Toyota's chairman is urging Japanese car companies to consider raising prices or finding some other way to give ailing US rivals General Motors and Ford a boost to head off the potential of a protectionist backlash in the crucial North American market.
Toyota Motor Corp chairman Hiroshi Okuda was quoted by Japanese media yesterday as saying the plight of General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co could result in problems for Toyota and other foreign carmakers.
"I'm concerned about the current situation surrounding GM. Although a trade conflict, like ones happened in the past, may be avoided, there may be some impact [on Japan's car industry] because the car industry is symbolic in the US economy," Okuda was quoted as saying by the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun.
Okuda told reporters on Monday that Japan's auto industry must consider a response, such as raising car prices in the US and cooperating in technology.
"We need to give some time for American companies to take a breath," Okuda was quoted as saying by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's biggest business daily.
A Toyota spokeswoman on yesterday confirmed those quotes, but added that the company has no plans to raise its prices on US models.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she also noted that Okuda was speaking in his capacity as the head of the key Japanese business lobby Keidanren.
Toyota and other Japanese automakers were the target of US workers' outrage in the 1980s. The Japanese were accused of robbing jobs from American workers and market share from US automakers.
Such sentiments have since subsided because Toyota and other Japanese automakers increasingly produce cars in the US, creating jobs for thousands of Americans.
But Okuda's comments appeared to be an attempt to stave off any possible backlash. His remarks also suggests that he sees American automakers as needing help to compete with Japan's car companies.
Last week, General Motors reported a loss of US$1.1 billion for the January-March quarter, its biggest quarterly loss in more than a decade, partly because the Detroit automaker has been losing US market share to Asian automakers.
While faring better than GM, Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford is also losing market share and says it could sink into losses or break even in the second quarter.
Toyota, based in Toyota city in central Japan, has already beaten Ford to become the No. 2 automaker in global vehicle sales. Some analysts believe it's just a matter of time before it catches up with GM, the world's biggest automaker.
Other Japanese auto firms are also reporting good performances.
On Monday, Nissan Motor Co posted record profits for the fiscal year ended March 31 with US vehicle sales surging 18 percent from a year ago.
Honda Motor Co reported a 5 percent increase in fiscal year profit yesterday as sales climbed to a record for the fourth straight year.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
RSS