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Half of Chinese car buyers won't shop Japanese over hard feelings

The hard feelings between China and Japan is no real secret. Besides modern-day disputes, the two countries have had a long-running enmity that dates back to well before the atrocities of World War II. All things considered, then, it shouldn't be a shock that half of Chinese car buyers wouldn't consider a Japanese car. This survey, conducted by Bernstein Research, found that 51 percent of 40,000 Chinese consumers wouldn't even consider a Japanese car – which, again, isn't really surprising, when you consider stories like this. According to Bernstein, the most troubling thing is the location of these sentiments – smaller, growing cities where the population is going to need sets of wheels. We imagine it wouldn't be as big of an issue in traffic-clogged Shanghai or Beijing, but these small cities are going to become a major focus for automakers. "Nationalistic feelings are an impediment. [Japanese] premium brands will struggle," analyst Max Warburton wrote in a research note, according to The Wall Street Journal. Things will improve for Japanese makes, although China will remain a challenge, with Warburton writing, "the one thing that comes out most clearly is that most Chinese really want a German car. While we expect Japanese brands to continue to recover market share this year, ultimately the market will belong to the Germans." There are a few other insights from the study. According to WSJ, Japanese brands are viewed better than Korean brands, and they're seen as more comfortable than the offerings from Germany or the US, despite the fact that everyone in China apparently wants a German car. This is a tough position for the Japanese makes to be in, as there's really not a lot they can do to win favor with Chinese buyers. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, particularly as the importance of the PRC continues to increase year after year. News Source: The Wall Street Journal - sub. req.Image Credit: Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP / Getty Images Honda Mazda Nissan Toyota Car Buying

Aston CEO claims Cygnet cancelled because Toyota is dropping iQ in 2014

While slow sales and a $50,000 price tag may have been contributing factors to the Aston Martin Cygnet being cancelled last month, Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez is pointing the finger at Toyota for the demise of this luxurious little city car. In a discussion with Autocar, Bez is quoted as saying that the ultimate reason the Cygnet was cut is because Toyota plans on dropping the iQ (on which the Cygnet is based) in 2014 - a claim denied by the Japanese automaker.
Interestingly, the article also cites another publication reporting that a Toyota importer in the Netherlands heard the same news as Bez, and it has already stopped importing the cars. If the European Toyota iQ is cancelled, that would likely spell the end of the slow-selling Scion iQ in the US, which has sold just 3,365 units through September (a drop of 51 percent year over year).
Regardless of why production of the Cygnet ended, Bez also says that a lack of support from Toyota on the project prevented it from being offered in the US or receiving a supercharged engine, which are two factors that likely would have made the car appealing to more buyers.

Toyota creates awesome off-road Sienna

Toyota is in the midst of relocating its North American headquarters to Plano, TX, on the outskirts of Dallas. It's a huge deal for Toyota, of course, and for northern Texas. But if you don't work for the company or live in the area, it may be of less interest to you personally. Fortunately the Japanese automaker had something more exciting to showcase while it was presenting the plans for its new campus. What you see here is a vehicular mashup the likes of which we've never quite seen before. You might call it a crossover or a hybrid, but those have different (and very specific) connotations when it comes to automobiles. It's billed as the Toyota Ultimate Utility Vehicle, and it basically puts a Sienna body on a Tacoma truck chassis. It's also obviously been beefed up some as well, with a jacked-up suspension, off-road rolling stock custom bumpers, reinforced wheel arches and side sills, auxiliary lighting, a matte black finish, smoked headlamps and tinted windows. It's set to be showcased at the SEMA show later this year, but in case the look of it didn't convince you, the UUV is built to run. It's set to take part in the North American leg of Toyota's Ever-Better Expedition that's designed to put the company's employees out on the road in the cars they make. You can read more about the expedition in the press release below. Oh, and if you're interested in how the new headquarters are shaping up, there are details about that as well, along with a quick video tour. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Toyota Unveils Campus Design for New North American Headquarters Company Marks Latest 'One Toyota' Milestone with Launch of Transcontinental 'Ever-Better Expedition' to Inspire Team Members and Future Innovations PLANO, Texas, June 24, 2015 – Toyota Motor North America today unveiled architectural renderings of its future North American headquarters, providing new details of the site layout and exterior design of its environmentally sensitive corporate campus. In support of the Company's "One Toyota" vision, the renderings reveal buildings and outdoor spaces designed to create a collaborative environment that encourages discovery, transparency and creativity.