Tag - carmakers

 
 

CARMAKERS

An employee of Nissan Motor works on a Leaf electric car on an assembly line at its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2025
Factory that symbolized Nissan's rise may become victim of its decline
Nissan faces a mountain of debt repayment and is scrambling to upgrade its aging lineup of vehicles, but hasn't said which of its 17 plants will be closed.
Workers assemble a Nissan Juke at the production line at Nissan's factory in Sunderland, England, in November 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025
Nissan seeks to raise $7 billion with backing from U.K. government
The struggling automaker plans to issue debt and sell assets to raise funds for keeping its operations on track, according to internal documents.
A view of the construction site of BYD's electric vehicle factory at the Industrial Complex in the city of Camacari, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, on Jan. 9
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025
Brazil sues EV giant BYD over ‘slavery’ conditions at plant
Prosecutors said 220 Chinese workers were found in December in conditions "analogous to slavery” and described them as victims of human trafficking.
An employee of Kyowa Industrial walks next to the company's factory in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2025
Tariff crossfire hits Toyota, Nissan and Ford suppliers in Japan
Thousands of small and midsize makers of auto parts in Japan, including suppliers for Toyota and Nissan, are facing a crisis as U.S. tariffs threaten their bottom lines.
Honda's assembly plant in Greensburg, Indiana, seen Friday, makes the hybrid and gasoline versions of its popular CR-V SUV and flagship Civic.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2025
Honda to boost hybrid vehicle production in U.S.
The automaker will also expand procurement of U.S.-made vehicle parts, including batteries for hybrid vehicles.
Institutional Shareholder Services backed the reappointment of Chairman Akio Toyoda to Toyota’s board, reversing its position from a year ago.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2025
ISS reverses stance and backs Toyota chief's reappointment
"There are no particular concerns about the nominee,” Institutional Shareholder Services said of Akio Toyoda in a report Thursday.
Toyota executives say the automaker is listening to U.S. dealer requests for a truck smaller than the brand’s best-selling Tacoma midsize and Tundra full-size pickups.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2025
Toyota considers making tiny trucks for U.S. market as demand booms
Full-size and midsize pickups dominate the U.S. market, but their price — along with their size — have increased steadily in recent years.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda. Toyota Industries investor Zennor Asset Management said a plan by Toyoda to take over the Japanese auto parts maker raises governance issues and may undermine minority shareholders’ interests.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2025
Toyota Industries investor Zennor says it wants minority safeguards
A founding partner of Zennor said the buyout plan would benefit the founding family and may undervalue the target’s stock and real estate holdings.
A RAV4 model in 2018. The latest generation of the compact crossover available later this year comes equipped with a standard or plug-in hybrid powertrain, dropping the gas-powered option that makes up the bulk of current sales in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2025
Toyota takes all-hybrid plunge with its bestselling U.S. vehicle
Toyota has long been skeptical of the industry push to go all-in on fully electric vehicles, opting instead for a multipronged approach.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe says the company's investment plans for electric vehicles have been scaled back during a news conference in Tokyo Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025
Honda walks back EV investment and sales targets on poor demand
Honda now sees hybrids accounting for 2.2 million of 3.6 million in global sales by 2030, up from the 2 million it previously saw.
A lot at a Nissan plant in Mexico. The company may have overextended itself during the Ghosn era.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 20, 2025
Nissan’s troubles might go all the way back to Ghosn 
Some analysts argue that aggressive expansion by the iconoclastic executive left the company overextended.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, at a news conference on Tuesday. He said that when Japan states it wants the tariffs reviewed, it means Tokyo wants them removed.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2025
Japan confirms hard-line position ahead of possible tariff talks in Washington
Tokyo wants all new levies put into place by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump completely removed.
Toyota Industries' Nagakusa plant in Obu, Aichi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025
Toyota Industries to accept tender offer from Toyota Motor group
The trend comes amid rising pressure from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and activist shareholders to dismantle what are called parent-child listings.
Nissan's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, may be closed as part of the struggling carmaker's streamlining efforts.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2025
Nissan to solicit early retirements while eyeing plant closures in Japan
The move comes after sources said a day earlier that the carmaker was considering closing two plants in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in the Oval Office of the White House in April. Since then, Japan's trade negotiations with the U.S. have produced no tangible results.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 16, 2025
Akazawa's dilemma: no tariff deal or a half-baked deal
Japan has realized the U.S. has no intention of seriously talking about duties on automobiles now.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariff czar, after the first round of talks in Washington. Media reports indicate he may be headed back to the United States next week for the third round of negotiations.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Third round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks may be held next week: report
Akazawa’s two previous visits to Washington yielded no tangible results.
Carlos Ghosn, then president and CEO of Nissan Motor and Renault, delivers a speech during an opening ceremony of a Nissan car factory in St. Petersburg in June 2009.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2025
Nissan is dying and taking globalization with it
Nissan is a Japanese business in name only: Despite accounting for 45% of jobs and about 35% of manufacturing assets, just 16% of sales are at home.
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
No matter what happens, they expect the new levies to cost them a lot.
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa in Tokyo as the company releases its results
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Nissan gets ‘wake-up call’ with $4.5 billion annual net loss
The company plans more than 10,000 job cuts globally in addition to the 9,000 cuts announced previously.
Operating profit is forecast to land at around ¥500 billion ($3.4 billion) in the current fiscal year through March 2026, falling far short of analyst estimates of ¥1.35 trillion, Honda said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Honda signals profit drop and warns of $3 billion tariff hit
Honda will have to go it alone after a tie-up with Nissan fell through as the global auto market is roiled by U.S. tariffs and intense competition in China.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.