Why Ford And Other American Cars Don’t Sell In Japan

Some of the top-selling car brands in the United States are Japanese — Toyota, Honda, and Nissan especially. But the reverse isn't true – General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler combined make up only .3% of the Japanese auto market. With strict regulations, strong local manufacturing, and a particularly Japanese way of retailing cars, the country will likely continue to be a difficult place for American automakers.

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Why Ford And Other American Cars Don’t Sell In Japan

[CNBC]

Why do you think American cars don't sell in Japan? Protectionism? Reliability? Vehicle size? Lack of dealer support?

Is it worthwhile for U.S. companies to invest in the Japanese market?

[GurdeepSingh-ogph]

The title should say why American cars fail outside America.

[dwtt]

I lived in Japan for 8 years. The customer service you get is phenomenal, not just in the car industry. They go out of their way to develop a relationship with you. You need your car serviced or repaired? The salesman who sold you the car will come and pick up your car and return it completely cleaned and washed with a full tank of gas. American dealerships....they don’t care about you once you leave the dealership.

[perfectlybalanced]

As an American, I really feel humiliated to live in a market that has outdated systems and is just corporations trying to squeeze any penny out of us as possible

[ispeakasiplease]

29 years old and I’ve owned a 2005 Toyota Corolla, and 2017 Toyota Camry…they’re just so reliable, the engineering is practical and logical. Parts are easy to find and mechanics don’t have to pull teeth to make repairs.

[MrEsMysteriesMagicks]

US Car Manufacturers: "Take down your trade barriers."
Japan: "Make smaller cars that are reliable."
US Car Manufacturers: "No."
Japan: "That's your trade barrier."

[mnanchen]

Japanese are strange, for some reason, they prefer more reliable, safer, more fuel-economical cars. weird
[Update: Dear Japanese friends, I may have made a bad joke, please don't feel offended. I like Japanese cars, all my cars are Toyota, they are very very nice! :) ]

[Gojira-kwpc]

Even Americans buy Japanese cars, so there's no way Japanese people would buy American cars😂

[faubourglincoln]

American about American cars: 🤠
Rest of the world about American card: 🤡

[antonfelice]

why would you buy an over expensive cars from outside when you have a reliable cars made inside your backyard.

[HiyasuJ]

Japanese automaker : **makes cars for the US market such as the Tacoma**
American automaker : "here's a 14mpg Dodge truck, take it or leave it"

[jdavid]

American companies are always trying to rip you off and Japanese companies are always trying to make great products. I am an American, and I always choose Japanese products over American ones.

[peter_shoes_]

I've felt that this was the problem with buying American cars for a long time. For whatever reason, American car manufacturers just refuse to create a smaller vehicle. In the past, people in the U.S. could buy from brands like Smart, Mini, or Fiat to get the European or Japanese "City" or "Kei" type model. Now, these options just don't exist. I for one would love to drive a much smaller car.

[ricksanchez]

They're oversized and inefficient

[freestaircaseabortions]

Japan: *focuses on quality*
USA: Why does Japan drive it's own cars!?

[danieltrejo]

10 years ago, I had a compact Chevrolet sedan, and it was a nightmare, even tho I took it to its scheduled maintenance services, it broke down regularly, however, I sold it and bought a Toyota Yaris and just wow, after years driving it, never broke down, an absolute work horse of a car !

[Phantogram]

American cars fail everywhere, not just Japan.. I love how Trump asked Germany on how to make American cars more famous in Europe, they replied - make better cars.

[dontpinme]

When 90% of comments are filled with Americans roasting american car industry

[nick]

I've always thought you should be able to just directly order a car built from the car manufacturer. Why go through the dealership/middleman when you could just get it directly from the source? Not to mention, that would allow you to get the *_exact_* car you want with all the features you want, rather than compromising because you can only buy what they got at a dealership. It's like if I'm going to pay the _entire_ MSRP price of a new vehicle, which includes the cost to build the thing, I should just be able to call up the manufacturer and place my order so they build it and sell it to me directly.

[driftx]

The US cars just don’t make sense for the Japan domestic market.
1: size, too big.
2: fuel economy, fuel prices are even higher in Japan than America, and US cars due to their size and weight consume more fuel.

The US would need to make Kei cars for the Japanese market if they want to succeed there.