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.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS