Honda Shared Auto Cars Sdn. Bhd.

At the end of my long and fruitful 6-month industrial training experience, I was at Shared Auto Cars Sdn. Bhd. (SACSB) 3S Honda authorized dealer. It is located in Shah Alam, Selangor. SACSB was founded in 2001 on the values of honesty, respect and the three joys, which include joy of buying, selling and creating and has a good brand association attached to Honda Malaysia. SACSB as part of its core services offers new vehicle sales, after sales services, spare parts, insurance (HIP), loan facilities and customer conveniences of focusing on holistic and satisfying automobile experiences. As an intern in the Marketing Department, I dealt with the activities and actual brand campaigns, which means I was more exposed to practical tips and practices within social media marketing via Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok platforms and online apps. I also had duties and responsibilities in the inventory, operations and the administrative roles of the shop helping me develop some valuable technical and interpersonal skills that included; multitasking, flexibility and communications in team work. The SWOT analysis of SACSB showed a number of things. The most relevant was the strategic location in the urban area and the association with Hondas and the showroom was relatively small and it had no freedom because all SACSB is under the control of Hondas Malaysia, the central authority. The opportunities discovered were an increased demand on after-sales services and the expansion of interest in the hybrid/EV vehicles whereas the threats were the economic uncertainties and effects of adverse online reviews. Suggestions recommended were to conduct better visibility of the show room with virtual display solutions, build confidence and trust through integration of apps, provide value added differentiation such as establishment of loyalty programs and a coherent EV-centred education program. Moreover, the proposed options as financial flexibility and online reputation management structures were considered to eliminate market challenges and retain consumer confidence. Finally, the internship has been of great benefit to my professional career since it has enabled me to merge theory and practice in academics with the real world. It has equipped me with knowledge about the challenges that I will face in the future in marketing, it has also equipped me with practical experience, it has refined my technical and soft skills, and it has taught me more about how businesses operate under the Malaysian automotive industry.