Masters Thesis

[hwahwa]

Hello,

I am a Malaysian studying full-time MSc in Management at European Business School in Germany. To complete my Masters degree, I would have to write a Masters thesis with a German professor on the topic "Understanding the Business Environment of the Automotive Industry in Malaysia". To write this thesis, my professor and I would be doing a Delphi study.

To do so, I would like to invite experts with in-depth experience in the Malaysian automotive industry for an interview (online questionnaire invited by Prof. Moser by email with a link to click to get to the Delphi survey) to gather information for my Delphi study. The results and analysis will be reported and if the study is unique enough, it will be jointly published with my supervising professor, Prof. Roger Moser of Automotive Institute for Management at European Business School, Germany, and in practitioner journals. Naturally, with the help and support received, we would be glad to share the results with you. Would you please lend me your help and support to promote and enlighten the Germans in regards to our automotive industry?

I need to gather experts for the survey and I am running low on numbers.

Thank you.


Kindest regards,
Student of MSc in Management

European Business School
Oestrich-Winkel, Germany

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Hello,

I am a Malaysian studying full-time MSc in Management at European Business School in Germany. To complete my Masters degree, I would have to write a Masters thesis with a German professor on the topic "Understanding the Business Environment of the Automotive Industry in Malaysia". To write this thesis, my professor and I would be doing a Delphi study.

To do so, I would like to invite experts with in-depth experience in the Malaysian automotive industry for an interview (online questionnaire invited by Prof. Moser by email with a link to click to get to the Delphi survey) to gather information for my Delphi study. The results and analysis will be reported and if the study is unique enough, it will be jointly published with my supervising professor, Prof. Roger Moser of Automotive Institute for Management at European Business School, Germany, and in practitioner journals. Naturally, with the help and support received, we would be glad to share the results with you. Would you please lend me your help and support to promote and enlighten the Germans in regards to our automotive industry?

I need to gather experts for the survey and I am running low on numbers.

Thank you.


Kindest regards,
Student of MSc in Management

European Business School
Oestrich-Winkel, Germany

Hi,

You're going to have to be more precise on what your definition on what constitutes an expert. Business in the automotive industry can range from AP giants like Naza to a half-cut shop in some rural town with two employees to a workshop in KL with millions in sales a year to executives working for car companies like Mitsubishi, Nissan, etc to pretty much anything. Being the owner of a tire shop can also be defined as being in the automotive industry, although it might be on the fringes.

If you can tell us what sort of person and what sort of level of experience (years, sales, level in mmgt, etc) and which part of the industry (new cars, second hand/grey imports, motorsports, modifications and upgrades, servicing, fleet sales, rentals, publishing etc) then perhaps we could point you in the right direction.

As for the enlightenment bit, perhaps the Germans have more to teach the Malaysians about the automotive industry given the 100 years head start? No offence, really was just wondering why Malaysia in particular? What about Thailand - the 'Detroit' of Asia? You don't have to justify the topic of your thesis of course but I'm just curious and thought I could get away with asking.

 

[hwahwa]

Hello,

Thank you for the tip.

Malaysian automotive industry here, is narrowed down to passenger car vehicles.

My professor required me to highlight top 2 or 3 answers for 'most important hot topics', namely:
- Most important regulation in the Malaysian passenger car industry
- Most important government incentive in the Malaysian passenger car industry
- Most important buying decision in the Malaysian passenger car industry
- Most important soft and hard infrastructure for the Malaysian passenger car industry
- Most important societal trends in the Malaysian passenger car industry
- Most important determinant for high market share in the Malaysian passenger car industry
- Most important criteria determining supply chain partnership in the Malaysian passenger car industry

So, I need to gather people who are able to rate the answer options for these criteria and also to comment on it.

The Germans have superior automotive engineering and technology, no doubt. Totally no offense to the Germans but they know little about the Malaysian automotive industry. My professor talked me into writing this thesis as part of his journal since there is almost no journals about Malaysian automotive in the database.

Justifying my thesis is important since so many people I approached rejected me because they think I am an industrial spy, wanting their company secrets! I want not such information.

I think it is because Volkswagen is investing in Malaysia. So, writing about Malaysia will be very beneficial for my professor.

Cheers,
Hwa

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Potentially interesting discussion, I have quite a few ideas but I'm short of time atm. But off the top off my head.

- Most important regulation in the Malaysian passenger car industry
This you'd have to touch on issues like APs and AFTA. There are others of course, but APs is a huge issue directly affecting public's decision on buying as well as the local manufacturers.

- Most important government incentive in the Malaysian passenger car industry
Off the top of my head, can't think of one besides a couple of years ago we had a rebate for roadtax hahah. Would need to think about this one before I could comment.

- Most important buying decision in the Malaysian passenger car industry
Mostly out of necessity, if we can afford to own a car most would not take public transportation. Why do you think we're one of the highest ratio of cars to people in the world? Because even in the capital, the coverage is nowhere near as extensive enough nor is it reliable enough. For example, IIRC the Japanese bullet trains run on time that each year their schedule is delayed by only 26 seconds! Plus, as the population spreads out towards the suburbs with new areas popping up there is no way the Government can provide the public transportation infrastructure to go along with it unless its given to a private company to handle which then leads to corruption, etc. Look at the LRT, Putra which is now owned by the MOF because it the private sector couldn't make it work. But that is another discussion altogether since volume was much lower than projections, so bond payments couldn't be made, etc etc.

- Most important soft and hard infrastructure for the Malaysian passenger car industry
What's soft infrastructure? Hard infrastructure? Sorry I'm not an academic nor an expert to be honest you probably shouldn't rely on my replies that much for your thesis LOL.

- Most important societal trends in the Malaysian passenger car industry
Luxury car market definitely seems to be booming. Also, buyers have much more choices than they did say 10-15 years ago. More awareness of the more niche manufacturers out there rather than the typical choices of Mercedes/BMW for luxury, etc. At least now Lexus has a proper presence locally for example. As do Rolls Royce.

- Most important determinant for high market share in the Malaysian passenger car industry
This is pretty obvious. Cost. Although we see Lambos, etc everywhere, the market is still largely made up of cars that do not cost as much. I don't have figures off the top of my head but I'm sure if you looked into the total volume sold and the price brackets of the vehicles sold you'd see why Perodua sells a lot of cars.

- Most important criteria determining supply chain partnership in the Malaysian passenger car industry
Supply chain partnership meaning? Have Malaysia as one of the manufacturers for various parts that would then be shipped elsewhere for assembly? Like how the A380 is made all over the place and then Airbus assembles it in one location? Well, the infrastructure such as roads, ports etc definitely point towards a JIT system being entirely possible. Just the question of finding local partners who can meet the production demands and meet service level agreements that are set. We can do a lot of sophisticated and and advanced manufacturing and R&D but the local partners are important. As you know, there would need to be local stake and % depends I guess. Perhaps MITI and FIC are good source for that actual % stake.

Sorry don't have time for a much more detailed or well thought out reply. Gotta go for dinner. Hope this starts the discussion going and others more involved in the industry can join in.

 

[hwahwa]

Thank you very much for the help and advice. What you highlighted is very helpful.

Hohoho, I am not an automotive expert myself and asked my professor what is soft and hard technology. He says soft technology is knowledge technology as in how do you develop more engineers in the country or how you develop/retain skills, knowledge, and technology. For hard technology, it is infrastructure.

With your feedback, I fine tuned the survey and project it to 2020 as follows:

Most important regulation in the Malaysian passenger car industry:
- In 2020, the high taxes on passenger vehicles cause foreign firms to invest in local production facilities
- In 2020, the failure to abolish APs on passenger vehicles cause foreign firms to invest in local production facilities
- In 2020, the removal of petrol subsidies strongly affected the growth rate of passenger car sales
- Other better options: ___

Most important government incentive in the Malaysian passenger car industry (also projected to 2020):
- Companies manufacturing transmission systems, brake systems, air bag systems and steering systems are eligible for better fiscal incentives (i.e Pioneer Status (PS) of 100% fiscal deduction for 10 years or Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) of 100% for 5 years will remove threat of substitutes
- The issuance of manufacturing licenses (MLs) including tax exemptions for production of luxury passenger cars or hybrid/electric vehicles has guided foreign OEMs’ investments in production facilities.
- Other better options: _____
For this category, I only have NAP policies to outline the government incentives. Couldn't think/find anything substantial as well.

Most important determinant for high market share in the Malaysian passenger car industry (projected to 2020):
- In 2020, The Malaysian passenger car market is dominated by domestic OEMs (they own 75% market share) due to much lower market prices
- A strong brand will strongly affect sales of all its product lines
- Multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) account for more than 50% of the passenger car sales in
Malaysia.I probably can strike out this option
- More than 20% of the passenger cars registered in Malaysia are hybrid cars.Probably can strike this out as well
- Other better options: _____

Most important criteria determining supply chain partnership in the Malaysian passenger car industry (in 2020):
- Foreign OEMs have formed proprietary supplier networks of domestic automotive suppliers and share their technologies within their networks exclusively for the Malaysian market.
- Joint ventures with foreign OEMs are essential for domestic automotive firms to establish strategic alliances in respect of the global market.
- Other better options: _____
For this, I have nothing better to spot about supplier networks and could only think of learning foreign OEMs' technology

Most important societal trends in the Malaysian passenger car industry (in 2020):
- The majority of Malaysia’s urban population prefers public transportation over car ownership.
- Environmental awareness has gained a strong momentum in Malaysia’s society.
- Malaysians perceive that Asian and especially Malaysian brands improve their social status.
- Other better options: ____

Most important buying decision in the Malaysian passenger car industry (in 2020):
- Malaysians perceive economical aspects (affordable price, low fuel consumption and low maintenance costs) as the most important buying criteria across all buyer groups.
- Attractive car loan schemes / financing offers ease customers’ buying decisions since those offerings increase a car’s affordability at least in the short-term.
- Malaysians perceive maintenance and resale value as the most important buying criteria
- Other better options: _____

Most important soft infrastructure for the Malaysian passenger car industry (in 2020)
- Numerous universities and several technical education initiatives provide sufficient high-technology engineering capabilities for the automotive industry in Malaysia.
- The Government of Malaysia uses high incentives to attract foreign know-how (not only for automotive core technologies but also for manufacturing processes).
- Other better options: _____

Most important hard infrastructure for the Malaysian passenger car industry (in 2020)
- The road infrastructure provides sufficient capacities for mainland transportation within the peninsular (e.g., highways, especially the North-South Expressway), and its JIT capacities optimised
- The Government of Malaysia implemented a multi-modal transportation system which integrates public and individual (passenger car) transportation.
- Other better options: _____

Would you please share your thoughts on these as well? Some of the points I don't agree with as being most important e.g. multi-modal transportation, but the PhD researcher assisting me is German and insist on it since I had no better input. Furthermore, do you think MPV would be important as well (since this point was not highlighted by me)? And do you think hybrid cars will work out? What happened to biofuel (with talks for so many years but nothing came out of it yet)?

Thank you very much.

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Hi,

Glad at least some of it helped. First, let me be clear in saying that I don't possess any particularly special knowledge about the automotive industry nor have I worked or currently work in an automotive industry related company. My answers and opinions are those of a consumer who is interested in the future of the automotive industry since cars have been a passion of mine for quite sometime. Just keep that in mind when considering what I have written since I'm not about to research the topic but simply reply with what comes to mind.

Thank you very much for the help and advice. What you highlighted is very helpful.

Hohoho, I am not an automotive expert myself and asked my professor what is soft and hard technology. He says soft technology is knowledge technology as in how do you develop more engineers in the country or how you develop/retain skills, knowledge, and technology. For hard technology, it is infrastructure.

With your feedback, I fine tuned the survey and project it to 2020 as follows:

Most important regulation in the Malaysian passenger car industry:
- In 2020, the high taxes on passenger vehicles cause foreign firms to invest in local production facilities
- In 2020, the failure to abolish APs on passenger vehicles cause foreign firms to invest in local production facilities
- In 2020, the removal of petrol subsidies strongly affected the growth rate of passenger car sales
- Other better options: ___

High taxes on passenger vehicles I don't believe will cause the foreign manufacturers to invest in local production, not unless production costs can be substantially lower than other countries which by then would be technologically advanced enough to produce the vehicles and provide the necessary demand to make such investments viable - examples would be Vietnam or China both of which I think have underdeveloped automotive consumer markets in the sense that a large number of the population have yet to own their first car.

The AP problem is not something that can simply be abolished, simply because its not something that only affects cars. APs are issued by various ministries for businesses to import all sorts of products from Lexus to livestock. So the concept or AP system I don't think will be eliminated completely. Plus, APs do not cause manufacturers to sell less of their product - its their local distributor who loses out. A Mercedes brought in using an AP or through the local distributor is still a Mercedes made and sold by the company. How it comes into Malaysia and at what price I believe is more of a problem for official distributors as well as local producers who have to compete with currently more superior products.

The abolishment of fuel subsidies is inevitable. Initially, there will be a drop in sales as well as actual road use by consumers in a knee jerk reaction to price increases. However, in time people will come to terms with the price of fuel especially if the subsidies are withdrawn slowly over a prolonged period thereby putting an adjustment period into effect. Not to be overtly optimistic but it's not impossible or unlikely that salaries/incomes will rise in line with inflation not just relative to fuel but across the board. Of course, there will be some years when inflation rises faster but overall I sincerely hope we develop into the much talked about high income society of the future. But I don't think it will severely impact sales of cars but rather shift the demand towards fuel efficient, low cost vehicles such as those that run on alternative fuels like E85 and also hybrids. In a decade, I believe society as a whole will be more environmentally conscious as well and manufacturers have been seen to preempt this trend based on their R&D to produce electric cars, etc.

Would you please share your thoughts on these as well? Some of the points I don't agree with as being most important e.g. multi-modal transportation, but the PhD researcher assisting me is German and insist on it since I had no better input. Furthermore, do you think MPV would be important as well (since this point was not highlighted by me)? And do you think hybrid cars will work out? What happened to biofuel (with talks for so many years but nothing came out of it yet)?

I think biofuel will definitely play a huge part in determining the direction of the automotive industry as firstly the price of oil will NEVER go down, it will fluctuate within a certain range but in the long run the price can only move upwards. This is due to the fact that oil is finite and secondly the demand from countries like China, etc is hardly likely to slowdown anytime soon. However, which country produces the biofuel of the future remains to be seen as well. As I'm sure you know, corn is one of the crops which can be converted for use in automobiles however there is then a trade off between how much corn goes to food and how much to fuel to world's demand for biofuels. This of course will create all sorts of economic problems by countries who produce such crops who would have monopolies and indirectly create another OPEC only for biofuels this time.

Perhaps NGV could also play a part in propelling future automobiles. Currently, we have gas like methane, etc just seeping from the ocean floor so perhaps some research into what other gases lie at the bottom of our seas could yield something viable in the future. Let's face it, more people have been to space than to the bottom of the Marina Trench for example. The fuel of the future, in the form of gas could lie 10km below the waves. What seems unlikely now, will not be the case in the future. If I told you 20 years ago, we'd have Facebook, etc you'd think I was mad. So perhaps its worth considering that the 'game changer' has yet to even surface, quite literally.

I actually have quite a bit more to say regarding your other points but its nearly 3 am and I just drove all the way from KL to JB and back for a day trip and I'm just too exhausted. I'll revisit this tomorrow or something once I've recharged my batteries. Until then, hope the rest could join in and help move this discussion along.

 

[hwahwa]

Thanks a lot for the point of view. I get your point about NGV. For that, I would keep in mind to provide an answer option that goes along the line of switching to substitutes when petrol subsidies are all removed.

Yes, everyone's input is welcome here and thank you in advance.

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Most important hard infrastructure for the Malaysian passenger car industry (in 2020)
- The road infrastructure provides sufficient capacities for mainland transportation within the peninsular (e.g., highways, especially the North-South Expressway), and its JIT capacities optimised
- The Government of Malaysia implemented a multi-modal transportation system which integrates public and individual (passenger car) transportation.
- Other better options: _____

Don't forget to take into account the public transportation network infrastructure by then especially the extended MRT services. Also, might want to look at highway concessionaires and see what highways would have expired or be close to expiring by then. Not sure if there will be but no harm. I think rail network such as the double tracking will also affect passenger automotive market. If people commute from Seremban to KL daily for work on Kommuter or whatever then surely with better railway network and faster trains, the number of people driving to work would surely decrease.

Another thing to consider is the possibility of Proton merging with a foreign partner like the previously much anticipated Volkswagen deal and the amount of technology transfer that will occur. Obviously merging with such a huge manufacturer would mean lower costs of production, access to knowledge, access to inventory (you know how small parts are used across many different makes that belong to the same company like interior switches, etc). This in turn will build the Proton brand and who knows in 10 years we may see Passat based replacements for Perdana, effectively stealing market share away from Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and other alternatives.

Most important soft infrastructure for the Malaysian passenger car industry (in 2020)
- Numerous universities and several technical education initiatives provide sufficient high-technology engineering capabilities for the automotive industry in Malaysia.
- The Government of Malaysia uses high incentives to attract foreign know-how (not only for automotive core technologies but also for manufacturing processes).
- Other better options: _____

Another point worth mentioning is the education sector (soft infrastructure as your professor calls it) which now has places like TOC. This may increase in future with actual companies setting up their respective colleges as well as an increase in the number of government/public technical colleges, etc. As it is, we produce a massive amount of students graduating in nursing yearly since there will soon be a worldwide shortage. That's largely driven by the private colleges so surely there are companies in the private sector who see an opening for automotive based courses that have more value added content in its syllabus rather than the typical local garage mechanic. Interest in producing more automotive engineers and others related to the industry can also be a direct result of Malaysian involvement in F1 as well. So although not entirely related to passenger automotive, the push in terms of soft infrastructure could come from motorsports side as well.

 

[hwahwa]

Thank you very much again. Again, it explains many issues that I overlooked or didn't realise. Please feel free to share any automotive industry info and very much appreciated.

I am beginning to really think that my professor wants to do this thesis for the reasons of VW coming to Malaysia. He wants to expands this research to the stakeholders. Would you also shed some light to this as well? It's not my part but I find it interesting to know. We are conducting my study and my professor's concurrently.

What are the most important issues that will happen to the following stakeholders in 2020?
(1) car drivers,
(2) suppliers,
(3) automotive companies,
(4) government (ministers and agencies), and
(5) society

Car drivers:
- Consumers prefer substitute fuel (e.g. NGV) over diesel and petrol.
- Preference for foreign luxury brands have gained momentum to reach 5% market share.
- Other better options: _____

Suppliers:
- The industry builds stronger supplier networks optimises JIT potential of Malaysian infrastructure.
- Expensive vehicle parts encourages growth of substitutes and piracy
- Other better options: _____

Automotive companies:
- Mass producing hybrid cars and smaller combustion engines to increase market share despite removal of petrol subsidies
- Positioning themselves as “green” to grab a significant portion of market share
- Automotive companies setting up technical colleges to sufficiently provide for the automotive industry in Malaysia.
- Other better options: _____

Government:
- Dumping of Japanese hybrid car and technologies cause revised government protection on the industry.
- Petrol subsidies have been removed to encourage use of biofuel in the market
- Other better options: _____

Society:
- Brain drain alarmingly widens gap of engineers in the country
- Malaysians feel responsible for the environment even if it costs more to do so.
- Other better options: _____

Thank you in advance.

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Hahaha do I get a PhD after all this?

J/K will come back to this later when have time

 

[hwahwa]

Lols, let's ask my prof to give you one :)
I'll ask him that u request for it and see what he says :D

Thanks

 

[hwahwa]

My professor says thank you for all the insights and you deserve a PhD but you still have to write a thesis (joking) ! :0

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Thank you very much again. Again, it explains many issues that I overlooked or didn't realise. Please feel free to share any automotive industry info and very much appreciated.

I am beginning to really think that my professor wants to do this thesis for the reasons of VW coming to Malaysia. He wants to expands this research to the stakeholders. Would you also shed some light to this as well? It's not my part but I find it interesting to know. We are conducting my study and my professor's concurrently.

What are the most important issues that will happen to the following stakeholders in 2020?
(1) car drivers,
(2) suppliers,
(3) automotive companies,
(4) government (ministers and agencies), and
(5) society

Car drivers:
- Consumers prefer substitute fuel (e.g. NGV) over diesel and petrol.
- Preference for foreign luxury brands have gained momentum to reach 5% market share.
- Other better options: _____

I don't think that car buyers will 'prefer' a specific brand over another in the years to come. As it is, the diesel and petrol market are two separate markets - at least for now. Although there are normal even luxury cars that come with diesel engines, the numbers are still small and there is a clear difference between users of diesel (commercial, larger vehicles) and petrol (passenger vehicles). There is a subsection of 4WD and pick-ups which are used as everyday passenger vehicles AND utilize diesel fuel however the numbers aren't enough for petrol stations nationwide to convert the majority of their pumps to diesel.

This may change in the coming years. I believe in Europe the trend towards diesel passenger and even luxury cars is quite apparent however the diesel that you get in Europe and the diesel you get in Malaysia aren't quite the same.

As for foreign luxury brands, I'm not privy to the actual numbers nor am I about to go do your research for you but I believe the luxury car market definitely has a bigger share than 5% even today what more in a decade. Again, your definition of luxury must be clear - is it based on price, manufacturer or perception of the brand itself?

Suppliers:
- The industry builds stronger supplier networks optimises JIT potential of Malaysian infrastructure.
- Expensive vehicle parts encourages growth of substitutes and piracy
- Other better options: _____

I think the local automotive assembly industry in Malaysia is quite strong and fairly developed. Mercedes Benz makes CKD cars here, as do Honda, etc. Most of the car brands that Malaysians are familiar with already do have manufacturing facilities in the country. Sure, there are some manufacturers yet to set-up shop locally or perhaps have no intention whatsoever but I guess only market forces will dictate what their decisions will be in future as only a strong local demand can compel them to move in that direction.

As for expensive vehicle parts, have you checked the prices of original Proton replacement parts? I suggest you do some real research into the replacement costs for various parts for cars such as Proton, Toyota to Mercedes and BMW. Perhaps include some sports and performance cars. But make sure its original, brand new and from the authorized distributors or 3S facilities. Your research must be extensive going from normal servicing to replacement suspension parts to replacement body parts, etc. Only then, can you discuss the growth of substitutes and piracy.

I admit I'm no scholar, certainly you possess much higher qualifications than I do but your research seems to lack hard facts and numbers. Perhaps you have done such research but would rather keep it to yourself - I respect that but it makes it harder to help when I don't know what it is you know or don't know.

And Malaysia has an extensive infrastructure well capable of supporting any JIT sort of manufacturing regardless of industry, not just automotive. We have dedicated industrial parks supported by highways and railroads not to mention numerous ports in Johor and Klang which handle millions of containers collectively each year. The infrastructure has never been a problem ever since Kawasan Perindustrian Mak Mandin in Penang along with others nationwide were established in the 1960s under the 1st Malaysia Plan. So industrialization is nothing new in Malaysia nor are we lacking in infrastructure, but like I said the choice of who the local partner means a lot.

Automotive companies:
- Mass producing hybrid cars and smaller combustion engines to increase market share despite removal of petrol subsidies
- Positioning themselves as “green” to grab a significant portion of market share
- Automotive companies setting up technical colleges to sufficiently provide for the automotive industry in Malaysia.
- Other better options: _____

Hybrid cars will definitely be more common on in the very near future. Even luxury makes such as Lexus already sell them TODAY in Kuala Lumpur. How many hybrid cars are sold nationwide? Again, that's research you'll have to do. As for smaller combustion engines gaining popularity 'despite removal of petrol subsidies' isn't that contradictory? Shouldn't they experience increase in market share BECAUSE of removal of petrol subsidies?

Automotive colleges hopefully will be something the Government and private sector focus on. We have flight schools to cater to future global shortage of pilots and we have nursing colleges in anticipation of global shortage of nursing staff. I don't know if automotive industry is experiencing a shortage of workers considering assembly lines are becoming increasingly automated however I believe there is room for value added graduates - the guys who design and make the robots which make the cars. If we are able to reach that level (which seems to be the realm of the Germans, Japanese and as of late Koreans) remains to be seen and whether we have the teaching expertise to produce such a high level of graduates will require massive investment both by the Government and private sectors. Read the current Malaysia Plan and see if the Government even has plans to do so. If not then its private sector all the way which may not work in Malaysia's favor.

Government:
- Dumping of Japanese hybrid car and technologies cause revised government protection on the industry.
- Petrol subsidies have been removed to encourage use of biofuel in the market
- Other better options: _____

Petrol subsidies aren't being removed to encourage use of biofuel locally. We do not even have a viable option for producing our own biofuel at the moment. Palm oil? Sure, could be developed as a fuel to power vehicles but at what cost? We have finite land used for plantation of such crops and most of it goes towards cooking oils, etc so using this as an alternative fuel means sacrificing its uses elsewhere.

I don't want to get into a long drawn out debate on why the subsidies are being removed but the trend is clear - worldwide crude oil prices are and will continue to rise so long as growth in countries such as China and demand from countries such as the US continue on its current trajectory. Fluctuations as I've mentioned will happen due to traders worldwide speculating on the price of oil but at the end of the day, there is only so much output in terms of barrels of oil per day and demand is rising by the day. If you were to plot the prices in a graph, you'll see the trend going upwards.

Society:
- Brain drain alarmingly widens gap of engineers in the country
- Malaysians feel responsible for the environment even if it costs more to do so.
- Other better options: _____

Our current brain drain isn't specific to engineers but extends across numerous professions one of which is the medical profession specifically doctors. The Government is trying to lure back these qualified Malaysians but I'm not sure how successful they will be in doing so. The reason isn't just pay but includes social and political issues which I believe go beyond the scope of your research.

As for Malaysians feeling responsible about the environment - considering the fact that most don't even recycle nor do they feel any remorse about public littering, I believe we have some ways to go before Malaysians consider paying more to preserve our environment.

Thank you in advance.

Hope that helps, sorry been busy and was not feeling well past couple of days.

 

[hwahwa]

Thank you very much. Looks like a lot of work. I'm so glad I turned down this part as they (maybe there was a miscommunication) shoved it down my neck to do this part when I clearly expressed that I will not touch this part.

And seriously, your advice sounds like a German professor's: clear direct outline, analytical, and obviously you have a sound knowledge of the industry. You sure you're not teaching in Germany?

Get well soon.

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Thank you very much. Looks like a lot of work. I'm so glad I turned down this part as they (maybe there was a miscommunication) shoved it down my neck to do this part when I clearly expressed that I will not touch this part.

And seriously, your advice sounds like a German professor's: clear direct outline, analytical, and obviously you have a sound knowledge of the industry. You sure you're not teaching in Germany?

Get well soon.

Pretty sure I've never even been to Germany. I think the closest I got was Austria and that was a long long time ago. And as mentioned, I'm not in the automotive industry (besides being an enthusiast) nor have I ever been involved in automotive industry in any way - passenger market, commercial, etc. I don't even have a postgraduate degree, just a degree which means I'm one of literally millions heheh.

Anyway, it sounds like you've yet to really pinpoint the real essence or scope of your thesis. The issues you have outlined are too diverse and to cover all of them objectively, in depth and at least to a level worthy of a doctorate would require many months of research and result in a document with thousands of pages. IMHO, you should pick one or two of the above topics for example focus on:

1) Government regulation of the automotive industry with regards to AP, NAP, etc
2) The gradual withdrawal of fuel subsidies and how the Government proposes to address the issue by offering alternatives - perhaps touch on public transportation, etc.
3) How the private sector will react to the fuel subsidies - touch on hybrid cars, alternative fuels, paradigm shift in how car industry views future and how their R&D in turn changes to reflect this.
4) How the consumers react to both the Government's policies as well as the new direction taken by car makers by offering newer more eco-friendly products and how it changes their purchasing decisions.
5) How the traditional oil companies have to explore new ways of diversifying to take advantage of the shift in the car makers approach to business by offering new products - perhaps even E85 at fuel stations locally

Something along those lines I believe should be sufficient. Pick one aspect of the market and then choose different perspectives - Government, consumer, car makers, energy companies - and then tie them together. You don't have to use exactly what I've listed above but give it some thought and try link all the topics to form a central theme. From what I can tell, hope you don't mind me saying, your thesis lacks the cohesiveness to tie all the issues affecting the passenger car market together. Perhaps discuss further with your professor?

 

[hwahwa]

See what I mean about you talking like a German professor? You guessed it right.

I was suppose to handle PEST environment: Political, Economic, Social, and Technology. The break down is as follows:
Political:
- regulations
- incentives

Economic:
- major players (criteria)
- supply network

Social:
- consumer (buying) trends
- social trends

Technology
- soft
-hard

which answer options I have revised after considering your insights.

No worries, I do not mind direct criticisms. That's the whole purpose of revising and getting feedbacks for this online survey. The professor and his PhD student does not understand the Malaysian market. When I say, "even in 2020, Malaysians will still prefer foreign brands", the PhD student doesn't believe me and insists on "Malaysians will prefer foreign brands (since a majority are Islam)"... =.= Imagine having that sentence in a survey. Also, imagine having Malay professors doing that survey. =_____=
Never mind, I got even with him on that account.

 

[[PIMPIN]]

See what I mean about you talking like a German professor? You guessed it right.

I was suppose to handle PEST environment: Political, Economic, Social, and Technology. The break down is as follows:
Political:
- regulations
- incentives

Economic:
- major players (criteria)
- supply network

Social:
- consumer (buying) trends
- social trends

Technology
- soft
-hard

which answer options I have revised after considering your insights.

No worries, I do not mind direct criticisms. That's the whole purpose of revising and getting feedbacks for this online survey. The professor and his PhD student does not understand the Malaysian market. When I say, "even in 2020, Malaysians will still prefer foreign brands", the PhD student doesn't believe me and insists on "Malaysians will prefer foreign brands (since a majority are Islam)"... =.= Imagine having that sentence in a survey. Also, imagine having Malay professors doing that survey. =_____=
Never mind, I got even with him on that account.

Sorry no time for extended reply but the cars that sell among the most in Malaysia are still Perodua and Proton for the mass market. How foreign brands become a preference especially due to Islamic population is an assumption I believe your professor has made based on erroneous information. Ask him to justify this statement backed up by current sales figures and future sales projections.

Coming from economics background I'm sure he understands the difference between normative and positive statements. His definitely falls under positive statements - meaning he needs to provide facts to either prove or disprove it. Where's the empirical evidence?

 

[hwahwa]

Lols. The PhD student wanted me to find the evidence to prove his statement. I told him that I do not believe in that statement at all to hint that either he proves it himself or let me do what I want for my own thesis. He claims that you sometimes need to be different when doing a thesis. True but don't play around with something like that with me and my kinsmen. I don't want to be shunned from my research/survey. I even attached a 1Malaysia logo on it >. I still want to live in this country :D

 

[[PIMPIN]]

Lols. The PhD student wanted me to find the evidence to prove his statement. I told him that I do not believe in that statement at all to hint that either he proves it himself or let me do what I want for my own thesis. He claims that you sometimes need to be different when doing a thesis. True but don't play around with something like that with me and my kinsmen. I don't want to be shunned from my research/survey. I even attached a 1Malaysia logo on it >. I still want to live in this country :D

I think that its important for postgraduate theses regardless of whatever field of study or specialization its research is focused on to always challenge the norm; with the intention of introducing new ideas and approaches which in turn could cause total paradigm shifts in their respective areas. However, surely your professor has heard of basic Harvard referencing.

No offence, but seems like he's just putting forth opinions with no facts to back them up. In that case, he should be blogging not mentoring PhD students.

 

[hwahwa]

Lols... I am the one blogging now... lols... Well, I am not interested in doing a PhD if it means Permanent Head Damage. I'll return into the working society >.
Well, no idea if the professor played a part in advising the sentence but the PhD student bore the brunt of my cold fury (I also cc-ed the email to the professor). Then, the sentence ended up somewhat along this line: Malaysians prefer Asian and Malaysian brands. Told the PhD student that "Maybe in 2030 but I don't think so for 2020" but he insisted on testing it with experts first. So, fine, and I got a USM professor to review and he said "No way" so I forwarded that review to the PhD student and professor.

However, surely your professor has heard of basic Harvard referencing.

Unfortunately, I got 1 mark deducted in my first report in that school because they weren't using Harvard referencing (which I am very used to). They were using APA guidelines. I hate APA. Reason being: it gets updated every few years and it just got updated last year =_____=

seems like he's just putting forth opinions with no facts to back them up

Lols. I am supposed to come up with the facts. So, when I strongly disagree, the PhD student says: just test it. =.= Maybe they forgot that I am Malaysian? =.=

On second thought, although the professor and the PhD student gives me my thesis marks, maybe I should review their thesis too...? Hohoho... I'll just dream about it...