like high-mile motors on the method out. Yugos were upholstered skateboards… only slower. Trabants were more kennels on wheels than cars. as well as FSOs (thrown together at the worst factory I’ve ever visited) felt, smelled as well as handled like third world tractors.
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Now, post-Berlin Wall, this Near east region (including the eastern half of Germany) develops volume or premium cars and trucks in addition to anywhere else on the planet. Meanwhile, a few thousand miles further across the globe in the far East, North Korea is – fingers crossed – denuclearising as well as preparing to tear down the countless miles of barbed cable walls separating it from the outside world.
• Opinion: “It doesn’t truly matter where your cars and truck is built”
In doing so it’ll set itself up as the next huge thing in high-volume vehicle production. It already boasts brands as well as factories such as Pyeonghwa Motors, Sungri, Pyongchang, Kim Jong-Un Locomotive (my favourite) plus the March 30th Works. All expect to be the future Skodas as well as Dacias.
More immediately, South Korean cars and truck firms including Hyundai, Kia, SsangYong, as well as the dark horses that are Samsung as well as LG are running out of genuine estate, workers as well as resources in their busy, costly half of the peninsula. That’s why they’re itching to head north to utilize the land as well as large, well-educated, capable, hungry, fairly affordable workforce that’s soon likely to be made available. There’s even talk that Asia Motors – a cross between Jeep of America as well as Britain’s Land Rover – may be reborn as the symbolic new (but old) brand of two Koreas poised to ended up being one.
Meanwhile, Hyundai building as well as other significant South Korean corporations specialising in giant facilities jobs can’t wait to prolong their high-speed rail, road as well as bridge networks to as well as with North Korea… as well as way, method beyond. So no requirement to wait months for your new cars and truck to show up by sluggish ship from the reunified Korea. It might be with you in a couple of days via car-carrying bullet trains that will ultimately whack across Asia, the middle East, Europe, then with the chunnel into bit Britain.
Don’t laugh. ultimately it’ll most likely happen. When I was in Seoul in may speaking to everybody from Korean bankers to entrepreneurs, they assured me it will. Korea just won’t rest up until it becomes a bigger, better, more skilled as well as ambitious vehicle producer than the old enemy, Japan.
And with Samsung, LG as well as other colossal, globally respected Korean firms about to go into the hi-tech cars and truck building market proper, it’s game on.
Now checked out Mike’s views on the requirement for budget-friendly mobility in Africa as well as Asia…