When a new customer purchases an automobile in these days, he is immediately introduced to an oil firm in Shanghai for his purchases of petrol, it was learned. The distributors of petrol in turn figure out the quota to be granted to him and the buyer of the car has hardly any complaint to make. All buyers of cars from leading agencies in Shanghai are nearly always registered with the petrol firms, it was said.
Despite the prevailing optimism, however, a slight undercurrent of indecision among the agencies was noted during the survey. Some of the importers questioned said that the various difficulties involving exchange and import and the possibility that Governments may clamp down even more on the automobile industry, may have nearly the entire say in the situation, It was repeatedly pointed out, however, that the rationing of petrol fu Shanghai has hardly anything to do with the future of automobile sales in the city, Should the restriction continue in the same vein as at the present time, this would be the least worry of the agents, one official declared. Of course, if supplies of oil and petrol cease to arrive in Shanghai, the entire local market for cars would automatically die out. Affected also, however, would nearly every other industry using oils, it should be remembered. Doubt that this sort of situation would be allowed to take place by the British and American Governments, was expressed,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.