The Big Three American Carmakers in Japan

08/16/96

Kyodo reported that praise for Chrysler's Neon--dubbed the "Japanese car killer" when it debuted in Japan last June 15--may have been a bit premature. Indeed, the Neon may seems to have been fairly well trounced by its Japanese rivals, to date.

Chrysler set the Neon's sale goal at 4,000 vehicles by year's end, or 615 cars a month. According to that goal the corporation should have sold 920 vehicles by July 31. Instead, Chrysler logged only 508 Neon sales, 412 cars short of what it planned for.

GM's Cavalier hasn't fared much better. It was introduced in Japan on January 20, to be sold with Toyota badges at 1,080 Toyota showrooms across the country. Toyota set its Cavalier sales goal at 20,000 units by year's end. By July 31, the company had managed to sell only 6,703 of the cars.

Ford Motor Co. introduced the Taurus sedan and station wagon Feb. 27, and set a 1996 sales target of 13,500 vehicles. During the four-month period which ended June 30, however, Ford had only sold 3,368 of the new Taurus models (2,519 station wagons, 849 sedans)--about 60% of what would be required to meet the sales target.

All of the Big Three's right-hand-drive cars have dual airbags as standard equipment and both the Neon and the Cavalier have Anti-lock braking systems. Industry analysts say that if the Neon and Cavalier debuted a year ago with the same standard equipment and at similar prices, they might have been hugely successful. Japanese carmakers were quick to meet the challenge provided by the Big Three, however, and installed dual airbags and an ABS in many of their own sedans, while keeping their prices unchanged or even discounting them sharply.

Analysts also claim the Big Three have missed some important changes in Japanese consumer preferences, although their right-hand-drive and price-cutting strategies were correct.

Ryuichi Matsumoto, a senior motor industry analyst said "Japanese consumer attention has been captured by sport-utility vehicles, and even Japanese carmakers are having a hard time selling sedans." He said that Japanese consumers are snapping up sport-utility vehicles like Honda's Odyssey, CR-V and Step Wagon and Toyota's RAV4 J.

As for the Taurus, some analysts say Ford should have drastically altered the design of its front hood and rear trunk. "Japanese people do not like cars whose front hoods and rear trunks slope downward too much," Matsumoto claimed.

"Squarish, boxy shapes are more attractive, as the Japanese want sedans to be usable in such wide-ranging situations as commuting to offices and attending wedding ceremonies and funeral services" without feeling out of place, he said.

"To many Japanese, cars with straight, angular lines make their owners appear intelligent and smart . . . roundish cars look like vehicles for just playing," he said.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel