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1 month ago
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Source: AFP
With their sleek curves and chrome grilles, the classical American cars connected merchantability astatine Yosuke Fukuda's gait ooze Californian chill but connected Japanese roads caller US vehicles are a uncommon show -- overmuch to President Donald Trump's annoyance.
Japan's Toyota is the second-top-selling automaker successful the United States, wherever it shifted much than 2.3 cardinal vehicles past year.
Meanwhile US industry person General Motors sold conscionable 587 Chevrolets and 449 Cadillacs successful Japan, portion Ford pulled retired of the pugnacious Japanese marketplace astir a decennary ago.
And it's not conscionable an aversion to overseas brands -- successful 2024 Mercedes-Benz sold much than 53,000 vehicles and BMW sold implicit 52,000 including Minis.
"They don't instrumentality our cars, but we instrumentality MILLIONS of theirs!" Trump said successful April, accusing Japan of treating its state "very poorly connected trade".
To effort and rev up the US car industry, Trump has imposed a 25 percent levy connected imported vehicles, successful a large stroke to Tokyo.
Many people successful Japan respect vintage US cars, but erstwhile it comes to caller wheels, they clasp much spot successful home brands, Fukuda told AFP.
Source: AFP
West Coast hip-hop booms retired astatine his store Y-Tech, an incongruous portion of Americana amid the atom paddies northbound of Tokyo.
"To beryllium honorable I deliberation the occupation is the size of the roads," arsenic good arsenic an content that US cars interruption down much often, which is apt unfounded, Fukuda said.
At his garage, the 20 oregon truthful classical US models successful varying states of restoration see a silver-green 1970 Chevrolet Nova and a 1954 Buick Roadmaster.
But Fukuda besides drives a modern SUV -- a General Motors Yukon, which is 2 metres (6.5 feet) wide and "sticks retired oregon is packed in" erstwhile parked successful Tokyo's constrictive streets.
Although immoderate US cars are smaller, the brands stay a niche prime due to the fact that "there are hardly immoderate places that merchantability them oregon repair them", helium said.
'Bowling shot test'
Yuka Fujimoto, a 42-year-old modelling bureau manager, told AFP she had ne'er considered buying a US car.
"American cars don't merchantability precise well" successful Japan, wherever home automakers connection "a wide scope of line-ups including for families", she said.
However Trump believes Japan is keeping retired American cars with "non-tariff cheating".
Source: AFP
This includes "Protective Technical Standards (Japan's bowling shot test)" helium wrote past period connected Truth Social.
"They instrumentality a bowling shot from 20 feet up successful the aerial and they driblet it connected the hood of the car. And if the hood dents, past the car doesn't qualify," Trump reportedly elaborated successful 2018.
A Japanese transport ministry authoritative successful complaint of information standards told AFP that nary existent bowling balls are used.
Trump "may beryllium mixing it up with a trial wherever a hemispherical quality caput exemplary is deed connected the hood", the authoritative said.
But the car's bonnet is successful information required to dent to sorb the impact, helium explained.
Tweaking Japan's conveyance import procedures is simply a imaginable bargaining spot for Tokyo successful tariff talks with Washington.
The state could connection to widen entree to a simplified screening process which presently applies to 5,000 vehicles per exemplary annually, Japanese media reports said.
Fuel ratio
Trump's car tariffs person already brought immoderate changes, with Nissan past period revising plans to trim US production.
Meanwhile Honda is moving accumulation of its hybrid Civic exemplary from Japan to the United States, saying nary "single issue" had prompted the decision.
But US carmakers inactive look the occupation of tepid request among Japanese consumers.
Hisashi Uchida, a 56-year-old operation steadfast employee, said his Toyota car "doesn't person immoderate peculiar features, but it doesn't interruption down".
"Many American cars can't beryllium parked astatine multi-storey parking lots, and their substance ratio isn't good," helium said.
Overall "I don't deliberation US carmakers are truly putting value connected the Japanese market, which is importantly smaller than their location market", said Masamitsu Misawa, main exertion of Japanese conveyance mag Car Top.
In contrast, German car brands connection a amended scope and their designs "better lucifer Japanese people's tastes", helium told AFP.
Cars successful Japan thrust connected the left, and dissimilar US rivals European automakers usually enactment the steering instrumentality connected the close broadside for vehicles sold there, helium added.
That could beryllium changing. General Motors' 8th-generation Chevrolet Corvette has right-hand thrust successful Japan for the archetypal time.
"I deliberation that reflects efforts (for selling successful Japan) by manufacturers and importers," Misawa said.
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Source: AFP
