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B-nole
SEP 17, 2012 3:15 PM
1,125
Cars
China Smashes Japanese Cars
There likely won't be any easy resolution in the dispute between China and Japan for control of a group of islands anytime soon. However, there's already seems to be one loser- the Japanese car industry.
Thousands of Chinese protesters marched on the Japanese Embassy in Beijing over the weekend, burning flags and smashing cars.
The root cause is a dispute over control of the Senkaku Islands, controlled by Japan and claimed by China, which call them the Diaoyu Islands. Lingering anger at Japan's 1930s invasion of China, and rivalry between Asian powers, keeps consistent tension between the two nations.
It's not good for Japanese car manufacturers, who already count China as a major market and a driver of future growth. Toyota, Nissan and Honda saw 11%, 17% and 20% of their 2011 unit sales from China, according to Bill Russo, China auto analyst at Synergistics.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has said the downturn in sales of Japanese cars is already showing in the August data.
Nissan has acknowledged that the row is hurting sales, and Honda dealers have canceled some promotional activities. There could also be longer-term consequences. The sight of Japanese cars smashed by angry mobs won't make dealers feel comfortable placing bumper orders for next season's models.
Japan's car companies hope this recent trend will quickly fade away.
via Wall Street Journal
Thousands of Chinese protesters marched on the Japanese Embassy in Beijing over the weekend, burning flags and smashing cars.
The root cause is a dispute over control of the Senkaku Islands, controlled by Japan and claimed by China, which call them the Diaoyu Islands. Lingering anger at Japan's 1930s invasion of China, and rivalry between Asian powers, keeps consistent tension between the two nations.
It's not good for Japanese car manufacturers, who already count China as a major market and a driver of future growth. Toyota, Nissan and Honda saw 11%, 17% and 20% of their 2011 unit sales from China, according to Bill Russo, China auto analyst at Synergistics.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has said the downturn in sales of Japanese cars is already showing in the August data.
Nissan has acknowledged that the row is hurting sales, and Honda dealers have canceled some promotional activities. There could also be longer-term consequences. The sight of Japanese cars smashed by angry mobs won't make dealers feel comfortable placing bumper orders for next season's models.
Japan's car companies hope this recent trend will quickly fade away.
via Wall Street Journal
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