Tag - cars

 
 

CARS

BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2025
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
The Chinese EV manufacturer’s Racco minivehicle is its first model exclusively made for a specific market.
Toyota has managed to achieve overall growth, despite volatility in China and trade tensions brought about by U.S. tariffs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 27, 2025
Toyota posts record first-half sales amid growth in the U.S.
The world’s biggest carmaker has managed to achieve overall growth, despite volatility in China and trade tensions brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Nissan project leader Junichi Inoue stands in front of the company's prototype electric minivehicle that can be charged using an onboard solar power generation system, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Oct. 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2025
Nissan develops solar-powered electric minivehicle
The vehicle can eliminate the need for grid-based charging if used mainly for short-distance driving including for commuting or shopping.
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.
COMMUNITY / Issues / Longform
Oct 22, 2025
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
From the desperate and defeated to the blissful and breezy, readers share their experiences of getting a driver’s license in Japan.
A worker inspects a tire on a production line of a Toyo Tire plant in Sendai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2025
Toyo Tire on track to beat profit guidance, CEO says
Takashi Shimizu, the tiremaker's CEO, plans to start buying back shares amid resilient U.S. demand.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed orders expanding credits for U.S. auto and engine production and setting new 25% tariffs on imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts starting Nov. 1.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2025
Trump OKs expanding credits for U.S. auto production and issues 25% truck duties
The tariffs, which the orders say are being made on national security grounds, are aimed at shifting more auto production to the United States.
A deal for TiAuto would give Marubeni a foothold in Africa’s largest economy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2025
Marubeni in talks to acquire Carlyle-backed TiAuto
The deal for the South African retailer of automotive tires and parts may be valued at about 2.6 billion rand ($149 million).
Silicon semiconductor wafers pass through a wet chemical cleaning machine at a Nexperia plant. The company is the latest to be caught in an escalating global trade spat leading up to China’s high-stakes talks with the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2025
Carmakers push to secure chips as China trade spat escalates
While Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump are to meet this month to hammer out a trade accord, both sides announced restrictions that have raised tensions.
Bridgestone CEO Shuichi Ishibashi says truck tire demand for new vehicles in the U.S. has fallen sharply since early August.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 14, 2025
Bridgestone CEO sees U.S. slowdown, cyberattack and tariffs hurting business
The challenges in North America are testing Bridgestone's ability to defend margins and sustain growth, a familiar refrain for Japan’s export-driven manufacturers.
A Ford F-150 pickup truck on the assembly line at a factory in Dearborn, Michigan. The Japanese government might be considering the purchase of some of the pickup trucks to meet its obligations as part of a trade deal with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 10, 2025
Ford F-150 might be imported by the Japanese government: report
The pickup trucks would be used by local transport ministry offices for construction and road patrols.
Toyota sold 10.8 million cars in 2024, a slight drop from the previous year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2025
Toyota arm that keeps 150 million cars on road also top-earning
Toyota’s value chain arm is set to exceed operating profit from new car sales during the fiscal year ending March 2026 after reaching a record ¥2 trillion the previous year.
Isuzu Chairman Masanori Katayama (third from left) and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (center) attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the firm's vehicle plant in South Carolina on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2025
Isuzu to build first independent U.S. plant
The Japanese commercial vehicle maker aims to ease the impact of high U.S. tariffs by expanding local production.
The ruling and opposition parties hold talks at the parliament building on Sept. 5 over a proposal to scrap the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Oct 1, 2025
Ruling-opposition talks on gasoline tax cut stall ahead of LDP election
The slowdown is widely attributed to the political lull caused by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election slated for Saturday.
Toyota aims to install 500 fast chargers for electric vehicles at its dealerships in Japan by the end of March 2026.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 30, 2025
Toyota steps up high-speed EV charger installations at dealerships
The carmaker aims to have 500 fast chargers installed at dealerships in Japan by the end of March 2026.
A BYD Dolphin during a test drive in Yokohama. Due to poor sales in Japan, BYD is offering discounts of up to ¥1 million.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 29, 2025
BYD brings price war to Japan in bid to win over customers
BYD is now turning to discounts — a practice that’s put it front and center of an industry crackdown in China — to try and boost sales.
While the World Endurance Championship is seeing increased popularity overseas, the same level of success has eluded organizers in Japan.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 28, 2025
At Fuji Speedway, WEC rides motorsports momentum to 100th race
The milestone race comes amid a global motorsports boom fueled by Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” series and Brad Pitt’s “F1” Hollywood film.
Honda announced Wednesday that it has ended production of the Acura ZDX luxury electric vehicle developed in collaboration with General Motors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 25, 2025
Honda pulls plug on Acura ZDX luxury EV
The automaker said the decision reflected a slowdown in EV demand and other market changes.
Nissan’s ProPilot navigates traffic while under human supervision during a test drive in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 22, 2025
Nissan revamps ProPilot to rival Tesla's driver-assist technology
The next version will be able to take on complex city streets using fewer cameras and monitors thanks to artificial intelligence software.
Japan's exports slipped 0.1% in August from a year earlier, led by a 13.8% drop in the value of shipments to the U.S., with cars the main drag.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2025
Japan’s exports fall for fourth month as U.S. shipments tumble
Exports slipped 0.1% in August from a year earlier, led by cars and steel, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday.
The Audi E5 Sportback, the first model of Audi's series of electric vehicles jointly developed with SAIC, is showcased at a Volkswagen event in Shanghai in April.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 14, 2025
How Chinese EV tech is reshaping global auto design
Licensing deals with major automakers make up relatively small but growing revenue streams for Chinese EV-makers and offer a new quid-pro-quo.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes