Ford Japan: Not Just There For Fun

During the 1970’s and 1980’s everyone (mainly, the United States) thought that Japan would rule the world, economically speaking. At its peak, the Nikkei Dow stood at 38,957.44. Brands like “Zenith” and “RCA” made way for new brands like “Sony” and “Panasonic”. General Motors feared Japanese cars so much, they set up “Saturn” to fight them off. The UK government flirted with Toyota, Honda and Nissan to build their factories in the UK. Yep, the Japanese were the original rising dragon. Then came the 1990’s, and it all imploded. Since then, Japan was never quite the same. They were still strong, but manageable. While Japan got cut down to size, their car industry stayed strong. They still carried on taking market share in North America away from the domestics. Despite the Japanese prospering in North America, it wasn’t reciprocal. American car makers, and, indeed, many of our B&B, believe that Japan has a closed car market and has tariffs on imported cars. Our resident German has talked about the subject many times and successfully managed not to have an aneurysm over it (though he may have turned to drink) [ED: He did not.] Well, if Japan does have a closed car market, nobody told Ford.

The Associated Press (via Google News) reports that Ford is feeling bullish about their prospects of cracking the Japanese market. They believe that their investments in Asia will boost sales in the Land of the Rising Sun. Tim Tucker, Chief Executive of Ford Japan, said “We know we are going to grow our business”. Bold words for a company famous for Bold Moves, but don’t be fooled. Mr Tucker only took the Japan job last month. Previously, he headed up Ford India. A division which sold 30,000 units last year and expects to sell 130,000 units this year. That’s impressive growth. Last year, Ford Japan only sold 2,200 units in a market of 3 million vehicles. So Mr Tucker has a lot of work to do. So how will they go about it?

Ford Japan plans to introduce five new models to the Japanese market in 2012. One of the cars is the Ford Kuga, a small CUV based off the Ford C1 platform. Mr Tucker unveiled it a Tokyo event. But more interestingly, it seems Ford is going to attack the Japanese in a way which they might consider as – uncomforting. When asked about Ford Japan’s possible hybrid roll out, Mr Tucker replied: “All I can say is wait….You will be pleasantly surprised.” Americans trying to steal hybrid customers in Japan from Japan companies? Well, I suppose it’s revenge for all those Japanese companies trying to steal truck customers from American companies, chicken tax be damned.