Chiraq Motor Company

Chiraq Motor Company

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<imgur w="200">Ln9fJcO.png?2</imgur> The headquarters of Chiraq Motor Company in Akhmis, Onza.
Type	Public
Industry	Automotive
Founded	March 14, 1981 (1981-03-14)
Founder	Yohannes Chiraq
Headquarters	Akhmis , Onza
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Hamid Jatau (CEO)
Products	Automobiles Luxury Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Automotive parts
Services	Automotive finance Vehicle leasing Vehicle service
Revenue	$6.1 billion
Number of employees	71,000 (2016)

Chiraq Motor Company, commonly referred to simply as Chiraq, is an Onzaian automotive manufacturer founded by Yohannes Chiraq in 1981 which designs, manufactures, leases, and sells a variety of automobiles ranging from personal cars to commercial trucks. Chiraq recently became quite popular internationally when they began producing a line of electric luxury vehicles. The estimated sales of the company in 2017 was $6.1 billion. Since unveiling their electric cars, Chiraq has boomed in popularity and its products have become coveted by wealthy elites around the globe. The company also regularly draws attention to itself thanks to the eccentric ambitions of CEO Hamid Jatau.

History

Chiraq Motor Company was founded by automotive engineer and mechanic Yohannes Chiraq in 1981. Chiraq worked for a number of car repair lots for thirty years before growing frustrated with what he saw as poor design by Onzaian manufacturers. "The rate at which foreign-produced cars are outpacing Onzaian ones is baffling," Chiraq wrote in a letter-to-the-editor to the Kunta Chronicle at the time. As a result, he worked alongside Abu Bakr Siyabonga, a college student aspiring to be an automotive engineer, to design and produce the company's first car, the Chiraq Dunestrider, which debuted in 1982 to mediocre reception. A two-door coupe, the Dunestrider sold adequately to pay for its production cost, but was targeted by automotive review publications at the time for its lack of speed and poor fuel economy. The Dunestrider also had issues with rapid deterioration to the engine bearings and a driveshaft design defect which could cause fires in case of an accident. The subsequently released Dunestriders addressed these issues, but nonetheless struggled to gain popularity with Onzaian drivers. Future models did, however, find a small niche market in individuals who frequently travel rough desert roads rather than major highways.

File:1983 Chiraq Dunestrider.png

The 1983 Chiraq Dunestrider.

The company struggled to stay afloat in subsequent years, with the Dunestrider eventually costing more to produce than it was selling. In response, Chiraq debuted the City Grand Prix, a newly-redesigned, improved two-door coupe similar to the Dunestrider. The City Grand Prix sold sufficiently to barely sustain the company, with it primarily being sought after as a fleet car for small businesses.

After years of struggling, Chiraq saw its first major success in 1997 with the release of the Chiraq City Cruiser. The City Cruiser was among the first four-door, midsize sedans to become popular among Onzaian consumers, mostly due to its modern design, affordability, and relatively good fuel economy. It was also selected by the Onzaian Ministry of Environmental Protection as a model design for conforming to emission regulations at the time, which boosted its popularity heavily. The car sold well enough to allow Chiraq to purchase more factories to manufacture more cars, and the company even sold some models overseas in other countries. This established a reputation for Chiraq as a stable car manufacturer, which enabled them to continue producing City Cruisers for the next several years while also debuting other models to fair popularity.

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The 2016 Chiraq Kalahar has sold numerous models and is widely recognized around the world.

In spite of this, Chiraq still only controlled a small share of the Onzaian automotive market. By 2007, some 56% of cars in the country were manufactured in a foreign nation, and Chiraq only accounted for 8% of the 44% that were manufactured in Onza. Chiraq himself retired from the company in 2014, but continued to work alongside the design team in the hopes of developing something fresh and unique. At the same time, up-and-coming automotive engineer Hamid Jatau was made CEO of the company. Jatau reportedly promised Chiraq that he would turn the direction of the company around, and subsequently, the company saw an almost-instantaneous reversal in trajectory in 2015, when it announced the Chiraq Kalahar, an all-electric, luxury-styled vehicle packed with technological features and boasting an impressive list of hardware. The Kalahar didn't sell well initially, but drew the company a great amount of international attention due to the Kalahar's zero-emission, sports like performance and luxurious styling which resulted in several foreign investments into the company.

Since then, the Kalahar has sold extraordinarily well, particularly among wealthy elites around the world. Several cities around the world also invested in installing vehicle charging stations to enable citizens to feasibly own and drive a Kalahar. Chiraq has also debuted a few other alternative models of the electric lineup, including one geared towards middle class consumers rather than wealthier buyers.

In 2018, the company revealed it would open a new plant in Nihoa County, Ajerrin that will employ up to 4500 people while producing some 200,000 automobiles a year.

Corporate affairs

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Yohannes Chiraq in 2015.

Yohannes Chiraq served as the sole proprietor of Chiraq Motor Company from its founding in 1981 up until 1995, when he granted administrative privileges to a small number of engineers on his team and made himself the company's CEO. He held this position until his retirement in 2014, where he appointed Hamid Jatau as CEO to replace him. In spite of his retirement, Chiraq remains firmly involved in the company, and works with the design team every year to plan the vehicles the company will release. Upon becoming CEO, one of Jatau's first moves was to make the company public, creating a board of directors which Chiraq sat on as president and opened the company up to investments and stock trading.

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Hamid Jatau in 2016.

While the move was initially seen by business journalists as pointless and counterproductive, Chiraq's later unveiling of the Kalahar made the model a smashing success, with the wealth of the company growing exponentially as a result of investments.

Abu Bakr Siyabonga, the college student who partnered with Chiraq to found the company, is currently the vice-president of the board, though since the inception of the electric car lineup has removed himself from the design process. The other board members represent a variety of backgrounds, with two on the board being international citizens.

The corporation employs roughly 71,000 people around the world, who serve a variety of roles from selling, to manufacturing, to designing, to repair. The company has grown notably in labor size since the production of its electric cars, though it was noted for being a fairly large employer even prior to this thanks to its many service lots which repaired a large variety of cars. Since its inception, Chiraq has been known to provide comprehensive benefits to its workers. The company regularly makes contributions to the Democratic Socialist Party and works alongside labor unions for mechanics to ensure competitive wages and workers benefits.

Products and services

Service and repair

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A Chiraq body shop.

Thanks to Chiraq's background in mechanical work, the first dealership he opened as part of his company also functioned as a servicing lot, which set the precedent for almost every future dealership that was opened. In addition to the company's salesmen being trained at marketing, they oftentimes double as mechanics as well. The combination shops proved to be quite popular, and Chiraq's lots made much of their money in the company's early years servicing cars of manufacturers other than Chiraq. In addition to the standard services such as oil changes, tire rotations, wheel alignments, and transmission fluid changes, many of these locations contained body shops and did repair work in addition to accessory changes such as providing paintjobs and tinting windows.

Chiraq sells many of its new vehicles with warranties that guarantee repairs and tune ups so long as the vehicle is brought to a Chiraq dealership for service. The warranty also incentivizes longtime customers by providing perks based on the number of vehicles they have purchased from Chiraq in the past. This is especially true for the newest electric line, as many competing repair lots refuse to service them due to their unique engineering, at least compared to traditional combustion engines.

Automobiles

The majority of Chiraq's productions are vehicles made for personal ownership. The following table shows the cars Chiraq has produced since its founding.

Exterior	Name	Year Introduced	Production of the current model	Facelift(Update)	Generation	Vehicle Information
Cars
File:2017 Chiraq Kalahar.png	Kalahar	2015	2016		2nd Generation	Developed as the flagship model of Chiraq's electric lineup. A fast, powerful car with zero-emissions and luxury styling on the interior.
File:2017 Chiraq Khalifa.png	Khalifa	2015	2017		2nd Generation	A luxury four-door sedan packed with features and a stylish interior.
File:2016 Chiraq Qafila.png	Qafila	2015	2015		1st Generation	An economic variant of the electric line, designed to be fit for small families.
File:2015 Chiraq City Cruiser.png	City Cruiser	1997	2013	2009	8th Generation	A midsize, four-door sedan aimed at being economically affordable while still carrying a number of noteworthy features.
File:2016 Chiraq Dunestrider.png	Dunestrider	1982	2012	1991, 2005, 2008, 2012	12th Generation	Originally a four-door muscle sedan, now an SUV.

Several of the other cars produced by the company were discontinued upon the announcement of the electric models. They are omitted from the above chart.

Trucks

In addition to cars, Chiraq manufactures a small pool of large, commercial trucks intended to haul freight. These trucks enjoy more popularity in other countries than they do in Onza, but nonetheless maintain a contending share of the market. In 2017, CEO Jatau revealed that the company was in the process of designing electric trucks as well in the hopes of eliminating fuel costs for commercial freight transit.

Leasing and sales

Of note is that Chiraq also has its own financing company, which for years has allowed buyers with minimal debt history to purchase cars where they would otherwise not be approved for an auto loan. The company also leases a large number of its cars, especially the City Cruiser, for fleet purposes, though also for private use when desired.

Sponsorships

Chiraq sponsors a number of events, including several years of the Copa d'Aeia and the 2017 Drago Entente Summit in Kunta. Due to its recent growth, the company has announced an intention to sponsor more events than ever, and has established a scholarship fund for students who abroad who wish to travel to the Emirates to study at a university.