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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Japanese auto industry

Japanese auto industry stories: 20 news summaries

(Newser) - The "cash for clunkers" program might be a boon for car dealers, but for American automakers the news isn't so good—four of the five top-selling cars in the program are Japanese. While the Ford Focus is the No. 1 seller, Toyota and Honda occupy the next four spots.... More »

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Toyota • Honda • Ford • auto industry • car dealers • Ford Focus • Japanese auto industry • Cash for Clunkers

Big Three See Bumpy Road With 20-Somethings

Demographic key to rebuilding for US automakers

May 29, 09 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Detroit automakers face a hard road when it comes to Generation Y—consumers aged 22-32 whose business is crucial to securing the firms' futures, BusinessWeek reports. Their boomer parents broke from tradition by shifting to Japanese cars, and Gen Y is following in those footsteps. Detroit “simply must do... More »

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Chrysler • baby boomer • Toyota • General Motors • Detroit • automaker • Ford • Big Three • Generation Y • US automakers • Japanese auto industry

 Toyota Forecasts 
 First-Ever Annual Loss 

$8.6B loss is far worse than anticipated

May 8, 09 5:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Toyota forecast a 2009 loss of $8.6 billion, its first annual loss ever and one far deeper than anticipated, Reuters reports. Only last year Toyota posted record profits and climbed past GM to become the world's largest car maker, but the global downturn in the auto industry and a... More »

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Japan • Toyota • automaker • auto industry • Japanese auto industry

 Nissan Slashing 
 20,000 Jobs

First Japanese automaker to move production from Japan and soaring yen

Feb 9, 09 3:31 AM CST
(Newser) - Nissan will cut 20,000 jobs worldwide by next year and move production from Japan and its soaring yen, reports the Wall Street Journal. Reeling from a massive $900 million loss last quarter, Nissan also announced it will slash management, seek public assistance and suspend its 5% annual growth... More »

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layoffs • Nissan • auto industry • Japanese auto industry • financial crisis

Toyota's Losses Will Triple  

First loss in seven decades multiplies as market deteriorates

Feb 6, 09 8:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Toyota now expects its full-year operating loss to be three times larger than the $1.6 billion it forecast in December, the New York Times reports. The company expects to lose $5 billion for the fiscal year through March 31 as world automobile demand deteriorates. Toyota, which last year overtook... More »

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Lexus • Toyota • Toyota Prius • auto industry • hybrid car • Japanese auto industry • financial crisis • economic downturn

 Japan Throws $16.7B Lifeline 

The bailout aims to help smaller business outside of banking or corporate sectors

Jan 27, 09 7:03 AM CST
(Newser) - Following in the footsteps of America and Europe, Japan is offering $16.7 billion to companies threatened by the financial crisis, moving outside the banking sector to take equity stakes in smaller companies that otherwise can't find financing, the Financial Times reports. The 1.5 trillion yen package aims to... More »

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Japan • Bank of Japan • credit crisis • small business • Japanese economy • Japanese auto industry • bailout • financial crisis

Analysis

 Just What Is an 'American' Car? 

As automakers expand globally, just what helps US economy most?

Jan 26, 09 11:02 AM CST
(Newser) - Lawmakers hoping to give a boost to the American economy by investing in the auto industry might get as much bang for their buck by sinking money into Honda or Toyota as they would Ford, Chrysler, or General Motors, the Wall Street Journal notes. The auto industry has become too... More »

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Chrysler • General Motors • Ford • auto industry • Big Three • Japanese auto industry • Made in America • financial crisis

Mighty Toyota Posts Its
First Loss Ever

Even Prius can't overcome flagging demand, soaring yen

Dec 22, 08 6:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Toyota will post a loss for the first time in its history, the victim of plummeting sales and multi-year highs in the value of the yen, the company warned today. The Japanese automaker, which has enjoyed a reputation for profits even in bad times, announced that it would suspend executive... More »

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Japan • Toyota • yen • Prius • auto industry • Japanese auto industry

 Honda Cuts F1 Racing Team 

Attempting to cut costs, Japan's No. 2 carmaker axes racing program

Dec 5, 08 11:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Honda, facing economic drag as the financial crisis sharply curtails demand for automobiles, is withdrawing from Formula 1 racing, at least until global markets turn the corner, the Guardian reports. Honda's CEO once pledged to spend “a trillion yen” to secure an F1 title, but shareholders have pressured the... More »

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Honda • auto racing • Formula One • auto industry • Japanese auto industry • supply and demand • financial crisis

Nissan Bringing Boxy
'Cube' to US Roads

Nissan unveils new 2009 city car

Nov 19, 08 10:22 PM CST
(Newser) - As embattled US automakers shook their tin cups in Congress, Japan's Nissan unveiled its latest threat to Detroit. The Cube gets more than 30mpg—exact numbers will be out before it hits showrooms next fall—and "is nothing more than a box on wheels," writes Chuck Squatriglia in... More »

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iPod • Nissan • auto industry • Japanese auto industry • Los Angeles Auto Show • Cube • Scion XB • Shiro Nakamura

Foreign Automakers Could Fill Detroit Vacuum

But gov't risks big job losses if Big Three fail

Nov 17, 08 9:50 AM CST
(Newser) - If Detroit’s “Big Three” do collapse, foreign-owned automakers would be able to pick up the slack, industry experts tell the New York Times. These foreign giants have a big enough US presence to swiftly take over the industry and its supplier network, but the transition would likely... More »

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Toyota • Detroit • Honda • auto industry • Big Three • BMW • Japanese auto industry • bailout

Detroit Bailout Highlights an Industry That's Moved On

'Big Three' sink while other carmakers swim

Nov 10, 08 9:59 AM CST
(Newser) - The government seems poised to bail out the auto industry, but there are two auto industries, writes Joseph White in the Wall Street Journal. There’s the unionized, drowning Big Three, stuck with ancient product strategies and huge retiree health obligations, and the non-unionized, mostly healthy foreign-owned manufacturers. This... More »

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Chrysler • General Motors • Ford • auto industry • Big Three • Japanese auto industry • bailout

earnings

Honda Profits Jump 8%
on Fuel-Efficient Lineup

The gas tank is half empty, as the company cuts global outlook

Jul 25, 08 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Honda announced an 8.1% gain in net profit yesterday for the quarter ending June 30, riding demand for its fuel-efficient models and beating analysts’ estimates, the Wall Street Journal reports. Honda has been hurt less by falling demand than rivals Toyota and Nissan because it's the least invested in... More »

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Toyota • fuel efficiency • earnings reports • Honda • Nissan • auto industry • Japanese auto industry

 Toyota Will Make Prius in US 

Swap at SUV plant shows how fast industry is adjusting to fuel costs, demand

Jul 10, 08 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Toyota plans to start producing its super-popular Prius hybrid in the US, Wired reports. With inventories overwhelmed by demand, the firm will move production lines to a Mississippi plant intended to produce SUVs. The factory won’t make its first Prius until 2010, but with no sign of abating gas... More »

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fuel efficiency • Toyota Prius • SUV • factory • Prius • auto industry • Japanese auto industry • cars

 Japan's Big 3
 Move Into New Markets 

Carmakers building plants in India, Africa, and Russia as traditional markets slow

Jun 26, 08 7:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Japan’s automakers, traditionally focused on North America and near-home markets, are expanding aggressively into new territories as opportunities shift to Africa, India, and the former Soviet Union, reports the New York Times. One analyst said 76% of the global growth of the Big Three—Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—... More »

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Toyota • General Motors • Honda • Nissan • Japanese auto industry

 What's Hot? Some Guzzlers
 Among the Sippers 

Sales of hulking vehicles held up by rich, families

Jun 25, 08 10:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Soaring gas prices have predictably driven sales of gas-sipping vehicles such as Honda’s Fit and Toyota’s Scion xB, which have seen increases of 64% and 59% respectively, reports the Wall Street Journal. But guzzlers such as Toyota's Sequoia and Tundra are also selling surprisingly well (29% and... More »

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fuel economy • gas prices • auto industry • auto sales • Japanese auto industry

 Honda Sells 60 Millionth
 Super Cub 

Little cycle the best-selling motorized vehicle ever

May 24, 08 4:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Honda’s Super Cub motorcycle may look mundane, but it's also the best-selling motorized vehicle in history, Wired reports. In fact, Honda recently sold its 60 millionth. The Cub first put Honda on the map by making motorcycles safe for suburbanites. But the ultra-dependable little bike isn’t available in... More »

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Japan • Honda • motorcycle • auto industry • Japanese auto industry

EARNINGS REPORTS

Japanese Automakers See Bumpy Road Ahead

Honda's profits down 86%, Mitsubishi's off 37%—and forecasts call for more of same

Apr 25, 08 1:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - A strong yen is hurting Japan's automakers, the Wall Street Journal reports, with Honda and Mitsubishi announcing big declines in profits today and forecasting tough times ahead. Honda saw an 86% decline in profits for the quarter ended March 31; Mitsubishi's were down 37%. Mazda bucked the trend, with a... More »

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Toyota • earnings reports • Honda • Mazda • Mitsubishi • Japanese auto industry • earnings forecast

 Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1 

US giant's worldwide sales off 0.6% as overseas growth mitigates domestic dip

Apr 23, 08 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - GM’s vehicle sales fell 0.6% in the first quarter, helping Toyota, on 2.7% growth, take the global sales lead, the Wall Street Journal reports. Toyota sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide to 2.25 million for the American giant, which was hurt badly by a 10.2%... More »

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Toyota • General Motors • auto industry • vehicle • auto sales • Japanese auto industry • first quarter earnings • cars

Looking for a Real Recession? Try Japan

Once-booming economy stumbles, yet people are 'indifferent'

Feb 2, 08 3:18 PM CST
(Newser) - While economists squabble over a possible US recession, Japan has quietly slipped into one. The country’s postwar riches have all but vanished, the Washington Post reports, as its GDP tumbles from fourth to twentieth among the world’s countries and its share of the world’s economy dips... More »

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Japan • Toyota • Shinzo Abe • recession • foreign investment • unemployment • GDP • manufacturing • Yasuo Fukuda • Junichiro Koizumi • Japanese economy • Japanese auto industry

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