Cars, culture and the Chinese

I have a confession to make. Some of you might find it shocking. I’m not really interested in cars. In fact I don’t even own one.

Before you boycott my blog or cancel your subscription to Business Spotlight in outrage at my failure to support the German car industry, I’d like to explain why, despite this lack of interest, I found it fascinating to look into the Chinese car industry for the latest issue of the magazine.

China's first automobile. Photo: Joyce Yao/aquacypress.wordpress.com

I learned from my interview partner, Zailiang Tang, that the situation has now changed dramatically and that China has overtaken the USA in the production of cars for the first time. Maybe before too long many of us will be driving cars made in China.

What really fascinates me is how different people and cultures see the car and how manufacturers have to take those differences into account if they are to be successful. While some people see the car as a way of getting from A to B, for others it is a status symbol or even a second home.

"Culture-oriented usability" is the technical word for adapting your product to the culture of your target group. European manufacturers initially frustrated US drivers by failing to have a space for drinks in the front and Japanese drivers found the seats of imported cars uncomfortable as they tend to sit on the edge of their seat. When Audi first entered China, drivers wondered why the manufacturer put so much store on the perfect finish of the paintwork; they knew that in those days the finish would be ruined soon on the Chinese roads. The Chinese idea of quality was robustness rather than perfect paintwork. This is, of course, changing now as the roads are rapidly improving. Chinese car owners, wealthy enough to employ a driver, are frustrated at Western cars with no controls for the entertainment system in the back of the car; they don’t want the driver to decide what they listen to.

Other products and services need to be adapted to the culture in which they are being used. There is enormous potential for mobile phones suitable for use by older people without an IT degree (I include myself in this category) or for computer scanners for use in hospitals in developing countries where price and usability are more important than a large number of expensive, but non-essential features.