The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1929-07-24
R'EAST found.
GOOD j. s. CAR
MARKET

The flying fishes still play ION the
Road to Mandalay." and there IL
still sea room for the fIotillas to lie.
as per Kipling's famous balIad-but
thers is. no road to MandaIay for
automobiles yet.
H. III. Kelly, special representative
for the Hudson Motor Car Company,
manufacturers OF Hudson and Essex
cars. who has Just returned from a
trip TO the Far East during which he
yet q record of $4,000 miles travel
in five and a half months, using
every means OF transportation from
airpianes to oxcarts and Chinese
richshaWs, Travelled the road and
found IL a vastly unpleasant experi-
ence. The road IL q bullock trail
with an abundance OF dust and sur.
rounded by tropical underground
and forest.
Market IL Good
According to Kelly. the general
market for automobiles in the Far
East is excellent. With the excep-
ton of India and French Indo.
China. where commercial allegiance
to the mother country controls buy
ing motives, over 90 per cent Of the
far eastern markets absorb cars Of
American manufacture. The rea-
son for Americas motor car donni-
nance inNtIfe Asiatic area may be at.
tributed to the superior quality and
performances Of the American motor
vehicle.
Who sells American automobiles
In the Far East--native or west
erner? Kelly informs US that
distribution il now largely in the
hands of native, who know the buy
ing habits Of bis people and how
they are best dealt with. Par
ticularly IL this true in Japan and
India where the native element is
predominant in the selling field.
Not SO in China ana the Dutch
East Indies, however. for here the
white merchant most frequently
suppIants' the native.
Road development still acts As
the chief deterrent to automobiles
sales in the Far East. In this
respect continental Asia Is very
backward. In China there are put
10000 miles Of vehicular, roads in
an area larger than the United
states. Many States in the Union
alone have more road mileage than
this, One starts for an evening
drive from most any seacoast city
in China and winds up at the end
of the road 16 miles inland,
Buy Cars for Safety
Strange as it may appear, the
protective element has been q tac'
tor in the purchase OF automobiles
in China individuals who felt un'
safe on the streets in native
quarters for fear OF kidnapping are
comparatively at ease under the
roof OF q closed car. This has been
the incentive to buy with many OF
the weather. Chinese who have
abandoned their handdraWn rick
shaw and taken to the speedier
motor car. re
The most conspicuous. read de-
veIopment in the Far East mas
been in the island empire OF Japan
and the Dutch insular possession,
Java. These countries have q wei
developed" road system, linking I'll
major cities by modern thorough
fares.
Travel in Asiatic countries il 10 a
great extent pr0mpGSu 0y ESuSAUuS
motives. In most avery country
religious observances require ma
tives of the faith to make long pill
srimages to their sacred shrine be-
fore death. Sometimes this pilgrim
age Is over 1000 miles and has to Dc
made entirely on foot. Var sighted
automobile men predict the daS
when many of these pilgrimages
will be conducted by bus or motor
vehicle.
In the main, the market uncer.
tainty in Asia is due to political
instability more than any one fac
tor. Governmental disturbances,
particularly in China and South
Central Asia, have in the past hin
dered free commerce to q marked
degree. Purchasing power in the
Orient is at present concentrated
in the hands of native princes, mer1
chants and mandarins, but when a
more equitable distribution Of wealth
does come, the motor car industry,
is bound to receive q very liberal
share of 1t.
RtR n nnATFA T0