Sinorama: The Feeling is the first automobile to be designed by Chinese, and has received a lot of "loving attention" over the five years of its development. The media have already dealt with its design and manufacture, so today we'd like to talk with you about sales. It appears that over 1,000 cars have been ordered in just a few days.
Chu Sing: That's right, almost 2,000.
Sinorama: It seems that overseas Chinese in the United States have been very interested in the car from the beginning. We've heard that many people said they would buy the Feeling if it's sold abroad. But it appears that it's not going to be exported. Is that true?
Chu: Let me explain the situation. During the period of its design, both the domestic and foreign markets were considered. So basically we have plans for sales abroad, especially to the U.S. To do that, however, we will have to bring the car up to American standards in some ways. For example, right now the car's pollution control equipment is in accordance with European standards.
Sinorama: Are they more, or less, strict than American standards?
Chu: A little less strict. However, if in the future we sell the cars in the U.S., only a few changes, like the addition of a catalytic converter, will have to be made. Although the safety standards in the ROC are more relaxed than in the U.S., we built the car according to American safety standards.
In fact, selling the car abroad involves more than technical or safety problems. The first problem is establishing a sales and service network abroad. The United States and Canada are both very large countries. Establishing an efficient service system there is something in which we have no experience, and which may require a sizable investment. It is these factors that have made us cautious about exporting the Feeling.
Sinorama: How can the Koreans sell the Pony abroad then?
Chu: They've been having a hard time of it though. Sales in Canada have already dropped off because their sales network is incomplete. Another consideration is costs. As we all know, automobiles manufactured here are expensive. But if we can't cut production costs, our cars will not be competitive on the international market.
If we start selling abroad, we will be losing money for a while. But if we keep expanding, then after a time we'll start recuperating our losses. The question is, do local auto manufacturers have the courage and insight to undertake such a venture?
Sinorama: Have you figured out how long that initial period would be, and how much investment would be necessary?
Chu: That's hard to say, as it depends on the method we choose. We can either set up our own distributors there, or we can work through an agent. We haven't decided yet which method to use.
But to get back to the Koreans, their Hyundai and Sam Seong groups are larger than Yue Loong, and have received more governmental and public assistance than we have. So, naturally we're hesitant. Basically, the problem is a business one, not a technical one.
Sinorama: Wasn't less of the Pony manufactured locally as well?
Chu: Much less. Over 91 percent of the Feeling is locally manufactured.
The reason both the Koreans and we ourselves use foreign parts is simply because some of them are of better quality. For example, Japanese vinyl looks like leather, but ours still looks like what it is-- plastic.
Sinorama: So Yue Loong has no plans to export the Feeling in the near future?
Chu: It's hard to say. We're confident about the Feeling, but first we have to see how it does on the domestic market before we invest in sales abroad.
Sinorama: How will it do in the domestic market?
Chu: We think it will do very well.
Sinorama: What about foreign cars?
Chu: Foreign cars in the same performance class as the Feeling are twice as expensive, so there's really no competition there. Our only worry is that people have more confidence in foreign products. That's a problem we'll have to overcome. On the other hand, we're not expecting people to buy the car out of patriotism.
Sinorama: So you're a little apprehensive about the consumers' attitudes?
Chu: That, and our own problem--can we manufacture the car in large volume and still maintain quality? That's the most important thing.
Sinorama: How can you solve that problem?
Chu: By paying special attention to parts and assembly. This is usually where problems occur with domestic cars--a small part falls off, or the sun makes the vinyl fade. We've done two years of testing and quality control, and the parts factories have made a lot of progress.
Sinorama: We've heard that Yue Loong cut your department's budget to concentrate on a new joint venture with Nissan and Chrysler.
Chu: We feel that since we've invested so much in our engineering center it would be a pity if all we did was to produce one car. This is especially true for all the people we've trained.
Sinorama: How can they be used then?
Chu: One possibility is in the defense industry. There is still virtually no public participation in the defense industry here, as there is abroad. We do have the capacity to do that kind of work, however.
Sinorama: How do you feel now that the Feeling has come out?
Chu: My first feeling is that the human resources and educational system here are both very good. A child whose father is a poor farmer here can still hope to get a good education. In other countries, children need to come from a good family to attend college; here all they need is the desire to study.
What young people need is more opportunity. Businesses and government organizations often hire foreign specialists to help them with projects. But the young graduates have a lot of potential. We didn't use any foreign specialists or returned overseas students to build the Feeling. A lot of projects here could be handled by local talent.
Sinorama: Anything else?
Chu: Yes. We've produced an automobile, but that doesn't mean we have a successful auto industry. We need people with foresight and the entrepreneurial flair to carve out our piece of the cake. A car model has a lifetime of at most four years, so we will have to keep expanding. So right now, instead of getting too intoxicated with our success, we should be planning for the future.
The ROC's precision technology is making it the new automobile assembly king of the world. （photo by Chung Yung-ho）
In the environment testing laboratory, the car must undergo tests for heat, moisture, wind, and heat-radiation resistance. （photo by Chung Yung-ho）
The present level of computer technology makes developing electronic car parts a likely path to take. （photo courtesy of the Yue Loong Co.）
Chu Sing Talks About the "Feeling".
