ID :
12254
Fri, 07/11/2008 - 22:03
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12254
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FOCUS: Japanese used cars gaining popularity overseas
TOKYO, July 11 Kyodo - Japanese exports of used cars are rising steadily, reflecting their popularity overseas, and foreign buyers are gaining the upper hand over their Japanese counterparts.
Foreign buyers mainly used to purchase vehicles close to the end of their lives, but with the economic development of emerging economies, they are making successful bids for high-quality secondhand vehicles.
A used vehicle auction site in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, brims with feverish excitement with buyers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa and other countries accounting for about 70 percent of those present. There is even a corner for Muslim prayer.
Deals at the auction site are fully computerized and when a vehicle for sale is displayed on a screen, buyers push buttons to place bids. Each deal takes only about 10 seconds to complete and more than 3,000 trucks and passenger cars from the Kanto region are traded every Saturday.
A Pakistani buyer, 46, who exports vehicles to Russia and Africa, said, ''Japanese vehicles are almost trouble-free and can run hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Toyota vehicles are most popular overseas and those 'made in Japan' are sold at especially high prices.'' Hitoshi Iwase, executive director of USS Co., which manages vehicle auctions, said, ''In Japan, vehicles are used as a substitute for walking, but for people using them in deserts and other harsh environments, vehicles are tools that they entrust their lives to. In such places, Japanese vehicles are the most trusted.''Secondhand motor vehicle exports in 2007 totaled about 1.29 million, up 14.3 percent from the year before and two times the level five years previously. This year's exports are expected to exceed 1.5 million.
Exports to Russia are increasing noticeably and account for one-third of the total, followed by shipments to the United Arab Emirates. Exports to African countries are also increasing.
The increasing number of rich people in emerging countries is behind the expansion of exports. Recently, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Land Cruiser sport utility vehicles and Nissan Motor Co.'s GT-R coupes have been selling for higher prices than new cars.
Domestic used vehicle sales, on the other hand, remain sluggish because secondhand vehicles are in short supply as new vehicles have not been selling well and competition with exporters is intensifying.
A used car dealer in Tokyo said with a sigh, ''We are being hit by a double punch -- demand is declining as young people are less interested in cars and purchase prices are rising.''Domestic consumers, however, stand to benefit. According to Gulliver International Co., the average trade-in price of a used vehicle this year was up about 50,000 yen from last year.
Shoichio Suzuki, chief of Gulliver's research institute arm, said, ''This is good news for people wishing to replace their vehicles with new ones, paving the way for a revival in the sluggish new vehicle market.''
Foreign buyers mainly used to purchase vehicles close to the end of their lives, but with the economic development of emerging economies, they are making successful bids for high-quality secondhand vehicles.
A used vehicle auction site in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, brims with feverish excitement with buyers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa and other countries accounting for about 70 percent of those present. There is even a corner for Muslim prayer.
Deals at the auction site are fully computerized and when a vehicle for sale is displayed on a screen, buyers push buttons to place bids. Each deal takes only about 10 seconds to complete and more than 3,000 trucks and passenger cars from the Kanto region are traded every Saturday.
A Pakistani buyer, 46, who exports vehicles to Russia and Africa, said, ''Japanese vehicles are almost trouble-free and can run hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Toyota vehicles are most popular overseas and those 'made in Japan' are sold at especially high prices.'' Hitoshi Iwase, executive director of USS Co., which manages vehicle auctions, said, ''In Japan, vehicles are used as a substitute for walking, but for people using them in deserts and other harsh environments, vehicles are tools that they entrust their lives to. In such places, Japanese vehicles are the most trusted.''Secondhand motor vehicle exports in 2007 totaled about 1.29 million, up 14.3 percent from the year before and two times the level five years previously. This year's exports are expected to exceed 1.5 million.
Exports to Russia are increasing noticeably and account for one-third of the total, followed by shipments to the United Arab Emirates. Exports to African countries are also increasing.
The increasing number of rich people in emerging countries is behind the expansion of exports. Recently, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Land Cruiser sport utility vehicles and Nissan Motor Co.'s GT-R coupes have been selling for higher prices than new cars.
Domestic used vehicle sales, on the other hand, remain sluggish because secondhand vehicles are in short supply as new vehicles have not been selling well and competition with exporters is intensifying.
A used car dealer in Tokyo said with a sigh, ''We are being hit by a double punch -- demand is declining as young people are less interested in cars and purchase prices are rising.''Domestic consumers, however, stand to benefit. According to Gulliver International Co., the average trade-in price of a used vehicle this year was up about 50,000 yen from last year.
Shoichio Suzuki, chief of Gulliver's research institute arm, said, ''This is good news for people wishing to replace their vehicles with new ones, paving the way for a revival in the sluggish new vehicle market.''
