Never before has there been such a variety of car models on the international automobile market but despite globalization Europeans, Japanese and Americans have distinctly different taste when it comes to cars.
The major car manufacturers have learned to adapt their vehicles to different national tastes and regulations. Only the premium car market is unaffected.
"A Lexus is admired all over the world. BMW, Mercedes or Audi can sell the same car anywhere and need only change a few nuances," says the marketing chief of Nissan Europe, Mario Canavesi.
"There are niche markets for instance for convertibles or SUVs where the car can be sold on all markets," according to Canavesi.
But the volume is low. If manufacturers want to sell a car to the masses they have to adapt to regional taste.
Nissan in its global portfolio has more than 40 car model ranges with only about a dozen being offered in Europe. In Japan and the US the models are not always offered at the same time.
While there are same similarities between European and Asian models the automobile taste in the US is simply different, according to Canavesi.
Fuel consumption and space still play an insignificant role in the US which means that the cars sold there have a size and fuel consumption that would never sell in Europe.
Automobile researcher Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer from the High School of Gelsenkirchen points out that the limited space in Japan requires compact cars.
The luxury car segment does not produce extra cars for the US or Japan. But adapting the exhaust and lighting system to local regulations is not enough. Audi spokesman Udo Ruegheimer says that the different fuel quality has to be taken into account and the engines adapted accordingly.
BMW spokesman Alfred Broede says that diesel engines are not actively marketed in Asia and North America. The chassis is also adapted to poor road conditions in some countries. BMW and Mercedes sell their luxury S-Class or 7-Series on several continents only in versions with a long wheel base.
Significant regional differences are apparent when it comes to color and extras.
Only three of 100 Cayennes sold in Germany are white. But the figure is nine for Japan, 11 for Latin America and 30 in the Middle East.
Waiting for extras abroad can mean that the car has a long delivery time.
"Customers in the United States are impatient. Nobody there is prepared to take into account long waiting periods," according to BMW spokesman Broede.
"The customer buys the car as it stands in the showroom."
Station wagons generally are only popular in Europe, Broede says. On other markets, especially in Asia, it is an absolute niche product.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
The nation’s usually punctual high-speed rail system yesterday was hit by major disruptions after all scheduled services were canceled and replaced with three hourly trains offering only non-reserved seating, affecting more than 200,000 passengers. Preliminary findings indicate the disruption was caused by a faulty power module in a track switch control cabinet, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said, adding that as a full system inspection could only be conducted after operations end for the day, a decision on whether normal service would resume today would be announced before the first train departs. During a routine inspection early yesterday, a switch signal abnormality
RSS