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The US-Korean (not quite) free trade agreement will bear fruit, and U.S. cars will be shipped to Korea. The funny part is: Some of the first companies to do so are Japanese. The Nikkei [sub] writes that Toyota will begin exporting cars from the U.S. to South Korea in early November.
According to the Nikkei story, Toyota will send its Sienna minivan on the long trip across the Pacific instead of shipping it from nearby Japan. The yen has become so expensive that it’s cheaper to ship Siennas from Indiana to Seoul.
It won’t be a huge business: Toyota plans to export about 50 Siennas a month to South Korea, says The Nikkei.
5 Comments on “Surprise: U.S. Will Export Cars To Korea. Wait Until You Hear Which Ones...”
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Do they even make Siennas in Japan? I mean, yes, they could ship over the Estima from Japan, but it’s right-hand drive only, no?
I assume it’s cheaper to ship the Sienna than to either spool up to make it in Japan, or to convert the Estima?
No, Only in Indiana. They make about 5 different Vans in Japan but nothing really the same as the Sienna.
The article needs to be re-written, as it implies that Toyota builds the Sienna in Japan while also building them here in the US, which is not the case. Sienna is a NA only product.
This isn’t the first time Toyota has exported cars from their US plants. The Sequoia, Tundra, and Avalon have all been exported to various parts of the world like South America and the Middle East.
Hell, they exported the Avalon to Japan. As the Avalon (first gen) then Pronard (second gen).
What they really need to do is lobbying a free trade between China and South Korea. That way, they can simply ship left hand drive cars from a nearby port, like TianJin.