Das Autohaus [sub] has it from India’s Economic Times that VW and Suzuki are planning a low-priced mini-car which could give Tata’s Nano some problems.
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To qualify for Japan’s cash-for-clunker program, new vehicles must meet the 2010 fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg, making 87 percent of Japanese-made vehicles on sale in their home market eligible for the credit of up to $2,800. In fact, the Japanese program doesn’t even require a clunker (MY 1996 or older) to trade in, although without giving up an inefficient vehicle, the best credit available is a mere $1,132. But the American Automotive Policy Council calls these rules “unfair,” telling the Freep:

We urge the U.S. government to make clear that it cannot tolerate this outright discrimination, particularly at a time when it has provided substantial direct financial support for Japanese automakers in this market

Huh? Is the AAPC talking about America’s cash-for-clunker program, which (like Japan’s) sent Honda and Toyota sales soaring? Or the $1.6b DOE “ATVML” loans that Nissan got, which were dwarfed by the same program’s generosity towards Ford? Or perhaps the $82b+ TARP bailout that… oh wait, that all went to Detroit. Ok, let’s forget about America’s “substantial direct financial support for Japanese automakers” for a second and figure out just how unfair this Japanese program is.

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Who would have thought that they are moving that fast: VW will buy a 20 percent stake in Japan’s Suzuki for $2.5 billion. It’s announced and it is official, including a photo-op with a beaming Winterkorn next to a grinning Osamu Suzuki. Rumors of that, well, tie-up had been around for a while and had recently intensified, but the speed is nonetheless surprising. Except for those who know Piech. At the September IAA auto show, Piech had said that 12 brands are better than 10. Everybody who knew Piech knew that he was referring to MAN/Scania trucks on one end of the spectrum, and Suzuki small cars and even motor bikes at the other.
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As the world recedes, South Korea grows. First Hyundai registers double digit growth in the United States and now other automakers want a piece of the South Korean action. The Korean Times reports that Renault-Nissan announced that they will increase the amount of their South Korean parts suppliers from 28 to 100 by 2013. 108 major subcontractors took part in a conference along with officials from Renault-Nissan’s purchasing organisation.

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Asiaone Motoring reports that Toyota are now pushing forward on their constructions of plants in the United States and China which had previously been put on hold. It should come as no surprise that part of the reasoning behind this decision is to meet growing demand in China. More importantly, Toyota needs to protect itself from the strong yen, a consideration that now apparently outweighs weakness in the US market.  The report says that Toyota is expected to invest and additional 100 billion yen (about $1.1b) to get these plants completed. Although these plants will increase capacity by 200,000 units, Toyota plan on halting production on lines in Japan and the UK, as the firm must still reduce capacity by 1 million units in order for this investment to work. Though the move is a clever one, it highlights the enormous pressure the world’s number one automaker finds itself under: overcapacity is bad enough, but when so much of its production is based in Japan, it deal with reduced production while paying for expansions in cheaper production zones. The upside? This plan could lead to US production of the Prius at the under-construction Mississippi plant sooner than expected.

Today’s Nikkei [sub] agrees with the TTAC commentariat that Suzuki is overripe for a takeover. “Now that Suzuki has dissolved its joint venture assembly plant with General Motors Co. in Canada, the Japanese automaker, with its long presence in emerging markets and strength in subcompacts, appears an attractive partner for an alliance.”

No kidding. As it has been pointed out by TTAC’s Best & Brightest, Suzuki has what other makers need, and Suzuki needs what other makers have.
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Toyota had slammed hard on the brake when it came to capital expenditures. So hard that ToMoCo (and Sony) were rapped on the knuckles by the Japanese Ministry of Finance for hobbling Japan’s economy. Suddenly, Toyota starts pouring concrete and installing machinery again. Not because of newfound faith in the auto market in general. Two factors made them do it: The Yen has become so expensive that manufacturing in the USA is cheaper. And China is gobbling up cars faster than Toyota can make them.

According to the Nikkei [sub], a Toyota plant in the US and one in China will increase ToMoCo’s annual output capacity by 200,000 units before the Japanese 2010 fiscal ends on March 31, 2001. The construction will cost Toyota a little over $1b, depending on the vagaries of the greenback and its pegged follower, the Chinese Yuan. Here are the blueprints:
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What, GM actually has the money to BUY companies? Suzuki says they want sell the whole shebang in their 50:50 joint venture in Canada to their JV partner, General Motors, says the Nikkei [sub]. That would be the end of a more than 20-year marriage.
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Renault has its Nissan. Jealous PSA seeks the company of a pretty Japanese bride of its own. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. confirmed to the Nikkei [sub] today that it is in talks with PSA Peugeot-Citroen about some financial shibari. The capital tie-up could see PSA take a majority position in Mitsubishi Motors.

“We have been talking whether we can have deeper relationship, and a capital tie-up is one among many options,” said a Mitsubishi Motors spokesman, declining to comment on the scale or value of any potential deal. The Nikkei [sub] reported earlier Thursday that PSA could buy a stake of 30 percent to 50 percent in Mitsubishi Motors and become its biggest shareholder.
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If you are a daily reader of the Nikkei, as we are in the Schmitto-san household, you can sometimes lose your confidence in Japanese precision and accuracy.

Yesterday, we quoted the Nikkei as saying that “sales of new cars and trucks rose 36 percent year on year to 293,410 units in November, marking the fourth straight month of increase, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Tuesday. Passenger car sales surged 43.8 percent to 268,450 units.”

Today, we read in the Nikkei that “new-vehicle sales increased 18.3 percent to 436,535 units in November for a third straight year-on-year gain, according to industry data released Tuesday.”

Shitsurei?
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You have to hand it to the Japanese. They have their numbers down pat. Which country knows on December 1 how many cars they have sold in all of November? Japan does. And guess what: Sales of new cars and trucks in Japan rose 36 percent year on year to 293,410 units in November, says the Nikkei [sub], quoting numbers released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. And guess what again: This is the fourth straight month that Japanese car sales have been increasing. Hold on, there is more …
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Lithium is known as a reliable treatment of depression. A double dose of lithium with a touch of cobalt is now prescribed by Nissan to cure range anxiety and other assorted phobias afflicting owners of plugins. The Nikkei [sub] writes that Nissan “has nearly completed development of a lithium ion battery that can power an electric vehicle for 300km on a single charge, about double the capacity currently possible.”

Nissan hopes to sell cars powered by the Energizer-bunny of all plugins by 2015.

Otaku (nerd) alert:
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South Korea’s Hyundai will spend some $800m to build a third Chinese plant, says the Nikkei [sub]. The plant will be located in Beijing along with its two existing facilities. It is targeted to come on-stream at the end of 2011, with an annual capacity of 300,000 units.
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Reuters reports that Japanese manufacturers are running scared from Hyundai-Kia. A combination of a rising Yen and South Korea sealing more and more free trade agreements with other countries has helped Hyundai-Kia immensely. Of course, copying Toyota’s business model of building reliable cars at affordable prices has helped greatly, too. All this momentum from South Korea is getting Japanese car executives a little bit nervous. “I think there’s a sense of crisis in the whole (Japanese) industry,” Toshiyuki Shiga, chief operating officer at Nissan Motor. “Whether you take the Free Trade Agreements or foreign exchange policy, I get the impression that South Korea is tackling things well.”

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