Can Japan’s Carmakers Survive China’s EV Threat?

Japanese carmakers like Honda and Nissan are losing market share at an alarming rate, especially in Southeast Asia. Their decline comes just as China is taking the lead in electrification.

This raises the question: Can the once mighty Japanese car brands rally in the face of this threat?

Get the Hyperdrive newsletter, your guide to the future of cars, from reporters around the world:

--------

Bloomberg Originals offers bold takes for curious minds on today’s biggest topics. Hosted by experts covering stories you haven’t seen and viewpoints you haven’t heard, you’ll discover cinematic, data-led shows that investigate the intersection of business and culture. Exploring every angle of climate change, technology, finance, sports and beyond, Bloomberg Originals is business as you’ve never seen it.

Subscribe for business news, but not as you've known it: exclusive interviews, fascinating profiles, data-driven analysis, and the latest in tech innovation from around the world.

Visit our partner channel Bloomberg Quicktake for global news and insight in an instant.

[ibnebadr]

when did competition became a “threat”

[roomotology]

Didn’t they call it Japanese threat 50 years ago?

[LordANIK]

Ultimately, the company which provides the best car in the cheapest price will Win this Race.

[SomeoneFromBeijing]

If they can make better cars, sure. But if they can't, they won't.
I find it very ironic that the people who used to mock China for building "cheap stuff" are now screaming "China is a threat" the moment China starts to outcompete them when it comes to quality.

[ichigokurosaki]

Why does China's EV's have to be a threat?

[frankiedehockie]

The so-called expert say “Nissan was too early” that why they have fallen behind. lol.

No - it wasn’t because they were too early. It’s because they failed to continuously innovating on the Leaf and improving it and building a full supply chain around it and developing new electric cars.

[Silverman]

Can American car makers survive China’s EV’s threat?

[devilmaycryhard]

The market will determine who survives. Consumers look for choice, innovation and affordability, we decide which companies deserve to stay.

[JH-uujl]

I think the only reason this video doesn't ask whether American brands can survive the rise of Chinese automakers is because of import taxes (tariffs). If not for import taxes, American brands with their poor reputations for quality and durability, and their short-term-profit pricing strategies, would be declining more quickly than they currently are. Perhaps a bigger question is will other countries do what the US did last decade and bail out their domestic automakers with taxpayer funds?

[tomkartz]

here in china the japanese car shares have dropped significantly

[champan]

Not a single word about how China out-innovate the Japanese in battery technology (CATL/BYD vs Panasonic) and making a car truly be a customer electronics

[TanvirAlif]

I heard when the Japanese cars started hitting the American roads people thought it was a threat but then look what happened to it. China has the second largest population in the world and their technologies are getting better so there's no way any other country would be able to compete with them.

They fell into the innovator’s dilemma—clinging to past success instead of adapting for the future. Comfortable with the status quo, they ignored the need for innovation until it was too late. German car manufacturers are on the same path, just slightly behind, but their reckoning is inevitable.

[simparingaboprosper]

Most Chinese brands sell little to no car in the west! Why are Chinese brands a threat in their home market?

[jslautogallery]

2:48 funny how singapore with about 500, 000 registered cars is mentioned as a key market for Japanese carmakers when Malaysia has more than 17 million cars.

[mshark]

Musk’s comment on BYD reminded the reaction of Microsoft’s CEO to the release of the iPhone in 2007

[maiasalica]

The reason Japan is losing market share is because we don't make electric cars. Europe was promoting electric cars, but they gave up. We Japanese car manufacturers are not going to be confused by your trends.

[PoopyPants-bf]

bruh idk but i just noticed. any title that has “china” in it almost always includes “threat” in it. 😅

[JosephLee]

Korea is also catching up with Japan in every area including automotive.

[johnybravo]

You don't have to reinvent the wheel just make an AWD affordable Acura NSX for the common man 😊