Ford blames market conditions, pulls out of Japan, Indonesia

Ford blames market conditions, pulls out of Japan, Indonesia

Article Source from: http://www.toledoblade.com/Automotive/2016/01/25/Ford-blames-market-conditions-pulls-out-of-Japan-Indonesia-2.html#vvDBEwjUZ2MxEIBr.99

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is pulling out of Japan and Indonesia, saying that market conditions in each country have made it difficult to grow sales or make sustained profits.

“Japan is the most closed, developed auto economy in the world, with all imported brands accounting for less than 6% of Japan’s annual new car market,” spokesman Neal McCarthy wrote in an email message. The 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement in its current form will not improve Ford’s ability to complete there, he said. Congress could vote on the pact this year.

Neither market is large for the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker. Last year Ford sold only 6,100 cars and trucks in Indonesia and only 5,000 in Japan, where it has accused the government of protecting domestic brands.

The company in an emailed statement said that the decision was communicated to employees and dealers today. Ford will exit the countries before the end of the year and plans to explain to customers its commitment to servicing cars, providing parts and making warranty repairs.

McCarthy said auto sales are expected to decline in Japan in the coming years. Analysts have said that’s due to an aging population and declining interest in cars among younger people in urban areas.

In Indonesia, it was difficult for Ford to compete without local manufacturing and vehicles to sell in key market segments, McCarthy said. Ford has restructured its business there but still has less than 1 percent of the market with “no reasonable path to sustained profitability,” he said.

When the trade agreement was being negotiated in 2013, Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas and a former head of its Asia-Pacific operations, said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should be told to open the country’s automobile market.

“We hope the U.S. government will send a clear message that any future trade policy with Japan must ensure a level playing field and not come at the expense of American workers,” Hinrichs said.

Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Automotive/2016/01/25/Ford-blames-market-conditions-pulls-out-of-Japan-Indonesia-2.html#vvDBEwjUZ2MxEIBr.99

Mazda6 SKYACTIV wins RJC Car of the Year in Japan

Hiroshima, JAPAN - Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that Mazda6 was selected as the 2014 RJC Car of the Year in the final voting by the Automotive Researchers' and Journalists' Conference of Japan (RJC), a non-profit organisation consisting of Japan-based automotive critics and journalists.

Mazda6 is the flagship model that comes with Mazda’s new generation SKYACTIV Technology and KODO design theme.

Offered with a full suite of SKYACTIV Technology such as SKYACTIV-G, a highly efficient yet powerful new generation petrol engine, or SKYACTIV-D, an environmentally friendly diesel engine, the model delivers strong and spirited driving dynamics together with high quality ride comfort.
Since its launch last November sales of Mazda6 in Japan remain strong. The model received more than 24,000 orders by the end of October, which is almost twice as much as the annual planned sales of 12,000 units.

Eligible models for RJC Car of the Year are mass production vehicles launched between November 1, 2012 and October 31, 2013.

This is the sixth time a Mazda vehicle has won the RJC Car of the Year award. Mazda’s last win was with Mazda2 in 2007.

Here’s Uncle New 2012 Camry – Pricier, Uglier, Old Tech

T

oyota’s seventh-generation Camry, a model which has been synonym with “Uncle’s Car”, is here (espected in June, just 2 months away). This model is the same as the new model in Ukraine whereby the Toyota Aurion is badged as a Camry. Toyota Malaysia website was loaded with teasers, yesterday with the new Camry’s specification and today with the estimated price. When the Korean and Continental cars are churning out mind-boggling designs with all the bells and whistles thrown in, Japanese carmakers seems to be complacent with their past success, at least in Malaysia.

SOURCE: CLICK ME!

Now, let’s look at the specification – the new Camry comes with 2.0E, 2.0G and 2.5V models. Both the 2.0 litre models come with (old) 16-Valve DOHC VVT-i engine producing 109 kW (148 PS) at 6,000 rpm, while the higher end 2.5 litre model which generates 133 kW (181 PS) at 6,000 rpm is using 16 Valve DOHC with Dual VVT-i & ACIS. Fine, maybe the Japanese has mastered the ancient art of “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It”, hence the old engine technology.

However one would foam at mouth when the supposedly “luxury car” model is paired with merely 4-speed Super ECT & Sequential Shifter transmission.Only the 2.5-litre gets the 6-speed Super ECT transmission with Sequential Shifter. Maybe Toyota Malaysia, namely UMW, thought they could rob die-hard fans, Malaysian-Uncles, with such specification that they would have no choice but to choose the highest spec-2.5V model which cost an estimated coolRM183,000 for a piece of the latest Camry. The lower spec 2.0E and 2.0G models are estimated to cost RM152,000 and RM160,000 respectively.

Obviously this is a brilliant plan to trick the Uncles (and Aunties) especially with the push-start feature, sun shades for the rear and side window, Bluetooth hands-free and even 4 Airbags are available only in the 2.5-litre model (2.0-liter models have only 2 Airbags). So if Uncles try to show off his mini features as mentioned, he has to pay for the premium (RM183,000). And do we have to mention the prices for all the models have been increased compare to previous models? Sure, the Yen has appreciated so we can’t expect the Japanese not to increase the price, can we (*grin*)?

As much as the new Camry (or rather UMW-Toyota) attracts unwantedcriticisms on the internet over its daylight robbery with such pathetic specifications and unbelievable price, you can bet your last penny that Uncles would be fighting tooth and nail for this car, thanks to the Japanese-cars-are-good mentality. In fact, we should thank former premier Mahathir for his far-sighted Look-East policy decades ago, never mind that the old man was tricked by Mitsubishi into buying their near-obsolete engines and technology to transfer it into his pet project Proton.

Indirectly it creates great resale-value with cars such as Honda and Toyota. Of course those Uncles thought it was a steal owning a (cheaper) Camry as they mistaken the model as on the same class as BMW and Mercedes. Can you imagine what could happen if Mahathir adopted Look-West policy instead? Maybe BMW 3-series and Mercedes C-Class would cost RM180,000 while Camry would cost you a leg and an arm at RM260,000 (*tongue-in-cheek*).

The new Camry doesn’t look any luxury if you judge by its exterior – it’s fugly.OK, they may use rejected Lexus design for its front but it immediately give away when you look at the rear, not to mention the boring interior. Maybe UMW-Toyota has forgotten that there’s a new kid on the block - Volkswagen.At RM183,000 for the new Camry 2.5 litre, one can look into Passat 1.8I-TSI (turbocharged engine) selling at RM184,888 (CKD only RM173,888) with more bells and whistles than the former. Of course if you still prefer a Japanese car,Honda Accord and Nissan Teana could be your consideration, with couple of thousands as loose change.

Heck, if you care to compare the number of airbags, latest technology for both engines and transmission systems, interior design and features, and whatnot, you actually have tons of options in the market at the price revealed by UMW Toyota. It’s amusing that when other carmakers are packing their models with lots of airbags and at least 6-speed transmission, Toyota chose to rip-off Malaysian buyers instead. I supposed they never learn from their once-famous-but-now-loser-Sony to Apple iPhone story.

But wait a minute – maybe UMW and Toyota thought it would better to make more profits since accident rates in this country is enormously high (so why bother with more airbags) and Uncles and their twins Chow-Ah-Bengs wouldn’t know how to use touch screen GPS and DVD and push-start feature anyway so Awood trimming is sufficient to make them grinning from ear to ear. Consumers need to be more intelligent and should start buying Continental cars to send Japanese carmakers running for their money. Resale value will automatically increase when there’re demands so go figure.

ARTICLE: Fears over 'tsunami cars' landing in Malaysia

Fears over 'tsunami cars' landing in Malaysia

Some of the thousands of damaged cars lined up on a street in Sendai as part of a clean-up operation after the earthquake and tsunami. — NST picture by Sairien Nafis 

 

MALAYSIAN car fans, it seems, are eager to know about the fate of the many damaged cars found scattered in the main areas hit by the recent earthquake and tsunami here. There is now a fear that such vehicles, now commonly called "tsunami Cars", or their parts will make it to Malaysian shores through unofficial or grey market channels.

A check by the New Sunday Times yesterday revealed that the Japanese authorities had been lining up the damaged cars and also new cars affected by the disaster in the main areas of Fukushima, Iwate, Ibaraki and also Sendai.

Most of the cars, with models sold independently in Malaysia, are from established Japanese car makers such as Honda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota.
However, the most common are the popular model variants by Mitsubishi, Toyota and Daihatsu which share a common platform with our local Proton and Perodua cars.

The models range from parts that are compatible with our Proton Wira and Juara to Perodua Kancil, Kenari, Kembara, Myvi and also the recent Viva. According to Japanese car enthusiast K. Kanagawa, most of the cars would be sent to be scrapped as their metal content was considered valuable to the domestic Japanese steel industry.

"However, during the process many will not know what happens to the parts, such as usable engine parts and panels," he said through a translator.

Kanagawa, who is also well-versed with the Japanese export market for parts to Southeast Asian countries, said that there were still thousands of vehicles in good condition with only minor damage not accounted for after the earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

Nevertheless, he said a majority of cars sold in the used car auctions in Japan were sold outside of the affected areas and were mainly concentrated at Osaka (Kobe), Nagoya and Tokyo..

Osaka and Nagoya were not affected at all by the earthquake or by the tsunami. Cars and vehicles stored in the ports were unaffected.

However, Kanagawa is not dismissing the possibility that some exporters will jump at this opportunity to buy any post-tsunami vehicles cheap and then sell them off as "good stock".

Malaysian automotive design engineer and classic Japanese car restorer D.M. Gomez is worried that many car spare parts sent here could have been contaminated by radiation.

"To safeguard the public, I hope and trust all parts, both new and used being shipped out of Japan and coming into the Malaysian market are checked for radiation," said the 32-year-old, who is currently sourcing for rare parts for his Nissan Skyline supercar project.

Gomez expressed confidence that authorities from both sides would be vigilant, but the concern among people who restored classic Japanese cars and even modern ones was a real one.

"I also own a 1988 Honda Civic and some body parts for example, are sourced from wrecker's yards.

"I'm confident that Japanese and Malaysian government agencies will look into this."

Read more: Fears over 'tsunami cars' landing in Malaysia http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/08jipp/Article/#ixzz1H9CHpkQ0

 END OF ARTICLE...

Customers assured of cars and parts despite Japan quake

The Star Business: Monday, March 14, 2011

Customers assured of cars and parts despite Japan quake


SOURCE: http://www.star-motoring.com/News/2011/Customers-are-assured-of-cars-and-parts.aspx

The companies are UMW Toyota Motor, Honda Malaysia, Edaran Tan Chong Motor which distributes Nissan vehicles and Perodua whose technical and technology partner is Daihatsu Motor Company of Japan.

UMW Toyota Motor said its Malaysian customers would not encounter any interruption to the supply of Toyota and Lexus models as sales and order taking would continue as usual.

Delivery schedules to all customers are not affected presently.

Toyota Motor Corp has temporarily suspended production at all plants Monday, March 14 until Wednesday, March 16.

Edaran Tan Chong Motor executive director Datuk Dr Ang Bon Beng said there were no immediate negative impact to the company’s business as there were sufficient inventories for both CKD and CBU models.

Nissan of Japan has temporarily suspended operations of all production facilities in Japan until March 16.

The Japanese company has also pledged to donate 30 million yen (RM1.11mil) to the NGO Japan Platform as initial assistance.

Honda Malaysia said supply of Honda models to Malaysia was normal.

Honda Malaysia managing director and CEO Yoichiro Ueno said, "Our inventory for the four CKD models of Accord, CR-V, Civic, City, and the other four CBU models in Malaysia is sufficient for the next one to two months.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and will make the relevant announcement when we have more information."

Honda Japan has suspended production at all its major plants for a week from March 14 in support of the nationwide recovery efforts.

Meanwhile, Perodua managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said the devastating tsunami and earthquake in Japan has not affected Perodua’s engine components imports from the country nor cause any disruption to its manufacturing plans domestically.

He said between 10% and 20% of engine parts from Japan were used in three Perodua models – the Myvi, ViVA and Alza.

“Our hearts and sympathies go out to the victims and families of this tragedy. To express our heartfelt sympathy Perodua will be donating RM50,000 to the Japanese government through their embassy in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.