(4K) Japanese car style VIP luxury cars modified - Osaka Auto Messe 2015 大阪 オ ー ト メ ッ セ 2015
Infinity Emerg-E Concept car is displayed on the stand of the automaker during the first day of the Geneva Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva media Valentin Flauraud Reuters.
A month before the launch of Lexus in America in 1989, Toyota considered running a TV ad showing German aristocrats during a wild party in a castle perched on voice intoned that the Germans had dominated high-end, high-cars performance for nearly 60 years, but they had only 30 days to enjoy it.
The announcement was never made to television screens, which is just as well three German brands, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen's Audi, have become increasingly dominant as growth in emerging markets increased global demand for high-end cars.
Lexus, Acura and Infiniti, the premium brands devised in the 1980s by the Big Three automakers, Toyota, Honda and Nissan in Japan, see were left trailing big picture German trio now have 70 market for fast cars, expensive and luxurious, while the Japanese have only 10 and they are relegated by Jaguar Land Rover JLR, a British company but owned by Indians, who last year sold nearly half a million cars, just behind Lexus .
The three Japanese make renewed efforts to close the gap with the Germans MONTH Last Infiniti said it reshuffles its cars, starting with the new Pictured Q50, to give them a more passionate Latin sensation, which distinguishes them from cold and clinical German models Lexus is about to launch a baby SUV, the NX to rival JLR successful Range Rover Evoque and Audi and BMW cars like Acura RLX placed his hopes again, an elegant sedan, stretch.
For Toyota, Honda and Nissan, their premium divisions, or at least should be, much more than beautiful little Sidelines profits in the highly competitive mass market can be extremely low, while those on high-end models can be thousands of dollars per vehicle then improved sales of automobile manufacturers of high-end models would have a disproportionate effect on the overall results Andy Palmer, Nissan part, it puts the top models represent 12 volumes and 50 profits of the entire automotive industry.
At first, the Japanese automakers Marqués premium were mainly in the US, and was a good start to their mass market brands had given everything Japanese made a reputation for reliability The new top models were technically advanced over Lincolns and Cadillacs, high end offers from Detroit, and cheaper than their German competitors in 2000, Lexus was the best-selling car luxury brand in America, a position he held for more than a decade .
However, ince traditional models with a little wood and leather may have impressed American motorists, who care more value than style, but it did not impress European buyers conscious Acura picture, perhaps feeling be the futility of the task, avoided Europe altogether from their premium brands did not globalize, Japanese automakers were reluctant to give them the resources to compete.
initial success of Lexus in America prompted the Germans to fight hard, spend heavily on vehicles whose design open technical brilliance motorists portfolios and expand their ranges to fill all the possible niches As German brands successfully exploited the growing demand for small premium car, the Japanese were unable to follow Lexus and Infiniti to just a handful of Acura models and even less BMW, Audi and Mercedes have dozens, and launching new with disconcerting speed Mercedes brings about a new model each quarter until 2020.
Instead of learning the lesson they need to give greater priority to the construction of their premium brands, the Japanese auto giants have generally treated as afterthoughts, their bosses devote more attention to models mass market, they are making and selling more comfortable at one point Carlos Ghosn, head of Nissan, Infiniti considered quite disposal.
The lack of focus on premium Marqués left Japanese automakers struggling in China, which will soon be the largest market for luxury cars, the German premium brands have done a great job to persuade China's new rich who riding around one of their models is the best way to say I got BMW now 30 of its profits in China.
Given the political tensions between the two countries, Japanese brands start with a handicap In addition, as the boss of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, recently recognized for its own Lexus models, the Japanese high-end cars have no inheritance, no story --and it appears that wealthy Chinese motorists care about it as much as the JLR brands of Europeans wealth heap, in particular Range Rover and its association with British royalty last year exceeded JLR Lexus as the fourth largest luxury car brand in China.
Unlike their European rivals, the three Japanese auto giants have done little to adapt their range of high-end models for Chinese tastes and although Infiniti and Acura plan to, currently brings its cars in China they incur tariffs import of 25 German companies with their joint ventures booming with Chinese manufacturers do not have to pay and as Lin Huaibin at IHS Automotive, a research firm, points out, Audi has 350 dealerships in mainland China , while only 120 Lexus.
The headquarters are late getting to the speed M. Toyoda takes personal responsibility for Lexus, recognizing that, as Infiniti's cars need more passion in their Nissan Infiniti style gives more independence in the same way VW Audi gives free hand not coincidentally, it provides nearly half of the profits of VW Infiniti headquarters was moved from Japan to Hong Kong and a former Audi boss is brought as to polish the Infiniti brand has just opened design studios in London, San Diego and Beijing.
These efforts can help Japanese premium brands, in time, but they come as the market becomes more crowded Kia and Hyundai of South Korea at attractive prices bring high-end models Alfa Romeo and Maserati Italy are back and mass-market auto companies, Ford, Peugeot, trying premiumise part of their range to boost profits to properly compete with the three Japanese brands require years of substantial investment and attention above Lexus the critical mass of sales, and new promising models to keep in the race for the future Acura and Infiniti seems much less certain in this case, the Germans always seem to move a little faster.
Read the original article on The Economist Copyright 2014 Follow The Economist on Twitter.
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