Drive

Website for vehicle owners and mechanics in Sinhala

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

A Sri Lankan automobile engineer has designed a unique website in Sinhala that gives the latest technology of modern vehicles.

This website www.rotaryauto.com designed by D.M.M. Dasanayake gives a comprehensive knowledge on the latest developments of automobile technology and the objective is to give his vast knowledge to talented Sri Lankans in this field who are living here and abroad and those who are not conversant in the English language. This is the largest web site in the automobile engineering field so far.

An old boy of Gankanda Central College in Pelmadulla, Dasanayake having entered the German Tech after leaving school qualified in motor mechanism. Then he served at the CTB for several years and proceeded overseas where he gained vast experience in advanced technology in automobile engineering for ten years.

“I have observed that a large number of young Sri Lankans living in the country and abroad has lots of potential to improve their skills but they lack the required knowledge as they do not have competency in the English language. I thought of designing this web site purely to serve this purpose,” he said. He has authored eleven books on this subject so far and a number of magazines as well.

But the web site in 4000 colour pages is more attractive and elaborate. “No one likes to give the technology out but I have taken great pains to design this web site to give my knowledge to our people and I want them to make maximum use of it,” Dasanayake said. He pointed out that a lot of people waste money in purchasing unnecessary parts when they send vehicles for repairs because the mechanics do not have the latest technology. The modern vehicles coming to the market having paid very high duty are all computerised but there is no system to educate the mechanics so they try with various parts based on the doubts submitting huge bills to the vehicle owners.

But this web site will help the vehicle owners as well as the mechanics to overcome this difficulty because Dasanayake has a strong network to update the web site immediately with latest technology.

The country needs a large number of motor mechanics today apart from the demand for them in other countries. Lots of foreign exchange can be earned and saved by training young people with potential if there are places to train them. “I have done what I could do for the country and I hope the authorities make use of it for the people, he concluded.

He has trained over 10,000 students free of charge over the years at his own training centre Rotary Auto Training Centre in Nugegoda and majority of them are employed abroad. He can be contacted on e mail: [email protected]

Sangakkara bats for DIMO

Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s valued left-hand batsman and admirable wicket keeper, is now the Brand Ambassador for one of the most respected and responsible business entities in Sri Lanka, Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC.

Popularly known as general distributors for Mercedes-Benz, TATA, Chrysler and Jeep; DIMO’s operations stretch far beyond automobiles. The company has interests in fields as diverse as medical equipment, power transmission and distribution, telecommunications, agricultural machinery and storage and material handling.

DIMO sets very high standards and their attention to detail is evident, in whichever field they choose to be in. It is this reputation, which has made first-in-class brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, Bosch, TATA, Chrysler, MTU, Komatsu, Michelin, Osram, Mahindra, MRF, Zeiss, Schaefer etc. bind with DIMO and continue their relationship.

Kumar Sangakkara’s commitment to technique and his perseverance to achieve perfection has seen him top world rankings. He is an unparalleled batsman, a gentleman and an opinion leader boasting of a unique character. He is known to spend hours perfecting every aspect of his game. “Kumar’s approach to his game is very similar to the way DIMO approaches its business,” said DIMO Chairman/CEO Ranjith Panditage. “Both strive to be perfect in everything they do, both give 100 per cent when the situation requires so, both know the importance of delivering a consistent outcome every single time and both know the importance of hard-work and preparation,” added Pandithage, who speaks with pride of DIMO’s world-class partnerships.

Over the last two decades, DIMO’s turnover has grown from Rs.100 million to over Rs. 13 billion. Over the last eight years, Kumar has seen his average climb from the 30s to the 40s to the 50s and beyond, proving what they both already know. That is a commitment to perfection will always yield rich results.

Car makers find distribution easier said than driven

The automobile industry’s woes aren’t limited to manufacturing, much as surging input costs may give us reason to suppose.

Marketing and distribution of vehicles is emerging as a far bigger challenge, especially for brands that are either recent entrants or looking to set up shop in India.

Take the Malaysian car maker, Proton. Going by sources, while it is talking to B V R Subbu-promoted Argentum Motors for a contract-manufacturing alliance, it is holding separate negotiations with other Indian car makers for a distribution deal.

Ditto for Chrysler. The automaker has indicated a similar strategy: global manufacturing and a separate tie-up for marketing and distribution in India.

According to a recent survey, the industry needs to invest Rs 10,000-12,000 crore in sales, service and distribution networks for the Indian market to touch the two-million-unit mark.

Few car companies are willing to invest such large sums, preferring instead to seek distribution alliances with established players.

Fiat Spa, which has been in India for quite a while, has learnt its distribution lesson the hard way, having experienced enormous difficulties earlier through Peugeot.

It has roped in Tata Motors as the distribution ally and this has helped push up Palio sales to 500 units per month. Fiat and Tata have established 65 joint dealers and would add 35 more before the year ends.

An industry veteran, however, feels such an alliance may not always work in favour of Fiat since the erstwhile Tata dealers promote the Tata badge.

Though the positioning of the two brands is distinct - Fiat products are priced at the premium end of the market - this problem would continue until the dealerships are clearly segmented, with a dedicated sales force for Fiat cars as well.

Renault and sister company Nissan are also struggling with the distribution issue. While Nissan has outsourced distribution to a local company, Renault is looking towards Mahindra & Mahindra for a distribution alliance despite its unhappiness over the performance of the Logan.

But, why just new brands, even existing ones are finding distribution a big headache. It’s a chicken-and-egg story really, one might say.

The top three manufacturers - Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor and Tata Motors - together account for about 90% of the passenger car market. All the other brands - General Motors, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Skoda and Mahindra Renault - are left competing for the remaining 10%.

An industry expert sums up the problem thus: “These small players cannot survive till they are present in 30-40 top cities. But they cannot offer volumes to dealers in these cities because of their low sales. So, distribution remains a problem area.”

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