How Many Cars Do Japanese Car Makers Sell Each Year?
Japanese automobile manufacturers are a force to be reckoned with in the American market. Since the 1970s, Japanese auto manufacturers have taken more and more of the American car market from the "big three" of Chrysler, General Motors and Ford, though not at the levels they achieved in the 1980s.
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Significance
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Japanese auto manufacturing made a significant impact on the American car market in the 1970s with vast improvements in quality, reliability and fuel economy. As a result, the three major American firms were forced to change the way they looked at cars--Chrysler was forced to ask for a loan from the government in 1979.
Since that time, there has been the belief that Japanese auto makers have been taking up more and more of the American automobile market. However, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics--a division of the Department of Transportation--the sales of Japanese imports are not consistent with those fears.
Time Frame
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In a 26-year, ongoing longitudinal survey of new car sales, Japanese imports performed well against American cars initially, but soon plateaued. For example, in 1970, Japanese auto makers sold a combined total of 313,000 cars in the United States. By 1980, they were selling 1,894,000 cars. This trend increased in the 1980s, with 2,775,000 cars sold in 1985. Since then, however, Japanese car sales have declined overall. In 1995, Japanese manufacturers sold 1,506,000 cars, but in 1998 they sold only 691,000 cars total. Japanese manufacturers sold 863,000 cars in 2000 and 923,000 in 2005, but despite these recent increases the sales numbers have not reached the heights they did in the 1980s.
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Considerations
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Some of the considerations affecting the sale of Japanese cars has been the reliability of older Japanese cars. For instance, Japanese automaker Honda is rated as one of the most reliable manufacturers of automobiles, which allows Honda models to retain their value over a longer period of time as well as require less maintenance.
Another factor to consider is the overall sales of cars in the United States, which have steadily declined since 1970. In 1970, over 8,400,000 new cars were sold in the United States and by 1985 10,979,000 new cars were purchased. By 2000, only 8,8423,000 new cars were sold and in 2005 a mere 7,667,000 new cars were sold. The declining trend in automobile sales may also affect the sales of Japanese cars.
Types
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Japanese automakers have diversified their interests and offerings as well. In 1989, Toyota and Nissan debuted their luxury lines Lexus and Infinity. These nameplates were designed to compete against mostly German auto manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes Benz. Though initially skeptical that Japanese auto manufacturers could compete with precise German engineering and luxury styling, Lexus overtook BMW in overall sales as recently as 2006. In 2007, Lexus sold over 160,000 cars while BMW sold 144,000 and in 2008 Lexus maintained a minor lead over the German competitor by selling over 136,000 units versus BMW's 131,000 units. Other luxury manufacturers did not fare as well; Mercedes Benz sold 119,000 and Audi sold only 45,000 in 2008.
Potential
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Japanese auto makers are also on the cutting edge of new technology and sales models. Between 2000 and 2005, Toyota Prius, the hybrid gas-electric car, has sold over 100,000 units, which represented 80% of the total hybrid market in the United States at that time.
Comparatively, the Honda Insight fared poorly against the Prius, with Honda revising sales ever downward until the product line was suspended in 2006 after a dismal 200 units were sold. Honda has since revamped the design and is planning to release a 2009 model with a more aggressive design aimed at capturing some of the hundreds of thousands of units sold by Toyota.
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