Introduction:
Japan and Germany are the world’s largest automobile industries who are not only popular for producing automobiles but also are role models to use the latest technologies and the updated features on their cars. Although both countries manufacture world’s most known automobiles, there are many differences between them, which make them unique and distinguishable. This essay comparing the regulatory framework include the similarities and differences between the automobile industry of Japan and Germany in terms of three major things which are manufacturing, quality and performance.
Brief History about the Automobile Industry of Japan:
The first car manufactured by Japan was in the year 1907 by the company known as Komanosuke Uchiyama and the car used to run by gasoline engine which was also entirely made by the Japanese. This car’s name was Takuri. Japan used to manufacture cars before the World War II based on the European and the American model but later on, after the war, the cars started to get derived from the European and American style. As the foreign automobile companies like Ford Motor Company, General Motors and the three big producers started to manufacture in Japan, the production surpassed the locals and that’s why in 1926, government of Japan passed a law which was passed to promote the domestic industry and reduce foreign competition. And from the year 1960, the local market of car expanded and the demand started to rise. The cars like SuzukiFronte, Mitsubishi500, MazdaCarol, and the Honda N360 were produced and the company like Toyota surpassed American General Motors to become the largest car manufacturer of the world.
Brief History about the Automobile Industry of Germany:
Germany is known as the birthplace of producing cars. KarlBenz and NikolausOtto developed four stroke engines independently in the late 1890s, while Benz fitted his engine to design a coach which is the motor car of today. By the year of 1901, Germany used to produce 900 cars every year. In 1926, Mercedes-Benz produced cars and in the year 1928, BMW started to do their production. Although the automobile industry was growing in Germany but there was very poor local condition for production due to foreign companies market in Germany. In the early 1930s, due to the global Great Depression, the automobile industry of Germany went through huge crisis and most of the automotive companies stopped their production. Gradually as the condition developed, the production of cars also resumed by many companies and by the year 1950, most luxuries cars were started to manufactured in Germany. And in the present, German is the world’s largest manufacturers of the world.
Argument on the automobile industry of Japan and Germany:
The first differences, which can be mentioned, are in term of manufacturing. In manufacturing cars, Japan is more dependent on the technologies used in their production plant and as well as in their cars. The main difference in the manufacturing of cars of Japan with Germany is the number of parts used in production. Unlike Germany, most of the Japanese cars use more than 20,000 parts. Since last 50 years, Japan has been using the latest technologies in the production of the cars and the most important thing used is the imported raw materials, which are being used in the production. 850,000 people are employed in the manufacturing industries, which show the nation’s dependability on the automobile’s sector and more or less the car production and exports increases by 20-25 percent each year. But from the last 6-7 months, the manufacturing of the car in Japan is going through a big crisis due to the earthquake and tsunami. So, Japanese production is slowed down and boosted up the possibilities for German to take this competitive advantage.
Germany holds a strong position in the manufacturing area because it is known as the birthplace of automobiles. Unlike Japan, all the raw materials for producing the cars are available in Germany and they do not have to import any of it. year-on-year, German increases the production of 310,000 unit of cars and 745,000 workers work directly in automobile industry and 45 percent of them work in the supplier level (3, The Automotive Industry in Germany –Driving Performance through Technology- Industry Overview, Invest in Germany ,invest-in-germany.com). By having the advantage of rich economy and the geographical potentials, German production is always on top and the most luxurious cars are been manufactured in Germany. These advantages help Germany to increase their potentiality of production and that’s why now they are the largest car manufacturers of the world. But both the country uses integrated managements in production which helps in mass production of cars in a much disciplined way. And the availability of labors and latest technology in both Japan and Germany makes them the master in the industry of automobile manufacturers and the best car sellers of the world. But it is true that the production cost in both the countries is higher than other countries in the world suppose Thailand and China.
Japanese maintains a standard level of quality in the car production which makes their cars affordable by most of the people. The cars like Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi are very popular among people for being affordable and in terms of quality, they are also able to satisfy the customers. But Japanese cars are not only based on quality rather they are designed to be used for all-purpose in which quality also lies. But for the German cars like Audi, Daimler, Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen and Porsche quality is the main thing. The cars are produced on the basis of the features and quality it contains which makes it expensive and that is why the German cars are assumed to be the most luxurious and posh cars of the world. But the similarity of Japan and German automobiles in terms of quality is that both of these two countries maintain their standard and Japan compared to other countries like China and India, manufactures more quality cars. The last major term where Japan and Germany differs is the performance of the automobiles. Not only the automobiles, have we known that all German electronics are based on performances. So, anyone uses German cars, the first thing would be in mind is the performance. The cars like BMW and Porsche are best known for their performances.
Unlike many other car manufacturers, German believes that a car should be best on what it does i.e. a car should be best on running in the road and must be comfortable. Though German cars are also well known for being expensive but surely it is adds extra value in status. Unlike German cars, Japan believes that not only performance is important rather a car must be a package of everything. Japanese cars like Toyota and Mitsubishi are the cars which are well known in all over the world for being fuel efficient and comfortable in the road. Japan has earned its reputation in making fuel-efficient, reliable well-made, small cars (Hays, Japanese Automobile Industry, Facts and Details, factsanddetails.com).Though they are not as good performer as BMW but these cars symbolize Japanese production technique. The similarity on German and Japanese cars in terms of performances is that both these countries think about customer satisfaction. A good automobile should be able to perform and satisfy the customers which would build the strong brand image and that is why we see the strong brand power of the German and Japanese cars in all over the world.
Conclusion:
Japan and Germany both the countries are the biggest car manufacturers and sellers of the world. Although both of these countries have automobile based economy, they are different in production and type of vehicles they produces. Japan is the centre of automobile industry in Asia whereas Germany is the center of resources and production of automobiles in Europe. More roomy and comfortable small cars made the Japanese popular all over the world. Their produced cars have good quality and can perform well to satisfy the customers but Japan believes in to make their cars to be available in all the features rather than focusing just on quality and performance. On the other hand, German cars are more popular for being the best quality and performance based cars of the world. Their cars symbolize the status and reputation that is why their cars are being used by most of the important personnel in all over the world. But both Japan and Germany has high manufacturing cost and have to use high priced raw materials in production. Still, the availability of resources and labor eases the production to a significant level. To sum up, I would like to say both Japan and Germany has been successful to make their place significance in customers’ mind. In one way to the other, the best cars come from these two countries, the quality and technology has given the automobiles own image although they may differ in the way of production and strategies.
Reference:
1. BBC 2011, Copyright guide, The German Car Industry, BBC, viewed on 29 September 2011,http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/lj/cultural_notes/car_industry.shtml
2.Hays, J 2009, JAPANESE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY, Facts and Details, http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=930&catid=24&subcatid=157#8711
3. Invest in Germany 2008, Copyright guide, Industry in Germany –Driving Performance through Technology- Industry Overview, Invest in Germany, http://www.german-business-portal.info/GBP/Redaktion/en/PDF/automotive-industry-in-germany-invest-in-germany,property=pdf,bereich=gbp,sprache=en,rwb=true.pdf
4. Norbye, J.1987. The Complete History of the German Car: 1886 to the Present. New York: Portland House.
5. Sedgwick, M.1992. Cars of the Thirties and Forties. New York: Crescent
