Being from a fairly small market that's big enough to think it's special, this is something I'm very aware of.
Many markets have localized design requirements that car manufacturers need to meet to be able to sell cars there. Often cars that meet these requirements because the country they come from have more stringent requirements, the new market will still require a full test program to prove it.
These requirements cover a huge range of things from standard safety fittings like seat belts and air bags to much more detailed demands such as fuel tank placement, side intrusion protection and even windshield angle requirements .
Meeting these requirements is expensive, so much so that manufacturers often choose not to sell cars in certain markets because there is a very real risk they won't recover the costs of making the car meet the local design requirements
These expenses were simulated in the previous editions by the trims people were making for different regions though that wasn't that accurate.
I don't know when these design rules started to kick in but I think it was somewhere around the 30's in most countries.
I don't know if this is the best way to handle this idea, other people might have better suggestions, but here's my suggestion:
In the vehicle design screen add in another button for "Localization" with a series of check boxes for different markets. The game should turn on the check boxes for any markets you have a branch in and default all others off but let the player turn on and off whatever they want. Each check box selected would add maybe 5-10% to the R&D cost for the vehicle but you can't sell in any market you haven't checked the box for.
The biggest issue I see with this approach is how to handle meeting the local design requirements for a new market for an already completed vehicle. It should be possible to do this and it should be more expensive and time consuming than doing it during the original development.
Many markets have localized design requirements that car manufacturers need to meet to be able to sell cars there. Often cars that meet these requirements because the country they come from have more stringent requirements, the new market will still require a full test program to prove it.
These requirements cover a huge range of things from standard safety fittings like seat belts and air bags to much more detailed demands such as fuel tank placement, side intrusion protection and even windshield angle requirements .
Meeting these requirements is expensive, so much so that manufacturers often choose not to sell cars in certain markets because there is a very real risk they won't recover the costs of making the car meet the local design requirements
These expenses were simulated in the previous editions by the trims people were making for different regions though that wasn't that accurate.
I don't know when these design rules started to kick in but I think it was somewhere around the 30's in most countries.
I don't know if this is the best way to handle this idea, other people might have better suggestions, but here's my suggestion:
In the vehicle design screen add in another button for "Localization" with a series of check boxes for different markets. The game should turn on the check boxes for any markets you have a branch in and default all others off but let the player turn on and off whatever they want. Each check box selected would add maybe 5-10% to the R&D cost for the vehicle but you can't sell in any market you haven't checked the box for.
The biggest issue I see with this approach is how to handle meeting the local design requirements for a new market for an already completed vehicle. It should be possible to do this and it should be more expensive and time consuming than doing it during the original development.