Tag - cars

 
 

CARS

New vehicles for sale at a Toyota dealership in El Centro, California. Toyota is planning to spend $88 million at an engine factory in West Virginia to widen its manufacturing footprint in the United States.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2025
Toyota to invest ¥12.5 billion in West Virginia plant amid Trump tariff push
The spending will secure the continued employment of some 2,000 workers at the factory, but a spokesman said it won’t result in any new jobs.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, responds to a question at Haneda Airport in Tokyo ahead of his visit to the United States on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2025
Akazawa, Japan’s tariff czar, jets to Washington for mission impossible 
Tokyo realizes that achieving a satisfactory meeting of the minds with Washington will be a real challenge.
Donald Trump’s complaints about Japan’s auto market are based on misconceptions, as Japan has not imposed car tariffs since 1978 and American cars fail to meet local preferences.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2025
The Japan tariff myth that just won’t die
The belief that unfair trade practices are at fault isn’t only false, but also one of those enduring myths that refuses to die.
A Nissan manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Nissan says it will not take new orders from the United States for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs following new auto tariffs levied by the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 4, 2025
Nissan says it will not take new U.S. orders for Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs
It says it will maintain two shifts of production of its Rogue SUV at its Smyrna, Tennessee, plant following the announcement of new U.S. tariffs on automobiles.
Japanese cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama. The United States will start collecting new 25% import duties on cars and car parts from Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2025
Japan has some cards to play in trade war with the United States 
It could offer voluntary restraints on exports, or it could offer to buy more from the U.S. in order to reduce the trade surplus with that country.
The logo of Xiaomi is seen on a tire wheel of the SU7, the company's first electric vehicle, on display at a showroom in Beijing on March 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2025
Three reported dead after Xiaomi car with driver assistance crashes
The incident is likely to spark scrutiny over the smart driving software deployed in many of today’s cars.
The BYD logo is displayed at the Beijing Auto Show on April 25, 2024. The Chinese battery and carmaker saw a surge in revenue last year, a stock filing showed on Monday, surpassing the $100 billion mark and beating rival Tesla as the Shenzhen-based firm accelerates its overseas expansion.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 25, 2025
BYD sales top Tesla as tech focus wins over Chinese drivers
BYD has risen quickly to the top of China’s car market — the world’s biggest and most competitive for electric vehicles.
The Environment Ministry plans to have recycled plastics account for at least 15% of overall plastics used in the production of new vehicle models, at a time when the European Union is looking to make using recycled plastics mandatory in vehicle production.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025
Japan aims to use 15% recycled plastics in auto production
Recycled plastics have rarely been used in vehicle production in Japan due to poor quality and insufficient supply.
Many Japanese companies are exporting more to the United States to get ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
Japanese firms boost exports to U.S. to get ahead of tariffs
Overall, Japanese exports to the U.S. jumped 8.1% in January to ¥1.5 trillion ($10 billion), the highest for the month in at least 19 years.
The number of fatal bicycle accidents and those causing serious injury that were attributed to cyclists' mobile phone use totaled 28 in 2024, a record high. Similarly, the number of such accidents involving cars driven by drivers distracted by mobile phones rose to the highest on record, at 136 cases.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2025
Accidents caused by distracted drivers hit record high in 2024
A total of 136 fatal car accidents and those resulting in serious injury due to mobile phone use were recorded last year, the highest since at least 2007.
Masanori Katayama (center), chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association, speaks during a meeting with trade and industry minister Yoji Muto at the ministry on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2025
Japanese auto industry seeks government help against U.S. tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he wants to impose 25% tariffs on imports of autos as soon as April 2.
After U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to impose tariffs of 25% on automobile imports to the United States, Japanese automakers are cautiously looking for ways to handle the situation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025
Major Japanese automakers wary of Trump tariffs
The U.S. president says he plans to impose tariffs of 25% on automobile imports to the U.S., though he has not said which countries would be subject to them.
A gasoline blend containing bioethanol is sold at a gas station in Illinois in December. The United States and Brazil are keen to expand exports of bioethanol to Japan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2025
With 2050 net-zero goal on horizon, momentum builds for biofuel in Japan
Experts hope the increasing push for use of biofuels in gasoline-powered vehicles may help shift public awareness on environmental issues.
The Tesla gigafactory in Austin, Texas. Nothing in Texas law would stop Tesla from launching a robotaxi service.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2025
Tesla robotaxis by June? Musk turns to Texas for hands-off regulation
Nothing in Texas law would stop Tesla from launching a robotaxi service.
Nissan President Makoto Uchida (left), Honda President Toshihiro Mibe and Mitsubishi Motors President Takao Kato at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 23.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2025
Honda and Nissan to unveil integration outline in mid-February
Mitsubishi Motors will postpone making a final decision on whether to join the integration.
An employee at an auto parts maker in Ota, Gunma Prefecture. The automotive industries, which give fewer days off than other sectors do, are falling behind in the recruitment of new workers.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2025
Japan auto unions aiming to get five more days off in 2025
The number of nonworking days in the automotive industries has not increased in recent years and lags behind other sectors.
Nissan's Ariya electric crossover sport utility vehicle on the production line at the company's plant in Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Japan’s carmakers vow closer ties to regain ground in China
Japan’s automakers are united in their struggle to regain ground they’ve lost to the flashy offerings that have turned China into a global EV superpower.
A Tesla showroom in Beijing in January 2024. In today's world, the car isn’t the biggest moneymaker for automakers; instead, it is the services attached to the connected vehicle.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2025
China’s EVs may change the world in unimaginable ways
China has about 100 EV brands and they claim about 80% of the new electric vehicle market.
A transport ministry panel experiments with a dummy to determine how quickly a person lying on the road during the night would be spotted when drivers use low and high beam lights.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 27, 2024
Japan drivers warned to steer clear of drunk pedestrians sleeping on road
Collisions involving pedestrians asleep on the road typically spike in December, when more people get imbibed at New Year's gatherings.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe speaks during a joint news conference with heads of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors on their merger talks in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 24, 2024
Honda crafts Nissan rescue plan that plays out over years
While executives called the transaction a merger, Honda will take the lead in forming the new entity and nominate a majority of its directors.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.