Tokyo Motor Show 2017 : The Europeans
The European manufacturers were also represented at the Tokyo Motor Show. Driving a European car in Japan is considered as a status symbol – you’re doing well in life. As a result, the Japanese upper middle class will gladly shop for a German car, occasionally for a Swedish brand, but rarely for any other brand.
The amount of European cars sold in Japan however is not big, 233.245 cars in 2016 to be exact, which is a about 15% of the number of Toyota’s sold in Japan during the same period and 4.7% of the total car registrations in 2016 (4,97 million). The most popular brands are Mercedes and BMW followed by VW, Audi, Mini and Volvo. Remarkable are the low number of non-premium brands sold in Japan as well as the almost absence of non-German cars. In the exotic car segment however, Europe rules. Maserati leads the statistics (1323 cars sold in 2016), followed by Ferrari (678) and Bentley (434).
The Japanese like to buy new cars rather than second hand – also motived by an expensive Shaken or technical inspection after the first 3 years. Therefore (and for other reasons as well), the residual values are low and the second hand market of European cars is popular. You can drive a pretty decent low mileage Bentley for less than the price of 320d.
Leasing contracts as well are usually on a 3 year term and are rarely extended. The average age of cars is Japan is 6.9 years against 10.7 years in Europe (2015 figures – source : European Automobile Manufacturer Association).
Here is a short overview of the models and highlights present at the Tokyo Motor Show, in alphabetical order of brands, as well as the 2016 registrations figures (source JADA) for the major brands. Pictures of all the exhibited models are available in the Gallery.
Audi (28.502 units in 2016) : RS4 Avant; Q8 Sport Concept : Japan premiere & popular on the stand ; A8L : not a typical Japanese car, but extremely popular on the Chinese market; Elaine : Japan premiere, very popular on the stand; A8 : Japan premiere
BMW (50.571 units in 2016) : X3 : not a common sight in Tokyo, but a popular niche model, especially in the high-end versions; Concept 8 Series and Concept Z4, japan premiere; M5 : popular amongst the car aficionados; 6 Series GT. Alpina was also present with the BMW ALPINA D5 S Bi-Turbo Limousine Allrad and the BMW ALPINA B5 Bi-Turbo Touring Allrad
Citroen & DS : C3, highlighting the ConnectedCAM feature; C4 Grand Picasso; DS7 Crossback : Japanese Premiere, presented separately from Citroen
Mercedes (67.386 units in 2016) : GCL Fuel Cell : Mercedes highlights innovation in powertrains; Concept EQA; AMG GT S; AMG Project ONE : Japan premiere. Mayback is represented by the Mercedes-Maybach S 650
Peugeot : 308 Allure BlueHDi
Porsche : Panamera 4E-Hybrid Sport Turismo; New Cayenne; New Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid
Renault : Megane RS
Smart : forfour turbo crosstown limited; vision EQ fortwo : Japan premiere; Brabus forfour canvas-top limited
Volkswagen (47.324 units in 2016) : Arteon R-Line : Japan premiere; New Polo : Japan premiere; Up! GTI; Golf GTE PHEV; Passat Variant TDI; Golf R Performance; e-Golf; I.D. BUZZ : Japan premiere, popular car on the stand
Volvo (14.914 units in 2016): Highighting different versions of the XC60 : XC60 Twin Engine AWD, XC60 T5 AWD, XC60 T5 AWD
