Craig Trudell is a Bloomberg reporter based in Tokyo, where he covers Toyota and the broader automotive industry in Japan and the rest of Asia. He recently has reported on a Japanese maker of air bags under investigation for malfunctions that have injured or killed U.S. motorists.
In Depth sat down with Craig to talk about his work and its role in enriching Bloomberg’s coverage.
You have recently put a lot of work into reporting on a controversy surrounding faulty airbags. What has been the most interesting aspect of this story?
There’s a very tragic irony to this story in that it involves a safety device that is injuring and even killing people, rather than protecting them. It involves a Japanese company named Takata that has such a rich history — run by the same family for more than 80 years, with a track record for saving lives by making child car seats and seat belts. The more you sink your teeth into what’s happening, the more you’re surprised and the more questions you have.
You cover the automotive industry, primarily in Japan and around Asia. What do you find interesting about this space? Why do you enjoy it?
As is the case in any area of the world, covering the auto industry means you’re inevitably going to be writing stories about jobs, manufacturing, technology, marketing, sales, politics, wealth, history, finance, pollution, safety, economics, and on and on. The dimensions to this industry are endless. I’ve heard executives within the industry here compare what’s happening today in China with the Industrial Revolution, or with the post-World War II era when America built the Interstate Highway System we take for granted today. This is what’s going on today in China, only on steroids. All of this means millions and millions of people buying cars for the first time, and the extent of the growth and the speed at which it’s been achieved is literally unprecedented.
Looking forward, where do you see the industry going? What kinds of trends might you cover in the future?
So much about this industry changes, and yet so much stays the same.
What fascinates me most is the complete lack of certainty about what the auto industry will look like 10, 20 or 50 years from now. Does Tesla push cars toward running on batteries? Does Toyota push cars toward running on hydrogen? Does Google push cars toward going driverless? Does Uber push cars toward becoming more of a utility and less a consumer item? What companies are three years away from becoming the next to shape what the future holds? I’m warming up my popcorn.