Tag - cars

 
 

CARS

Nissan's popular "<i>kei</i> car" Roox is seen displayed outside the company's global headquarters in Yokohama in November.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2025
Nissan updates popular 'kei car' as it revamps aging lineup
The fourth-generation Roox, better mileage, more safety features and built-in connectivity, will go on sale by the end of the year for ¥1.6 million.
Exports fell 2.6% in value in July from a year earlier, posting the biggest downturn since February 2021, led by cars, auto parts and steel.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 20, 2025
Japan’s exports tumble most in four years as U.S. tariff pain intensifies
Exports fell 2.6% in value from a year earlier, sliding more than the median forecast of a 2.1% decline, the Finance Ministry has reported.
Nissan workers walk outside its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Nissan plans to shut the plant by the end of fiscal 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 18, 2025
A factory town in crisis shows Japan’s fading manufacturing era
Nissan directly employs almost 10% of Oppama’s 29,700 residents, but its factory is set to shut down by 2028.
The Maruti Suzuki India e-Vitara electric vehicle unveiled during the Bharat Mobility Global Expo in New Delhi in January
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 13, 2025
Suzuki’s India unit doubles down on SUVs as small cars slide
The nation’s top carmaker is scrambling to counter slowing demand for its bread-and-butter small cars.
Toyota Motor vehicles displayed for sale at one of the company's dealerships in Tokyo. The carmaker reported operating income of ¥1.17 trillion in the first quarter, down 11% from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 7, 2025
Toyota braces for ¥1.4 trillion dent in operating income under U.S. tariffs
The carmaker reported operating income of ¥1.17 trillion in the first quarter, down 11% from a year earlier, with a tariff impact of ¥450 billion.
Car dealerships in Tokyo. Some of Japan's automakers are raising loan rates amid higher costs for servicing loans.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2025
Japan carmakers put squeeze on households with higher loan rates
More than a year after the Bank of Japan’s first interest rate increase in 17 years, the volatile march higher in superlong bonds is raising the cost of servicing loans.
Exports measured by value dropped 0.5% in June from a year earlier, apparently reflecting the impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 17, 2025
Japan’s exports fall as U.S. tariffs stoke recession risks
Exports measured by value dropped 0.5% in June from a year earlier, led by cars and steel, the Finance Ministry reported.
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2025
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
The stricter measures come in response to a series of high-profile car accidents caused by foreign drivers.
In June, the export price index for vehicles shipped to North America plunged 19.4% from a year earlier on a contract currency basis.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 10, 2025
Japanese carmakers slash export prices to U.S. to offset tariff hit
The move raises concerns over companies’ profitability and whether they can continue to keep raising wages at home.
Lei Jun introduces the Xiaomi YU7 sport utility vehicle during a launch event in Beijing on June 26.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 7, 2025
Xiaomi founder’s bold EV bet is paying off where Apple’s failed
The tech firm's success in the EV space has burnished founder Lei Jun’s reputation, making it one of the most valuable companies in China.
A Xiaomi SU7 sedan in Beijing. Regulators have been finalizing new safety rules for driver-assistance systems as Beijing sharpens scrutiny of the technology following an accident involving a Xiaomi SU7 sedan in March.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Jul 5, 2025
China urges caution — and speed — on assisted-driving technology
Driver-assistance systems are seen by industry analysts as the next big battleground in China's hypercompetitive car market.
The Maruti Suzuki India e-Vitara during the Bharat Mobility Global Expo in New Delhi in January
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2025
Suzuki is becoming a top Japan importer with made-in-India cars
Suzuki beat out Mercedes-Benz to become Japan’s top car importer in June, thanks to the Jimny Nomad and another popular small SUV assembled in India.
Toyota only lifted prices on some models by a few hundred dollars in the U.S. market in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2025
Japan’s carmakers absorbing tariffs may bolster Trump's position
Just three of Japan’s six major automakers have raised prices in the U.S., and only Subaru’s hike has come close to the 25% tariff imposed on imported vehicles.
A 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander at the Chicago Auto Show in 2023. Last month, Toyota sold 11,577 Grand Highlander SUVs, which its head of brand sales in the U.S. said was the "fastest-turning product in the lineup.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
Toyota delays EV plans to boost gas-fueled SUV output
The postponement comes amid softening demand for EVs in the U.S.
Japanese automakers make 3.3 million cars in the U.S. a year, far more than the 1.37 million that they ship there, Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2025
Japan can’t accept 25% car tariffs, Akazawa reiterates
Japanese automakers make roughly 3.3 million cars in the U.S. a year, far more than the 1.37 million that they ship there, the negotiator said.
Toyota has filed a lawsuit in a South African court over 2022 flood damages that shuttered its plant near Durban.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2025
Toyota insurer files $361 million South Africa flood damage lawsuit
The claim alleges that by failing to maintain waterways and drainage systems that carried the floodwater, the defendants shared responsibility for the damage.
KG Motors CEO Kazunari Kusunoki with the ultra compact electric vehicle Mibot
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2025
This $7,000 single-seat electric car has become a hit in Japan
In the rural suburbs of Hiroshima, a Japanese startup is trying to kick-start the nation’s electric vehicle market with the smallest, cheapest car it can possibly make.
Mitsubishi Motors is raising prices on some of its models, including the gasoline version of Outlander Sport sold in the U.S. market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2025
Mitsubishi Motors raises U.S. prices as tariffs roil carmakers
The new prices will affect vehicles delivered after Wednesday and won’t be applied to cars currently on display in showrooms.
The all-electric Nissan Leaf has sold almost 700,000 units since it was originally released in 2010, making the Japanese carmaker an EV pioneer.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2025
The world’s first mass market electric car is getting a facelift
Nissan Motor's push to breathe new life into its lineup will see the debut of an updated version of the Leaf.
The launch of Vayve Mobility Eva, India's first solar electric vehicle, at the New Delhi auto show in January. An uptick in SEV development and adoption could help least developed and small island states leapfrog to a cleaner transport sector.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2025
Solar EVs are a ray of hope for cutting emissions
Decarbonizing transport is key to cutting emissions in least developed and small island developing states, where travel demand is growing. Solar EVs offer a bright way forward.

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From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past