In his previous life, the rubber plantation industry had always remained neither hot nor cold. Of course, this was more due to limitations of conditions—in other words, this cash crop was rather finicky and difficult to tend, subject to geographical constraints and carrying high risks.
Yet market demand was enormous and supply had always fallen short of demand. In Ernst's view, even if the planting scale expanded tenfold, the market could still swallow it whole, because rubber's properties were simply too superior and it could serve as a cheaper substitute for many materials.
Karina found Ernst's train of thought wildly leaping yet quite interesting. She said, "Even the tire business could become enormous, I think. After all, these hollow pneumatic tires can be used on many kinds of vehicles. If even horse-drawn carriages were fitted with hollow pneumatic tires, that alone would be an astronomical figure."
Ernst held Karina's little hand and gave it a squeeze. "Naturally. In the future, the mainstream wheels used on vehicles will, barring surprises, largely be replaced by hollow pneumatic tires. They are easy to replace and repair, improve vehicle stability, and enhance riding comfort... They have countless advantages. And there are so many horse-drawn carriages in Europe. The economic value represented by that market alone is astronomical. Although carriages will be eliminated by automobiles in the future, that process may last at least thirty years."
The timeframe Ernst mentioned was extremely conservative. Even in the twenty-first century, animal-powered vehicles had not been replaced. Some countries had a truly pitiful number of automobiles, and in certain African countries and regions, even an eighteenth-hand car could be used as a taxi.
Of course, Ernst was mainly referring to rural areas. When he had worked in Africa himself, there had still been plenty of cars in African