We all knew it was true...here's an excerpt from a NY Times article confirming it. The article itself is on the NY Times Automobile homepage, and it's about the Tokyo Auto Show.


"...The sad fact, though, is that most Japanese will never see the imported cars which are displayed here at the show cruising down a Tokyo side street. After decades of trying to break into the world's second largest auto market, foreign carmakers sold just 256,528 cars here last year, 8.7 percent of all sales and one-quarter fewer than in 1996.

Still, some foreign carmakers have managed to find pockets of customers in Japan. Their success stories fall into two broad categories: European luxury cars that offer instant status and comfort, and sporty compacts that one-up the Japanese.

Among the companies offering compact cars, Volkswagen leads the way with the Golf and the Polo, both offering European styling and Japanese drivability. Hot on the heels of VW, though, is the Mini, the British runabout. In a country of compacts, nothing is more classic than the Mini Cooper, with its squat front and low stance. Now built by BMW, 10,000 were sold in Japan last year and sales are expected to grow 20 percent this year..."

 

The invasion begins, lol.

Well just got to see more Minis beat more rice cars.

 

Out: Rice.
In: Bangers and mash, sauerkraut on the side.

 

When I was in Japan I saw a lot of European cars. Lots of BMW's and Benz's and a whole lot of classic minis! I did see some new minis and a couple VW's driving around...oh and all this rice started in America, I didn't see any cars that would be considered rice in Japan. Unless you considered a Skyline GT-R rice

 

Ah, the ever fickle Japanese import market. Obviously, as the Brits, Aussies and Japanese all share a penchant for motoring on the "wrong" side of the road, RHD and not LHD vehicles will dominate their import market. I seem to recall that about 10 years ago, Rover re-introduced the MGB in V-8 form. The MGRV8 was its moniker. Japan was the big export market for this UK vehicle, and the Japanese version had A/C, something the Brits didn't even have for their own domestic market MGRV8s. Anyhow, to make a long story short, after an initial "can't get enough" of the MG, the Japanese market sank like a stone, with many RV8s going literally for years on the new car showroom floor before landing a buyer (often this was a Brit seeking to re-import the MGRV8 back to the UK where there was indeed some market for it).

So before we see Japan as a major player for BMW/MINIs attention let's see if the MINI continues to sell there in good quantities for a couple of years.

Ever the skeptic.