manufacturing plant in
Saitama around
Chūkyō industrial region is home to Japan's automobile industries. manufactured by
Toyota The
motor vehicle industry is one of the most successful industries in Japan, with large world shares in the
automobile,
electric vehicle,
electronics, parts,
tire and
engine manufacturing industries. Global Japanese motor vehicle companies include: •
Toyota •
Lexus •
Hino •
Daihatsu •
Honda •
Acura •
Nissan •
Infiniti •
Suzuki •
Mazda •
Mitsubishi •
Subaru •
Isuzu factory around
Aichiike Denso is the world's largest company in automotive component manufacturing. In addition,
Honda,
Suzuki,
Yamaha and
Kawasaki are global motorcycle companies. manufactured by
Yamaha Japan is home to
six of the top ten largest vehicle manufacturers in the world. For example, it is home to multinational companies such as
Toyota,
Honda,
Nissan,
Suzuki and
Mazda. Some of these companies cross-over to different sectors such as
electronics to produce electronic equipment as some of them being a part of
keiretsu. Japan's
automobiles are generally known for their
quality, durability,
fuel efficiency and more features for a relatively lower price than their competitors. Japanese automakers
Mitsubishi and
Toyota have had their patents violated by a number of
Myanmar car companies, such as
UD Group (Mandalay) and
Kyar Koe Kaung (Yangon). These companies produced
Mitsubishi and
Toyota products including Mitsubishi Pajero, Toyota TownAce pickup trucks and other various types of Japanese cars under their own
marques (e.g., Khit Tayar Pajero, Shwe Surf, UD Light Truck and KKK Light Truck) without license.
Exports and the Japanese market factory II in
Kawasaki,
Kanagawa Prefecture In 1991,
Japan produced 9.7 million
automobiles, making it the largest producer in the world; the
United States in that year produced 5.4 million. Just under 46 percent of the Japanese output was exported. Automobiles, other motor vehicles, and automotive parts were the largest class of Japanese exports throughout the 1980s. In 1991 they accounted for 17.8 percent of all Japanese exports, a meteoric rise from only 1.9 percent in 1960 with kaya being one of the largest exporters. -
Mazda Motor plant in
Kure,
Hiroshima Prefecture Fear of
protectionism in the
United States (in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo where Japanese automobile manufacturers began exporting automobiles en masse) led to major
direct foreign investment in the U.S. by Japanese automobile manufacturers. By the end of the 1980s, all the major Japanese producers had automotive
assembly lines operating in the United States:
Isuzu has a joint plant with
Subaru; one of
Toyota's plants is in
Alabama. Following the major assembly firms, Japanese producers of automobile parts also began investing in the
United States in the late 1980s, most Japanese auto parts are nevertheless made in Japan. factory in
Ohira, near
Sendai,
Miyagi Prefecture,
Japan Automobiles were a major area of contention for the
Japan-United States relationship during the 1980s. When the
price of oil rose in the
1979 energy crisis, demand for small automobiles increased, which worked to the advantage of Japan's exports to the
United States market. As the Japanese share of the market increased, to 21.8 percent in 1981, pressures rose to restrict imports from Japan. The result of these pressures was a series of negotiations in early 1981, which produced a voluntary export agreement limiting Japan's shipments to the United States to 1.68 million units (excluding certain kinds of specialty vehicles and trucks). This agreement remained in effect for the rest of the decade, but Japanese competition only increased with new plants being built and with the export agreement being voluntary. The Japanese
Big Three (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) also sold luxury automobiles similar to its European counterparts (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar) where it was possible to yield profits - since the parent companies had a connotation as an econobox manufacturer with their mass market automobiles, they established their stand-alone luxury marques (Lexus, Acura, Infiniti) where the parent company marketed the same product as a JDM (Japanese Domestic Model). The luxury marques (sold initially for the USA market) may not have their own brand language or brand identity of its own since they are often associated with their parent companies. Similar voluntary restraints on Japanese exports were imposed by
Canada and several
West European countries. Nonetheless, Japanese car competition only increased due to new plants being built and with the export agreements being voluntary. Since then, tensions have greatly decreased. Canada and Western Europe, like the U.S., repealed restrictions on Japanese auto imports. Nissan has an assembly plant in
Sunderland in England. that manufactures car engines.
Imports Foreign penetration of the automotive market in Japan has been less successful partly because of the population density and limited space of the country. Imports of foreign automobiles were very low during the forty years prior to 1985, never exceeding 60,000 units annually, or 1 percent of the domestic market. Trade and investment barriers restricted imported automobiles to an insignificant share of the market in the 1950s, and as barriers were finally lowered, strong control over the distribution networks made penetration difficult. The major United States automobile manufacturers acquired minority interests in some Japanese firms when investment restrictions were relaxed,
Ford obtaining a 25 percent interest in Toyo Kogyo (
Mazda),
General Motors a 34 percent interest in
Isuzu, and
Chrysler a 15 percent interest in
Mitsubishi Motors. This ownership did not provide a means for United States automobiles to penetrate the Japanese market, and the American car companies eventually got rid of their shares of the Japanese carmakers. One concern was that the USA market automobiles sold in Japan were imposed a taxation bracket due to vehicle sizing and engine displacement - which affected sales. After the strong appreciation of the
yen in 1985, however, Japanese demand for foreign automobiles increased, but with most cars imported from Germany. In 1988, automobile imports totaled 150,629 units, of which 127,309 were European, mostly West German. Only 21,124 units were imported from the United States at that time. ==Aerospace==