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Why Japan's government is looking to curb its adorable kei car market

Each region around the world has its stereotypical vehicle. The US has the pickup and Europe the five-door hatchback; but in Japan, the kei car reigns supreme. These tiny cars are limited to just 660cc of displacement but they've also come with lower taxes to make them more affordable. To make of the most of their small size, they've often had quite boxy styling like the Honda N-One shown above, and because they're Japanese, they've often had quirky names like the Nissan Dayz Roox. However, if the Japanese government has its way, the future popularity of these little guys might be in jeopardy. The problem facing them is that Japan is an island both literally and figuratively. After World War II, the Japanese government created the class as a way to make car ownership more accessible. The tiny engines generally meant better fuel economy to deal with the nation's expensive gas, and the tax benefits also helped. It's made the segment hugely popular even today, with kei cars making up roughly 40 percent of the nation's new cars sales last year, according to The New York Times. The downside is that these models are almost never exported because they aren't as attractive to buyers elsewhere (if indeed they even meet overseas regulations). So if an automaker ends up with a popular kei model, it can't really market it elsewhere. The government now sees that as a threat to the domestic auto industry. It believes that every yen invested into kei development is wasted, and the production takes up needed capacity at auto factories. The state would much rather automakers create exportable models. To do this, it's trying to make the little cars less attractive to buy, and thus, less attractive to build. The authorities recently increased taxes on kei cars by 50 percent to narrow the difference between standard cars, according to the NYT. If kei cars do lose popularity, it could open the market up to greater competition from foreign automakers. Several companies complained about the little cars stranglehold on the Japanese market last year, but since then, imported car sales there have shown some growth thanks to the improving economy. Featured Gallery 2013 Honda N-One View 20 Photos News Source: The New York TimesImage Credit: Honda Government/Legal Honda Nissan JDM kei kei car

Nissan beats 2Q expectations with $1.3b profit

Nissan reported its Q1 financial results through the April-June period, and Bloomberg reports that the Japanese automaker beat analyst expectations. The outlet averaged income estimates provided by 11 analysts to come up with a figure of 130.2 billion yen ($1.3 billion), while Reuters' analyst survey returned a estimate of 163 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in operating profit. Nissan easily beat them both with 152.8 billion in net income and 193.7 billion in operating profit. That profit number is up from 122.6 billion yen in the same quarter last year. The surge comes from increased US sales. June sales grew 13 percent, helping propel a 4.5-percent increase for the year so far and the best first-half calendar-year sales Nissan has had in ten years. Higher incentives have helped, as well as superheated Nissan Rogue sales; the crossover moved 99,302 units through the first six months of 2014, this year that number is 135,397, and observers expect its popularity to continue. In contrast to other automakers struggling with the slowdown in China, Nissan isn't doing so badly there. Growth rose by 5.7 percent in the first half of this year, a number that would have been larger but for depressed commercial vehicle sales because of the economy's slowdown. Nissan is sticking with its original targets, sure that government intervention and new models will hold the markets steady enough. The press release below has more information on the numbers. Nissan reports net income of $1.3 billion for first quarter of FY2015 Results for three months to June 30, 2015 (TSE report basis – China JV equity basis)* Acct - Q1 - Y-O-Y Net revenue - JPY2.90 trillion ($23.9 billion/ˆ21.6 billion) - +17.6% Operating profit - JPY193.7 billion ($1.6 billion/ˆ1.4 billion) - +58.0% Ordinary profit - JPY215.9 billion ($1.8 billion/ˆ1.6 billion) - +45.2% Net income** - JPY152.8 billion ($1.3 billion/ˆ1.1 billion) - +36.3% Based on average foreign exchange rates of JPY 121.4/USD and JPY 134.2/EUR YOKOHAMA, Japan , Jul. 29, 2015 – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced fiscal year first quarter financial results for the three months ending June 30, 2015. The company reported net revenue of $23.9 billion (2.90 trillion yen), an increase of 17.6% versus 2.47 trillion yen a year ago. Operating profit was $1.6 billion (193.7 billion yen), up from 122.6 billion yen, a 58.0% increase. Net income was $1.3 billion (152.8 billion yen), an increase of 36.3% versus 112.1 billion yen in the prior year.

Takata adds millions to recall expansion in US [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker has advised Autoblog that of the 1,509,535 total vehicles worldwide that the company is recalling, 966,504 of them are new additions for this expanded safety campaign. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the Takata airbag inflator recalls would expand to an estimated 33.8 million vehicles in the US. However at the time, automakers weren't sure specifically which of their models might be affected under this enlarged campaign. Now, the numbers for BMW, FCA, Ford, and Mitsubishi are being released by the agency. Additionally, Honda is outlining the broadening of its own campaign. BMW's recall amounts to 420,661 vehicles in the US, an increase from 140,696 previously. All of the following models need their front, driver's side airbag replaced: 2002-2005 BMW 325i/325xi/330i/330xi Sedan 2002-2005 BMW 325xi/325i Sportswagon 2002-2006 BMW 330Ci/325Ci/M3 Convertible 2002-2006 BMW 325i/330i/M3 Coupe 2002-2003 BMW M5/540i/525i/530i Sedan 2002-2003 BMW 540i/525i Sportswagon 2003-2004 BMW X5 3.0i/4.4i BMW has received no reports of any injures or deaths from this problem in its vehicles. FCA has 5,224,845 vehicles globally in need of inflator replacements, according to its statement. However, the company is only aware of one injury related to the issue, which occurred in a 2006 Dodge Charger in southern Florida. There are 4,747,202 vehicles worldwide from the company that are affected on the front, driver's side. Among these, 4,066,732 are in the US, 374,508 are in Canada, and the rest are in other countries. The models are: 2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500 Pickup 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup 2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Pickup 2007-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Cab Chassis 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500/5500 Cab Chassis 2008-2009 Sterling 4500/5500 Cab Chassis 2004-2008 Dodge Durango 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen 2005-2010 Chrysler 300/300C/SRT8 2005-2010 Dodge Charger/Magnum 2005-2011 Dodge Dakota 2006-2010 Mitsubishi Raider Also, there are 438,156 vehicles in the US, according to the NHTSA documents, that need their front passenger's side inflators replaced in the expansion of an earlier regional recall: 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 The total number of vehicles from Ford now covered under these campaigns stands at 1,509,535 worldwide. Of this total, there are 1,380,604 in the United States, 93,207 in Canada and 16,953 in Mexico.