Kalistani Major History

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MoCo Weighs opening new factory in Jahmaica
Sulari produces enough for domestic market, but exports will require increased production capacity
Addisjah, Vrassa
September 30, 5352


Civil Engineers visiting site to survey for a possible new Vrassa plant for Kalistani Motor Company

Executives at Kalistani Motor Company (KMC) began exploring the possibility of building a second plant in Vrassa. The 900 year old car manufacturer, which currently has a 63% market share in Kalistan due to their affordable, easy to maintain, and durable electric automobiles, said the exploration was spurred by moves to encourage automobile development and manufacturing in nearby Lodamun. "MoCo has a solid place in the Kalistani car market," said MoCo CEO Nathan Knowles. "The MoCo is nearly ubiquitous in every town and city: We have a long history of creating cars aimed to stay on the road for as long as possible. With the Anantonese Automobile Company, and the foreign imports we get mainly from Lourenne, the Kalistani Market is fairly saturated. So, why create a new plant? Well, perhaps other nations may want to buy MoCo Parts to use in their own cars, or whole MoCos. As we slowly integrate into a larger Northern Seleyan Market, this is an opportunity for the venerable car company to branch out to new markets."

Recent informal surveys of citizens in other Northern Seleyan Countries shows that there is little taste for MoCos. Some note their conceptual weirdness. "Too strange," said many survey respondents. "They don't make a lot of sense, like when you look at what a car is. The MoCo doesn't have things where we would expect them." MoCo for their part has attempted for centuries to answer critiques about design, citing the increased ergonomic design, safety and fuel efficiency of their vehicles, but foreign consumers just aren't going for it. "You sort of feel like you are driving a golf cart around," said some respondents. "Too quiet," say other surveys.

Knowles just shrugs. "Of all the years that we have seen these surveys returned, almost none of the comments have been 'MoCos break down all the time,' or 'too expensive to maintain', or even 'I have to fix this car too often.' They usually complain about the color scheme, or the location of the steering 'wheel',"--MoCo's often have devices that feel more like video game joysticks than steering wheels, due to the electronic steering mechanism that do not require foreful physical manipulation for precision in driving--"... and almost all the complaints are from people who do not actually drive MoCos. We think that perhaps the lack of exposure to cars that you do not have to rebuy every 3-5 years because something serious goes out drives much of the negative critique. And that's not even including foreign oil companies who drag our cars because they don't make any money off EVs and hydrogen fuel cell automobiles."

While acknowledging that foreign consumer tastes often differ from the products MoCo creates, Knowles was optimistic. "We do think thaat MoCo can create parts, or even whole engines that can be sold to automobile corporations over the border. We recently became aware that Lodamun is trying to restart their automobile Industry. MoCo can be in a good place to help, by selling parts close to the margin, and helping them offset the costs of having to restart the industry from the ground up. The upside for MoCo and for Kalistan will be that it will represent a new market for MoCo, allowing us to grow as a company despite the saturation in Kalistan, and it will represent increased trade ties with Kalistan. For Pryor Industries in Lodamun, it will represent a source of excellent quality, inexpensive materials that could really give their company an early boost and help it make it through their first few years. Ideally, MoCos would find a new home in Lodamun after all is said and done, but even so, if Pryor and other new startups in the Lodamun Market decide to keep buying from MoCo, KMC will always have a presence in Lodamun."

A new factory would cost MoCo upwards of K3.5 Billion which itself would be an opportunity for new Investment in the company. "We are obviously still in the early phases of planning," said Knowles, "but we have begun looking at sites around Addisjah and Port Swedes, both of which have easy access to transnational infrastructure, as well as a workforce that would be suitable for employment at either a parts plant or a full auto plant. There is definitely interest on our Board for expanding facilities to Vrassa, and we think there is a high probability that any capital campaign will be successful within the Republic, whether any deals with Lodamun are in the offing or not."